From the Archives of my Life

Years ago, I began painting flowers - lots of them!  And it was a phase I went through.  I painted them all over canvasboards and Masonite and they looked gorgeously bright as well as creepy and dripping onto the table from a melting vase (yes, I did paint a vase of flowers once during a very hot, sticky Summer's weekend because I felt like I was melting; and the flowers on the table were drooping slowly over those two days... so, what else could I do, but paint them as they melted along with me?). 

Yesterday, I pulled one of my canvasboards out of the storage facility which I had begun to paint with flowers - and hadn't finished - and decided to complete it.  I don't have a name for this one; so I may yet do another competition of Name that Painting!  Sounds good? I hope so.  I'll have to find a suitable prize and let you in on how it's going.  I don't know how long it'll take to complete; and yes - just like last time - this one will be international (to make it fair for you all).  So, take a good look at the painting I've uploaded - and will upload in following posts as it progresses - and put in the comments below your ideas for a name.  I do have a few ideas for one, but none of them seem to match what I'm hoping for.  The prize will be something like that last one - a book or some art gear (brushes and paint or something of that nature).  Good luck to you all in Naming that Painting.

Yarn Sale!

On Saturday, Mum took me out to Spotlight at Logan.  Now, there used to be one closer to me over near Springwood, and I could bus it there, however a big Home-maker Centre opened up about a kilometre up the road and I'm unable to get there because the buses just don't go there.  Strange but true.

Anyway, Mum phoned and offered to take me there for a look around.  So, I moved some money from one account to another and got ready to go and she picked me up.  We grabbed a trolley and started looking around this place.  
Now, for those of you who have never heard of this place, it's where you go if you want to decorate a new home with lovely things, redecorate an old home with better things or just recreate your own character with a few well-picked items.  Me?  I usually head straight for the hobby section where the tapestries, knitting needles and crochet hooks are.  Fortunately, I had a trolley with me - and not a basket - as I found a lot of knitting yarn that looked and felt gorgeous; and yet it wasn't expensive.  I grabbed a couple of 100gm balls in a lovely lavendar colour and thought that was what I could afford.  When Mum spotted them, she was astounded and asked where I had gotten them.  
That was when all sense went out the window... honestly.  We came out of Spotlight with around $70 worth of yarn (including some for her; and that was about ten 50gram balls; the rest was for me), a lounge cover for my lounge, a set of red double bed sheets and two bath towels.  Yep, we worked out her credit card, well and truly.  So, I offered her a coffee downstairs at Gloria Jeans... and she accepted.  It was a great afternoon of looking, perusing and laughing between us.  And aren't the colours of the yarn just gorgeous?  I will show you what projects will be done with each lot of colour/texture as they come up in future posts. Until my next post, keep creating. 

My First Sale!

Yes!  I made my first sale last night at an art opening at the Logan Art Gallery.  It actually began about a week or so ago; when one of the staff saw me knitting a scarf and asked me how long it would take for me to finish it.  I said when she would like it by; and she told me the 12th, August.  So, I worked hard on it each afternoon and night; and finished it early Thursday evening before I had dinner. 

However, it came up shorter than I though and - even with long tassels on it - it didn't seem as long as I thought it would be.  But when I discussed it with her over the phone, she asked the price, I said around $15; but I did lower it to $10 when I showed it to her, letting her know if she wasn't happy with it, I'd be more than happy to knit her another one of the same wool and same style - but longer - as a replacement.  But she was very happy with it and paid me the $15.  So, there you have it... my first sale!  I'm so happy about it!  

Old Work Becoming New Again.

Now, as most of you are artists yourselves, have you ever come across some of your work from the past and thought: 'I can improve on that without beginning another one.' and just worked on the painting, sculpture... or whatever piece it is; and improving it out of sight? If so, you'll understand where I'm coming from with this post.
I've picked up a couple of paintings from my past that I've done, looked at them and realised I rushed them. So, in the last week, I've sat down every afternoon and worked on them to improve on their structure and depth with wonderful results. The one I've begun on looks great! I can't wait until I finish it - which will be in a few weeks' time. Until then, I'll keep you all updated with reports on how it's going. Here's the first photo of it's improvement. First I'll put up what it looked like before I worked on it (I'm sorry I haven't got a better photo, but I forgot to take a before shot, so this one will have to do).

So, what do you reckon? Is it an improvement? Or have I made it look worse? Leave a comment and let me know.