 For the first time in a long time, I have had extended time off over the festive season. I was able to spend time with my Mum and dad who visited from Perth for Christmas. I can honestly say it has been very cathartic. The recent hot weather here in Melbourne meant that my hubby and I spent two days in the aircon, reading, watching a bit of TV and doing mundane things in the house. It was fabulous!
Each year at the end of the year, I sit down and think about what I would like for the coming year. I then create a vision board for that year. This is also the time I tick off what was achieved on the current years vision board. Except for one bold audacious goal, everything had a tick next to it for 2024. This was very pleasing to see. Although, we can start a project, set goals, make plans and move ourselves forward any day of the year, the start of the year seems to be the one most people choose as a line in the sand. Some of the areas I want to focus on in 2025 to make positive changes are in in the area of my personal and creative life. Often, we can put areas on hold to focus on another area, which can lead to an imbalance. So, what does this have to do with art? Having a balanced life can help in so many ways with your creativity and can open up the portal to success in every area. I am aiming on spending time catching up with people I didn’t get to spend as much time with as I would have liked to. I also want to spend more time creating for myself. It is true I create art with each art class I run, that is my practice sessions so to speak, I mean creating pieces that sing to me. I want to Spend time experimenting and playing using my sketchbooks. Now all I must do is fit this in with my planned travel and classes for 2025. What a great problem to have, don’t you think? How do you start the new year? Leave your comments below Featured photo: A page from my grid sketchbook "Loose & abstract landscapes"
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 Now is the time of year, I sit back and evaluate the year that was. I look at what worked well, what needs improvement and plans for the following year. Reflection is a good thing. It allows us time to look back on the year that was and take stock of the intricacies of where we have been.
As I sat and evaluated both my personal and professional journey, there were some moments of pure joy and moments of challenges. In 2024, hubby and I decided to bite the bullet and get some renovations completed at home. We had just lost our beautiful fur baby of almost 16 years. It seemed like the right time to get things done as now it was just the two of us to consider. We needed to completely empty the house for the workmen to come in and remove our old flooring and to lay new flooring. The garage and enclosed patio, also affectionately known as “Art in the Garden Room” were filled with the everything from the house. Along the way there were a few little hiccups, such as new toilets to be installed which we hadn’t planned. The dust was unbelievable as the tiles were jackhammered out. Thank goodness we had our caravan; this became our temporary home for five weeks. The flooring was finished, and the painters arrived to paint the inside of the house. They would return a few weeks later to complete the outside. It was all systems go. Hubby and I still had both of our businesses to keep going. As the enclosed patio was filled with our belongings, Creative Circle needed to be moved to another location for a term. The mid-year Open Studio was put on hold, with only the summer one being held. Looking back at my art business, I was pleased to see growth even with the renovations taking up a lot of bandwidth for a period of time. In 2024, I launched the free monthly pain outs. The first month was just three of us meeting up in a local park. Although, a very chilly morning, the sun was out, and we had a fabulous time. Since the first paint out more creatives are joining in as we venture to some of the beautiful locations in the City of Kingston. I have been fortunate enough to meet the most amazing creatives along the way and connect with wonderful people. I have entered several art shows and had my artwork accepted, sold a record number of artworks, and run over 100 classes each year and this is to increase in 2025. Taking stock of the year that was, now is the time to set up plans for the year that will be. Do you assess your year? Do you make plans for the following year? Leave your comments below. Featured Artwork: Unnamed - available in 2025  Recently, I ran my third open studio, giving people the opportunity to see where I work, how I work and my work in person. The first one I held in June 2023, was the rainiest day on record. There were still plenty of people through the doors, the tempting hot coffee and the heaters were a good enticement, sales were also better than I had expected. The second open studio was in November last year and I expanded it to include the Friday night with drinks and nibbles for my art class students. It was a great night and I had plenty of people through the door. The warmer weather lends itself well to having a preview night. Both times I did a SWAT analysis of the event and each time I made slight changes and adjustments to times, offering and set up. It made a big difference to look through my previous notes to see what worked, what needed tweaking and ways to improve. This year due to house renovations, I was only able to hold one open studio. Again, I ploughed through my notes from the previous two to make further adjustments. Whilst, the numbers were similar to previous open studios, it was highly successful. Introducing different price points, new products and lines proved to be a winning combination. Open studios are important for artists as they showcase the how, what, where and why of the art and art business. I don’t know about you, I love taking a peak behind the scenes. It gives you a glimpse into a world that is mostly obstructed from view. Wouldn’t you love to see how your local restaurant operates from receiving your order to the meal set in front of you? How about following the trail of a vial of your blood after a blood test? What if you could sit in the drivers area of the train from here to Melbourne and witness the intricacies of the drive on the tracks? Open studios give you that glimpse into the world of an artist. If you want to get notified of my next open studio, before to sign up for my newsletter in the pop up box, or use the contact form under contact and FAQ Do you like to take a peek behind the scenes? Leave your comment below. Featured Artwork: Symphony at Sunset - currently entered for an art show  Loneliness is on the rise in Australia, I imagine we are not alone, and it is happening globally. It is not fussy about your age or gender
According to the APS (Australian Psychological Society) one in four Australians feel lonely. During the 2020 and beyond lockdowns, this number may have been significantly higher. There is a plethora of information and statistics on the internet regarding loneliness and it’s mental, physical and health factors. The facts are frightening. I know when I moved to Melbourne coming up now 27 years ago, I didn’t know anyone. There wasn’t any family here, initially there weren’t any work colleagues, it was me on my Pat Malone. I found the loneliness extreme for the first three months. It was a fight to keep mentally positive. To meet new people, I attended courses such as photography and golf lessons. Each of them got me out of the house and meeting new people. It was an opportunity to break the isolation factor. Recently, I was running one of my art classes and, it caused me to think back to my own efforts to fight loneliness. I listened as the conversation hit a crescendo of multiple conversations, laughter and connection. Could art classes help the loneliness epidemic? Could those few hours each week, create deeper connections, could they foster a feeling of community and belonging? I believe it can. Those few hours of sitting in a room with likeminded individuals, deep in thought, or sharing titbits of daily life, recommendations of a movie or recipe, or a glimpse into family life, as you create, paint, and draw, transport you into another world. Does a world of connection and creativity, enjoying a new hobby or interest, come from those regular art classes? What re your thoughts? Do you think art and art classes could help with the loneliness epidemic? Please leave your comments below. Featured Artwork: Cityscape on the River  Future proofing is sometimes easy to neglect. Case in point. A few years back, I graduated from creating my art in our enclosed patio. I wanted somewhere that was mine, I didn't have to pack up each time we had people coming over. I wanted to be able to leave a semi- finished artwork up on the easel without worrying that someone would see it in progress. I wanted to be able to leave my supplies out and not have to pack them away after each session. You can read more on my previous post here about how my art shed came about.
At the time, we purchased a shed that was basically a space for me to create and be out of the way. When we purchased the shed, it was the perfect size. It fitted all my materials, a good size studio easel, a desk and even a dog bed for my little studio companion who has since passed. It was perfect and was well used. Fast forward a couple of years later and the dilemma began. I started running art classes and required more supplies and although the supplies expanded the art shed walls did not. Slowly, I was finding it more difficult to create in the space as the class inventory took over. Hindsight is a valuable tool. Quite possibly, if I knew the direction of my business was going to change, I would have looked at a bigger space and this would have future proofed the space. Obviously, we don’t always know what is around the corner, however, sometimes it can be wise to think about where you will be in two, three or five years down the track. Will what you are planning now, stack up in three to five years? There are so many ways we can future proof our businesses and life by asking a ourselves a few simple questions. These questions can range from, what if ….., how will….., why would……, if I….., you can fill in the blanks based on what area you are looking at. If I had asked myself, if I grow this business, will this be suitable? What if I take on more clients, how will it effect the space? I am sure you get the idea. Do you look at future proofing areas in your life or business? How do you assess where you are at now and where you want to be? Leave your comments below, we would love to see how you do it. Featured Photo: My little studio buddy  When I first moved to Melbourne from Western Australia, I didn't know anyone, there was no family here and I had no friends here either.
I took golf lessons and I also did a short course in photography. Back then, it was using an SLR camera. Digital cameras weren’t really around back in those days. Years ago. I drove up to Croydon as I had heard about a camera shop that sold excellent second hand cameras. Armed with my new acquisition I headed off to the photography course. At the course we learnt about composition, values and all the technical prowess around the SLR camera. The week before end of term we headed to Mordialloc and took shots around the creek, beach and Pompei’s boat yard. Finally, on our last week we developed our film in the dark room. Gosh, there was a lot to do to finally see the end result. So much has changed in the last 28 years. Nowadays, we have these amazing phones in our pockets that produce outstanding photos. You can quickly snap a moment in time with ease and see the results immediately. Phones these days have better crispness and clarity than the older digital cameras, along with outstanding photo editing capacity. Artist now have a major tool to create reference for their works and use the reference immediately. The sun hitting the trees, the bird in flight, the cheeky smile of a child, or the light hitting a vase at that exact moment. There is inspiration everywhere and capturing those moments in time is easier than ever before. When I am en plein painting, often, I will take a photo to reference the light and shade before it shifts from my subject. Do you take reference shots with your phone? Do you have any tips? Leave your comments below. Featured Artwork: Glass Waters will be featured at 15-16th November 2024 Open Studios  Recently, I have exhibited in local art shows and exhibitions. I was very fortunate that several of my pieces sold at the shows. On two occasions, I was able to meet the collector of my artworks.
What came up in the conversations was how the artwork spoke to them. The pieces were quite different, watercolour and abstract mixed media landscapes. I know when I am creating a piece, I almost get this giddy feeling and butterflies. When I experience those feelings, I know I am happy with what I have produced. It may take time during the process for this to come up, sometimes it can be immediate within the first layer. It made me wonder if similar feelings came up for the observer of art. Does the art talk to them through feelings, emotions, memories. Does the art take them back to a time and place, does it send them into an unknown exciting future, through the art piece? I know, personally artwork feeds my soul, both purchasing and creating. It evokes emotions and mostly brings joy. Art is for everyone and is always a welcome addition into ones life. Do you have an art piece that has evoked an emotion for you? Do you create art and have physical or emotional responses to what you create? Leave your comments below. Featured Artwork: Entertaining Angels and Friends  I have mentioned before the benefits of using a sketchbook or journal on a regular basis. I have several sketchbook/journals on the go, ranging from a watercolour book, one dedicated to en plein air, messy background journal and one for courses I do.
Each one has a unique voice and job within my creating zone, each one is special and exquisite with all the flaws. I was gifted by my hubby a beautiful A4 journal last year and that has been my journal for doing grid creations. I have a template I use with the option of four large grids or six smaller grids. In this journal I experiment with colour, shapes, stamps, stencils, materials, mediums, designs and more. Using the grid, I generally work on all of them at the same time. Adding colour, subtracting colour, creating marks, removing marks and challenging myself to be brave and crazy. These grids give me a library of experimentation with no expectation. There are things in there I truly love and other parts I don’t. Each grid or series of grids have a purpose, they are a reference library for future works. I can look back for inspiration, I can see what worked and what didn’t work. I can look at several grids and from those come up with an artwork I would like to produce. Grid work is also a great way to get the creative flow working if it just isn’t happening. Because the grids are small, I can work on a few with only a ten or fifteen minute time frame. This gives me the chance to be creative every day without having to allocate hours. The sketchbooks and journals are precious to me and many don’t see the light of day, they are my safe place to experiment, have fun and practise. They are similar to a diary with your innermost thoughts. On occasions, I share a book with my class to show them how beneficial they are and what I use them for. The photo above is a sample from one of my sketchbooks/journal. Feel free to leave a comment below.  A few years ago, now, I attended a course that had all of us working on multiple paintings at one time using a grid. I found it to be exhilarating. AT that particular course the substrate was divided into six equal sectors. You worked across the entire painting (abstract) ignoring the tape that divided your work.
Once the paint had dried and the final marks were placed on your artwork it was time for the big reveal. As you pulled away the tape, individual paintings came to life. What had looked like a mish mash of paint and marks became beautiful pieces of work to be admired and appreciated. Since completing the course, I continue to use this method when creating mini works ensuring that I keep a loose flow to my pieces. With my open studio happening next month, I have been using this method to create some mini loose landscapes. My Natures Twist series was also completed this way, I laid out my canvas panels along a large table and worked on the pieces as a group as opposed to each individual one. I find colour consistency and the looseness of the work produces artwork I can not create when working on singular work. Do you prefer loose landscapes or my realistic landscapes? Please leave your comments below. Featured Artwork: Half Past Three from the Natures Twist series  I have just returned from a week down at Phillip Island. Our plans were changed as we recently adopted a rescue fur baby.
The weather was chilly and most days it rained, yet we were able to feast our eyes on some spectacular coastline. The day before we decided to head home early, I visited a gallery in the main street of Cowes. As I walked in, I noticed a board advertising an art class that afternoon. After chatting with the artist owner and her invitation to come back for the class, I couldn't wait to return later that afternoon. I enjoyed a few hours of painting a scene from my phone photos. Interestingly, I found it funny to have the colours squeezed onto the palette for me, colours I wouldn't have started with and some colours I would never have picked. Being an artist who enjoys working with a limited palette and mixing colours to create what is needed, I somehow felt overwhelmed by the colour choices made for me. I work from the sky down and this time I had to start working from the ground up. I found it challenging, yet exciting and different at the same time. It was fun to become the student and experience the class from a completely different way, when the fellow artist had no idea I also create art. Featured Artwork: Sunderland Bay, Phillip Island - work in progress, will be available for sale when completed.  I am an over packer. I am the one who has the 'just in case' or 'extra for someone else' type of person. I can't help myself, I do it wherever I go whenever I go. I am guilty of this misdemeanor when I go out to our monthly paint outs. I add a few extras for anyone that may have left something at home or a new person who wasn't sure what to bring. Suddenly, my backpack is filled with extra items, I don't use and generally no one else does either.
So... last month I decided it was time to take the plunge and cull what wasn't required and scale down to a more manageable kit. I looked long and hard at what I really needed and set about setting up a new kit. Firstly, I changed from a large backpack to a sling bag. I now need to fit everything into it, leaving room for my purse, phone and keys. This is such a great grab and go kit. This is now what I carry:
Only last weekend, I headed out for our monthly paint out, with my chair slung over my shoulder, my sling bag filled with my kit and a coffee in hand, I was set for a joyous scaled down morning. Do you have a special kit for your en plein air excursions? Feel free to share your recommendations in the comments below.  When I run classes at any of the programs I run, including at my studio "Art in the Garden Room", I always recommend to sign the artwork and date it on the back.
I wish I had done this when I started back painting. Fortunately, modern technology means I can work out dates based on the photos on my phone. I love to look back and see the progression in my artwork, how my brushstrokes have changed, my colour palette and style changes. My art has always been inspired by nature, the style and colour palette has changed over time, yet my artwork continues to be inspired by nature. Over time, I realised, I prefer to paint impressionistic and abstract work, using mixed media. When we look back at our artwork it can trigger ideas, identify what we love, what we prefer to leave behind and monitor our development. Looking back can move you forward to exciting new ideas, spark joy in following your own artistic journey and create a sense of accomplishment. This is why, I highly recommend having a sketchbook for practice as well as a safe private place for experimentation. Do you sign and date your work? Do you like looking at an artist's earlier work? Feel free to leave a comment below. Featured Artwork: Spring Meadow  I love attending art classes, as a participant. I get to take the time to be in my own creative head space. I learn different techniques, mediums and experiment with new ideas. One idea that really got me excited was painting using a messy background to create figures and florals. So excited was I that on I continued on with the process and felt a newfound excitement in what I was creating. The excitement felt like I was a child back playing, creating and making some really fun art. Before I knew it, I had started to create some really cute gals, they needed names and a story as they came to life before my eyes. GIven my work is inspired by nature, these classy ladies are a departure to my current works. So why have I called them "Mildred Paints"? I felt child like and free when creating these beauties. well, here is the short story behind it. When I was a small child, possibly from a baby, my Dad had a nickname for me. I don't know where it came from, how he came up with it, but I loved it. As he did the countdown to throwing me into bed at bedtime, he would call me "Mildred Knickynooker". I love the name; it brings back memories of me as a child with my Mum and Dad. So there you have it, why I have called this series "Mildred Paints". I feel like these gals could be your friends, family member or you....... who knows. I had so much fun creating them, plus loads of feedback that they made people laugh. Mildred Paints was born, bringing colour and playfulness to my art practice. I hope you enjoy them as much as I love creating them. They are going to be around for a long time. Featured Artwork: Carla and the girls Feel free to leave a comment below  My life has changed in so many ways to what it was even ten years ago. I was working and juggling a business. I seemed to always be on the go and in a rush. I would be full speed from one appointment to the next, rushing to make deadlines, rushing to a meeting, rushing home, rushing, rushing, rushing. There was no time to stop, look around and smell the roses.
When my business closed due to COVID, I was spending more time creatively; I was less rushed. I slowed down and adjusted my thinking, my speed, and my entire outlook. I started to stop and smell the roses, take in the scents that surrounded me, the colours that engulfed my views, the shapes that danced in front of my eyes. I started to see the world from the artist's eyes. Where I teach art classes, one of the participants said to me recently, "I walk differently now". She went on and explained, I now really see the sunset or sunrise, I now look at a tree and see the gnarly bark and twigs, I see the different greens in the grass. I understand what she was sharing, as I experienced the same when I started to slow down and invest in my creative experiences. I do walk differently, my eyes are open to the wonders that surround us every day. The ever-changing colours in the sky, the earth, grass and vegetation. The shapes in buildings, fences, nature, and structures. Suddenly, everything took on a new meaning, new excitement and new opportunities. My walk was mindful and I was in the moment, experiencing the delights I had rushed past for so long. Do you enjoy walking, have you slowed down to stop and smell the roses? How does it make you feel? Drop a comment below and share your story. Photo: Rose from our garden  When was the last time you played with no agenda, no outcome required, and just faffed around? As each year passes into adulthood, we are less likely to experience a time of play as priorities and responsibilities change.
Spending time doing something fun without any particular required outcome, or faffing about, I like to call it, is relaxing and can be very cathartic. As an artist, we are encouraged to play, experiment and just let go of the outcome. This weekend I spent time in my studio and decided to have a play with my watercolours. Throwing on some colour in my sketchbook and letting it dry, I looked at what I could make of the wash I had laid down. I had no intention for what I was doing, I had no desired outcome, I was going to play. Allowing time to experiment, play and let go of outcomes can lead to some amazing discoveries. I mostly use a sketchbook for any playtime and can reference anything I have done that I can use in future artwork. Enjoying the moment and letting go of the outcome can be so rewarding on so many levels. My hubby likes to get out in the garden and move things around, pot up plants, change locations of items and spend time experimenting with what looks good and what he can do to improve an area. There isn't any specific outcome in mind, just time lost in his thoughts and in the garden. Whether it be in the art studio, the garden, tinkering in the shed or fussing in a craft room, the joy of playing can't be beaten. Do you take time to play without a specific outcome? Leave a comment below to share what you do. Featured Artwork: A pen and wash, from my watercolour sketchbook |
AuthorLee Cummins is a mixed media artist, workshop and art class facilitator. Archives
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