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)

Ruby the Chihuahua

Greetings!!!
This is a commissioned painting of Ruby who I met and photographed last weekend. She's a friendly non-yappy sort of chihauhua and I enjoyed her company thoroughly. Of all the photos I took only one turned out really well because of her propensity to squint, but the good one was just perfect.

Professional help was available from my aunt's dog Buddy for this one. He took up prime position on my bed and was flowing with great tips and pointers. In fact he worked so hard he wore himself out!

Here's a time lapse video of the painting in progress:


Quote...
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
Pablo Picasso

Bedroom Irises

Greetings!!!
In trying to spice up my paintings a bit I challenged myself to paint this entire 12x12" still life with a 1 inch brush. My brushes have been getting smaller and smaller over the years and although I was tempted a hundred times to resort to the control of a smaller brush, I'm glad a I stuck it out because it forced me to paint more freely. I also let loose on it with the palette knife at the end. It's a start! I went and bought a few more big brushes so I can experiment further with it.

Coming soon is my next Pet Portrait commission of a cute chihuahua called Ruby... stay tuned!

“You should keep on painting no matter how difficult it is, because this is all part of experience, and the more experience you have, the better it is… unless it kills you, and then you know you have gone too far.”
Alice Nee

Pet Portrait commission - Kiri

Greetings!!!
Today I finished my first commissioned Pet Portrait! This is a darling corgi called Kiri wearing a schoolbag. Tina and John's son used to dress her in it which was "an indignity she tolerated". I like to think she's about to go parachuting and with the blue background she could almost be flying free.

Here is a video of the painting in progress:



If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
Vincent Van Gogh

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

Kossie, the final Pet Portraits Challenge pet!

Greetings!!!
Kossie is an australian spotted mist and brother to Ko Ko. He is an adorable cat but loathes being fenced in. Despite all my efforts to stop him escaping, he has earned the nick name Houdini for his ability to escape no matter how many barriers I put in place. He just loves being free to roam where he will. His morning cuddle is an essential start to the day and like his brother Ko Ko, he enjoys destroying my soft furnishings and having his cattachino off the kitchen bench. One big difference, he hates Buddy (the dog) licking his ears! And he loves his chicken necks, usually devouring Ko Ko's before he has a chance to get to it.
Vicki

I feel like I've been in a time-warp of pet portraits and I can't remember a time when I wasn't whipping up an entire painting on a daily basis. Actually I'm quite weary now that I've come to the end of it, but quietly satisfied as well. When I came up with the terrific four-weeks-of-daily-Pet-Portraits idea with my trusty brain-storming assistants (thanks mum and Vic!) I had no idea how much it was going to involve. From priming boards, securing pet submissions, painting from photos to the best of my ability, taking time-lapse videos, fine-tuning my email subscription settings, communicating on facebook and my blog, setting up my 'books' to do invoicing and receipts, stationery, packaging, framing and remembering to take breaks and eat and unwind and spend time with people... No wonder I need a few days off!!!

I'm very grateful to everyone who has trusted me to let loose my creativity on their precious pets and to everyone who has bought their painting and to everyone who has 'liked' the works on facebook, left comments, sent me encouraging emails and just generally cheered me on. It's been wonderful to connect with new and old friends and also to see that it might be possible to make a living as an artist with the help of the internet and social media. One day at a time!

So what's next? On monday I'm driving up to Newcastle to submit a work for the Newcastle Emerging Artists prize. I have a couple of pet portrait commissions coming up and I'm planning to keep painting small works of subjects that inspire me, whether from life or photos. I'll continue to update the blog whenever I have new work so stay tuned. You can make sure you don't miss anything by subscribing to email updates (top right). Also, if you're interested in framing ideas, check out the new tab I created at the top of the blog called 'framing'.

Thank you again for all your support, more soon!!

Jess

Greetings!!!
Jess was born at Lake Maquarie, one of a litter of about ten pups. Her father lives in the foothills of Barrington Tops. Jess is a quick learner and will do anything for you, preferably for a reward of dried liver.   The love of her life is her frisbee and she would chase it all day if she had the chance. She also loved chasing horses but learnt a bit of a lesson one day courtesy of a hind hoof. She is now a little more wary.
Harrison Family

I love the look on Jess' face in this portrait, there's so many things she could be saying, like: "you've got some liver for me after this posing-for-the-photo-thing don't you?", or "you know how much I love you, I could look in your eyes all day" or "can I move now pleeeease???"... Here is the time lapse video of the painting in progress:



Tomorrow is the last pet portrait of my four week challenge, so be sure to come back and see Ko Ko's brother Kossie!!!