📝 Spring Cannot Be Cancelled
Ideas and lessons from re-reading one of Hockney’s classics
‘Yes! Isn’t that what you need: people who can see things from different points of view? (…) That’s why you need lots of artists, and not just painters but all kinds. They look at life from another angle.’ — David Hockney
Recently, I re-read Spring Cannot Be Cancelled, a book by David Hockney and Martin Gayford that I have recommended a thousand times since I read it for the first time last year.
Since then, I have read many other books written by this fantastic duo and learned so much from their conversations - a couple of titles I recommend: A History of Pictures and A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney. I already knew David Hockney as a recognised artist and was curious about his work, but since reading his books and listening to his interviews, I have started to appreciate him as a great communicator in visual practices and in the art of looking.
The process of re-reading a book is also an interesting one. I have talked about re-reading tools in a previous post, where actually - not by coincidence - I reflected on my Springless April in the Southern Hemisphere and planned on re-reading this very book I am talking about here. With every read-through, there’s a sprinkle of new ideas, pictures, lessons, or a reaffirmation of old notions, beliefs, and thoughts. Something I know for certain: this won’t be the last time I read this terrific book.
These are 5 ideas and lessons I took from this second read:
1
On looking and noticing the beauty of the world
‘The world is very, very beautiful, but you’ve got to look hard and closely to notice that beauty.’ — David Hockney
Hockney is an artist - or picturemaker, as he defines himself - who draws from observation, from life. The whole world is his muse, his inspiration. Wherever he goes, he finds beauty. ‘The moral is this: it is not the place that is intrinsically interesting: it is the person looking at it’, writes Martin Gayford impeccably. Hockney reiterates the importance of looking closely at our surroundings, to paying attention to the world around us to notice its beauty. The whole book honours noticing and capturing how beautiful the arrival of Spring and the passing of the seasons are.
This is a lesson I re-learned this year and keep putting into practice in my time here living in and exploring New Zealand.
2
The beauty of the everyday
‘Each time I do a still life, I get very excited and realize that there are a thousand things here I can see! (…) The more I look and think about it, the more I see. These simple things are unbelievably rich. A lot of people have forgotten that. But you can remind them.’ — David Hockney
There’s lots out there written about the personal benefits in life of finding beauty in small everyday objects and rituals. Ultimately, this is related to the pleasure of looking. Hockney has closely studied, drawn, and painted subjects such as puddles or domestic objects that the majority of people would consider mundane or uninteresting. We don’t have to observe and paint anything grandiose such as cathedrals (first thing coming to mind) to notice the beauty of the world around us: how light touches and tints a surface, reflections, shadows, relationship between colours…, all of that can be observed in a mere glass of water, in a plant pot or in a stool at home.
3
The joy of drawing
‘Work, to him, is a pleasure, and also a habit.’ — Martin Gayford
Hockney remarks in this book how lucky he’s been to do all he wanted in life: to wake up every day and do pictures. He’s a great draughtsman and he praises the practice of drawing as a way of seeing and noticing. Drawing, he says in the book, gives him extreme joy. What the Japanese would call Ikigai.
In a great podcast episode I recently listened to (The Sneaky Art podcast, which I extremely recommend), the interviewed artist was reflecting on the realisation that the period in her life when she stopped drawing and making art put her into a depression. It made me wonder how sometimes we talk about the benefits of drawing and writing as a way to add creative energy to our lives. But what if this creative energy that we get from practicing any craft is actually essential to our wellbeing? What if we need to draw, to paint, to dance, to write, to perform, to compose, to work with our hands, etc., in summary, to play, on a daily basis the same way we need to eat and drink and sleep?
4
The flow and transcience of life
‘Everything is in flow. (…) “You have got to keep painting because it is constantly altering”. Well, it is actually, because we are. It’s permanent flux.’ — David Hockney
In one of my favourite chapters, Everything flows, Hockney and Gayford converse around the transcience of life, how everything is in constant flow and change, and how artists are generally great at noticing and capturing all these elemental transitions.
Accepting change is a fundamental step toward living a more present life. Celebrating change is the ultimate step toward living a truly fulfilled one.
I recently wrote a post about some more specific ideas in this chapter:
5
Keep going and doing what you love
‘Next Spring, I think I might concentrate on the cherry tree. Just draw it every day. (…) You should paint what you love! I’m painting what I love; I’ve always done it. I’m going to stay here [in Normandy].’ — David Hockney
I love these lines. Here’s a man in his mid-80s (by the time he pronounces these words), just looking ahead to continue doing what he loves and to continue learning and growing his practice. There is a bigger lesson here beyond any creative thinking or artistic practice, and it’s an inspiring lesson in how to live a richer life, a more expansive journey: to do more of what you love and of what brings you joy, regardless of any expectations in the results, regardless of your age or background.
✏️✨
Happy sketching!
Ana
Loved your article! And immediately knew which podcast episode you referred to.
I enjoy watching interviews with Hockney, and have some of his other books - mostly filled with art, but didn’t know about this book. Can’t wait to get it and read it too now!