tsk tsk

working with holes in my teeth

School Holidays::Wk 2 Day 4

I love my work day....not so much when it starts with a visit to the dentist, but I really do love working.

hanging space

I was going to clean my studio today before I started working. It was simply too hard, and I'm simply too lazy. So I decided to locate my paints and canvases to the kitchen table. Miss M painted at one end and me at the other. Due to my mess, I had no where to place these almost finished pieces......so I just moved some family photos off my wall and utilised the hooks. It has made my hall entry look quite fresh and I think I will now continue to swap photos for art as I need and want to. I work in this way alot. If there is no room in the spot you want to use, move the mess to another empty spot and clean it later.

my surroundings

I live in an environment surrounded by thousands of trees and just as many birds. Some of them come very close to the house. Minor/myna birds, kookaburras, white cockatoos, butcher birds, pheasants, scrub turkeys, crows, rainbow lorikeets, currawongs, magpies and willie wagtails. I'm sure there are many more I don't know the names of. I guess you can say they are an influence.

bird on a rock

For years I have tried and tried to paint on a large canvas. All my results have ended up horribly and under a bed. But since discovering Becky Blair's work recently I feel this amazing energy and enthusiasm to paint. So with great  inspiration I created this. You'll see some likeness to her works if you link, but there are elements of her work that have always been in mine, albeit hers are of far better quality. Have you ever discovered someone on the opposite side of the earth or even your country that projects a similar aesthetic to you and you are just so glad that you find that person?

out with the old and in with the new

this image on the left has been lopsided in the frame for quite some time. I'm also sick of looking at it. I created the 'mosaic' with various papers as a colour study some years ago. The frame sits over the control panel of the air conditioner. The numskull who put the control panel on the wall thought ...or didn't think....that it would be good to have it right in the middle. Or perhaps this person actually was thinking ahead and purposely decided to put it there so a painting could be placed over it. Anyway, I decided to make a change. When I'm not in russian doll mode or bird mode I seem to be loving leaves and pods. I wonder how long I will like this one for??

artist's tip#1

Never squeeze your paint tubes too hard.

Result:: paint is likely to shoot out of the bottom end of the tube causing much mess on newly painted walls.

Always place lids back onto tubes and keep opening very clean so that pressure does not build up in the tube whilst squeezing paint out.

before I get sick of it

I've been working on this piece for awhile and I'm at the stage where I need to finish it. If I don't it will not get finished. The bad thing about this is that it is big and I can't exactly store it out of the way with my other wips. My aim is for it to be a new artwork for our bedroom. So I shall cease writing and continue my progress. May the force be with me.

slow road

some more painting happening around here, this time from me. I bit the bullet and painted some more of my coffee matryoshka. But I just don't know if I like her. She will sit against a wall for awhile until I can make my mind up. Mr A told me he liked her without a face....I think he is right. Art critic at the ripe old age of 4! I'm never really comfortable with painting on canvas, I much prefer paper or board. Alas, Playschool has finished on TV so we are off to bake a rhubarb and orange crumble.

Late edition:: I've just realised I have been blogging for a year...what? ONE WHOLE year. It has gone so fast. I just read my first post where I mentioned how my mum bought the wool for Miss M's cardigan....look at that,  one year later and I just recently posted about the finished piece. So in one year I have discovered a portal that has allowed me to express my ideas and artwork. A place where I can show my crafts and talk about parts of my life. My mum told me the other day how lucky I am to have the technology to allow me to interact, meet and share ideas with people from all around the world. She wished that she could have had something like this when she was at home taking care of my sister and me in the 70s. I have met so many lovely people, sent and received great things. The receiving part always amazes me. I am very fortunate to have met some of you and hope to continue our friendships.

And how do I feel about it all one year on? Some days I think that I shouldn't reveal so much about me, I should just concentrate on other aspects of my life and get my eyes into the garden instead of on the computer screen...or finish a book. When I look at how often I post, I realise that I use this portal to get me through the days. I push myself to do something tangible with what is going on in my head and I use this blog as a board to  throw those ideas on. Yet, there is a great relief in not posting. Being free from what can often feel habitual is something that I would like to do more often. I regularly say to myself, don't post so much, but before I know it I'm laying out another idea on my 'electronic board'. And yet, I haven't really told many of my existing friends or family about this blog, why is that? I'm not one for drawing attention to myself, yet isn't that what happens when you have a personal blog? I've probably mentioned it in passing, but it isn't a talking point. I did discover that my brother is a lurker. Hi Ben if you are reading this, hope you are well.

I often think about all the people I had more contact with when I first started this blog; the people I have stayed in regular contact with; those who are new to me; people who pop in only once or twice but are always so so lovely to chat to and the ones that just look, read but never say hello. To all of you who have visited and keep on coming back, thank you so much for making my blog journey such a delight. I won't make any promises as to where I will be in another year, I'll just play it by ear! And to tie up loose ends, I must thank all of you who gave such fantastic advise regards Miss M's permanent marker saga on her quilt. I tried a few things...none of them worked completely. And sometime ago someone emailed me to ask me how my friend Bernadette was going with her battle with cancer. I don't think I replied to you and I am so sorry that I didn't because it was so lovely of you to think of her. She is still battling and after some very low, critical moments, she has bounced back. Her year has been spent in hospital getting stronger. Presently she is well and I believe she will beat this horrible sickness. Thank you.

Shop updated

just a couple of more additions to the shop.