JulesHornArtist-abstract artMaking art is like riding a bike.

You get on, decide where you’re going, and start pedalling.

A few metres along the way you spot a curious thing in the hedge and stop to take a closer look – it’s often not what you thought it was but it has given you a great new idea, so you spend a bit more time there, turning over leaves and collecting a few sticks. Noticing it’s getting a bit cloudy you get back on the bike and pedal with renewed determination, although the sticks you’ve collected keep poking you from your pocket.

At the bend in the road you decide to take the rough track briefly, just for a change. Deep puddles lie this way and it’s where you put your foot down at the wrong moment. Wet socks. And then the rain starts.

So this is the point where you wonder why you decided to ride your bike this way, on this day – why indeed do you have this bike at all? You could sell it and spend the money on a Netflix subscription. You pedal home, decided that this is the last time you embark on such an undignified and pointless pursuit.

The bike sits in the garage for weeks, sometimes months. You can’t quite bring yourself to get rid of it, but it reproaches you silently every time you see it.

One day, a sunny day filled with possibility, you decide a spin would be a great idea – but this time you’re going to head in the opposite direction, which is bound to be a better route……