Throughout last Autumn and Spring I have been planning out my garden with the intent of growing specific flowers to use for a new series of still life paintings. Not all went to plan as some of the flowers decided to be red not pink, white not blue and and some decided to not come up at all. We have had so much run this year that flowers although bloomed, soon became disheveled and dropped.

The red poppies that where supposed to be pink, was one of these unexpected surprises and it took me a while for them to win me over. They were the first flowers I saw from my bedroom window and became a cheery sight to see when there was no blue sky and other plants lay dormant. I picked a few and popped them in a vase, I was surprised how well they lasted in the vase, their vibrant yellow stamens, heavily loaded with pollen and post box red petals finally won me over and I have been experimenting with them.

I’m really happy with how the painting turned out, however I wished I had moved the little bust facing towards the vase. I was thinking he was looking out to sea….but it doesn’t really transfer across. Oh. well, this one is for me anyway and was all about the joy of painting and what I can learn from my flowers!

Quoll and Roos, this was I painting I started a while ago. I love the very minimal colour palette of browns, ocher and white. The colour of the damp, decaying forest floor in winter.

The blue fairy wren is such an early riser! One of the first bird calls I hear in the morning.

Magpies, their appearance and sound still inspire me. Forever sentinals in my forest walks in NSW and Victoria. Although not as common to see them in Rosebery, I have spotted them in other parts of the west coast.

Painted purely for whimsy!

Have you ever read the book, Groundsel? Jack Frost has hidden the key to time and Winter lasts all year, well that’s exactly what it feels like here in Rosebery! I knew this town is designated as ‘rain-forest’ but, I had no idea of the amount of rain that can fall and, it’s been windy and cold!

Time to look at doing some indoor activity to stop the cabin fever!

To take my mind off the soggy conditions and my forlorn downhearted daffodils, tulips and beheaded Dutch iris’s, I’ve been tidying up the studio and putting my mind to what’s next. I always feel a little down after exhibiting and it takes me sometime to refuel my creative energies. Sometimes it comes from internal forces and sometimes it comes unexpectedly form outside. This time around it’s been a bit of both!

I was unexpectedly asked if I was interested in illustrating a children’s book and another two emails arrived with the offer of two painting commissions! Plus, I found my old soldering iron and noticed that I still had quite a few bits and pieces left for making some soldered glass pendants.

I’ve always been the type of creative that has to be busy with more than one project, don’t ask me why, its totally subconscious and I don’t question it myself!

My father was the same as was his mother, the only grandparent I knew.

So, after sometime refreshing my memory of soldering, thank you Margo Beatty and Suzi Blu! Was it really 2014 when I last made my soldered pendants!

I made a bunch of pendants using images from my mixed media paintings and a couple from my watercolour illustrations. A couple O made just for myself, a couple more I made for my sister…but I will reveal those at another time. (birthday presents), several more are now in my shop!

It was quite a learning curb and my eyesight is not as it once was, but I’m rather happy with the end result and I am using what I have!

The illustrations for the children’s book are nearly completed and I will post some photos of the work soon!

The first painting commission work is in progress…and I have to keep that a secret too!!

But I can share with you that my sewing room is nearly finished, I now have a sewing table, just need a couple of shelves to put up and I can start…or finish off a ton of projects I started a couple of years ago! YAY

The Footy Show

I couldn’t be more thrilled to have four of my artworks selected to be part of The Footy Show group exhibition at Bett Gallery in Hobart!

Below are photos of sketches and some of the process behind the making of my commissioned artwork for The Unconformity.