Thursday 30 January 2014

Australia Day Weekend

            
Snap Happy - acrylic on board 15cm x 15cm (6" x 6")

I painted this today from a photo I took in December while on my morning walk. I took over 70 photos and thought I had some great shots amongst them. But when I got home and downloaded them, I discovered to my horror that there had been a smudge on the lens which had blighted most of them. At least I can ignore the smudge when using the shots for art reference. 


I rather liked the colours of the palette near the finished painting and couldn't resist photographing it. Also, I thought people might be interested to see how I am now storing my most frequently used paints. I commandeered one of my acrylic greeting card stands which makes them so much easier to find. Usually I'd have to scrabble through a messy pile of them just lying next to the easel. 

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We recently celebrated the Australia day long weekend.by spending several days in a fishing town north of Perth. There are some huge and spectacular sand-dunes to be seen on the trip up. As the years pass they march slowly across the landscape. You can understand how they get around when you see the sand blowing in the strong winds. If not for the heat and the vegetation you could be forgiven for thinking they are smacking great snow drifts. They made me think of all my fellow art-bloggers who are getting a lot of snow lately.





The beach house where we stay is authentically 1970s and I love it! It still boasts most of its original decor. This macrame owl wall-hanging is just like the one I aspired to making in the 1970s but never did. Back then it seemed like the last word in style - haha! I did however make a mission-brown pot-plant hanger which I was very proud of at the time.




26 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, I remember those macrama decorations! I made several, but never one with owls. Yours is a wonderful memoir of those days! The photos are so inviting... I'd like to be on your side of the globe this morning! Finally, I love the painting! It's such a pleasing arrangment of lines and color and interest!

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    1. Thanks so much Katherine! I want to try for a more stylised approach to this type of beach landscape but haven't been able to translate my vague ideas into my actual work.
      I love your latest painting!

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  2. Your painting is lovely...great colors. Those sand dunes are so white they do look like snow! The beach house sounds like a fun place...love the decoration!

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    1. Thank you Joan! I've been enjoying your blog posts and am so impressed at how prolific you are!

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  3. Your painting is gorgeous Wendy! It's nice to see a beautiful beach scene on a rainy winters day.
    Ah the 70's... how I miss orange knitted wall decorations! LOL The dunes are amazing, it looks like a snowy hill! Thanks for sharing and I hope all is well!

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    1. Thanks Celia! It's taken me about 30 years to be able to appreciate the style of the 70's era. Congratulations for finishing the 30/30 challenge!

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  4. I love your warm, sunny and inviting painting, you really got a great sense of distance here , and the color are so fresh , beautiful ! Those sand dunes are incredible,really look like an immense snow mountain ! Have a nice weekend.

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    1. Thanks so much Jane! Yes, the sand dunes are very surrealistic - they seem out of place in the landscape.

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  5. Fab landscape Wendy. I can smell the sea air from here. Great textures and colours. My camera has a permanent smudge on it at the minute. Quite frustrating. Lucky we can paint our memories without the smudges as you say. ;-)

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    1. Thanks Laura! That's a pain for you with your smudgy lens. Love your bird gallery!

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  6. G'Day Mate! A great post today! Love your seascape! Much like a Cezanne? Or Van Gogh! Better still a Barrett! Love the blocks of colors. Of course love to see the Indian Ocean? Great job! I am constantly amazed how you can get so much great art on such small surfaces. Bravo! Good on you!
    I also love your art set up! I am definitely going to copy your new way of storing your tubes of pain! So very organized and space efficient! Thank you!
    Now these white sand dunes. My wife and I thought you photoshopped snow onto the screen! These dunes are spectacular! What a great painting they would make, with the blue sky and green foreground! Hint! Hint! They also remind me of our huge piles of stored rock salt used to treat our snow covered frozen roads in the winter. I may post a photo!
    Love the macrame owl hanging! Brought back many memories of the seventies! We had them everywhere. Especially for our hanging indoor plants! I am glad you had a grand Australia Day! Great post buddy!
    Take care cobber!
    Michael

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    1. I wrote tubes of "pain!" Of course I meant tubes of "paint?" A slight slip?

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    2. No Michael, it was a freudian slip! Sometimes painting IS a PAIN isn't it?
      That's why it is NOT called EASYing!
      Keep pain_ing anyway... ; )

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    3. You are too kind Michael! I'm glad you liked the painting.
      I feel far less cluttered now that I have my paints stored this way. I always have to reach for tubes throughout my paintings due to constantly needing to re-squeeze more paint as I go along. I have yet to master the art of putting out well thought out amounts of colours in neat blobs like so many others seem to do effortlessly before they get started. So there's a lot less scrabbling around going on now.
      I'd love to see a photo of the piles of rock salt - can't say I've ever seen such a sight before.
      I hadn't noticed your slip because of the exclamation mark - funny how our brains compensate for what we expect to see. I think David may be right though about the Freudian slip - painting can be as much pain as pleasure sometimes don't you think? This one certainly had its fair share of discomfort. However, I've done other paintings that have been a pleasure from beginning to end. I guess it depends on whether or not you get "in the zone".
      I hope you're still enjoying your wintry weather!
      Love the trolleys!!
      Your art cobber
      Wendy

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  7. Wha 'sup Smudgee?
    Oh the seventies and macrame. I remember it well. I was young but our house was loaded with it, including plenty of macrame plant hangers as Michael noted.
    I think that craft projects that is how my Mom kept 5 kids busy so she could sit down once in a while! ; )
    The seventies has been retro and back in fashion these last couple years hasn't it? I agree it has taken 30 years to fully appreciate it!
    My current favorite color is (70's) orange, like the owls! I bought an orange vintage metal cabinet for my studio a year or two ago, so well built back then and a fraction of the cost of something new (that would not be as solid). Love it!
    Those sand dunes are so white and pristine. I agree with Michael, do painting!
    Love the painting here. Great compositional lead-in from the bottom with the sweeping arc of brushstrokes up into the shoreline and houses. That is what makes strong work... a solid design to build on.

    Keep painting...

    BTW between you, me and Michael, we have the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans all covered!

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    1. Thanks for your very kind comments David.
      Ah, now I see why macrame went the way of the dodo, it wasn't needed so much with the advent of smaller families!
      It certainly must have been a lot of work for your mum having 5 kids, but it must be great for you all having a big family.
      I too was still young at the end of the 70s but retain clear memories of the decade in all its garish glory - purple flares and all!
      Your orange cabinet sounds like a great coup! Yes, retro and vintage is very trendy here too.

      I think we'll have trouble finding bloggers to cover the Southern and Arctic Oceans!
      Love your ocean series!

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  8. Beautiful painting and amazing sand dunes--so white! Thanks for sharing your photos.

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    1. Thanks so much Judy! Glad you enjoyed seeing the sand dunes.

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  9. Beautiful landscape and love your colors. Thanks for sharing your painting set up too. I gain so much from seeing how other artists do things. Those sand dunes looked like snow (in summer?).

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    1. Thanks so much Robin! I love all the work you've been doing with glass lately!

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  10. I think that orange owl is cute. I remember the 70th. with its greens and orange colours! haha My favourite years though is the 80th. with all those clothes. But maybe it is because I was moving to my own apartment then at 17 years of age and starting to go out dancing and feeling my fredom. I moved from a small small place and to Malmö that was a very big city for me at that time. (The third biggest in Sweden still). And about those big hills of sand; they do look like snow yes. I would have believed they were snow!
    I think you do better staying in the warmer climate. It is cold for us too, and we are more use to it. But my favourite time of year is summer all time!! Take care and see you soon again Wendy!

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    1. Nice to hear about your take on the 70s and 80s Catharina. I too came of age in the 1980s when shoulder pads were all the rage. I'd thought the 80s were so sophisticated after the 70s - it would be hard to pick a winner for the most garish now wouldn't it?

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  11. A beautiful landscape, Wendy! You're right, very nice and interesting to see how you paint. I love that kind of photo's. Sorry, that it took me a while to visit, but the past days were quite hectic. I'm glad that you had a great weekend. Great sand dunes! xx :)

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    1. I'm glad you liked the painting and photos Hilje. I hope things aren't so busy for you now - unless it is painting that's keeping you busy. I'm looking forward to your next eye-popping creation!

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  12. Love the painting! I also love how you have taken me on a tour of Western Australia. I don't have to spend money on airfare!

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  13. This is a lovely painting Wendy .....love the composition too!

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