Glengala Day competition winner!

Greetings!!!
On Saturday I held a Pet Portraits stall at the annual open day of Glengara retirement village where I've been staying with my mum for the past few months. It was terrific timing since I still have works I painted for my Pet Portraits challenge that have not yet been sent to their new homes as well as being able to borrow back paintings from neighbours in the village - some of which were beautifully framed!

My mission was to meet fellow pet lovers, show my paintings and give out my new flyers. I also offered new email subscribers the chance to go in a draw to win 50% off an 8x8" pet portrait. I'm very happy to announce the winner of my very first give-away... congratulations Cathy Rose!! Thank you to all my other new subscribers, it was a pleasure to meet each one of you and I hope you enjoy receiving these updates of my latest news and paintings.

Recently I've looked after my aunt's dog Buddy a couple of times while she's away and it turns out he's a very obliging artist's muse and model. This is a little scene of my mum's living room which I've painted before (see here) but I thought it had a certain extra charm with the addition of said muse draped over the chair. This one is 12x12" and I chose a different Margaret Olley painting for the wall (I just love her work!). I'm still not sure I've nailed the colours, I might go back to it when I'm full of colour-fixing inspiration.

The arts... are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. For heaven's sake, sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” Kurt Vonnegut, (A Man Without a Country)

Lovely day in Patonga

Greetings!!!
I've not been sure what to sink my teeth into next so today I tried painting a landscape from a photo I took a couple of weeks ago, to see what might come of it. There is a lot to learn about making a successful landscape and I suspect it's mostly concerned with getting the values right and simplifying. In other words, deciding what to leave out and what can be painted in one generalised stroke instead of 3 or four more detailed ones. I started off too stiff and detailed and after lunch I went back over the whole painting without looking at the photo and just let loose with bigger brush strokes. I've decided that for an inexperienced painter like me, landscapes are probably better painted from life as there is too much colour information lost by the camera and as yet I'm not sure how to make it up. So I either need to get out there amongst the elements or paint little garden scenes. Or go back to my first love (still lifes)!!!

I will admit I'm rather fond of being inside as opposed to out in nature. For the purposes of painting that is. What a luxury to have a roof over one's head to protect from the heat/cold/wind/insects/sand ETC. And not having anyone looking over your shoulder. And did I mention the presence of certain desirable facilities such as the kettle, the stereo and the loo? Hmmm... I believe I'll have to summon an ocean of will-power to make myself leave the house to paint!!

On monday I drove up to Newcastle with a good friend of mine and we each put 2 works into the Newcastle Emerging Artists Prize which opens on saturday this week. 'You've gotta be in it to win it' as they say and if nothing else it's another experience under the belt.

Yesterday I whipped up a Pet Portraits flyer (which turned into a double-sided postcard) to let it be known at my local vets and pet-groomers that I'm here and ready to paint pets. I also needed to get the flyer off to the printer immediately so it will be ready for "Glengala" (saturday 28th), the open day of the village where my mum lives (and where I'm currently staying for another 3 weeks). I'm going to have a stall for my pet portraits as there's an abundance of pets amongst the village people and I think there'll be plenty of potential customers coming along for the day as well.

It's all go around here... More soon!

For beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, and creeds follow one another like the withered leaves of autumn; but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons and a possession for all eternity.
Oscar Wilde