sweet opportunities

I'm so happy with the way this discovery is heading. The first pic is the piece of opportunity (thrift) fabric that I began this painting on. I love the interplay of painting into the design, drawing and embellishing with vintage finds. This piece of lace is guiper lace from my mums wedding dress. She was married in winter and the complete dress and train were made from this lace. It was incredibly heavy! I loved the lace so much that we used the lace from mums train to make my wedding dress with....I have a few tiny pieces left over and I dyed this magical piece of fabric empheria. The grayscale drawings are my intepretation of one of the motifs in the lace. The other thing I love about this artwork is that I can still see traces of the pattern through the painted layers.

discovered!

"Discovered" 30 cm x 30cm canvas

It feels like I'm discovering my way, through ideas and inspirations I've seen in my minds eye for a long time, felt in my creative spirit but not yet been able to put it all together....things changed this week when I followed my inspiration to go to one of my favourite Op Shops....I do so love the thrill of a great find, the unseen potential that others have overlooked and the whirling transformations that give a passed on piece new life.

For the longest time I have wanted to get back to the roots of my art..textiles. I love the feel of fabric, it makes my heart all fluttery. But to use it in an unconventional 'arty' way. When I first started painting, I painted on calico...stretched the frames myself and primed it with gesso... and loved it. It absorbed colour beautifully. I painted with lots of run marks, overlapping glazes, stitched on pieces and just generally enjoyed the surface. Unfortunately calico doesn't 'hold' itself very well on larger frames so I relucantly crossed over to pre-primed canvas.Its much firmer and the surface is less absorbant.

So when I saw this piece of oppurtunity fabric I knew it was time to dive in and trust the process would unfold as it was meant to.

I've almost finished my second canvas, using a different piece of fabric. To test the waters and see if the process creates a just as delightful end result.

Apart from finding fabrics, I spotted a FAB textured knee length pink coat. Its light weight so I might just get a few wears out of it here in winter. Oh I do love those special 'finds'!

ps. Ida Down asked what mediums I've been using for my girl drawings...I usually keep all my art resources pretty simple. The were created on paper from my journal on a gessoed page. I use acrylics, mostly Golden Fluids and greylead pencil and pen with some collage work.

Water Maiden

Anna suggested that my portraits might work better with a soft wash of colour, to help connect her to the background....so I gave it a whirl. Kym, Anna and myself have a long history of openly sharing our thoughts about each others art. What do you think?

nurturing my ugly duckling

The stretching was worthy it. I came back to seeing what was working and what I was striving for, where I wanted my art to grow and change. And relaxing into it and letting go of the impatients. It was uncomfortable stepping out of my comfort zone to try something different and then to share that with you. I thought about deleting the last post as I knew it wasn't my 'best' work.....but if there is no sharing how do we learn? My previous journal pages feel like a growth spirt. Kind of like when your growing and things are a little un-coordinated, lanky and not all together yet. Its having the courage to see it through and work through the resistance....

What did I learn? to be kind and gentle on myself when going through this growth stage, to be ok with what ever comes out as it undeniably leads to the next stage, to have patients with myself and the process and to stay with it, even when it feels like its not turning out the way I had first invisioned it.

Stay with your ugly duckling, nurture and care, be kind. As she shall surely grow and change into everything you ever imagined.

loosening up

after being in class with Jan ( Expressive Faces) at CSR I'm trying to loosen up a little in parts of my portraits. I still love the drawing element of the facial features, wanting to loosen up around them. I'm not sure if these really work for me, but I see them as progress and I'm stretching... maybe the most challenging part is letting go of wanting perfection.

beach adventures...

On the weekend we headed out on the boat...off for an adventure to celebrate the last few days of school holidays...we did some podding behind the boat, explored a sand island and fished for whiting. We were on the water for the best part of the day.....here are some pics for you to enjoy.

This star fish was on his back when we found him....we flipped him back on his tummy.

sand worms

working wonders

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Have been having a play around with a journal page background that I created at CSR and ideas with a collage drawn face. I've approached it a little differently to how I normally create my ladies. But I am loving the freedom in her hair....its a work in progress thats inspiring me to reach and stretch just a little further. That's what I love about creating in a journal. It can be experimental. I already have too many canvas's in my studio so trying it out on paper first and journaling around works wonders for me.....

Happy Easter!

During Easter weekend, may you experience Love that gently glides on the breath of the breeze. A soft gentle whisper that glides into your heart and makes you feel full and happy.

May you feel truly Valued from within, knowing that you do make a difference to those around you.And you have the ability to unlock the door of unlimited possibilties anytime you chose...

And may you feel that your sense of Self is abundant in all that you do. For you are truly appreciated and amazing.Be the Star that you are. Celebrate all of this and more.....