I Love Stamping

I love this stage of the layering process.  I've discovered how much I love to print and stamp and recently  received the book Print and Stamp Lab by Traci Bunkers and can't wait to make some of the tools in there to individualise my work.  My favourite tool at the moment is a thong/flip flop - the bottom of them makes great prints.

So here are the paintings I was working on at Art Group today:

Now the hard bit comes when I have to cover some of this up and deciding what it's going to be......

Life Outside Her Cocoon

Life Outside Her Cocoon is a painting about death, life and change.   For more info and photos on these paintings, read the previous post.

Life Outside Her Cocoon  25th June 2011

And here are the other paintings I'm working on, nearly finished, just some touch ups and titles and half decent photos are needed....

To Create Art From My Heart...

Haven't been feeling too well this week, emotionally up and down, and headaches have been constant most of the week.  I've written a blog but not posted it.....that sort of week.  I sold 3 paintings this week, so that's great but now need to paint more for the art sale...how sad.  :D

Sunday afternoon and Monday morning art group I  got stuck into The Red Boathouse.  My aim is to sell this canvas but I'm in two minds about this painting - whether to keep it or paint over it.  I'm just not sure about it... I like it but don't love it....and when I look at it I think 'Who would want to buy that?'

On Tuesday my hubby was away so I spent the evening painting and turned this painting:

into this dragonfly:

Dragonfly Windows, Acrylic on Canvas, 46cm x 46cm (18"x18")

This canvas used to have a Pincushion hakea flower on it and was one of the first paintings I ever did and I never varnished it so I decided to paint over it and this is where I'm at:

Before:Pincushion Hakea

Today, still more work to do:

These next 2 paintings were originally in my post titled Black is the New White.  They weren't working for me so I painted over them:

Every now and again I have to paint something just for me, eg my Lady Flora painting, and this is on a canvas board I had spare and I've decided to do what ever I want - to create art from my heart...I'll tell you more about it when it's finished:

I must admit that some of my favourite paintings have started this way and in fact all of my paintings should be created this way....as something special to me that I am reluctant to give up to a new home.

Have a great weekend, hope life treats you well and you get a chance to create.

Donna Heart's Exhibition Part 2

The Arts and Cultural Development Centre in Geraldton was buzzing on Friday night as the room was full of people talking about the beautiful art of Donna Heart. Over 30 paintings were displayed and most of them were sold though the exhibition continues for two more weeks so if you are in the area then pop in.

Over 6 months in the making Donna's paintings relflect her love of nature, seed pods, and her time in Western Australia's north.  Donna's layering technique, talent, ability and style have grown with the confidence of completing every new painting. Her success is hard earned and greatly deserved.

Me with Donna  - how cute that we dressed in the same colours!!!

Congratulations Donna on a beautiful exhibition, your art is very inspiring.

Donna Heart's Exhibition

Tomorrow I'm heading 400km north to Geraldton to attend the opening night of Donna Heart's first solo exhibition.  I am very excited for her as this is such a great achievement for her.

I first discovered Donna's collages when she was published in Artist's Palette magazine and was absolutely thrilled when she blogged about the Flora Bowley Workshop at Nanga in Western Australia.  This gave me the chance to attend Flora's workshop and meet Flora and Donna.  Donna has only been painting for a few years and I really admire her courage, determination and talent.

In my next post I'll have some photos from the exhibition but here's Donna at Nanga...

Here I am with Flora and Donna...

Today I got my hair and nails done but never made it to the shops to get new clothes...not a fan of shopping for clothes in winter...

All the best for Friday night Donna, you're gonna be great.  Big love and bear hugs,  Michelle.

Inspiration for Uncreated Paintings

Inspiration...where does yours come from? 

Mine comes from a variety of sources and comes at the oddest times.  Earlier today I was describing to my son the paintings that are inside of my head then I went to the newsagent and found this beautiful card which I'd love to paint in my own style.  So now I have another painting inside of me that needs to be created.

Art - sometimes my inspiration comes not from other people's art but my own.  I was thinking about my latest girlie painting 'She Let Love Go' and will paint 'Butterflies Dance' which will be an anithesis to letting love go.

Music - I love the first line of the Birds of Tokyo song Plans: "We made plans to kiss the sun at night..." and would love to paint that...  Last year I created a collage and titled it from a line in this song:

Masquerade of Stars Collage, Aug 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owk3oqUjgh4


I heard for the first time today Christina Perri's Jar of Hearts and it reminded of an uncreated painting in my head titled 'She Kept Her Heart in a Jar'....is she reaching for the jar to get the heart out or to put it away.  Glass can be difficult to paint so that one has been put on the back burner for a couple of years now.  I may paint it differently in the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v_4O44sfjM

Words - I was chatting away with a friend this morning thinking about writing a blog on Teaching when this uncreated painting popped into my head about apple trees.

Emotions - I have another painting yet to be created based on depression and 'going into the well' - I was reading Dr John Gray's Men Are From Mars and Women Are from Venus at the time and the outlined sketch is around here somewhere.

A blog for another day will be titled Artists who have Inspired Me from my Pop to Pam Carriker to Flora Bowley.

Flora's technique is all about letting the painting talk to you and I'm trying to combine it with the need to give birth to all these creations stuck inside my head.

Newlyweds loved my Painting

My parent's asked me to create a painting they could give to their friend's daughter as a wedding present.  The groom was from India so they suggested indian colours - red, yellow, orange, purple...  My father's friend John sent this email..

"We were there last night for the great unveiling of your stunning art work present.  As a present, delightfully unique, that will be appreciated not only by Karen & Bala, but also by all who may visit them over many years.  So much more thrilling than just another kitchen appliance that will be placed in a cupboard and rarely see the light of day.  Thank you both so much!"

As a new artist it's nice to get some positive feedback from family, friends and also 'strangers'. 

She Let Love Go

My new girly painting is finished....

She Let Love Go

Acrylic canvas 51cm x 76cm

Thank you for her inspiration....she's beautiful, I love her....





She Let Love Go WIP

Long weekend here in Perth, West Australia, my hubby is off riding his motorbike, my sons are sleeping/studying/playing on the computer and I'm painting.

I had a great day yesterday having lunch with friends and catching up, then came home and I just had to paint. Something someone said to me produced this image in my head that I'm painting.  I wanted to paint another one of my girlies for a while now, I think of these as my paintings, ones that I'll keep and am reluctant to sell, but who knows.

I create the girls differently to my othered layered paintings but she still has ended up with a moustache due to a dark mark on a layer below the skin...

She is just a work in progress at the moment...I wanted her to have magnificent auburn/copper hair flying everywhere but I've created a leaf on the left hand side that may have to disappear slightly for that to happen.  I love her dress all brightly coloured too but I'll tone that down with a transluscent colour that I've not yet decided on.....I would like her to be different to my Lady Flora painting so I don't want her to have the same colour dress...the face is always tricky and I hate to add more paint as the blending is very difficult though she will need eyelashes and a tear drop...

She Let Love Go - a work in progress....

Here's a link to the finished painting She Let Love Go.