a little of this and that

This week...

Another painting of the bay... (oil on canvas)

the view out my window on a rainy day...

traditional oil still life - waaaay out of my comfort zone - and 3/4 done...

Sharing with Paint Party Friday!
xo L.

Views of the bay

After 4 months procrastinating...

two little works in oil to share...

Hopefully more to come... :-)

Happy Easter  - and PPF! (Paint Party Friday)

When it's cold out!

It's cold.
Well not to put too fine a point on things - its freezing!
Barely reached 13 degrees, and with drizzly rain... a great day for staying side, drinking tea, and looking out the window.

Whatever happened to the clear blue skies, with a crisp morning, turning into nice warmth in the sun - the usual Brisbane winter's I dream about! I am ever hopeful they will return tomorrow - 19 degrees is much more civilised.

I have totally neglected my studio this week.  It is simply too cold in there!   Thinking I should just make a posy in the corner of the family room.  Right under the reverse cycle air con - of course!

But being inside, and having re-camped myself (for work though, not fun) in the much warmer family room, it is a good chance to consider how we use the different spaces in the home.    Why should the studio be the coldest & hottest room in the house? A little oil and turps, a few paint splatters, a little spilled water... nothing to worry about. really. I could set up an art easle right here. Maybe I will!

Here is an oil painting that I've been looking at this week, that I painted last year.  I still like it... which is a good thing!

I really need to get back into the art groove - there are so many fantastic opportunities around!

Sharing with Paint Party Friday.   And if you are Brisbane I hope you have a nice warm spot for snuggling under a blanket!

Where's your best spot, or best tip, to be creative when it's cold out ( and in!) ?

xo L.

Free book The Bay, slow education

So - what have I been doing while its been so hot?

Glad you asked!

I created a book.

It is essentially 5 of my bay art works, with prose and poetry, and some suggestions for use with children including picture study.

But it is more than that too.  It embodies in essence my philosophy of education: which has been largely influenced by Charlotte Mason.  In brief I believe a great education places a high level of importance on the liberal arts, the value of the child as a person, and the importance for all to be exposed to the finer arts of music, poetry, art, great literature, and nature study.  For the time to be taken to allow education as a process to slow down.   To allow children the space to be, and breathe. To encourage a book to be read slowly, each word savoured, remembered, treasured.  For great art to be viewed with focus, copied, and admired.  For poems to be read aloud, memorised and recited.  For great music to be played to nourish the soul.  For observations about nature to be careful, considered, recorded, and thought about.  I guess I advocate for what I would call Slow Education.

It is not a book to be flicked through in 20 seconds.  Although you could - being that it is only 20 pages,  including the fore pages, and index.

It is a book designed to be read slowly.  A poem savoured slowly, thoughtfully.  A picture viewed over the course of a day, a week.    Not because there is anything profound or great in what I've created.  But just because the very act of slowing down, and considering our surroundings with care and thought is much needed I believe in our High Tech, superfast world today.

But even more than that:  For it to be a stepping stone for further thought, reflection, writing and art.

How do I see it being used? By teachers with a class or small groups over the course of several weeks.  Read by a mother with her children.   Maybe enjoyed by a creative soul, and used as a springboard to generate new ideas...   There is by intention lots of white space.  Space for your own, and their, words, thoughts and imaginings...

edit 7.12.12:   For all those who have asked - here is the pdf version

PDF Download here:

The Bay

Click on above for link to download book, The Bay,  for free.

And as a gift back to everyone who ever shared their time and resources with me, it is free.  If anyone gets anything out of my humble book, and feels they would like to, a donation would be humbly accepted.

Note: Australian spelling is used. I consider this book an ongoing work in progress.  I have loose plans for how I could write this up as a teachers resource.  I may even add extra pages if I do any more artwork from the bay.  I just don't know. yet.

Note about downloading: once you click the buy now it will send you a email with the link.  The instructions tell you,  you need to open this link on your ipad, and it will download for you to open using your ipad using ibook.   I didn't realise this until just now.  hmmm might look if there is a better way?

Please share a link to let others know who you think might be interested!

Linking up with REverb 12 at I Saw you Dancing :-)
As always your lovely comments are also welcomed!
xo L.

Oil painting tidal mudflats & brunch

I love to go down by the bay, and see whats happening there.  

Boats on the water

kids playing with a ball

wind surfers

yachts

old folks walking their dogs

children in the park

my hair blown by the onshore breeze

The tide goes out, leaving a lovely expanse of tidal flats

some parts with silty mud

some with more sand

....and a small stretch of fine yellow sand...

Boats anchored close to shore sit and wait patiently for the tide to come back 

and lift them 

afloat again

meanwhile passers by, usually small children, scamper blithely past, oblivious to their plight

The tidal mudflats, some think they are boring

but -  so much to see

to explore...

Waiting for the tide.  Oil on board.  26th September, 2012

Meanwhile - back in the studio.  Having just got back in from a lovely brunch out with a friend, I am now about to tidy the studio.  How did things get sooo messy in there?  Also my dear moggies, otherwise known as 'the psycho cats', after their twice daily mad chasing each other around the house episodes, have taken to using my art desk as a shortcut - so I need to rearrange things for my art supply safety!

Linking to:   artist playroom #29 - free choice challenge.
Love your comments! :-)

life drawing sketches with graphite, week 2

My second week of attending the local life drawing class...  Although I wasn't feeling the best, I am glad I made the effort to go.  Firstly cause I soon felt better :-) Secondly as I got a chance to talk a little more with fellow drawees, and started picking up some of their tips!  Lastly cause I think I can see some tiny improvements...

part of  a standing 5 min pose

10 min pose

15 min pose

20 min pose

15 min pose - the last one of the morning

I have really enjoyed the challenge of life drawing.  It is a open class, meaning no teacher, but there are several others there who have the experience, and willingness, to offer tips and advice - which is welcomed!

In the studio this week: currently in progress are the mail art pieces - ready to be finished and posted this weekend, and I finished this painting (which I've written about here), but it still very wet!  I think we need a good few dry days, but was humid and wet again today with light rain, so I don't think that's helping the painting, even though its great for the fruit trees!

Otherwise nothing else as it's otherwise been a busy week: I joined the gym and have been each day to try and build some momentum, had coffee out with a friend, did the big fortnightly grocery shopping, my daughter returned from a 10 day school trip to Vanuatu, and the usual chores! Where has the week gone!!

Hope everyone has a fabulous, painterly weekend :-)

painterly bay... my backyard

The mudflats.  Oil on hardboard.  18 x 12". 2012

same location, different day....

The challenge this week over at The Artist Playroom was "In your own backyard"...  although not technically right in my backyard - this is pretty close!  We love to take the dogs for a walk along the bay.  This location is only a 5 - 10 min walk from home, and you can walk right around the bay.  At high tide there are small boats bobbing on the water, and you often see the ferry's going across to the islands.  At low tide there are the long stretches of mud flats, which are just as appealing to me - interesting patterns, and glimmers of light.

Not as much fun to walk on - especially with small, white, fluffy pooches! (we only did that ONCE!)

I painted this oil yesterday,  using a palette knife - my first use of a palette knife for a whole painting.  The oil is on pretty thick, and it was colder and rainy yesterday morning, so it's still very wet!    Will be interesting to see how long it takes to dry, as I didn't use any mediums - just straight paint.

On a different note I loved all the comments and feedback to my sketches last friday 'Sketching and Painting" , really made my weekend!

AND of course ( it just occurred to me!) this is soo Paint Party Friday - happy PPF!

Other posts you might like...

Sketching and Painting

Apple Blossom oil painting

We finally got the fruit trees we dug up and potted last December, planted into their new hedgerow position 2 weeks ago.   They all seem very happy, and the apple is in blossom!  We love apple blossom - so pretty with the faintest blush of pink.

Although an afternoons snooze was very tempting, I resisted and instead opted to attempt a small oil painting.   Requirements: 1 coffee, 1 tea, 1 bowl of porridge, some photos I took of our apple blossom yesterday, some oil paints, and a lot of determination!  It took me two goes to get it to this point.   Now it just has to dry :-)

Apple blossom. 6" x 6" oil painting on stretched canvas

One thing I discovered: I don't like painting flowers! Have a great weekend everyone.