My very late Extraordinary Mondays post

So I was going to post this last Monday but due to the storm in Perth (which made international news by the way!) and the lack of electricity supply to my house, I had to postpone it. Anyway, things are back to normal and here I am.

It was two weekends ago now that Khoa and I spent a frantic few days redecorating an apartment and getting it ready for the rental market. Here's what it looked like before we started on it.

And after about four full days work with loads of help from rellies and many turns of the Allen key, the apartment now looks like this!


Did you notice my paintings? I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag so I kept rather quiet about the reason why I was doing so much painting suddenly. I wanted to unveil it once the apartment was done. It was great using the empty apartment walls as impetus for painting. I never would have done so many in such a short space of time. If you were really sharp, you may have also noticed that there was one artwork I hadn't introduced to you.


I feel like I've achieved greatness in my own little world and am proud to say that I kinda like how they look on the walls. I must say that I was nervous. I was anxious that the paintings weren't good enough or people would think they were crap. But in all these worries, I got to a point and said to myself that it didn't matter what other people thought. It mattered if the painting mattered to me. Full stop. And if other people appreciate and like my art, that's a bonus and a pat on the back.

What a day!

Perth has been pelted today. Hail stones the size of golf balls!

I was going to post my extraordinary mondays post tonight but don't have electricity at my house. Sorry. Promise will be posting later once we sort the mess in our backyard.

- ade on the iPhone

I've finished!!

Like the eager little kid wanting to show off her finished drawings, I present to you the latest finished pieces with much glee and anticipation.

I had to hold off showing you each piece as I finished them because I wanted to present them to you as a set. Not because they were painted with a common theme but because they were produced so closely together, I felt it was the best way to show them.

As you may notice, I am currently experimenting with a number of techniques, such as stencilling and 'canvas as blending palette'. However, what you may not be able to read from the photographs is that all three share one underlying technique which I am trying to master. I really don't know if there is a name for it as I don't have formal art training but I have been testing various ways of acheiving texture through the use of gesso and colour washes. The last image of the orange clouds and sky is one of washing one layer of paint and then another layer before the previous layer has completely dried. You can also see this colour washing in the leaves in the first image.

Now that these are done and ready for their new home, I have another set to produce. This is all very exciting! So much painting in such a short period of time. So watch this space. There is more to come!

Extraordinary mondays - my little future bride

My sis-in-law has been wedding dress shopping and as dutiful matron-of-honour, I am providing my advice. (Okay, okay, I love weddings and everything about it, especially the wedding dress) So we have spent some Saturday mornings surrounded by beautiful, and not so beautiful, wedding dresses. And of course, you can't go shopping without the most girlie girl in the house!!

Amelia has also been a dutiful flower girl and enjoying herself tremendously. At 24 months, she even knows which dress looks good on her T (that's what she calls her Aunty Tina). She ooh's each time she see her T come out of the changeroom.

Last Saturday , we went to a store that had LOADS of dresses and Amelia loved just wandering through the gowns!! She is going to love the whole drama of the wedding and especially the part where she gets to dress in a little big dress full of tulle!

I wonder what type of bride she will be? A glamorous one? A romantic one? A classic one?




Oh, Tina did finally get her dress. I must confess that I did tear when she put her veil on. She looked so gorgeous and dreamy!! You all will have to wait until November. Sorry.

In a brooding mood...

I always seem to get this way when I am painting. I get into a deep, inward-looking, disconnected mood to the point that I don't think I am pleasant to be around at home. I've that little black cloud hanging over me.

It must be something about extracting an image from your mind and baring your soul onto canvas. The appropriation of a mental image must certainly be mixed with some emotional residue as it travels from the mind through the heart via the hand and onto the canvas.

As usual, my music tends to go mellow and moody to match how I feel. Currently being put on repeat in the music mix is Ray LaMontagne's Be Here Now. I thought I might share it with you.

"Be Here Now" by Ray LaMontagne

Don't let your mind get weary and confused
Your will be still, don't try
Don't let your heart get heavy child
Inside you there's a strength that lies

Don't let your soul get lonely child
It's only time, it will go by
Don't look for love in faces, places
It's in you, that's where you'll find kindness

Be here now, here now
Be here now, here now

Don't lose your faith in me
And I will try not to lose faith in you
Don't put your trust in walls
'Cause walls will only crush you when they fall

Be here now, here now
Be here now, here now



Ray LaMontagne - Be Here Now in concert at the BBC.

Extraordinary mondays - Happy international women's day!!

I attended this wonderful breakfast this morning. I have never heard a more touching welcome to the land and such an inspiring lecture by such a pioneer!! Judge Kennedy was the first woman judge to be appointed in Western Australia. She spoke of the trials she faced and spoke words of encouragement. She urged women to be kind to each other, to break away from societies expectations of us and moreover, to not judge ourselves within those frameworks!

I don't think I would ever be a "first woman" of anything but I sure can aspire to be one of the greats.

Happy international women's day, girls!!

Happy birthday Amelia!

The house is a big hive of activity (despite the mess) as it is Amelia's birthday today. The rellies are over and the noise level inside the house is bearable at the moment as they as all out in the backyard. Thi is perfect as I am sitting next to my sis-in-law, Tina, who are making these beautiful cupcakes for her "mini mousey"! Aren't they gorgeous?


I have the job of dropping white beads (carefully separated from the 100's and 1000's by Tina) onto the bows to make the polka dots! Tina couldn't find white beads at the shop. Did I say she can be crazy like this?

I better get back to it. She is almost done with the second one. I wonder how many she intends to make?!

Current image in my mind

I currently have an image in my mind that I can't shake or shift. It is getting pretty annoying as I am meant to be producing three pieces over the next week. A slim pair and a rather large format one. However, the production of these pieces have been thrwated by the image of this amazing painting.

Emile Bernard's La moisson (The Harvest), 1888

Image taken from Musee d'Orsay website

Obviously, the reproduction here is nothing compared to the real thing. To witness it in real life captured me. I am not quite sure what it was. Maybe it was the golden brilliance of the wheat field, the composition of the elements or just merely the simplicity. Something in that painting really truly transported me into the scene. I could smell the harvest, hear the rustling as the harvesters worked away, and feel the warmth of the sun on my back.

One day, one day, I may be able to paint something like that. Something that would transport you somewhere else. One day...