Poppies (59)

Poppies are one of my favourite flowers - I love their bright colour and their delicate texture. This picture was painted from a photo my Mum took of poppies growing in a field in England. I liked the contrast of the bright, regular shaped poppies against the chaotic green undergrowth and poppy heads and the play of light amongst it all.

I meant post this a few days ago in time for Remembrance Day as poppies are associated with the World Wars. During the First World War, poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium and, in soldiers' folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. A powerful symbolism became attached to the poppy – the sacrifice of shed blood.

The sight of poppies on the battlefield at Ypres in 1915 moved Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the poem In Flanders field:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Another exhibition

I’m excited to announce that I have another art exhibition – all pastels - up at Juicy Beetroot in Fremantle. This cute little cafe is only open weekday lunchtimes, but I hope some of you can get along to see it. Also, I still have some acrylic paintings up at Two Rubens until further notice. Details are above.

Home sweet home (29)

Having just returned home from a two month visit to the UK, I thought the title of this painting was appropriate! I painted it from a photo I took of an old cottage in Bridgetown very early in the morning. The light at that time of day gave the picture a shadowy, other-worldly feel that complements the subject matter.

A friend who lives in Bridgetown bought this painting as soon as she saw it, along with a few others!

Still life with nasturtiums (86)

Another still life - this time of a bowl of nasturtiums. This is a very sentimental painting for me because I painted it while in the company of my dear friend, Jan, three weeks before she died.

I originally met Jan when I joined her belly dance classes in 1995. Over the years we became very good friends and did many projects and classes together, including art classes with Brian Simmonds. She was a very good artist.

At the time I painted these nasturtiums, Brian was away but we were able to use the studio. A few of the others from the class had turned up and were painting on the verandah, but Jan and I went inside and sat by the heater as she was very thin from her cancer treatment and was feeling the cold.

Jan had brought the nasturtiums and bowl for us to compose, and we sat and chatted while we painted. Afterwards we had a coffee at the little café at the art centre. It was so nice to have some time together, but just before we parted she complained of a pain in her side. She was taken into hospital that night and never came out.

Every time I look at this painting I think of her.

Still life with exotic jug (102)

Sticking with the still life theme, this one of an exotic jug with fruit is my first water colour painting. Again, I painted it at my friend Sue’s house. I didn’t realise that I needed to leave blank pieces of paper for highlights as there is no white water colour paint. Despite this, I think it turned out ok, though the fruit could do with a bit more body.

I find paintings of still life compositions more difficult to paint than subjects from photographs, but they provide good practise at really seeing objects and how they relate to each other ... so I need to do more of them.

Still life with mangoes (100)

Sorry for the delay with posting painting number 100. It’s been finished for a while now but life has been busy lately! It’s a still life painting of two mangoes and a milk jug on a wooden bread board.

This is my first mixed media painting (acrylic and watercolour pencils). I painted it at my friend Sue’s house. She’s an artist and was rehearsing for a mixed media class she was going to teach and wanted a guinea pig. First we discussed the Golden Rule of Composition (the 1/3, 2/3 rule) and I drew thumbnail sketches to find the best composition of the subject matter.

Having decided on the composition, I used a weak acrylic wash to blend the subject into the background, then added stronger colour to bring the elements to life and grounded them by using the watercolour pencils to add shadow. This was a very different process to how I usually paint and I found it a refreshing change and like how it turned out.

More good news – I’ve sold another painting from the exhibition at Two Rubens, A River Runs Through It (see blog from 22 March 2011). This exhibition will be up for at least another month if you want to see it.

Redgate Beach (84)

This oil painting of Redgate Beach near Margaret River comes from a photo in a tourist brochure. I mistakenly titled the painting Redgrave Beach to begin with, and it wasn’t until I saw an article in the paper about someone who had died there that I realised my mistake.

This beach, although very beautiful, is notoriously dangerous and it’s general beach hazard rating is 8 (highly hazardous). In fact, the hull of the shipwrecked Georgette that sank in 1876 can be seen on a calm day.

I started this painting near the end of an art class, after I had finished another painting, and got most of the elements in place in a short time. The refining of the painting was an easy job after that so it came together very quickly. I find that the paintings that I finish quickly are often the best as there is less reworking and they seem fresher.

More good news - I’ve sold another 3 paintings since the last blog! Simply Red sold at the Moore’s Building exhibition, my pastel of the Cappuccino strip in Fremantle sold from the Two Rubens exhibition, and my first abstract, Urban Sprawl sold on Artfido.

Daisy in bed (99) & competition winner

This painting was a Christmas present for my partner, Ian – another portrait of his dog, Daisy. The photo that inspired this painting was taken in the winter after she had been clipped. She was shivering, so we covered her up with a blanket in her bed and she looked very cosy. It was a difficult pose to paint, and I don’t think I quite got the angle of her head right, but it seems to work anyway.

I have an admission to make … I miscounted my paintings - I thought this was number 100, but it’s only 99! I am now working on number 100 and will post it here as soon as it is finished.

Thanks to everyone who entered my third anniversary competition which closed yesterday. The winner is Paul Merrick who said: 'I would get you to do a portrait of my dog, a blue heeler cross, in charcoal. I may even get her to sit still. Oh well, I still love her.' The prize will be in the mail as soon as I find out his address.

Some good news is that my exhibition at Two Rubens is continuing until further notice, so if you haven’t had chance to see it yet you’ve still got time. Another piece of good news is that I sold another painting on Christmas Eve - the oil painting of the Karri forest with the recycled Karri frame (see the blog from 3 July 2012). I was very excited about that sale and hope that it’s a sign of things to come in the new year.

On that note, I’d like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and creative new year.