Firstly, apologies for the absence of activity in this column for well over a month. I have been going through some stressful times, and my artistic output has been in abeyance. Life goes on however, until it doesn't, as the saying goes. I want to write today about my encounter with a masterly photographer, Mick Williamson, whose work and philosophy have resonated profoundly with my approach to painting since I met him and viewed his work for the first time just one week ago.

What is the origin of this phrase that trips so lightly off the tongue? I associate it most closely with Pamela Stephenson's...