Day 12 - Rock On

 

Acrylic on Board 16cm x 16cm

 

This is the second palette knife abstract I did yesterday, which I prefer to the first. It reminds me of the cross-section of a rock. Not sure what type of rock, just one that I've laid eyes on over the years.

It was nice to be one painting ahead to allow for a day off today, but I'm looking forward to getting back to the brushes - or palette knife - tomorrow.

Day 11 - Shiny Fatigue

 

Shiny Fatigue

 

Acrylic on Board 16cm x 16cm

 

This is my first ever abstract! (which is probably obvious!:))

The title sounds a little negative but it tells a story.

 

I was having trouble deciding on a painting subject this morning. I trawled through my photos for inspiration but an hour later still nothing resonated. I decided in the end to paint this cute plastic bracelet from life that my oldest daughter loved as a child.

 

I made a start, but the thought of having to spend three or more hours labouring over a realistic shiny painting for the 11th day in a row exhausted me. I persevered for 20 minutes before I realised I just didn't have it in me today. I needed a break.

 

For many years I have liked the idea of trying my hand at abstracts or semi-abstracts and doing them on a large scale. For some reason I've never taken the plunge. I've been very inspired by Leslie Saeta's abstracts that she is doing for the challenge. I toyed with the idea of trying some abstracts too but decided to stick with the shiny theme. However after hitting the wall today, I decided the time to try an abstract was NOW.

 

I have no idea really if it has worked, I only know that I had so much fun doing it. I just used the paints I had already squeezed onto my palette and I used a palette knife. I had some colours left over so I did a second one which I will post tomorrow. I can feel a paradigm shift in the air.

 

Day 10 - Spider Brooch

 

Acrylic on Board 16cm x 16cm

 

This is a beloved little spider brooch I wore a lot as a child. The coating of the fake pearls is wearing off a bit in places but it still looks pretty good. I just realised recently that my spider  only has 6 legs!

Maybe it's not a spider after all!

Day 9 - Tortoise Shell Sunnies

 

Acrylic on board 16cm x 16cm

 

I was drawn to this photo of my daughter because of her lovely tortoiseshell sunglasses catching the sun. I intended to paint in my usual tight manner but at the last minute decided to use bold brushstrokes and not worry about getting things too realistic colour-wise. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and although I lost the plot by trying way too hard to get her face right, I felt I had loosened up from my usual style overall.

Day 8 - Hair Bobbles

 

Acrylic on Board 16cm x 16cm

 

My mum found these in a drawer some time back, and I'm as sure as I can be that they were from my own childhood. If not, I had some very much like them. They certainly channel magical memories of when shiny things were treasured. In the 60s and 70s we didn't have as much access to pretty geegaws like kids do nowadays. They may, however, be some that my daughters had when they were little in the early 2000s - but I don't think so. I wish I knew for sure, as surprisingly, I find it makes a difference as to how I feel about them.

 

I didn't start my painting until 5pm as I spent some time at the beach this morning and then had a friend over for a spur of the moment lunch. Then the heat got to me and I was too lethargic to paint until later. Now it is 7.30pm and I have yet to cook tea (dinner). Eeeek!

 

Some photos I took today on my iPhone.

It was lovely and calm so it was easy to keep my sunnies on while in the water.

 

 

 

Day 7 - Look In To My Eyes!

 

Acrylic on board 16cm x 16cm

 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I was chatting to my friend Robin at the beach yesterday when today's painting subject revealed itself to me. I suddenly saw the view instead of my friend's eyes.

 

Below is a picture of my art-blogging buddy Michael Perchard reading my book in front of the statue "Appeal to the Great Spirit" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I had never known of the existence of this statue until Michael had posted a picture of it a few years back. It has since become a favourite of mine and I hope to see it with my own eyes one of these days. Check out Michael's great art blog by clicking here

 

 

Day 6 - Cupcake and Ladybirds

 

Acrylic on board 16cm x 16cm

 

I had a lot on today, so I got up early and found a photo to paint from that I thought would be quick and easy. A simple cupcake. It was very not simple. I have no idea how it took so many hours to get it to this point but quite a few went into it. I thought I would add some extra shininess in the form of the two Venetian glass ladybirds.

 

In-between painting sessions I went for a swim at the beach. I happened upon a friend while down there and while we were chatting I found tomorrow's subject matter staring right at me. Stay tuned!

 

Click here to check out what everyone else is painting on Leslie Saeta's 30 day painting challenge. 

Day 5 - Shiny Diver

 

Acrylic on Board 16cm x 16cm

 

As you may have noticed I have decided to stick with my "shiny" theme for the duration of the challenge.

Ever since taking a photo of the Three Synchronised Divers at Piccadilly Circus in London in 2014 I have wanted to paint from it. By chance, just before departing for the UK, I saw a small article about these gorgeous statues that reside on a rooftop in Piccadilly Circus. I'd never heard of them previously and unless you know they are there you'd be very unlikely to spot them. I caught the tube to Piccadilly especially to see them - and to visit a nearby art gallery.

 

 

 

Below is the photo I have worked from. Unfortunately I only caught two of the divers for some reason.

 

 

If you click on the photo below and look very closely you can see them way in the distance - just to the left and below the domed roof.

Day 4 - Pearl Ring

 

Acrylic on board 16cm x16cm

 

Ughhh! This took me most of the day to do. I had felt so optimistic when I began that I'd be able to do it in an hour or two! I re-did the ellipses about a million times before I felt they looked respectable.

Day 3 - Opals and Diamonds

 

Acrylic on board 16cm x16cm

 

I bought this kitch Eiffel Tower souvenir in Paris in 2010 and I use it as a ring holder. I was pleased to find a viola still flowering in a pot out the back.

I had a very full and frenetic social day today and it was 4.45pm before I got an opportunity to paint. I had to drag out my daylight lamp to finish it. I was almost done when one of my daughters called out to look at the sunset. It was divine so both my daughters and I trotted to the beach where a couple of their friends were already admiring the view. We all went for a brisk walk along the water's edge while we were at it. I was pleased to get my exercise in for the day as I thought I'd have to skip it today due to having too much on. Thankfully there are plenty of last night's curry left-overs for dinner.

I'm not sure about the green background in this painting - I had done it in Payne's Grey initially and was going to christen it "Midnight in Paris" but it was a bit overwhelming.

 

 

Trying to paint the Eiffel Tower was an exercise in frustration, but I loved capturing the shininess of the rings, so I will probably revisit them before this challenge is over.

 

 

Day 2 - Hydrangea with Letter Opener

 

Acrylic on board 16cm x 16cm

 

I decided to continue with the "shiny" theme for now. I thought I'd paint the beautiful silver letter opener I bought at Portobello Road Markets in London in 2014 - but what to paint it with? I didn't want a repeat of yesterday where I simply painted an object that looks like it's hanging in thin air. Prior to deciding on the paper knife, I had considered ditching my "shiny" theme as I was in the mood to paint a hydrangea. Then an idea popped into my head that would allow me to do both.

 

I painted the knife from life but used this photo below as a reference for my made-up still life. I took the photo in December at the Parliament House garden party. I had no idea if I'd be able to pull this off, so I was very excited with the finished piece as I feel it worked rather well. I'm hoping to try my hand at a very large still life sometime soon so this was good practice.

 

 

Check out all the other participants of Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge by clicking here

 

P.S. I have actually posted this at 2.50pm on the 2nd Jan but my blog appears to be registering a west coast US time zone which is around 15 hours behind us.

Shiny Start to Shiny New Year

 

Day 1 of Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

Abalone Shell

acrylic on board 16cm x 16cm

 

Yay, one down, twenty nine to go!

 

I've long planned to paint an abalone shell. I have a bit of a thing for them. When walking on the beach their glittery mother-of-pearl sheen makes them look like little jewels embedded in the sand . I originally had a small purple sea urchin next to the abalone shell but ended up scrubbing it out. I wasn't happy with how it was coming along. So now the positioning of the shell in the painting is a little awry. However, considering how laborious and frustrating it was trying to replicate mother-of-pearl from life in paint, I was happy that it ended up recognisable as an abalone shell at all.

 

I had been toying with making the theme for my challenge to be all things shiny. I may stick with that idea but I don't like to pin myself down too strictly due to the risk of blocking inspiration. I find that my mood on the day very much determines my choice of subject matter.

 

I had a lovely swim at the beach after completing my painting and spotted quite a few other abalone shells washed up on the sand.

 

Oh yes, two weeks ago I was invited to do a book signing at Dymocks at Whitfords Shopping Centre. It was very exciting - and terrifying - but was a great experience and I sold some books to some lovely customers.

 

 

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! May 2016 be a fabulous year of great health and prolific creative exploits!

 

Belated Christmas Wishes

 

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

We spent the day with family and had a very pleasant time of it.

 

I handmade some little Christmas chocolate boxes to give out at a friend's lunch a few days before the big day. I featured our native Christmas tree, nuytsia floribunda, which flowers at this time of year and can be spotted from miles away with its fluorescent orange blossoms. I have been meaning to take a snap of one in local bushland but have yet to get around to it. So this is the best I had on hand to give some idea of what it looks like in the bush. I took this photo from the car window while travelling to Cervantes last year so it's a bit blurry.

 

 

I managed to keep my trips to the shops during the Christmas madness to a minimum, but when I did make an appearance at this local shopping centre it looked very festive and wasn't too hectic.

 

 

Speaking of festive, my friend Corinne always does things with flair. Her homemade fruit mince pies looked very fetching on this vintage plate but they didn't last long! 

 

 

 

 

 One of her lovely roses in full bloom below, and above, a colourful display hanging from her balcony rafters.

 

 

The beach has been very distracting of late with summer upon us.

 

 

 Above is a picture of me at the beach yesterday, covered up and energised after a swim. The maximum temperature got to 41.6C (107F approx.)

 

Divine conditions! As is ever the way, a camera cannot compete with reality for capturing exactly how gorgeous everything is. To make things worse, my phone's camera was doing strange things and I couldn't get nice crisp shots. 

 

 

Below are some photos taken from other recent beach visits.

 

 

 

 The seaweed and shells are so pretty

 

 

 

I was asked to do a mug design for the Wildflower Society's 30 year anniversary recently and here is the printed product.

 

 

Below is my friend Katie reading my book at the iconic bathing boxes on Brighton Beach in Melbourne.

 

 

My book is also now available at the Bodhi Tree Book Café in Mt Hawthorn.

 

 

I am planning to participate in Leslie Saeta's famous 30 day painting challenge starting on the 1st January. This will be my third time so I'm not quite as terrified as I was the first time, but I'm not far from it! 

 

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Flowering Cactus

 

Acrylic on board 15cm x 15cm (6" x 6")

 

It was great to hit the paintbrushes again!

 

 

Each time I attend something interesting I mean to blog about it in detail, but I've fallen very behind with my blogging lately. So I hope you don't get too bored while I catch up all at once by posting photos of some of my recent outings. 

 

There have been so many festivals to attend and things of interest to do with the advent of the warmer weather. I enjoyed the Groat St Festival in late October - an event that promotes sustainable community living.

 

 

The lovely Eco-Faerie Sarah of Handmade Wonderland.

 

 

 I visited the Western Australian Herbarium mid November with the Wildflower Society and was absolutely boggled to find myself face to face with an actual specimen that the great Sir Joseph Banks himself had collected on Cook's first voyage of discovery in 1770. It was right there! I could have touched it! But I didn't.

 

 The Herbarium gathers and documents Western Australia's botanical species diversity. We saw many interesting specimens which even included lichen and seaweed.

 

 All kept safely in temperature controlled filing systems.

 

I was so pleased to see that one of the vaults had been named after my heroine Georgiana Molloy.

 

 

Sally kindly brought along some of her stunning home-grown verticordia flowers to grace their front reception.

 

On the drive home my friend Corinne and I oohed and aahed over the gorgeous Jacaranda trees in full bloom that line many of the streets in the older suburbs.

 

We also drove off course to investigate what was left of an old market garden area that had long been marooned amongst suburbia. Inevitably it too has now succumbed to "progress".

This little pioneer homestead now sits alone in a sea of new blocks that are ready to be built upon.

 

 

A few weeks back I went with friends to the Artist Open House Fremantle event. We walked through the streets of South Fremantle from house to house where many artists were exhibiting. So much great art and architecture. The murals below made me think of Sami who blogs about Perth and features murals on Mondays - you can check out her great blog here 

 

 

Last week I accompanied my mum to the HBF pioneer's garden party in the grounds of Government House.

 

 

Government House was built in 1863 and sits quietly in it's lovely 3.2 hectare surrounds while the city centre grows ever bigger and bustle-ier around it.

 

 

I was thrilled when American art blogging buddy Michael Perchard sent through a photo his nephew took of him reading my book in Boston on Thanksgiving! You can check out Michael's great blog by clicking here

 

I hope everyone's having a great week and I hope to visit all my favourite blogs very soon!