Painted skies

What a busy, busy time... So my creativity this week has revolved around - running around! However there have been a number of highlights ...

fresh Home made cookies....

sharing tea with new friends

Birthdays to celebrate

wild Sourdough rye bread to make

and...

 

 

Prefect, Pale Peach Painted Skies!

 

Happy Paint Party Friday!

What creativity filled your week?

xo L.

breathe

In part of  a comment I left for Quinn Macdonald recently on her post about time, I said - 

 "I think thoughtfulness (actually being in this moment) and simplicity are aspects of life to be developed and cherished - and in this crazy high speed world we all need reminders to breathe..."

White teapot.  Oil. (For Sale)

This painting symbolises two things I do where I get to slow down and just 'be' - drinking green tea in the morning, listening to the birds in the park, and a glass of red wine at night...

I recently re-evaluated how I use my time.   And I realised you cannot 'bank' time.  I can't 'save' time and put it away ready to be drawn upon when I need it the most (on those days when: I want to paint, need to get the shopping done, cat to the vets, children to music lessons I'm running low of fuel in the car and we something on the table for dinner kind of days)

But I can be a better manager of my time, and put effort into the things I really want to do... which means I need to know WHAT it is I want to do... which lead me to a re-evaluation of goals, and how I currently use my time.

Because if I want to create work I am proud enough of to invest in getting them framed - I need a game plan...

What a difference framing makes! For the Aunties - mixed media.

Goal number 1: get fit.  We are heading into spring and fast into summer here in Australia - requiring (for me at least) to do a stocktake of my summer clothes.  I also found the scales recently and put new batteries in them, and discovered I had a very 'good' winter... and although I don't have a lot of extra weight to loose - I need to put on muscle, tone, and build strength. 

Step to goal 1: I joined the gym.  It was the first time I have stepped foot in a gym in over 20 years.  I'll let you know how I go... I have the assessment and program planning appointment today!

Goal number 2: commit more time to art. 

Step to goal 2: I made myself a timetable.  I needed to allocate time for: running the house, homeschooling, art, life drawing and gym.  There are really not that many hours in a day - not when you start adding in lots of things to do!

Today, I also remind myself to slow down, enjoy each moment, and breathe...

sketching and painting

Ten minute sketching... graphite

coloured pencil and watercolour

pencil - life drawing class

lots of short activities this week - mostly sketching in pencil with some watercolours.  Although I am getting the urge to get the oils out again, maybe this weekend, as I'm NOT going to be shoving 3 cubic meters of garden soil :-)

On My Desk...Mail Art fun

On my desk right now...

Charlie & Max!

Other than the two boys deciding to come and visit me on the desk - this is what I have on my art desk...



Last week I decided to join in my first mail art swap that was on offer on one of the yahoo groups I am a member of.  From what I understand it is where artists send art in the mail to other artists.   Being a newby to the world of mail art I naturally googled it,  and even after some google time I am still not sure if there are any boundaries to this - as long as it can be posted its mail art!

I have to mail some arty fun to nine other people  all around the world, so the costs of postage will be a guiding factor.   I plan on heading to the local post office and checking on this today, but to start the process off ( as we need to post during September) I have started a series of postcards.

The first is a set of 4 largish postcards that I got in the mail to promote the current exhibitiion at the Queensland Art Gallery - beautiful masters from Spain.  (We havn't been yet but it's on my list of things to do before it closes!)

They were just begging to be altered, and as they were glossy they have been sanded, lightly gessoed, stamped, painted, and collaged... so far!  As this dear lady has such a solemn expression I added the word 'smile' - seemed appropriate somehow.   I spent an hour or so leafing through my old copy of 'What Kay Did', finding suitable quotes to add.  A bit more distressing and a glaze or two and these will be finished.

Next I used Cotman Water Colour Postcards, which I added watercolour washes, with drips and backwashes, and a quote.  Not sure what to do next - maybe some stamping?

And lastly, there is one little card, which is watercolour paper with shiva oil sticks on the outside, and a watercolour wash on the inside...

 Now, I just need to claim back my desk from the Boys, get out some paints, and get going!

I'm trying something new: linking in... I'm linking back to Effy's Swoon page  and also Paint Part Friday - so if you are visiting from either of those paces be sure to say Hi!   The art community is HUGE online, and its great encouragement to join in so many different groups and ideas :-)

Love your comments :-)

Not a life on repeat

"It’s true that some risks are not worth taking, but most risks will mean the difference between living a life on repeat and creating a life forged in sweat, on the steps to a breathtaking summit. " 

Raam Dev, 2012

I love this quote I share from Raam - more on this further down.

Some of the things I love...

Taking over the double garage to set-up art, painting, and sewing areas...

crystal and glass containers...

recycling an old massage table into a printer and scanner workstation...

 

pinning altered pages swaps, random, vintage and found objects on the newly created pinboard...

collecting gumnuts, and feathers...

I have spent the past several days sorting, re-organising, and re-arranging the 'stuff' in the double garage.  It is now mostly the way I want it - but things never stay the same do they?  I have loved supplies within arms reach, space to spread out, nice natural lighting from the window, the easel in a prime location, and even the sewing table and ironing board is all ready to go! 

It's not perfect: the rollar doors let dust and the northerly winds blow straight through, with only one window half the space is a little dark, the floor is painted concrete, and has a slight slope!   But what it lacks it makes up with by being almost 36m squared of space that we can now all use to be creative without fear of making a mess, it has easy access to water for cleanup, and I am still within coo-ee distance of the family.

Actually I have made this room so nice and inviting, when I come in here to work ( or escape) they usually follow me :-)

But sometimes I feel a twinge of guilt.  All this space is just for me?  All my art, and paints, and quilting, and altered books - all just for me? ( well I do sometimes allow the family to visit - but you understand, primarily this is for me). 

But back to Raam's quote.  It would be normal to have the car in the garage, and not an art studio.  That would be conventional.  Normal.  But because I don't want to live a life on repeat, and because I would rather live a life richly filled with color and creativity, risk and extravagance, I choose that over convention (or guilt).