Little Miss Series

Quirky

mixed media on canvas

91.4x60.9cm (36"x24")

Coy

mixed media on canvas

91.4x60.9cm (36"x24")

Prim

mixed media on canvas

91.4x60.9cm (36"x24")

Proper

mixed media on canvas

91.4x60.9cm (36"x24")

A Day Off

I took a day off yesterday and didn't do any art. I did do some business relating to the exhibition but that was all. I didn't take the time to do housework either. Larger than life dust bunnies still hanging around here. Oh well they are just in time for Easter hehehe. I really just had a break. The Little Miss Series is nearly there. Sorry for keeping you waiting. They are coming I promise. The sad news is Bob is back for more surgery tomorrow. Not sure what will happen, how long he will be in hospital or whether he needs more skin grafts or not. We just have to wait and see. Its about 6 weeks since he had the last skin cancers removed. He hasn't really gone back to work so the larder is getting rather bare. His type of skin cancer is quite aggressive and can grow quite quickly. I checked his whole body and wrote down every little blemish and made the doctors at the hospital look at these. They believe 3 of these are cancer, groan. What I'm angry about is that I believe the hospital should have checked his whole body, not me. They are meant to be the experts. Anyway we have talked to his GP and he will do regular checks from now on. Well that's it for now. Got to get some sleep. Up early tomorrow. Bob has to fast from 6am so I want to make sure he has a good breakfast. Will post pics as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience :)

I Think I Can, I Think I Can ...

Well I gave it my best shot to try and do all four paintings of The Little Miss Series in one week. I nearly got there but I've run out of steam. Long hours have taken their toll. They are so close to being finished but I started making silly mistakes so I thought I will give it up for tonight and see if I can finish them off tomorrow. I am still very happy with how much I got done in one week. It was a huge task and I nearly made it, yay!!!

By Popular Demand

Ok just to wet your appetites a little I have posted some small details of my current series. Just a little tease to keep you interested and to make your wait more bearable hehehe hahaha hehe.

The texture of the background which is 'a wall' carries through from one painting to the next so when they are displayed it just flows from one to the other like one complete wall. Can I go back to the easel now??? Can I??? Is this enough to keep you going for awhile hehehe.

Hello World

I thought I'd better come out of my art zone for a little while to say hello. As you know I've set myself a task to finish the four paintings in the Little Miss series in one week. Usually it takes me a week to do one painting but I thought if I pushed myself I could do it. I'm spending longs hours at the easel and letting everything else go. No housework has been done and I didn't even go to the market this week for our groceries. I just grabbed a few things locally. I have to report that the paintings are going well. All the backgrounds were finished yesterday and today I started painting in the legs, shoes and socks. I am really enjoying losing myself in my art. Time to finish for tonight though. I'd better go and clean some brushes.

Had Some Fun But Its Good To Be Home

on the road again

watch out for kangaroos at dawn and dusk

Doreen, the lady who invited me to hold the workshop

we made a real mess

everyone is very busy

The River Murray near Murray Bridge

about 45 minutes from home

I had a really lovely time over the weekend. The ladies from Mt Gambier where an absolute pleasure to work with. They are textile artists so working with paper was something new to them but they all did a magnificent job. Doreen was kind enough to put me up for the night on Saturday night so I didn't have to drive back to my friend, Vanita's place in Naracoorte which is about an hour away from Mt Gambier. I don't like driving on country roads at dusk or dawn as that's when the kangaroos are out. They are prone to jump in front of the car. Not only does this kill or injury a beautiful animal, but it makes a real mess of your car and you risk injuring yourself to boot.

Although I had a great time I was itching to get back home and start on the dangling legs series. Its a series of four with each pair of feet doing something different like the toes pointing in or the ankles crossed etc. One of them will be with brightly coloured striped stockings, another with white little ankle socks etc etc. At the moment I'm calling them the 'Little Miss Series' with Little Miss Quirky, Little Miss Coy, Little Miss Prim and Little Miss Proper. These are just working titles and I may change it if I think of something better. They are of course larger than life size with each canvas being 91.4x60.9cm (36"x24"). For the background I am going for an old wall effect and it looks like the Little Misses are sitting on the wall. I've drawn them all and as soon as I draw the stripes on the stockings I'm ready to start on the backgrounds. I'm really pushing myself with these as I'm trying to get all four done in a week. Let's hope life doesn't get in the way as is usually the case. Today is eight weeks till delivery to the gallery so I'd better stop rambling and get back to it.

Workshop

I'll be hitting the road in a few hours. Everything is packed but not yet loaded in my car. I've got that last minute brain scramble hoping I haven't forgotten something. I'm just going to do a quick trip into the market to pick up Jack's food. Then I will load the car and be on the road about lunch time. Be back Monday.

Do You Like Colouring-in?

I still love to colour in and have my own colouring-in book. Its got pictures of fairies in it and I like to sit in bed and colour it. I refuse to completely grow up. I thought it would be fun to do a painting of coloured pencils, larger than life of course to elevate their importance. To give you an idea of their size, the dark blue one is the length of my arm from shoulder to wrist. I had real fun with this painting as its got so many different colours in it.

Why Stay Within the Lines?
mixed media on canvas

60.9x50.8cm (24"x20")

I've set myself a goal of 30 paintings for the exhibition. That means there's 9 to go and 9 weeks to do them in. I will be working on a series of Zoe's dangling legs next. Again larger than life. There will be four in the series, each one with the legs in a different pose and with different socks or stockings on. That will leave another 5 and at this stage no ideas. I am thinking of another domestic painting, maybe with some washing on the line. I have visited washing on the line in an earlier work and have always wanted to do another. Maybe with a nice blue background representing a glorious blue sky. I also must ask April if she minds if I paint some cupcakes. She created some lovely collages of cupcakes and I would love to give them a try if she doesn't mind. Check them out on http://www.aprilsart.blogspot.com/ in one of the older posts.

I'm going away for the weekend. I'm leaving on Friday and back home on Monday. I'm giving a workshop in Mt Gambier which is about 5 hours drive from home. Its about an hour from Naracoorte so I'm going to stay with my friend Vanita on Friday and Sunday night (if she'll have me). I've bought all the materials so all that's left to do is pack and hope I don't forget anything.

Pumpkin Soup

Its coming up to pumpkin soup weather. Well, soon I hope as its still been quite warm and muggy the last couple of days. If you are going to buy a pumpkin to make soup why not use it for a painting first. This one is a Queensland Blue pumpkin and its my favourite type for soup. Funny thing is you do get to know the object of your painting so well that you feel rather remorseful when its time to cut it up :(. There is of course a story behind my painting. Many years ago Bob and I lived in the country. The locals put together a cookbook of their favourite recipes. The simple but extremely delicious pumpkin soup recipe in the top right hand corner of the painting is Barbara Pym's recipe and I think of her whenever I make it. She still cooked and baked amazing food on a wood burning stove even in the middle of summer, and took out a lot of prizes in the cooking section of the local show. Of course that's not the only pumpkin story I have. I remember endless drawings in art school with a pumpkin as a model. Tonal drawings, contour drawings, drawing on coloured paper adding the highlights rather than the shadows. Yeah well they do have interesting shapes don't they?

Pumpkin

mixed media on canvas

50.8x60.9cm (20"x24")

Exhibition Invitation

The exhibition 'Peeking Through Someone Else's Window' runs from May 24 - June 14 at Gallery M, Marion Cultural Centre 287 Diagonal Rd, Oaklands Park, Adelaide, South Australia. Its an exhibition of mixed media/collage, photography and paintings by Uta Mooney, Julia Thomas and Zoe Thomas. The official opening is Sunday May 24th 2pm. Come and have a glass of wine and some nibbles if you are in the area. Gallery times are Mon-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat 12pm-4pm, Sun 1pm-4pm, closed public holidays.

The artwork is a collaboration between Julia, Zoe and me. The window and collage is from a previous painting of mine called 'Walk Past the Open Window'. Julia, who is a magician on photoshop, changed the window to accommodate the photo she took of Zoe peeking. She changed the text to the title of the exhibition. I think its worked out great and I want to get a large copy of it framed as a memento of our exhibition.

We have got to start approaching some publications for some publicity. I think its quite a unique human interest story; three generations of females from the same family exhibiting together. Zoe might only be 7 years old but Julia and I feel she is an artist in her own right. We dislike it when people say to children "you are going to be a great artist when you grow up". Aren't they already artists? Aren't they already expressing themselves with art and craft? Why do they always have to wait 'to be' until they are grown up? Children's art is so free, expressive and innocent. We lose that when we grow up. Even artists like Ken Done can't really recreate exactly the way children capture things.

If you can't come to the exhibition or if you want a sneak preview of our work you can go to Julia's and my RedBubble sites www.redbubble.com/people/utam
www.redbubble.com/people/jewelstorm

Full Days

I've been so busy I haven't been on the net for a few days. Number 2 grandchild, Evan had his second birthday party yesterday and number one grandchild, Zoe has chicken pox. Poor Zoe was quite upset that she couldn't go to Evan's party. She has changed schools recently and was invited to a birthday party of a new school friend but she couldn't attend that either.

I haven't had time to do a lot of artwork. My days have been very full. Going to appointments with Bob and generally helping him to recover takes more time than I imagined. Plus I'm trying to clean out the shed. We have a very large shed that's been used for storage for quite some time. It has got into a real mess and I'm trying to get a little control of the chaos in there. The aim is for me to have a real studio space and for Bob to have an organised area for his work. I say organised because Bob tends to be a bit of a mess and I'm determined to enlighten him on a tidier and more organised existence hehehe. That's a huge task in itself. I'm sure the older I get the less hours there are in a day. I don't seem to get as much done as I used to. Or is it that I'm just trying to fit too much into one day?

Julia has lent me a computer screen. Mine was getting impossible to deal with. It was so dark even on the brightest setting. Now I can see so much more and can't wait to look at every one's art. I will be able to see all the details, yay.

Well we've had our dinner so I'm going to spend some time at the easel before I get too tired.

11 Weeks and Counting

I started a new canvas today. Its 11 weeks and counting till our exhibition opens, yikes! I found a picture of houses in Santorini. Ok I found the picture in a magazine in the hospital waiting room while I was waiting for Bob. I was so inspired by this picture I silently tore it out in a really sneaky fashion and put it in my bag. Its a picture of those white sugar cube houses with blue doors and window frames. I'm going out on a limb with this one. Its not my usual type of painting as I usually paint everything bigger than life size. I've got the usual fear happening. The fear I have at the beginning of every painting and I don't feel confident with the outcome. Anyhoo, like Laura says, I'm turning up to the easel and we'll see what happens. What's the worse that can happen? If the painting doesn't work out I can just gesso over it and do something else, right?

I'm also in the planning stages of work depicting Zoe's dangling legs. I have a series of photos where she's wearing striped tights, little white ankle socks with black shoes etc. In some she's got her ankles crossed, another her toes are turned in etc. I thought they would make a nice series of paintings. Children have really expressive feet and legs. Just by changing the position of the feet you get a whole different feel. Anyway its in early planning stages at the moment. I will have to see where it takes me.

With autumn here I also have the urge to photograph a big Queensland blue pumpkin. I can then paint it and make a batch of pumpkin soup too. That should keep me off the streets for awhile.

The Pear Painting

I Like to Paint Pears

mixed media on canvas

40.6x121.8cm (16"x48")

I Like to Paint Pears

I finished the pear painting yay! Haven't got a photo of it yet as it was raining, yes raining! Its been so long since we've seen any rain. I had to go stand in it to feel it on my skin. The smell of it is just divine. Its freshening up the whole place. The Rainbow Lorikeets are back. The gum trees must be starting to flower. The pitter-patter of the rain drops on the roof and the squawking of the lorikeets is music to my ears. The seasons are finally starting to change. I hope we are over the heat for the time being. I'm looking forward to some good hearty winter food. I get a bit tired of salads as the summer is drawing to a close. I do love all the different seasons and look forward to summer at the end of a long wet winter.

Bob had an appointment at the hospital today. He had to have the stitches out of the spot that had no skin graft. Its a bit infected and so is the one on the leg. The skin grafts on his head and leg doesn't seem to have taken but the one on his hand is doing fine. They are still hopeful they will heal by themselves and he's now on antibiotics for the infection. He's feeling quite well and likes to thank you all for all your good wishes and kind thoughts.

Since reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron I have done morning pages. This morning I was so eager to start the day that I totally forgot about them. I just wanted to get stuck into the pear painting while I was fresh and full of energy. It was giving me some problems so I wanted to leave it last night and then just jump straight in today. It usually resolves itself then. I always have trouble when I get too precious with a painting. I'm scared to stuff it up and that makes me freeze. The background was giving me trouble but I really liked the pears and got rather precious about them. The motto of this story is don't get precious about your art!

Art and Bob

Bob is home from hospital. He's had the district nurse over to change his bandages and I got to see. All I'm going to say about that is, I wish I hadn't. Let's just say I'm not cut out to be a nurse. Some people are meant to be nurses and some people are meant to be artists. Since home, Bob has had some swelling. I think he's doing too much too soon and needs to rest more. He has an appointment at the hospital tomorrow so we will find out how things are going and hopefully my mind will be put at ease.

On the art front I have started another canvas. This time some pears I found in the local fruit and veg shop became my models. The colours were so interesting. Not your usual brown pear and not your usual green pear. They had the most beautiful shades of red, burgundy and green I've ever seen. I chose them carefully and bought 5. I chose ones with interesting shapes, ones that leaned over to one side when they stood on their bottoms and of course, needless to say they all had to have their stems in tact. I've photographed them all in a row and have a really long thin canvas on which to paint them. The canvas is 40.6x121.8cm (16"x48") so each pear will be roughly about the size of my head. Big is beautiful I say! I'm struggling a bit with the background. Not sure if its because Bob is home. I work better in total isolation when I paint. Oh well I will have another go at it today and hopefully I will resolve it.

p.s. The pears not only look good but taste good also. Very juicy mmm.

Completed

The Sunflower

Mixed media on canvas

60.9x60.9cm (24"x24")

The Journey

mixed media on canvas

60.9x60.9cm (24"x24")

Eighteen

I now have 18 completed works for our exhibition 'Peeking Through Someone Else's Window'. I finally decided on the text for the old boots painting. Its a quote by author Greg Anderson, 'Focus on the journey not the destination'. I have also finished the sunflower painting. It was too late to take decent photos so I will post them tomorrow.

Bob is starting to be his old self again. He's still in hospital and still bed ridden but he's doing a lot better. Hopefully he will be home soon. He misses Jack. Julia brought in a large photo of Jack and he's stuck it up in his hospital room. Jack misses him too and whines at night for awhile. He's getting used to having Bob's spot on the bed at night though. That could interesting when Bob gets home hehehe.

And to top it all off Julia is sick too. She's got shingles. The pain is easing but she is just so tired.

My son Troy has just returned from a small holiday in New Zealand. He says its a lovely country and the people are ever so friendly. I would like to visit there one day too.

Nothing much else to report. Life is just rushing by at the moment. Adding hospital visits into my day makes me feel like I'm chasing my own tail. I'm having trouble keeping up with my household chores and my artwork gets done at odd hours. Oh well, this too will pass.

Doing Well

Bob is doing well. He's sick of being bedridden. As one of the spots was on his leg they have to make sure the skin graft takes before letting him out of bed. His stay in hospital will be longer than first expected but he's on the mend.

Hospital

Bob is going into hospital tomorrow for some surgery. He has skin cancer and it needs to be removed and then skin grafted. He has to stay in hospital until the skin grafts take. They estimate 2 to 3 days. Cancer is always a worry isn't it :(

Carry On

Still haven't come up with the text I want to use in the work boots painting. I think it might be 'working hard to make a living' or maybe 'focus on the journey not the destination'. Anyway I've put that painting to one side and decided to carry on with the next.

I had an idea to use different handwriting and some book pages onto which I would paint a sunflower or part of a sunflower. Some of the handwriting is my grandparents, some is mine and some I got from the net. But as it sometimes happens the background is doing its own thing and getting a different feel to it. Not sure if its suited to a sunflower. I will just keep going with it and see where it takes me. I do enjoy not knowing the destination.

work in progress 60.9x60.9cm (24"x24")

Work in Progress

Last Wednesday I was guest speaker at the local RSL (Returned Serviceman's League). I took along a few of my artworks (always good to have visuals). I thought it would be good experience for me to stand up in front of a group of people and talk about my work, my techniques and accomplishments. As the time got near I began to get really nervous. I had to use a microphone and for anyone who knows me they know I have a fear of microphones, groan. My mouth went dry, my hands started to shake and I just wanted it to be over. Once I warmed up the nerves disappeared and the words flowed quite easily. I spoke for 45 minutes non-stop!!!!! I started by saying that I am not a public speaker but I was led to believe you start with a joke. I said "Standing here like this reminds me of AA meetings I've seen portrayed on tv so I will start by saying: Hello, my name is Uta and I'm an art-a-holic." Everyone laughed (thank goodness) and that broke the ice. I am happy to report there was a lot of interest in my work and my techniques with a lot of chatting and questions afterwards. The best thing is I even got paid!!! Wasn't expecting that.

Had a great art day yesterday. No interruptions and I was able to get into 'the zone' and not come out till it was time for me to cook dinner. I still need some text to go with this piece. It needs a little dialogue to start to tell the story I think. But as yet the right words haven't come to me. Maybe today. Any ideas will be appreciated. Today is the day I do those mundane duties, those necessities of life we call housework. While I'm entrenched in the everyday humdrum I will think longingly of my art and perhaps then the right words will come. How dramatic am I. Bit of a drama queen this morning hehehe. I quite enjoy the mundane humdrum of housework once I get started. It keeps me grounded and balanced as its an absolute contrast to my airy fairy art self.

not yet completed 60.9x60.9cm (24"x24")

Nearly Finished

I had the best day painting yesterday. I got a good 6 hours in and it felt so good. Its at the stage where I need to stare at it for awhile to see if there's anything that needs adjustment. Then a coat of protective varnish and I'm done. Oh yeah and it needs signing.

Each Peach

mixed media on canvas

60.9x60.9cm (24"x24")

Its Painting Time!!!

The heat is over for the time being YAY!!!!!!!! The forecast says it will creep up again on Friday to 34C (93F) with Saturday forecast to reach 36C (97F). That's ok we have some time to recover. There have been a lot of deaths related to the heat and a huge number of people admitted to hospital with heat related problems. The elderly are too afraid to use air conditioners or fans for fear of high power bills that can't afford to pay for. Its not only the elderly affected though. People of all ages have been struggling. And even some well cared for pets have perished in the heat. I make Jack stay inside with the air conditioner to make sure he stays cool. Anyway this morning my curtains are pulled back, the windows are wide open and the outside world is once again visible from inside our little home.

This morning I'm going to catch up on some much needed chores with the hope of getting in a little painting time this afternoon.

Backgrounds

Another background ready for painting. On this one I've decided to paint a pair of well worn work boots as soon as the weather allows. It has that kind of grungy look that I thought would work well with some old boots. I won't paint them too big because I want a lot more of the background visible. I don't want to cover some of my favourite areas. This one has a lot of layers. I kept painting and then sanding and scrubbing back to show different layers through and then painting over some of the ugly bits to cover them up and then more sanding and scrubbing. As its been too hot to paint detailed things its meant I've spent longer on the backgrounds. More layers and a combinations of different techniques has been fun to do.

60.9x60.9cm (24"x24") canvas

Now this background below I've posted before. Due to popular demand hehehe I've decided to do a peach painting on it. Not a bowl of peaches or a basket of peaches like the photo in an earlier post but a section of a branch complete with a few leaves and a nice big fat juicy peach dangling from it. Its all drawn on and ready to paint next week when the weather is cooler and I can open up the curtains and let in some light.

60.9x60.9cm (24"x24") canvas

I have one more canvas this size and I've just started work on the background. I'm planning to paint a section of a sunflower on that one but that could change depending how the background turns out. I do plan things but I also like to let things happen so sometimes the background turns out a little different and then doesn't suit the image I've chosen to paint on it. That happened with the work boot one. It started out with colours and patterns that would suit a harlequin but now it has evolved into something else.

I've just found some GAC200. Been on the hunt for that for ages and finally my local art store is stocking it YAY. I want to play around with aluminum foil in my collage/mixed media backgrounds and a little GAC200 mixed in my acrylic paint will ensure that the paint sticks to the aluminum. It gives a lovely metallic look as the aluminium shines through the paint. Can't wait to see what happens with that. Aw, one lifetime just doesn't seem long enough to try out all the things I want to try.

Artist Talk

I haven't melted yet. In fact I think I'm getting used to the heat. Its starting to get a little cooler and next week's forecast looks mighty fine.

During this heat the pool at my gym has been closed for maintenance. Its sprung a leak. I have however been going to the beach to do a bit of swimming and a little exercise. I have been going early so I'm not burnt to a crisp by the hot summer sun. The water has been glorious and I even collected some treasures in the form of shells.

On the art front things are going well. Nothing is completed as its just too hot to paint but some backgrounds are done, photos been taken and some good ideas have been brewing. With the weather cooling down I will have a really productive time next week as long as life doesn't get in the way.

Next week I'm giving an artist talk to a group of seniors in our local community. I'm going to show them some of my artwork and talk about my techniques and the stories behind my work. As the time is getting closer I'm getting a little nervous but I know once I start talking I will be fine. My art is about me and my everyday life. Its about my memories of people or times in my life that are very dear to me so it will be easy to talk about that won't it.

Heatwave Continues

We are now in day 7 of our heatwave and the weather forecast tells us there is no relief until next Saturday when it is forecast to be 30C (86F). The last few nights have been cooler which makes for a good nights sleep and a happier outlook. Instead of being over 30C (86F) overnight its been around 25C/26C (77F-79F). The garden is holding up alright. Things gets a bit droopy in the afternoon but they are surviving. I'm glad I picked all the peaches when I did. They would not have lasted in this heat. The computer however is not doing too well. I'm having trouble with it crashing and not loading and freezing (hehehe freezing, there must be another word) and its all due to the extreme heat.

On the art side of things my creativity is flowing again YAY! Ideas a popping into my head and I'm feeling like my old self again. The only problem is its too hot to paint. The paint dries too quickly and I end up making a right mess of things. So instead I've been preparing some papers and working on backgrounds that don't need such careful consideration and drawing on images ready to paint when the weather settles down. I don't get a lot done as I feel a little lethargic and am constantly resting with a cool drink of water under the air conditioner.

Well I'm off to do some housework before the heat really sets in for the day. At least the washing doesn't take long to dry.

Its Summer

Yesterday the temperature reached 45.7C (114F). Its the hottest day for 70 years. Overnight it only got down to 33C (91F). Phew! You'd think with all that sweating a person would lose some weight, but not I!!! I think the worse thing about it all is the cabin fever. You don't really venture out much and you close all curtains from the outside heat. I suppose its a bit like hibernation only its hot. I envy my fish swimming around in their cool pond. Poor Jack is feeling the heat. He just lays around panting. He hates water so I can't even hose him down to keep him cool.

I did manage to do some artwork yesterday. The paint was drying even before I finished the brush stroke. Okay that's a bit of exaggeration but only a bit. I'm still just working on backgrounds until my creative flow returns. Like my good friend Laura says "you got to show up at the canvas" so that's what I'm doing. I'm actually enjoying just playing around with colour and texture without having a preconceived idea. Will have to brave the heat soon and go out for more canvases.

I went out with Julia last night. We went to see an Ani DiFranco concert. The venue was air conditioned YAY! Oh yeah and the concert was great too hehehe. Shame the man next to me couldn't sit still and wouldn't stop talking or singing. Perhaps if you drank less beer you wouldn't need to get up and go to the bathroom so often and disturb all the people around you. Ani is a very passionate story teller and I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. Its great watching people that are passionate about their art. Very inspiring!

Mini Artist Block in Progress

I'm struggling with my art lately. I'm not sure why. I was in a real creative flow before Christmas. That flow was interrupted with Christmas preparations and I can't seem to get it back. I tried something new with my backgrounds and that didn't work. Now I'm able to do the background (see below) but whatever I paint on it I have to scrub back because it hasn't worked. I tell myself its because of the heat. Who can be creative in these temperatures, right? Then I tell myself its the change of routine with Bob being home. Bob does house renovations and that's always quiet after Christmas. Well we'll see. He's off to a job today. This is not a good time to be having a block with the exhibition coming up in May. Well today I've decided to put this piece to one side and start another background. That way I'm still being productive and when my creative flow returns I will have backgrounds completed and ready to go.



The forecast for today is 44C (111F) and the extended forecast shows it will stay hot right up to next Tuesday. The temperature didn't drop below 30C (86F) overnight, phew. Well I'm off to gym to cool down in the nice refreshing pool, do some aqua-aerobics and then come home and do some art. What more could a girl ask for?

Peach Jam

The weather forecast is for quite a few hot days to come. I thought my peaches wouldn't survive out there in the blazing sun so I decided to pick them all at once. I usually like to leave them on the tree and collect the fallen ones from the ground. They aren't as big as other years but so many of them the poor tree needed to be tied up so the branches didn't break from the weight of the fruit. Decided to make some peach jam. Zoe got a recipe from the internet 1.5kg peaches, 750g sugar, juice of two lemons.

lovely fuzzy peaches fresh from the tree

later that day ... jam!

Zoe says the jam is yummy. Perfect with fresh bread. The rest of the peaches were cooked up to preserve them. It means we can still enjoy them when the summer is long gone. Might have some now with a little bit of low fat ice cream mmm.

Change

Yesterday I was clever. That is why I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise. That is why I am changing myself.
Sri Chinmoy

New Work - Finally!

I am proud to announce I'm finally back on track after the Christmas disruption. Have had a lovely time at the easel and feel like I'm back in control. I had to leave the coffee cup series because it was giving me grief and went onto something else just to break the ice so to speak. I usually work in bright colours but thought I would give something dark a try. I was aiming for that dark look like the old masters have. I also wanted to keep the objects transparent to let the background show through. For the darker areas I just let more background show through and applied more paint to the lighter areas. I think I will do a few more dark paintings as I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I think I will do one more painting before getting back to the coffee cup series.

She Grew Gourds in Her Garden

mixed media on canvas

50.8cm x 60.9cm (20"x24")

Master Chef auditions were a lot of fun. Julia is happy to announce she did NOT get in. She was really happy to get back to her no stress life. We met some really nice people and saw (and tasted) some very inspiring food. The show will air here in May and I will be interested to see if I recognise any faces.

The Willow Tree

I had a lovely time with my sister and my mum yesterday. We spent most of our day in Ilka's garden. Ilka and her partner Herman moved about 3 months ago. They have settled in now and look like they have lived there for years. They have a big willow tree in the back yard. The tree looks like it had twin trunks at one time. One of the trunks has been cut down and Ilka has placed a cushion on the stump. Its a great place to sit with your back on the remaining trunk surrounded by the dangling branches and leaves. It was a perfect day with lovely weather and good company.

Julia is stressing at the moment hehehe. She put an application in to be part of the show 'Master Chef'. There were 7500 applications in South Australia and only 100 of these get a chance to audition. Julia was one of them. She only got notified on Friday and has to front up at 7.30 Monday morning with a prepared dish. The dish has to be a cold as there are no heating facilities at this stage of the competition. If the audition goes well you go into the next stage which means cooking a dish in front of the cameras on Tuesday. Julia asked me to go with her as her support person. With such short notice I hope I am able to make it.

Some of my internet friends are in the cold with snow and arctic winds so I thought I would send them a little sunshine. We have enough to go around. Its a scorcher today.

Julia, Zoe and I went on a little photo shoot on Sunday. We like to call it being tourists in our own town hehehe.

One of my favourite place is Kingston Park. Its about 20 minutes from my house and the lookout overlooks the coast. Down below is Kingston Park caravan park which is always busy this time of year as its right on the beach.

Here's Zoe taking a photo of a fishing boat she saw on the water.

Please ignore the added, yet to come off, Christmas weight on yours truly hehehe.

This last photo is near my house. On the left is the park where I like to take Jack for a walk. Its all dry with no green grass due to the season. They are working on the park at the moment and have just made a dog section which is completely fenced off so the dogs can play together without the fear of them running on the road. The plans are for new picnic areas complete with barbecues etc. Now if you look on the horizon you can see the buildings of Adelaide city centre. It looks lovely at night with the lights twinkling. If you walk down the street and turn left at the second round-a-bout, then go a little further and you will reach my place. Drop in for a coffee if you're in the neighbourhood hehehe.

Too hot for artwork today. Still haven't got back into the swing of things. It still feels like I'm on holiday. I will get back to the easel when the time is right I dare say.

A Day of Business

After going to gym in the morning I spent the afternoon working on my cv, a cover letter and a few images of my current work. One of my goals for this year is to get my work out there so I'm getting ready to contact a few galleries. This is quite daunting but I know its the right step to take. I've checked out some of the galleries but still have some to check out. I might do that on Sunday afternoon. I can check out the galleries and view some artwork at the same time. Its like business and an artist's date rolled into one hehehe.

I've been really struggling with the series of coffee cups. I think I will go back to the original idea. I've been trying something new and its just not working. That happens sometimes. I've put the series away for the time being and did some business stuff instead. Might even do another painting before I go back to them.

The weather has been glorious and mild for this time of year but the forecast is for some real heat next week. On Tuesday they think it will reach 41 degrees celsius ( that's nearly 106F). That means closing all the windows and curtains against the heat, turning on the cooler and hiding away inside. Hope it doesn't last too long :(

Been Working Hard

The dinner and movie the other night was fun. Its good to get out with the family and escape the real world by watching a children's movie. Zoe seemed to enjoy it as she laughed out loud quite a bit. In fact we all did. I loved it when it rained gum balls and the ground just became a sea of coloured balls.

Yesterday I got to spend 6 hours doing my artwork (happy, happy, joy, joy). Today I also spent more time on my artwork but it was interrupted by a shopping trip with Mum and Julia. Couldn't miss out on a shopping trip with two of may favourite girls :). Its after dinner now and I will go and do some more painting and stamping and gluing as soon as I finish this post. That's the beauty of summer time - not only is there longer daylight but there are no good programs on tv to lure you. I'm struggling a bit with the series of 3 I'm working on. I'm trying something new and not sure the direction it will take. The time just flies by so I know I'm enjoying myself.

Got mail today from overseas. I love getting mail that's not bills. I now have a lovely collection of cards that my internet friends have sent me over the last year. Mostly the cards are of their own artwork and I treasure them. I am still amazed how close you can get to people you have never physically met. Ok that's enough rambling. Back to work for a little while longer so I have some new work to show you soon. With Christmas etc. it feels like such a long time since I finished a new piece.

A Night Out

I'm going to dinner and a movie tonight with Bob, Julia, Zoe and my Mum. We are going to have pizza (yum) and then see Bedtime Stories. Should be fun. Seems like we haven't done anything like that in ages. My house is clean, the pets are fed so there's no stopping us. We are going to Glenelg so maybe there will be time for a walk on the beach before the movie starts. Tell you about it tomorrow.

Scare

I had a real scare last night. The computer started making this awful noise. I tried turning it off but it had crashed and frozen. I finally got it turned off and thought that was the end of it, the computer was finally dead. I decided to leave it overnight and try it again in the morning. I know computers are just machines but they are temperamental. Sometimes they just need a little rest and all is well. I was a bit worried as I'm just about to start reading You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay with my online group and I have been looking forward to it. With a dead computer and not enough finances to buy a new one I thought I would be offline for quite some time. The other thing was I received an external hard drive for Christmas and hadn't got around to moving all my files and saved stuff onto it. Agh! I thought I had lost it all but as you can see the computer started up like normal this morning. I saved everything onto my external hard drive and am back online. Phew (for now)

A New Year!

The start of a new year always brings such expectations and great hope. Silly really, it is just another day. The time frame is a human creation and yet there's a feeling of real cleansing at the end of a year and the start of a new one. It feels great! Plans are made for the coming year and there's reflections of the old year to see what improvements and changes can be made. It really feels like "out with the old and in with the new". Upon reflection I'm quite happy with the growth and inroads I've made within my art practice. I know I've worked hard to develop my skills. I've also worked hard to do regular exercise and to eat healthy and nourishing food. Ok I've strayed off the path sometimes but I always found my way back. I'm not one to make new year's resolutions but I do set goals for myself. This year my goals are to get my artwork out there more (some fears to face there) and to be less critical of others and of myself as well (phew, that's a hard one that will need lots of work).
I actually did some artwork yesterday. Couldn't see the year out without a little dabble. Bob and I didn't go out. We watched the fireworks in Sydney Harbour on tv with Zoe. She managed to stay awake and see in the new year. Today is some much needed grandma/granddaughter time and maybe if I'm lucky I will get a little art time in as well.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

What Happened to Today???

Ok what happened to today? Has anyone seen it? Has anyone taken it? Looks like I had a day off. I was intending to do some artwork but then I thought I would just watch a dvd that Bob got for Christmas and ended up watching the entire first season. I totally loved it when it was on tv but seemed to miss an episode here and there. Jekyll starring James Nesbitt is absolutely brilliant. Kept me glued to the edge of my seat. James Nesbitt is a favourite of mine anyway but he was absolutely outstanding in this. Oh and I must say I did enjoy his dark side. Worth having a day off for hehehe.

Sunshine and Reading

I have been reading through You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. I will be reading the book more thoroughly with a group of on-line friends starting in January. Here's a paragraph I found particularly interesting

"Our breath is the most precious substance in our lives, and yet we totally take for granted when we exhale that our next breath will be there. If we did not take another breath, we would not last three minutes. Now if the Power that created us has given us enough breath to last as long as we shall live, can we not trust that everything else we need will also be supplied?"

Did a little art today. It felt so good to get back to it. I'm working on a series of three and I will work on all of them together. They are on square canvases 61cm x 61cm (24"x24"). I have formulated some ideas while getting ready for Christmas. You know those times when you are dying to do some artwork but Christmas chores come first. This time the inanimate objects are coffee cups or things related to the joys of drinking coffee. I'm trying something a little different and so have ruled up a 10cm (4") border and will do my usual layers on this section. The middle of the canvas I am planning to apply some stained tissue paper as the background and paint the inanimate objects over this. I stained some tissue paper today in various coffee shades and hopefully will start applying it to the canvas tomorrow.

The weather was glorious today. Not hot, just pleasantly sunny so I spent some time sitting in the garden reading. The birds were singing and Jack was happily munching on a bone. While waiting for some tissue paper to dry I had a cup of coffee in the courtyard and listened to the sound of the fountain in the fish pond. All seemed right in the world.

Phew!

Its been a hectic few days of cleaning and weeding and generally getting things ready for Christmas. Some of the cleaning didn't need to be done now. However while I was at it anyway I thought I'd to do those things I neglect because its much nicer to spend the time at my easel. You know those things that make you feel guilty, the things that leave that nagging thought in the back of your mind. Well its done now YAY!!! You know what I find strange, the more you clean the more you find things that need cleaning. Maybe the clean bits make the dirty stand out more hehehe.
Tomorrow I will start preparing some of the food. Make some potato salad and some roasted pumpkin salad (the recipe I got from my friend Deb). I always ask her to make it whenever we go to her place for a barbecue. Its got roasted pumpkin (obviously) and rocket with a dressing of olive oil, mustard, lemon juice, walnuts and chives YUM!!! I might have to sample some. You know just as a taste test hehehe.
I am missing my art :(. I can't wait to get back to the easel. It seems so long since I've been there. My friend Laura has been in her studio (lucky lady). I don't know how she does it. I just don't find the time with Christmas preparation.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas.

The Christmas Rush

Things are starting to get really hectic now. Trying to keep up with my everyday stuff and also do all the extra things associated with the Christmas season. Little by little I'm getting through it. Would like to still fit in a little gardening as we have a garden party for Christmas and it needs some weeding and a little pruning.
Wednesday is Vanita's birthday. We are spending the afternoon together doing some mindless shopping and then we will go out to dinner to celebrate. I haven't seen her for so long. She will be coming for Christmas and so is my other good friend Kris. We basically have open house. Bring your own drinks and a plate of food to share and we all spend the afternoon and into the night out in the garden listening to cheesy Christmas music and eating way too much. We do this on Christmas Eve because that's the German tradition. Christmas day lunch we are going to Bob's daughter and son-in-law's place. So far the weather hasn't been too hot. Fingers crossed it stays like that.
No art was done today. I'm hoping I can still squeeze in a little art time before Christmas. I'm in such a creative flow at the moment its a shame to interrupt it. Time out with family and friends will do me good though. Have to refill the well sometimes.

She Collected Teacups

Bob's mum collected teacups. The pretty old English bone china type and she kept them in her china cabinet. When she died no-one in the family wanted them and they ended up in a cardboard box that Bob rescued and brought home. I adore them and I treasure them. They remind me of her. She always had a table cloth on her kitchen table and whenever we dropped by we would sit in the kitchen at the table. The table was in front of the window and you could see her plants that grew down the side of the house. There was a particular shrub there that had the most glorious lemon scented leaves. I still have some of those leaves, dried in some potpourri. Anyway I'm getting away from the story. We would sit at the table and she would make a cup of tea. Bob would drink his tea and then go and do some odd job. It was then that she would tell me some interesting story. My favourite story was her re-count of the end of World War 2. She told me how there was dancing in the street and people everywhere filled with joy. She described everything, the sounds, the feelings, the sights and it was as if I was there. I always felt like she knew everything. If I wanted to know something I would ring her and ask and she always knew the answer. I miss her dearly and I miss our chats at the kitchen table. The teacups I have painted aren't exactly old English bone china but I did use them as the model.

She Collected Teacups

collage, acrylic paint and conte on canvas

60.9x50.8cm (24"x20")

p.s. I have all her table clothes and now use them on my own kitchen table.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

I woke up early this morning and got my chores out of the way. I knew if I did that I could spend the whole day on my artwork. What joy, what bliss **insert big happy smile here**. I got the background done on a new piece and have drawn on the image ready to paint. Yes, another of my inanimate object series. This time a stack of teacups that belongs to Bob's mum, but I'll tell you that story when the piece is finished :p.

Its Raining

Its summer and its rained all day. Its been lovely! However when you are in a drought you cringe at all the water pouring down the gutters and not being caught. We haven't had any real heat yet. I'm not complaining. The weather has been glorious. Warm but not hot. Our gutters need cleaning. The water is overflowing so I've got all my buckets out catching the water. I keep getting soaked but its worth it. Water restrictions mean you can't always water your garden when it gets parched in the hot summer sun so I collect every drop I can hehehe.

Tonight is the largest and brightest full moon for the year but I'm not going to be able to bathe in the moonlight as it spills through my bedroom window because the sky is overcast and the moon beams won't get through. Never mind, overcast sky means rain and that's a good thing.

I've posted a pic of my latest work. Not sure how good the image is as its been a bit gloomy for photos. Its another of my inanimate objects that I love so dearly. My work of late tells the story of human life. The everyday objects that turn a house into a home. I suppose its showcasing everyday objects and raising their level of importance. This painting/collage also displays my German-ness by using the word Kaffee (coffee in German). Mum and I go shopping every week. We love to shop at the market as readers of my blog already know. We like nothing better than to sit down in our favourite coffee shop, our trolleys laden with the week's fresh fruit and vegetables awaiting our cappuccino. We sip the hot brew and discuss bargains we have gathered and which are now safely tucked in our said trolleys. Occasionally I might have an orange and poppy seed muffin and Mum will indulge in some fancy cream filled sponge. She's told me that as a child she would see women dressed in their finery, sitting in a coffee shop and drinking coffee and how she thought it was something special. Well I consider it something special too. I love sitting in a coffee shop with Mum, talking about women things and creating wonderful memories.

Eine Tasse Kaffee bitte

collage, acrylic paint and conte on canvas

60.9x50.8cm (24"x20")

A New Canvas is Waiting for Me

Yay I finished another artwork. Haven't taken a good pic of it yet so can't share it till I do. Its nearly time to cook dinner but I've got another canvas waiting for me on my easel. I think I will start it tonight once dinner is over and done with. Well I say that now. Usually once I eat dinner I just sit and watch tv till I get sleepy.

My daughter Julia has started a blog called My Pisces Heart. I've put it in my blog list on the side bar for anyone interested in taking a peek.

Off to cook some lamb chops and whip up a nice summer salad for dinner. Bob will be home soon.

Busy Busy

No time for a long post. I'm keeping those dust bunnies at bay, going to gym and doing my artwork. Will have a new piece to share soon I hope.

Grandma Heaven

We were babysitting Evan yesterday and we asked Zoe if she would like to come too.

Will this joke ever die hehehe hahaha

Evan invented the screaming game


Whenever I screamed back louder Evan would laugh and laugh.
Zoe didn't like this game and I got told off for being too loud :(


Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth ha!

Story time! Evan loved it when Zoe read to him.

Time for a walk.

Zoe teaching Evan how this toy works.

A little dancing is always fun.

There was so much fun, running, playing and dancing that everyone was very tired by dinner time and we all had an early night.

Australia

The movie Australia is absolutely fabulous. Aboriginal spirituality was seen in a wonderful light and told with such sensitivity. The controversy of the stolen generation was also addressed hip hip hurray! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie! Its set in 1939 and shows the rugged beauty of the Australian outback up north. The cinematography is breathtakingly amazing. It has romance, it has war, it has villains, history, spirituality and the injustice of prejudice. Will definitely wait for that one to be out on dvd. It must be seen on the big screen to really appreciate the cinematography to its fullest though!

We are looking after Evan today and I have asked Zoe if she would like to come too. Both grandchildren for the whole day is grandma heaven :)

Lots to Look Forward to

Today I'm taking Mum to visit my sister and we're all going to an art market at the port and then off to the movies. We're seeing "Australia" and the reports on that movie have been good. Beautiful scenery from up north and a love story. What more could you ask for? I'll let you know what its like.

Been a bit slack in the art department this week. Too much socialising. Went out to lunch on Thursday with the girls from my aquarobics class. Had a lovely time and we chatted as only a group of women can. It was nearly 4pm before I got home.

Also caught up with my friend Vanita on the phone last night. Its nearly end of school so I'll get to spend some time with her. We planned going out to dinner for her birthday on the 17th so I'm looking forward to that. I would personally hate having my birthday that close to Christmas hehehe. She did such a lovely job opening my exhibition in Naracoorte this year that Julia, Zoe and I have asked to open our exhibition in May. I think its good having someone talk about your work and art practices that knows you and your work so well. Lots of things to look forward to.

Christmas is coming up fast. Am I ready? HA! At least our home is tidy and clean. I've been keeping up with the chores really well. No dust bunnies in sight. As for the rest of it I'm sure it will all fall into place. It always does.

My Way of Working

This is for Deborah because she asked.

Obviously I start with an idea that's been swimming around my head. Its usually something from around my home; something in my everyday life. I then set up a still life and start taking lots of photos. I like to use lighting to see what interesting shadows I can achieve. I keep moving the objects around and keep taking photos. Once I've loosened up I start getting interesting compositions. I play with those compositions by changing where the light comes from, how much shadow is revealed or by adding new objects etc. I choose the pic that stands out to me as being the most interesting and I print it out. I then crop it so its in scale with the canvas I will be working on. I like to work from photos because it means I don't have to keep the still life set up and I don't need to worry about any changing conditions such as light etc.
Next I start working on the canvas to create a background. I do have a fear of the blank canvas so I need to cover it to ensure I don't freeze hehehe. I start with old book pages or other interesting paper. I use gel medium as the glue and once its set off a bit but not completely dry I tear back some of the paper. It leaves a lovely texture and creates interesting results once paint is added. In some instances it leaves the text from the other side of the paper revealed which means the text is reversed. Once the whole canvas is covered I check for ugly gaps and fill these in with either patterned paper or some hand writing or more book pages. I allow the canvas to dry or use the heat gun to hurry things along. Next I put washes of acrylic paint on and some rubber stamp patterns. That's basically the background done. I then draw the image on and "colour it in" using acrylic paint that I've watered down slightly. This allows the background to show through. I don't worry about detail at this stage. Its just to get blocks of colour down.
Final stage is drawing on top with conte crayons. I use conte to do the shading and add the finer details. A quick spray with some fixative (to set the conte) and then some matt varnish is applied as a protective layer.
I hope that answers your questions Deborah. :) I have pics of the stages in some of my past blog entries.

Lots of Art Activity

Zoe has been working hard towards our exhibition. Here is a new piece she did of her dad and his guitar. She's been working with a different medium and she says she likes it a lot because it does instant shading hehehe.
I have also been working hard and have finished another piece. All it needs is a coat of protective varnish and its done. Next I will do a series of three square canvases. They will incorporate coffee cups from different views. I usually start by taking photos. Moving the objects around and taking loads of pics until I get a pleasing arrangement. I like playing around with light from different angles to see what interesting shadows it creates. So that will be on the agenda for tomorrow, photos, lots of photos.

He Loves Tomatoes on Toast

collage, acrylic paint and conte on canvas

50.8x60.9cm (20"x24")