They always follow me, Zottegem, Spring 2022 - Ze volgen me overal, Zottegem, Lente 2022 (zelfportret met huisdieren)

They always follow me, Zottegem, Spring 2022 - Ze volgen me overal, Zottegem, Lente 2022 (zelfportret met huisdieren)

Thursday, June 9, 2022

On the bench of our terrace, I continued reading the Eugène Delacroix diary. A preparation for my own painted diary that I want to make about our vacation in Tuscany, Italy. Delacroix writes something very interesting about memories. I paint my memories all the time and I was exited he wrote down his definition. “A love affair when it occurs, the sight of a beautiful landscape and travel in general can leave wonderful traces in the memory. We remember those emotions when we are far away or when we are no longer able to accumulate new ones, and so they form a small store of happiness for the future, whatever that may look like.”  Isn't that beautiful? ... I'm making a small library of happiness with my paintings.

Our animals are watching me all the time. Like a shadow they follow me…  I'm not the biggest animal lover in this house, but the three of them always stay very close to me. 

We didn't have real pets like a cat and a dog when I grew up. I had a goldfish, a canary, two dwarf hamsters and two rabbits, and when I was studying in Ghent, I once had a finch in a cage. 

These animals love me because I take care of them. I wish them a good morning and ask them how the night was. I feed them when they ask. I let them in, out, in, out, in. I take the dog for a walk twice a day. I dry our cats when they come in soaked from the rain. When they ask for affection, I give affection. When they have a question, I have an answer.

I asked my partner to take a picture of this jovial scene. Maybe I'll paint this as a my memory of a quiet start of the summer of 2022, as a small item in my store of happiness for the future, whatever that may look like.

2022
50 x 50 cm
Hilde Goossens

Hilde Goossens