Banksia Nut

                                          Acrylic on board 6" x 6"

I painted this today from a photo I took in local bushland in May.  I'm no botanist but I think it is the nut of the Banksia Menziessii. I did the painting below in May from a flower on the same bush.

                                        
                                          Acrylic on board 6" x 6"

                                             The real thing.

Oak Leaves

                                                    Acrylic on board 5 x 7
I painted this today from a photo I took, looking up into the canopy of an Oak tree my dad planted about 15 or 20 years ago.

I find I am sometimes a little disappointed with the photos I take of my finished work.  I had thought that by buying a digital SLR , the photos of my artwork would magically improve and be glorious reproductions of the originals.  I guess it would help if I actually learnt how to use it first and stopped relying on its automatic mode.

Goldfields Bottles

The above photo was taken last year of a still-life I set up with the intention of painting one day.  The bottles probably date from the late 1800's and were found in the Western Australian goldfields half buried in dirt.  The flowers are dried everlastings that a friend picked  for me a couple of years ago on her farm.

Unfinished Painting

I have posted this half-finished horror just to prove that I have done some painting today - over 3 hours in fact! It took me ages to work out what I wanted to paint.  In the end I decided to try the bucket of cut banksia flowers that I took a photo of the other week. I have no idea what I was thinking!  As usual I thought I'd be able to loosen up and simplify it - and as usual I didn't succeed!  I also thought I'd use up one  of my larger canvases that are gathering dust and taking up room.  This one is 20" x 16".  It is canvas on board.  After using the small hard boards lately - which I love - I didn't enjoy painting on the canvas again.  I find that too much time is spent trying to get the paint to cover the surface thoroughly.  But maybe that's just due to inexperience.  When I called it quits today I had almost decided that I wouldn't bother continuing with it.  But I will persist - I hate leaving things half finished.

Macaw

                                         Acrylic 7" x 5" on board
I entered this painting into the Daily Paintworks Birdbrain challenge today. Very exciting!