Doctor Dog

If dentists worked at public pools they would not be lifesavers.

Dentists have the uncanny ability to inflict pain while casually talking about the rugby scores. Meanwhile, very few dentists’ rooms have windows. You can’t breathe - and that light in your face - it’s like a soviet-style interrogation.

From the dentist I went to the dog’s vet. Amazingly, the dog left its security toy (a fluffy old penguin) in a kennel when she went for shots. She’s so highly strung she needed to nap for an hour afterwards, to recover. Then she freaked out cos the toy went missing.

From the vet I took the penguin to the dog and shared in her delight. I’m off carbs (again), and so the only thing I want to paint is cake. Sugar-starved artists are the same as love-deprived artists.

Art is this endless search for comfort, for a composition that will settle the mind. It’s not symmetry, in case you think that’s what I mean. Some pain can be comforting. But it’s got to be the right pain, at the right time.