Art Every Day Month: Days 3, 4 & 5...

I had a full weekend of painting, intermingled only by doing some laundry, cooking, attending an art demo, entertaining and sleeping! I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent painting, although I have to admit that my fingers and hands did not! The joys of finger painting and lots of hand washing!

In addition to painting, I also spent some time sketching, which was a lovely way to relax and end the weekend, and the end of Day 5. I will post some photos of my sketches another time. But here is my painting. The first photo shows what it looked like at the beginning of the weekend, and the second at the end after many hours of work.

The inspiration for this painting comes from what I learnt at Tracy Verdugo's Paint Mojo workshop that I attended back in June. I'm very, very pleased with how it's looking. I have a few tweaks to add and then it will be varnished and hung up in my loungeroom. I'm looking forward to doing another one soon too!

Art Every Day Month...

Well, it seems that October/November are the springboard months for me to get my "art" on each year. It's been a year since I picked up my pencils and paints again after a very long hiatus, and it's been three months since I last did any real art. I blame winter. Although Brisbane winters are not cold, as such, they are cooler and I did a lot of knitting, crocheting, reading and snuggling up under a blanket to keep warm.

But I'm back! And so is Art Every Day Month that is run by Leah over at Creative Every Day. And yes, I have something to share!

At the end of June I was blessed to attend a Paint Mojo weekend with the lovely and talented Tracy Verdugo. My effort after the weekend was a large canvas with some beautiful colours and shapes on it. You can see it here. I've struggled to know what to do with the painting since, but a few days ago I picked up my paints again and started adding to it. And here is the result:

I was going with an underwater theme but a friend saw a bird, so I've run with it. Plus, I love hummingbirds. I've only ever seen one in real life, and that was over five years ago in the States. I find them incredibly beautiful. I also love dragonflies, so it must be something with the hovering wings! I'm going to keep working on this painting over time and hope that I don't get too frustrated with it (I did last night) and I am patient with myself and it!

Another painting that I'm going to be working on is an ex-commission. Due to the rough middle of the year I had, I didn't do any work on this painting and thus the commission has falled through. But it's all good, as I am going to look into selling the painting, or gifting it.

So, these are my projects for Art Every Day Month. I may or may not create something new daily, but regardless I will be working on these two paintings.

Getting My Mojo Back...

Well, it sure has been a long while since I posted here. A lot has been happening: illness, work, being a full-time single mum and more. And yes, I did start to love my painting mojo. However, I attended a two day workshop with the wonderful Tracy Verdugo last weekend and I got my painting mojo back while I got my Paint Mojo on!

The workshop was held at the Buderim Craft Cottage, which was a delightful location. And the group of 18 ladies I attended with were so lovely. We had such a wonderful time, and some of us have hooked up as Facebook friends, so it will be nice to see how we're all travelling in our art journey.

Below is my where I'm at with the large canvas that we started at the workshop. This is a large 90cm x 90cm (36" x 36") canvas. Tracey showed us through each stage of painting the canvas by creating a masterpiece of her own. She is a true talent and I had to pinch myself a few times when I was watching her work.

I will post progress photos, and also some more from the workshop. I'm looking forward to seeing where this painting goes!

Latest Work in Progress...

The arrival of a larger TV screen in our lounge room a couple of months back, and the removal of my old, old, old entertainment unit, I now have a big empty space on my wall that needs to be filled.  Enter in a 60cm x 90cm (24" x 35") blank canvas, an idea to include a Swiss Cheese Plant leaf and some palette paint, and the result is the painting below:

I still have A LOT of work to do on it yet as I have all these ideas in my head but not enough free time to get them on the canvas.  Suffice to say that the Swiss Cheese Plant leaf idea may be tossed out the window, a gray cockatiel may be added and also some black and orange butterflies.  And as I'm yet to perfect mixing aqua/turquoise paint, I have to master that before adding it.

Stay tuned for more WIP updates!



PS Due to a deleting error, I deleted the finished painting post, so here it is!

Projects...

Today I worked on a few projects: a commission, Christmas cards, and completing one of my 'secret squirrel' Christmas gifts. And it was so wonderful to finish it! All I need to do now is sign and varnish it, then it's off to the post office.

I'm looking forward to adding the dot detail to the triptych in the photo, and also starting the other 'secret squirrel' Christmas gift. It's going to be huge, literally. I hope I haven't taken on more than I can paint!

I received news today of the opportunity to have a regular monthly stall at a new little market that i2 due to start in February. Time to put my thinking cap on and start creating some goodies to sell.

Happy creating, Paula xo

Newly Completed Work...

Tonight I finished "Rustic Moroccan Mystique". All I have to do now is paint the sides of the canvas, sign it, varnish it and add the hanging hooks and wire. I'm planning on doing some more paintings and then creating a shop on www.madeit.com.au to try and sell it. Fun times ahead, I'm sure. Paula xo

Stage Two is Complete...

I'm relieved that this stage of my painting - "Rustic Moroccan Mystique" - is done as I'm keen to get onto the detail tomorrow and include some vibrant Moroccan colours! I never thought painting could be so rewarding, but it is! Paula xo

Rustic Moroccan Mystique...

Today I took some time out at lunch and sat in the campus library with an African art book. I love African art but I never thought I'd feel a kinship with Moroccan art like I did today. I was drawn to the colours and patterns. It proved to be the style and colours from my previous work in progress that will be revealed soon.
For today though, this is what my musing came up with ... "Rustic Moroccan Mystique". A painting from a sketch that was taken from a photo of a vibrant Moroccan tile today. I'm looking forward to session two with this painting. Once done then the vibrant colours can be added. I can't wait! I'm hoping that this painting may just be my first sold item. Here's hoping! Paula xo

And Apple Tree Art Begins...

First works from Apple Tree Art

Sneak peek of sketch from current work in progress

Also join me at my art page on Facebook!