Painting for Arts Festival

BlogtoberFest 2014 - Day 27 - Painting for Arts Festival

Here is my painting for the local arts festival which I will deliver this afternoon.

Funky Flower Power, Acrylic on Canvas, 51cm x 51cm, 20" x 20"

Here is the other one I painted but didn't like it. I will paint over this or I may add a layer of gelli print collage.

What do you think?  Any thoughts?

BF 2013 Day 12 Love Grows With Giving

Love Grows With Giving....

For my niece as an engagement present....

Love Grows with Giving, Acrylic on Canvas, 51cm x 75cm

After nearly 26 years of marriage this is the advice I would give - that love grows with giving and forgiving.  This giving has to come from the heart and with love and not begrudgingly. We need to forgive and forget trespasses on the other person parts and on our own.

Here are some evolution pics:

I chose Jacobean Florals as I was inspired by these when I was overseas (and I'm hoping to start a new trend in flowers!):

 

Wall hanging at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from the Jacobean Era.

Imagine wearing this dress!!!  It was absolutely exquisite and from the Jacobean Era too.

I hope you're enjoying BlogtoberFest 2013 whether you are just a reader or a blogger.

Six Thoughts on Monday

1. Here's my latest work in progress:

2. Last Friday we had an awesome thunderstorm pass over and it hailed.  Here's a pic from the back verandah, not brilliant but I thought you might like to see anyhow:

3. Acceptance - I really related to Kelly Rae Roberts recent blogpost on Letting It Go - along with letting go of something comes acceptance.  Acceptance that I will not be part of Kelly Rae's new Hello Soul, Hello Business course - that I'm not ready for it, that I should have got my Etsy store up and running by now, that my dog died and sort of paralysed me for a while with grief.  It's been really difficult to read blogposts by my friends who are doing the course and to read their posts on facebook - I'm really happy for them and wish them well but can't help feeling a little left out and a little left behind.  That next year I'll be too busy travelling to do the course too, to do much art at all - whilst I look forward to travelling creating my paintings feeds an empty place inside of me.  Acceptance that I'll not likely be part of Flora Bowley's Brave Intuitive You Bloom True e-course as the money from the paintings I sold I used to help out a friend in need. Acceptance that I'll have to wait till June. Both courses take money and time.  I'm focussing on doing what I love - which is painting and when I have time - learning - on the Life Book 2012 Course.  Accepting that I'm blessed in so many others and to focus on these.

4.  On Wednesday I start a new workshop with a local artist on abstract and mixed media painting which will be fun and I will let you know all about it later in the week.

5. Did you know that my avatar comes from this painting I created last June?  She Let Love Go - more on the letting go theme....

She Let Love Go

6. So I'm a little late with my six thoughts on Saturday or Sunday - better late than never.  Hope you will forgive me.  Have a great week.

Sunday's Six Thoughts

1.  I've been working on a new butterfly girl - my brother asked for one with purple colours - for my niece - she likes to play piano and sing.

2.  Here's a pic of my studio aka my kitchen...

3.  I've also been working on a painting for one of my Nanga 8 mates (Flora Bowley Painting Workshop friends) - hope she like it!!  :D

4. Didn't feel too well yesterday but I did manage to make hubby an apple pie - he was not in a good mood - I didn't have any - trying to go dairy free for a few months and trying to lose weight too.  My great aunt used to make the world's best apple pie.  Her and Unc used to come round for dinner and we would have roast chicken and apple pie for dessert - best dinner ever whe I was a little girl.  I regret not getting her apple pie recipe.

5.  I received this beautiful painting of my dog Tessa from my friend Lin in Michigan, USA, during the week - I love it - she did a great job.

6.   I bought a new camera during the week and am still getting used to it - that's why the flash is showing on the painting - I have to turn off the flash everytime I use the camera.

Hope everyone had a great weekend esp my American friends who had an extra long Thanksgiving weekend.

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.

Triplets are nearly finished....

Here's an update on the triplets....I'm going to leave them for a little while whilst I decide if they are finished or not.

Dragonfly Painting

My Dragonfly painting is finished for now.  I did a bit more outlining and added some different flowers.  It will be on sale at the local art shop over the weekend of the Mundaring Truffle Festival at the end of July.

Dragonfly
Acrylic on Canvas 61cm x 61cm

Here are the previous stages:



Painting with Windows

"Painting With Windows" and yeah, that's ok too...

Flora Bowley was talking about mixing colours and mixing enough colour and I said that it can be hard to match it up again if you run out and Flora said "...and that's ok too."

For more on Flora read Donna's blog with great pics too... http://www.donnaheart.com/2011/04/05/on-blooming-true-kamakaze-kookaburras-and-the-value-of-stretching/comment-page-1/#comment-412

Butterfly 5th April 2011 Acrylic on Canvas 60cm x 60cm/24" x 24"

The layer prior to drawing on the butterfly..

Adding tonal contrasts....

This painting was made combining Flora's layering technique and my control freak technique in a technique I call Painting with Windows which has nothing to do with computer windows but it's all about allowing the windows of layered colours to shine through.

I've thought about what shapes would be great to use to allow the windows of colour to shine through after my initial painting had houses and trees in it and have come up with a whole range of things...which I will disclose through my paintings.  So this painting was not a strictly intuitive painting.  I decided before I started that the canvas would have a butterfly on it but then set that thought aside as I began the layering technique.

Flora's technique uses intuitive painting - allowing the painting to tell you what shapes and colours to use.  You need to be able to see those shapes in the painting or keep on painting until you do.  I am not very good at seeing....

Flora's paintings at the end of Saturday:

Flora's paintings at the end of Sunday:

It was amazing to watch Flora paint and to see her transform her paintings.

What would Flora say about my combining her technique with my way of thinking..."and that's ok too."

Sigh, I must get back to the real world...