Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2011! This year is going to be awesome, jam-packed with lots of new things to try out and old skills to hone.


To start the year, I've decided to that the painting I did for Tina (yes, the baking extraordinaire) and Brendyn should be a benchmark on which my 2011 should launch from. I think this is by far my favourite painting so far. Why this painting then, I hear you ask?

Well, I'll let you into a secret. It for one night, the painting above looked absolutely different. In fact, it looked hideous. The image I had in my head didn't come out right and I was forcing it. The bottom half of the canvas was trying very hard to be a rich dark brown bush landscape. Everyone in the house was turned off by it actually. Even Zach and Amelia.

For me, I had to let it out and sleep on it for a night. Early the next morning in the cool hours of a summer day's freshness, I set about letting the painting take shape, form and colour naturally.

There is a lot to learn from this process.

I'm going to listen and respond more intuitively both internally to myself and externally to the people and things around me.

How about you? What are your new year resolutions?

It's ironic...

... when life gets busy and there is heaps to write about but there just isn't enough hours in the day or night to pen it all. So here are some of the things we have been up to:



Watching eye candy, aka fire fighters, in the office car park dousing out a bin fire.



Riding on a camel at the Perth Royal Show.



Marveling at the beauty of plum blossoms in anticipation of it's sweet juicy fruit.



Being constantly amazed at Zach's mathematical skills. He did the following sum correctly: 23+2!



And his sense of composition and ability to tell a story through a drawing has improved tremendously.



Observing the brotherly love.



Being pleasantly surprised by Amelia's paintings. This is her rainbow and waterfall.

How was your September? I'll be painting soon so keep an eye out for the works in progress and of course the finished pieces.

Have a great spring/autumn day wherever you are!

Is this copying?

This is too juicy to not post about.

The media is awash with Sam Leach's Wynne winning landscape piece and what looks to be the original piece he "reference" from.

Image taken from ABC news website

What you see on the left is Sam Leach's Proposal for Landscaped Cosmos which recently won the Wynne Prize. On the right is Adam Pynacker's 1660 Boatmen Moored on the Shore of a Lake.

There are quite a few angles on this:

1. Wynne Prize is for a landscape painting of an Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists

2. Sam Leach argues that the paintings are different for the following reasons: it is one fifth of the size, important elements from Pynacker's work is not included, there are stars in the sky and reflected in the lake is an LED grid. (Sorry but I couldn't get a better image online of his work)

3. If Sam Leach has been open about his reference, why was it never cited in the media releases?

For more discussion on this, go here.

So now, what do you think? I'd like to know where you stand on this. Should he have won the Wynne Prize?

Extraordinary mondays - Another one done!

Happy Easter to all! I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. I've had another one full of re-decorating. This time there were lots of painting (not of the canvas kind) which is lots of hard work but look how it all turned out. The living area walls were a pukey yellow with splashes of red. One bedroom was a horrendous shade of blue and the other a purple beyond words! We did keep the red but painted everything else off-white. Before shots ...






... and after shots.

I did do a new painting to adorn one of the walls but it was just a little difficult to capture as it was the wall of the stairwell.


I hope you have enjoyed this little sojourn of mine. I've enjoyed it tremendously and am kinda sad that I'm not in the property development business. I'd love the chance to buy the worst house on the best street and do it up for sale. Wouldn't you? It is almost immediate creative gratification with the added bonus of fiscal success. Anyone need a business partner?

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.

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!

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.

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...

Extraordinary mondays - a peek into journals

I find such inspiration in other people's work and am ecstatic whenever creative people allow us a glimpse into their journals.

Here are some of the pages that I have been immersing myself in. One day...

Check out more from Anna Rusakova's portfolio here on the Behance Network.

A September page from Geninne's diary

Fate of the Earth by Fly on the Wall

Circular painting production by Fly on the Wall.

Do you like street art?

Well, if you do, you simply have to be at Condor Tower this Saturday (25 July) from 6pm-11pm. Condor Tower is on St George's Terrace and is currently under construction. It is the carpark that is of great interest. There is a total of five floors and graffiti artists have been hard at work painting the walls of the carpark to 5 themes - Core, Underwater, Land, Sky and Space.

Tomorrow will be the only time it will ever be open to the public so if you really truly like street art, you must be there at 22 St George's Terrace, alleyway off St George's Terrace, opposite the Perth Concert Hall. This biggest street art exhibition has been organised by the group known as Ololo. Check out their website for more information about the project.

A selection of my favs:

Extraordinary mondays - images in my head

I've been asked how long that last painting took me? The actual putting paintbrush to canvas totaled only about 6 hours. However, I've been carrying that image in my head for about 3 years now. Maybe more. I don't know why I do that. Carrying images in my head. I suppose I do that because I really don't get time to paint. In between two kids (babies, really), working full time, trying to hit the gym at least twice a week and now putting together the many pieces to start a 'hobby' business, the last few years have been hectic to say the least. I'd be happy if I could have an hour to myself to spend time painting per week. I've taken to carrying a little notebook around in my handbag hoping that it would encourage me to put pen to paper more often but that notebook is sadly empty. So, I carry images. And then in my head, I mull over them, turn them around, change the mood, alter the angle of the light, tell the story. I even dream about the image! Then, involuntarily the image matures and the urge to get paint on canvas is undeniable. And then when I finally see it on the canvas, there is such a sense of relieve.

Relieve that it came out right. That I translated the image exactly the way I have been seeing it and drawing it in my head. Relieve that it is one less image to carry around. The cacophony of images in my head can be deafening sometimes.

So, I wonder which image will ripen next? I think I know which one but since I still have it in my head, you'll have to wait and see.

Finished!

From this...
to this...
I just love watching layers of a painting come together. I have yet to find a wall space for it. Hope you like it.

Digitizing embroidery designs using PE Design 7

So, I had a play with PE Design 7 on the weekend. I was trying to digitize Zachary's and Amelia's monograms. Let's just say that using the Auto Punch function that automatically converts the image to stitches isn't going to cut it for the perfectionist in me. I didn't even want to do a trial run on the machine which explains why there is no image to accompany today's post.

I'm going to have to do some manual manipulation. I'll save that for the next weekend to come as this coming one I'm keen to finish my painting which I posted about a few weeks ago now.

Happy mid-week, everybody!

Perth Upmarket - see you there

Can't wait for Sunday to come. Perth Upmarket is on again. Check out all the cool retailers here.

current crafting in our house

Khoa and Zach have been loads of fun with playdoh.

And I have been having fun watching my next painting come together layer by layer.

Willard Wigan -- you have to HAVE TO watch this!

Saw this on Susan Lomuto's Daily Art Muse blog and just had to share it!



WOW!

Corel Painter Essentials Review

When I opened my Bamboo that night, I looked at the software that was bundled with it and I must confess that I didn't think much of the programs provided: Adobe Photoshop Elements and Corel Painter Essentials. I already had Photoshop CS2 and "pooh pooh"-ed Corel Painter Essentials (I didn't know much about it).

I decided to try out Corel Painter Essentials today and had to swallow my pride! I am decidedly impressed. The program was easily installed with no fuss (what program is difficult to install these days?). The interface looked similar enough to Photoshop so I decided to plunge straight in. After mucking around a little with the tools, I came up with the painting above. Pretty cool huh?

The program simulates real paint so you can blend and mix to your hearts content on the canvas. It worked so well with my Bamboo that at one point, I was about to move my pen to pick up more paint from the palette (thinking of the pen as a real paint brush)!! The best thing of all is NO PAINT MESS!

I know I have merely scratched the surface of the capability of this program. Having said that, it doesn't replace real paint and real canvas which I can't wait to get my hands on this weekend. I've been carrying an image in my mind for too long. Time for it to materialise.

Wacom Bamboo Fun review

Look what came in the mail for me today? My very own Wacom Bamboo Fun. A white one at that to match my macbook and my iPhone.

Just look at it? Doesn't it look pretty?


I took it for a test run tonight and am absolutely smitten. When I took it out of the box, I was surprised by the lightweight and thinness of the tablet.

It comes complete with a tutorial that runs you quickly through the basics. "Ink", the program that comes with the tablet is simple and impressive in its handwriting recognition. Maybe I'll start using the tablet to replace my keyboard to help improve my handwriting. (My handwriting is shocking!)

Wacom Bamboo Fun medium even comes with Corel Painter Essentials and Adobe Photoshop Elements. The best thing of all is the ease of start up and set up. No complicated installations. Just plug the tablet in via USB connection and you are on your way! In fact, when I plugged the tablet in, the pen and the mouse were both already reactive. Look what I sketched up within a few minutes of taking the tablet out of the box. The "real"ness of the active surface of the tablet adds to your natural pen stroke experience. I really like the control and pressure sensitivity.

Guess who will be spending a lot of time drawing away on the computer?

Untitled no. 1

During my last week of maternity leave, I transferred an image I had been carrying in my head for months onto canvas. It was the first time I had actually painted in so many layers but I thoroughly enjoyed watching the painting come alive in front of my eyes. It was also the first time I felt that I had truly developed a personal painting style. It has taken so many years but I think I am beginning to feel like I am now able to express myself in my own style. The priming of the canvas, a colour wash, a gesso layer, a thicker gesso layer providing the texture and then the colour layers. It was so much fun!

The painting, or rather I should say, the paintings (I had envisioned the image in two parts) are now on the most prominent wall in my kitchen/dining room. I do wonder if it is worthy of that position. Maybe in a few years, I could supersede it with something else. Anyway, it was the only place it could go and it fitted really well into the available space.

I have yet to name it so I have just settled for Untitled no. 1 for the moment.