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. 
 

Just this weekend, I was gifted a weekend to myself.  Hubby headed off to a blokes weekend in the country and I had the house to myself. As our little fluffy mate passed away over three months ago, there was no one relying on me or waiting for me.  I was as free as a bird to do as I pleased. 
The monthly paint-out had been postponed due to inclement weather.  This had been my only commitment over the weekend.

After heading out for some extra art supplies I headed back to my studio with the heater blasting and started on a project I had not had time to do for months.  The panels I had purchased had sat there on my shelving teasing me every time I went into the art shed. They would look at me and I at them, wishing I had the time to take them off the shelf, unwrap them and then cover them with creamy delicious acrylic paint. I started slowly on my idea using paper and working on my idea for the eight panels. Suddenly two hours had slipped by as I worked on a small 20cm x 20cm piece.  I was happy with the outcome.

Finally, the next day I set up in the garden room with panels, paint, water, brushes, palettes and paper towels, I was ready. I could now start on my project giving it my full attention.  Throughout the process, I mixed an array of colours, used a variety of mark-making tools and skimmed books for the right words to jump out at me for the collage.  It was exhilarating, to say the least.  I didn't stop for a coffee or a break, I was so focused and in my zone.  After many hours, I was finished, it was time to sit back and let them dry so they could be varnished. 

The gift of a weekend to enjoy creating was invigorating, peaceful and filled with what I love to do. I think you need one of these weekends once and a while. 

How would you spend the gift of a weekend to yourself?  Leave your comment below. 
 
Featured artwork: Unscaled Peaks and Uncharted Waters

When I picked up painting again, I went straight into acrylic paint.  It was fun and forgiving and I enjoyed the medium.
Over the last couple of years, I have taken lessons in watercolour, pastels and gouache.  I love various mediums, given I do mixed media, that is a good thing!

For the last twelve months, I have been enjoying the medium of gouache. So what is gouache, I hear you ask.
Gouache is a water-based paint not dissimilar to watercolour, it is however, matte, opaque and creamy.  Being similar to watercolour, it is more opaque, which means you can layer from dark to light and correct mistakes. I love how the medium quickly dries to a matte finish, making it ideal for photographing, and scanning for prints and doesn't have that shine.  

As I have been venturing out on en plein air excursions, gouache is an ideal medium to take out and about.  It is compact enough for a small palette, dries reasonably quickly and can be activated with water.  I enjoy being able to sketch and then paint while I am out, sometimes in my sketchbook and sometimes on watercolour paper. These en plein air paintings are then reference guides for future work.  The fact I can paint in the colours of the day is ideal to capture the moment, the shadows, the highlights and the essence of the session.
   
Although you can paint larger paintings using gouache, it is often associated with smaller works from an A3 - A5 painting. Smaller work on A3 to A5 is ideal when you have limited time and space, making gouache the perfect medium. 

The artwork you see here is a small artwork on paper using gouache. This was done with an initial light translucent wash and then layered with a more creamy gouache texture to give depth to the piece. 

Have you heard of gouache or do you use it?  Leave your comments below, I would love to see your comments. 

​Featured Artwork:  The outback shed

As much as I would love to have hours and hours to sit and paint, the reality is, it just doesn't happen very often.
Like many of us, to be able to paint for several hours in one go is a luxury and one that doesn't happen as often as I would like.

With running art classes and an impending house renovation calling for attention, I manage to carve some time into my week to play in the sketchbook and lately creating mini landscapes. 

These landscapes are half an A4 size paper,or some are 20cm x 20cm.  The paper has a luxurious feel as it is 100% cotton watercolour paper and is a pleasure to work on.  Allowing myself an hour or so to work on a landscape or finish one off means I am still able to create for my art business. Most importantly, I continue to keep that creative muscle working.   

The joy of time carved out of a busy schedule helps to calm my mind, taking time to forget about what is happening around me, my to do list or anything else that pops up.  

Growing up, I had no idea my grandmother my dad's side was an artist.  It wasn't until recent years I found out she worked with charcoals and watercolour.  I now sit and wonder if this was her stress release from her busy life of being a nurse, mother and living on a poultry farm.

Besides the escapism, the joy of honing my skills with watercolour and gouache on small works. 

You can see some of my current mini landscapes created during these times. 

​Please feel free to leave a comment below. 
 
    

I remember as a small child the gift of a point and shoot camera, the type that had a flash cube click on top. ​Pocket money was saved up for the purchase of film and then developing. Being able to capture moments in time was thrilling to me. 

My love of photography continued into adult life when I completed a  photography course which also had a component for dark room developing.  
Nowadays, we are so lucky to have a camera with us wherever we venture.  Our phone can capture those moments in time. We can capture any exciting or beautiful inspiration right then and there.  

I take many photos when we are out and about.  It may be the perfect rose bloom, an unusual colour combination, a bike leaning against an old fence, a cloudy sky, some shadows playing amongst trees or the reflection in a pond.  If you look with art in mind, it is amazing you will find something for inspiration, everywhere.

At the art classes I run, I am often asked, where do I find ideas for my artwork.  The answer is everywhere.  I take photos when I am out and about, I save photos from the web, I cut out photos from magazines that have a colour, texture or design that speaks to me. Found objects such as shells, twigs and leaves are a particular favourite. All of these combined offer me inspiration for creating a new piece of artwork. One piece or many pieces together may spark an idea for an artwork, sometimes it could be a single word that carries me away.

​Where do you find inspiration?  Leave a comment below.
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Artists that find inspiration in nature have a never ending opportunity to bring the outside in.  Nature has a certain way that it casts a magic spell over us. A walk in nature, you can hear the rustle of leaves, the lapping of the ocean or a sunrise or sunset filled with vibrant hues.

As the urban sprawl continues and medium to high density living increases, there is less and less opportunity to experience nature regularly.  Art is a way to bridge the gap between the great outdoors and the limited space indoors. 
Mother Nature offers endless inspiration from mountain peeks, rivers and beaches to the tiniest of petals on intricate flowers and everything in between. 

Art can be a conduit to the connection between nature and indoors, creating a certain ambiance melded with your own personal decorative elements.  

Imagine waking to a beautiful bouquet of flowers on your side table with water you never have to change, or a sunset that never sets on your wall.  You can have it all with art in your home.