In Light of Recent Events

Over the past few months I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time drawing this pot plant. The peace lily (spathiphyllum) sits on a sideboard in the lounge.

Why do I return to this nondescript plant, other than because it is always there, lush and leafy, barely moving under the ceiling fan?

At the same time, I’ve been revisiting David Hockney’s work. At Hockney's overwhelming NGV exhibition, Current, a friend who knows more about contemporary art than I do surprised me by saying that drawing is not very fashionable these days.

I realise I enjoy the lines it forces me to make on the page – a combination of stiff stems and floppy leaves like tongues – and the timelessness of drawing boring things, very handy on a long summer’s day not at the beach.

Fashionable or not, I have been getting pleasure from simple observation and the instant joy of drawing, even if it’s just a pot plant on a sideboard.