Small paintings

I found some great wood bases for small paintings the other week and thought I would play with gold foil as a background.

The berries and vine were found clinging to an old crumbling pink wall.

Perfect little painting to sit on a shelf or sideboard.

Red Berries by Julie Smith

Friday Tulips

How's it going folks? Ive been a little 'ho hum' with a nasty cold. Hmmm, it must be nearly Winter!

Actually, I love Winter. I'm a 'green' girl. The pastures fill with grass again with feed for the horses, my garden gets watered more regularly (more weeds to deal with as well of course). But I also have a great excuse to play more in my studio! Plus we have a tin roof and there is nothing better in this world than listening to rain on a tin roof at night time. :-)
Which is your favourite season. Why?

But I digress. Even though I have been feeling pretty yuk, I have managed play with some paint on a little canvas for Paint Party Friday. I am working on a series of flowers at the moment, and had thought that after applying some varnish to make the colours pop it would be finished. But looking at it now, there's a little more work to be done yet. Maybe? Any ideas? (other than sorting out the horizon line)

Pink poppies acrylic painting

Addit - Mothers Day! Happy Mothers Day to you all!

Well, I had another look at my Tulips and decided that after a little advice from the clever Linda, I would add a little birdy and a few golden stenciled blossoms. I am now happy!

And I had some lovely lush yarn that I thought I would crochet up into a nice scarf. 

 And just to finish off for the day, I found this rather showy hibiscus that was almost bigger than the plant itself! Perfect for Floral Friday.

Well, that is definitely my lot for today. Time to go in a say hello to hubby as it must be cup of tea time. 
Tarrah all. :-)

Just a little poppy or two

It was time to get back to painting. Time to really get stuck in with fingers and toes. Well not maybe the toes, but maybe a finger or two!

Red Poppies Acrylic Painting

A nice bright, cheery little canvas with lots of layers. She sits at the front entry of our home welcoming those that wonder through the door. :-)

Layers apon layers

Have always loved the look of encaustic wax on canvas. The idea of secret layers being built up with only snippets from previous layers peeking through. Some of these art works can look almost ethereal.
I have over the years used similar methods of semi - transparent layers using acrylic paint. Placing washes of paint over dried layers then wiping off to leave just a hint of what came before.

When you let go - Julie Smith (mixed media on canvas)

 But then I came across the book below. ( I receive no income from this link)

Encaustic effect using acrylic

And found wonderful ides for building up layers using acrylic mediums to create a wax like effect. Yay! No fumes!

Well, I had a wonderful old time! Lots and lots of layers - about 8 in all then finished with pencil and Posca pens just for a little depth.

Acrylic mixed media on canvas

And then found a little easel. So cute.

Abstract landscape 1

I'm very pleased with how this turned out and the brain is ticking over with more ideas. So many ideas, so few day light hours!

My Big News. And other smaller events.

Sesen Textile and Mixed Media Art Studio

Drum roll please.........
I am incorporating a gallery into my studio! Yes! I am so excited!
Having been involved with little co-ops and had scarves and paintings in other peoples exhibitions or galleries for a number of years, there has been this little voice whispering that I could do this in my own space.
So when we were designing our house, I made sure that my studio would be big enough to include a little section for the public to drop in and check out what I make and how I make it!

But of course life gets in the way and the past two years had been taken up with building our new house and making it a home and I had been caught in the rut of producing same ol', same ol' for the on-line stores. Well, it was easy. People like what I created and it helped pay its way. But in the meantime my studio was becoming an embarrassment and I didn't like inviting people in.

So there I was deciding that enough was enough with the mess and disorganization that was my work space. Something had to be done because I had become lost. I felt like I was achieving nothing and going nowhere. ( mid life crisis/ menopausal hissy fit?).

Mixed media cards and canvasses

 
By the end of December a lot of stuff was thrown out and generally made tidy, when a little door in my head opened and said. "Remember Julie? Remember that you wanted  to invite people in? Well now you have the room!"

Hand painted silk scarves

So my little gallery has become a work in process.
And little section it is too! Only 3.3m square (11").
My wonderful hubby (extraordinaire)built a sectional wall for me to hang paintings up and we put together a shelf for bits and bobs.
I have approached a local artists collaborative to be included in their open studio map and approached the council for zoning to be told that  because I only have a little space and will be open by appointment rather than full time no zoning was needed on their part (yeeha!).

Silk and Cotton Nuno Felted Scarves

So now I need to design a sign for the verge and need to create wall art and other yummy things! I'm thinking I'm about 4 weeks away.
So wish me luck on this next stage of my artistic life!

An Inspired Life

Earlier this year I decided it was time to put brush to canvas again. I had been too long away and had been focusing on the textile arts and crafts and was missing the lusciousness of working with liquid mediums.
Christine Skeggs from SkeggsArts in Bunbury was holding mixed media workshops in Busselton, so I had no excuse!

Christine (on the left) with a few of her art students.

It was time to play again! Yay! Christine has the same affinity with mixed media on canvas as I, so was the perfect teacher to get me going again.
Unfortunately, with this last term getting busy for me with my online stores I was only able to attend one term. But I will be back next year Christine! It was so much fun!

She holds an end of year exhibition for all her students work and luckily I was able to complete one painting. ( I do have another part completed sitting in the wings) This was great for me as I was able to see the amazing creations of other artists in the area.

A beautiful honey eater on display.

My piece (below) was inspired by both imagery from the book Wabi Sabi Workshop by Serena Barton and the words of Lao Tzu from one the books of the late and great inspirational author, Dr Wayne Dyer.

“This is called the Hua Hu Ching, written by Lao Tzu. It’s the unknown teachings of Lao Tzu. Number 51 says, ‘Those who want to know the truth of the universe should practice the four cardinal virtues. The first is reverence for all of life. This manifests as unconditional love and respect for oneself and all other beings. The second is natural sincerity. This manifests as honesty, simplicity and faithfulness. The third is gentleness, which manifests as kindness, consideration for others and sensitivity to spiritual truth. The fourth is supportiveness. This manifests as service to others without expectation of reward.”

This verse above plus another was used as part of the design.

My canvas was created using tissue, wisps of wool fleece and a fine fabric mesh donated by another member in the class. Then washes of colour painted on then wiped off to leave just a tint. I'd wait for one layer to dry before applying the next. 

An Inspired Life

Wayne Dyer had only just passed away a few days before working on this piece and I was feeling quite sad at the loss of this great mentor in life and felt I needed to somehow convey something in this canvas to show my respect for this great man.

He was inspirational in so many ways and in turn was inspired by the Tao Te Ching, so it seemed right to include this verse that was so important to him into the image.

Me

So thank you to both Christine and Dr Wayne Dyer for your inspiration!

Note - This painting is for sale. If interested please inquire.