Anyone who works in the arts, whether it is for instance in a studio painting or at a desk writing, will understand that every now and again you need to escape from the solitude of the studio to recharge the creative batteries (or just get some human contact!) and there are many and various ways of doing this depending on how your artistic soul needs fed.

I’m writing this, sitting with a pot of tea and my sketchbooks in a wonderful Hampshire seaside cafe; it’s an ideal spot to sit and sketch and recharge the creative batteries, with the sound of Brent Geese passing over and the wind bringing in the smell of the sea. 

As an artist it is possible to spend hours on a piece of work without looking up or surfacing for air, and the isolation of the studio can creep up on you. Before you know it, days have passed and you haven’t set foot out of your studio and its confines. That’s when you need your creative recharging spots!

Over the years I’ve built up a good working collection of such places, all with different settings and facilities: museums and galleries which stimulate the visual senses and often help to solve problems of composition or stubborn subject matters; libraries and bookshops (usually second-hand) full of wonderful texts and treasures firing the imagination with new ideas and possibilities for new paths to follow.

But often it is just getting out into the open air, stretching your legs, and enjoying walking along a wind-swept shore or over the hills with miles of uninterrupted views. Wherever it is you go to recharge the batteries (I know where my favourite places are) it's as much part of the creative process as sitting at your desk or standing at an easel.