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.

Progress Report

It's been a little while since I put up photos of my most recent painting.  It's coming along well.

New Work

I began another piece of work not long after finishing 'Curved'.  I just felt so inspired by it that I really wanted to get in and do another one.  So, I grabbed my forth piece of masonite I had laying around, sanded it down and painted it green.
I don't know what it is about that colour, but every time I've painted it a forest green, I've been able to work with it and get some great work out of it lately.  Also, since I have completed my first self-portrait, I can see newer things coming through in my work that I never saw before; and I love that.  

Great Art Opening at Barsoma's

Last night, I went out to Barsoma's in Fortitude Valley to see Geoff Treagus' art opening.  I traveled there early in the afternoon and found they hadn't arrived yet; and so the staff at Barsoma's recommended a cafe next door to them called Kerbside.  

This place looked like the owners had gone to every 1960's garage sale around Brisbane and dragged what they had bought there back to this large warehouse and placed all their purchases in a such a way that it would kinda fit... and you know it looks pretty good!  They had it all set up in sections.  I was sitting in the 'Ice Vo-Vo Lounge' area and the next one along was 'The Garden Setting' where all the garden settings were placed.  It all looked out of place; yet it all worked together really well!  So, I settled myself into the 'Ice Vo-Vo Lounge' in a nice old-style rocking chair with my latte and let the last hour of travel and walking around busy Brisbane city vanish out of my feet and legs as I dozed a little and sipped the lovely coffee milk.

By around 4:45pm, I had finished my latte and had gathered together my gear, sorted out my camera, backpack (as I was staying overnight at my friend's house after the opening) and I left.  The people at the bar of Kerbside farewelled me and I waved to them thanking them for a lovely coffee (the best thing about this place is that once you've seated yourself with your coffee and eats, the people leave you alone... you don't have to leave if you don't want to; and that's great!  You don't feel rushed to drink and eat your goods and get out - unlike some places I know).  

Geoff and Viv were on their way and I only waited outside Barsoma for a few minutes before seeing them.  We went around the back and they prepared Geoff's paintings with labels and his blurb about how he sees himself with his art.  After writing down the price list, we settled into the group setting that was reserved for his and her friends and got ourselves a drink each.  It was the first time that day they had sat down and relaxed.

Soon, their friends showed up and the pizzas were ordered (I had ordered my pizza first off because I was absolutely ravenous and when everyone saw mine, they wanted their own!).  Then, the place really began to fill up with a birthday party, diners and party-goers who were there just to hear the DJ play.  All this gradually occurred throughout the night until around 10:30pm when we all decided to take off as one by one we were beginning to feel the day catch up with us; after all, we had to catch a train to Thorneside, which was another 25 minutes away.  

This morning - after one of the coldest nights around Brisbane - I looked at my photos of the Barsoma opening and thought it was great to see all that great art there.  Congrats, Geoff for your art going public! 

Just a few of Geoff's paintings at Barsoma on Constance Street in Fortitude Valley.  They're all up for sale and are brilliantly painted.

'Curved' Finally finished!

After many different colourations and transformations of the same thing, I finally got this painting completed!  Today - of all days - I put the finishing touches on this small, yet complicated, painting I began a few weeks ago.  I knew what I wanted to do and found that it was a lot harder than I thought it would be; and yet a lot more fun too.

 So, there you have it:  a nice painting of light and shade.  Something I have never painted before; straight from my imagination and not from a book or a photograph either.  I've been told it's similar to something Jeoffery Smart paints; now that's a great compliment.  This painting (along with any others you've seen up here - excluding my self-portrait) are all for sale.  So, if you're interest, please leave a comment and we'll be able to talk more about your interest. 
Otherwise, have any of you painted something like this and amazed not only your friends but yourself too?  If so, please leave a comment and a link to a photo of it... let us know of your accomplishment.

A Lifetime of Practice

Some years back, I visited my Oma's house at Christmas-time.  She's a retired oil-painter and her studio used to have a huge amount of natural light until a church claimed that they owned the land next to hers and built a house right on the boundary blocking out the much-needed light for her work.  However, she had been painting for a long time; and she was nearing the end of her interest in it and had found the internet a lot more interesting.  But she did keep her studio exactly the way she had left it and showed me her work.  I saw one impressive piece up on her wall and asked what it was and she said it was her very first painting and she kept it to remind herself where she had begun; where she started her painting career.  She advised me to do the very same thing. 

And so, I do still have my first painting after thirteen years of painting with acrylics.  More recently, I pulled that first piece out to show one of my neighbour's kids when she said she wasn't any good at art and maybe shouldn't even try it.  When she saw it, she laugh at it saying it looked like something she'd probably do.  I said I was twenty-four when I did it; and then I pulled out my self-portrait from this year and and put it next to it.  She said that I had improved so much!  I said it's all to do with practice; the more you paint the better you'll get... like with anything (not only painting, it can be also applied to music, writing, knitting... the whole lot of things when you think about it).  I think I made her feel better about herself and what she wanted to do in high school.  

So, here are the two paintings that I showed my neighbour's daughter.  My first one from 1998 and my self-portrait from 2011; and yes, I have to also agree, it's a great improvement.

I painted this one out at a cattle station outside Roma, QLD in 1998, age: 24

I painted this one over 4 months Feb - May in 2011 here in Logan City, Brisbane, age 37.

So, when did you start out in your chosen artistic field?  How old were you?  Did you keep your first piece, or did you sell it?  If you've got your first piece still, leave a comment and a link to a photo of it so we can all see it; and a photo of your most recent piece as well so we can see how brilliant you've become.

Progress...

I'm happy with where this painting is going; even though it's my first one of a landscape that hasn't left me wondering exactly where it's going.  I love the angles and the gorgeous, solid colours that have come out in it.