28 June, 2012

Dark sky drama

I am eagerly awaiting my new plein air easel,but am also aware that I will have to start wearing my wet weather gear and " harden up" as the Kiwi's like to say, in order to brave the elements and paint outdoors. I paint alla prima( all in one sitting), so who bets I am going to start speed-painting in the face of unpleasant weather!?!

This is just down the road at a favorite spot.
10x14"
25x35cm
Oil on canvas panel

27 June, 2012

The hook up

I started this painting on holiday. I painted en plein air in the reserve next to the whangamata surf club for about an hour and eventually packed up and came home with a sub-standard effort. It has since lurked in the studio, begging some attention and editing. So I have done so and this is the result. I really like it now!

26 June, 2012

Sunset at Ohope

We sat eating fish and chips along the wharf at the estuary , admiring the fabulous sunset. Clearly I am hankering for summer!
Oil on canvas board
9x12 inches
22x30cm
$95 excl p and p
Via PayPal

25 June, 2012

Monday's fish

This is the first of the weeks fish paintings. The weather is appalling( weather report says to watch for torrential rain tomorrow. Eek) so I am painting indoors. I think I have SOS or Seasonal Oppositional Syndrome......I always want to in the exact opposite season than the one I am experiencing right now! I will probably paint surfers next week . Lol! 10 x 10 inch 25x 25 cm oil on canvas panel $ 75 excl p and p

24 June, 2012

Food for thought

I am inspired by many things in my daily life. I don't mean that to sound all artsy fartsy and twee, but I feel I need to explain myself. I drive a lot as a mother !!! When I see something that appeals to me, I pull over and take a reference photo or two. Often I forget I have the camera in my lap, leap out of the car and the camera goes flying, hence the damage and the tape holding it together!
Today I was inspired by the fish on ice in the supermarket. They were fresh , bright eyed and beautiful! I asked permission to take some photos and voila, I have my inspiration for my next few paintings! I like to ask because people taking photos of fish a supermarket can get you thrown in the loony bin. True story.
I see inspiration everywhere. Sometimes it's the composition, other times the light, perhaps the color or the subject. But mostly, it is the ordinary that I love to highlight to show how extraordinary it actually is.
20x16cm
Oil on primed Masonite board

Mooring at Whangamata

This boat was one of many moored at Whangamata , on the gorgeous Coromandel peninsula, a favorite holiday haunt and riddled with artists!

This tubby little boat was moored away from the other glamorous yachts, so I chose to paint her.

21 June, 2012

Old time surfers

I saw these old timers at Whangamata beach. The youngsters were all in seal black wetsuits but these hard core guys wore board shorts and bare chested!

Both are 8 x 8 inch( 20 x 20 cm) oil on stretched canvas
$ 75 each, exclusive of p&p
Via PayPal

17 June, 2012

Pause.

I am pausing for a few weeks to concentrate on my latest commitment. I am volunteering with Refugee support services to help settle and befriend a Burmese refugee family. With the kind help of my friends and community we furnished a house!!!! I will be very busy for the next month assisting them get settled into various schools and finding their way around and introducing them to a very different culture and learning about their culture and ways. But art will not be far from my mind and I have secret plans and clever tricks.

Yesterday, Julius and I indulged in a little sidewalk color-play with cornflour and food coloring. It was fun!!!

07 June, 2012

Big puddle near Pink lady orchard.

I went for a walk down Reid road with my friend, Monique, whilst our kids were at soccer training. It was just before dusk and the light was wonderfull. I drove us both mad taking photos( stop/start/stop/reset camera /start) but we made our 5 km loop in good time and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This painting was inspired by one of the photos. It is taken near the apple orchard, the puddle created by recent rain and the depression of all the tractors that have been harvesting the apples recently. Pink lady apples .Is that not an awesome name for an apple!?!

05 June, 2012

Small paintings

This was fun! A 6x8 " ( 15 x 20cm) challenge......small paintings!! But you know what.......I just loved it! I was free and easy with my brushstrokes, nothing was labored and it felt good to paint and get a result that I was happy with. My new insight into color mixing made it a breeze to get the right color and tone that I was looking for.

I am not sure of the name of the white breed of cow in the last painting. I will ask the farmer next time I am over that way.

It is pouring with rain and I am wearing my new Boonies gumboots indoors to keep my feet warm. I am looking forward to painting outdoors again and hope my new boots keep my tootsies warm. They are rather fetching to boot( rolls around laughing at own joke. Sad)

I am about to get really busy for a couple of months as I begin my 6 month stint with refugee settlement services as a volunteer. I am sure I will fit the painting in but the standard of housekeeping might slip during that time!!!! Priorities, folks!
Interesting times.

01 June, 2012

Watermelon teacup

I was given a set of crazy teacups and saucers as a farewell present from colleagues years ago and have treasured their quirkiness and the people they remind me of. I wanted to paint these after the ARTBYTe tutorials by Carol Marine that I have recently watched. I have never been good at drawing, but I made an effort and with her tips and advice I did the following still life. Not brilliant but not crap either. I can feel that I will find a way to make this genre mine but I have to find the subject matter that speaks to me first.

I pinned a note on the easel....can you read it? It was a reminder about some pivotal points: Squint, clean your brush squint, color families, stand back, squint again, island and oceans, squint, lost and found edges. Etc

Anyway, I lost it towards the end and got all tight and the spontaneity was lost, but sometimes you have to see what NOT to do so you can do it properly next time. I love learning new things!!!!
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