Artists Blog

A day of constant thunder, lightning and rain. So much lightning that the airport was closed for hours. There was low sunshine making a welcome appearance late this afternoon, but it is a brief reprieve – hail and squally thunder for tonight. Whilst waiting for the storm I pulled out the pencil tin to sketch some Rainbow Lorikeet feathers. I also used an ancient mechanical pencil I have had since highschool. 3 decades on it’s still going strong.

I haven’t played with pencils for ages. They were my weapon of choice all through high school – I was rather scared of paint. My technique is very similiar to how I paint – lots of light glazes of  transparent colour.

During the brief sunshine this afternoon I spied a visitor I haven’t seen or heard from in a while. Can you see him?

Yes, my old friend the Motorbike Frog is king of the fish pond.

To hear how he got his name, click Motorbike Frog.

Perpetual twilight was the order of the day. Here is Beaumaris Beach at lunchtime today.

Time for a cup of tea whilst storm clouds brew…

There’s always something special about using a new writing or drawing implement for the first time. I’ve just finished an ink sketch with a new pewter and feather quill I bought at our last Calligraphy Guild meeting. As you know I’m a sucker for anything feathered. Drawing a bee at night, even with the aid of a real specimen (sadly drowned in the pool) & magnifying glass, wing vein patterns are a true challenge. A dragonfly was very helpful for the finer details.

At the Guild party I was also honoured to recieve a beautiful hand turned pen holder made from the Native Box tree sourced from the Goldfields. Thanks Gaye, it is truly beautiful and I feel complelled to get into my much negelected calligraphy this week!

Bees everywhere in the garden – such an inspiration watching them work so tirelessly. This is one of my favourite bee photos from my garden. Going back through my collection I realised I have dozens of them!

Hope you all have a creative happy week ahead!

I can’t believe it’s been so long since my last post. It’s been a wild whirlwind, with Graduation finalities, Awards nights, visitors from everywhere, art get-togethers and now it’s December and officially Summer. After my last workshop on Saturday it will be time to catch my breath.

Lots of visitors in the garden. Rainbow Lorikeets have “found” the weeping mulberry tree and are staking a claim.

Open the front door and heads pop up all over the tree. Serious mulberry addiction with these nectar loving birds.

The 28 lorikeets get their fair share as well. But it means everything is splattered and stained a deep burgandy. Park your car in my driveway at your peril!

Lorikeet lipstick?

Flowers have gone beserk with one of our wettest springs in a long time. Bees are rolling in ectasy through the magnolia pollen.

The salvia is a butterfly magnet. Painted Ladies cover them in numbers I’ve not seen before.

It’s always sad to see a friend fly away. Marie has returned to NY, but hope to see her again.

And an update on the exhibition from last post – all went really well. I was very pleased to see my paintings in the front windows. I took a new photo from a bit further away as I think Capt. Jack Sparrow lives above the shop…

It’s been a frenzy of activity getting the North Coast Art Club’s latest exhibition ready for tomorrow.

With the setting sun streaming through the windows, paintings were received, checked off, hung and labelled.

It was a collaborative effort to get paintings on the walls – the straightening up comes later.

Warm thanks to Renata who has generously donated a wonderful watercolour piece of Aussie fauna & flora as a raffle prize:

And a huge Thank You also to Chris for hosting the exhibition in his store. We’d love to see you there on the weekend. I’ll be giving a pastel workshop at Frendz next door, so do pop in and say “Hi”.

We are almost at the end of  last term, with only 2 more pastel workshops for the year. The pastel students have accomplished so much, and are producing outstanding pieces of work. I’m so proud of them!

Animals and birds have been a favourite subject, and a real pleasure to paint.

And as we are so close to the beach, it is a constant source of painting inpsiration.

That fellow trying to hide behind Joy and her painting is Chris our esteemed framer extraordinaire. He is hosting our Art Club’s exhibition over this coming weekend – more details tomorrow.

Hope everyone is enjoying a creative week!

Last Friday the lovely Marie and I had coffee and an explore near the Hillarys Lighthouse.

A wander around the Marina with Marie and her camera, then off across the drawbridge to the Marine Research labs.

Behind the doors and windows are tanks with scientists researching our Marine environment.

Sometimes it’s tough knowing who’s checking out whom. This cuttlefish was very intent on eyeballing everyone that went past his window. Very very smart creature this one.

It was feeding time when we were there. Can you make out who’s in the top left hand corner?

That’s his bum up top, and then a From Above view. Yes, it’s a sea turtle.

Next day was Saturday and time for Marie’s Demo at Jackson’s art store.

Marie was fabulous and a wonderfully patient teacher. She is a Full Bottle on all things digital and her mixed media pieces were amazing.

Thanks Marie for sharing your knowledge!

Recently I was honoured to be invited into the studio of Peter Evans, Grand Master of all things Calligraphic. It was an Aladdin’s Cave of the most wonderous of things. Myself and some other Guild members were there to discuss and photograph a tiny part of his huge collection of work.

In one corner of his studio sat some books. That small black one on the left was “nothing” he said. I opened it up and was astounded.

His book of “scribbles” was like opening wonderful blueprints for Illuminated Manuscripts from centuries ago.

With painted pieces of vellum stapled in, thumbnails for a calligraphic piece he was designing.

I cannot tell you how beautiful this little book was.

And the finished vellum piece itself  was stunning.

With real gold highlights.

Such a treasure amongst so many treasures.

Now for the Tool Drool. I have never seen so many calligraphic accoutrements under the one roof! Every single tool for writing ever invented was here. And then some. Peter is amazingly handy at making his own calligraphic implements out of anything.

These pens were once tin cans.

Used like a cigar cutter, this implement is for feathers. Peter made a quill right before our eyes in 2 seconds flat.

Here he is about to demostrate his newest pen.

A quick dip in the ink bottle,

and he’s away!

This is only one of the working surfaces in his studio. Note the sloping angle to help alleviate neck, sholder and back pain!

Good lighting from windows and lamp.

With tools close at hand.

And what fabulous tools they are.

Too many to show in this post. I’m sure in a future post I’ll share more of Peter’s studio and his amazing calligraphic pieces. Just before we left he teased us by opening one drawer of a huge map cabinet and pulled forth the most amazing collection of Life drawings from his time as a teacher of that art. That’s going to be a whole other visit to his studio I’m sure!

Thank you Peter for allowing us the privilege of visiting your studio and sharing your great talent with others. And if you’re reading this, I’m serious about digitizing those amazing sketchbooks for the greater good of the world!

If you’d like to meet this amazing man, come along to our last Calligraphers’ Guild meeting on the 26th of this month. It will be our Christmas wind -up meeting, with lots of activities and things to see. Just drop me an email and we’ll get the party started!

Amazing Artist’s Studios, a silversmithing demo, wonderful mosaics and sculpture – a perfect antidote to this hectic time of Final Exams and Exhibiton deadlines! All aboard the Mystery Art Bus for a tour of local art & artists one Sunday afternoon. Starting at the Cultural Centre we soaked up the sculpture on offer, where contemporary steel sits alongside antique timber.

Light and breeze constantly alter the form of this piece below.

Groovy Baby!

Time to board the bus for art destinations unknown!

First stop a local school where sculpture and mosaic are the highlights. Can you spot the turtle?

The pupils of the school were able to contribute to the magnificient mosaic pieces adorning the buildings.

Their beautiful tiles border the main imagery.

Such a wonderful way to learn about and honour the local wildlife and their environment.

There were so many places we visited in the 5 hours I couldn’t possibly fit them all into this post. The Artist’s Studios we saw were so inspirational. One artist was using silver clay to create delicate jewellery pressed from polymer clay moulds.

Using butane to fire the red glowing clay for 2 minutes was all it took to have pure silver jewellery made at home.

Easily the most amazing transformation of a home bar into home studio.

Textiles and wearable art was also on display.

Can you imagine the hours of hand stitching??

And true inspiration was in the air of the last studio we visited.

Such an organised studio! I think all 39 of us went “OOOHHHHHH” simultaneously!

It made us all want to get back to our own easels immediately and get creative!

But not before a sumptuous afternoon tea at a cafe.

A big Thank You to the organisers and artists who shared their passions with us for the afternoon. You’re all Legends!

I cannot seem to recall a busier time in my life than these past couple of weeks. And the rest of November is shaping up for more of the same. I thank you all so much for your patience with my blogging absence – I promise to catch you all up very soon! We’ve had Year 12 Graduation, the commencement of Final Exams, driving lessons (exam very soon), an Art Tour around the Shire, photography sessions (I’ve taken over 800 photos in 10 days!), painting lessons & workshops, and ripping up and replanting large areas of the garden. And tonight is Opening Night for THREE exhibitions. Nine pieces of work I had to deliver this week – a record for me. I have developed a real need for coffee, strong and often! The nicest kind of busy are visitors from far flung places, including the lovely Marie, who is here in my corner of the world for a while. I think some collaborative Art Adventures are on the cards with Marie!

And how could I forget Her Maj! The Queen was here for the opening of CHOGM, so lots of world leaders in this the most isolated Capital City in the world. It was in Lock Down, No Go Mode for a while….

It’s been very inspiring to see how other artists have their studios set up, and how they go about their work. I’m itching to share these stories and images with you soon. Above is a tiny peek into Peter’s calligraphic studio.

And the garden! You could spend entire lifetimes elbow deep in dirt and still never finish. Roses, orchids, hibiscus, we have had armfulls of blooms. Lots of transplanting and new planting of dozens of trees, palms and ferns. It’s a race to get their roots settled in well before the full onslaught of our hot dry summer begins.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, and if you feel like a dose or two of Art, my exhibition pieces are at:

City of Stirling Council Chambers, Cedric Street, Stirling – open until Nov 12

Currambine Joondalup Art Exhibition, Currambine Primary School, Ambassador Drive, Currambine – open until Sunday Nov 6

North Beach Primary School, North Beach Rd, North Beach.

After the previous post’s slant on painting the natural world, and feathers in particular, I thought you might like a look at another artist with passion for the subject, but on a grand scale.On until this Sunday is Stephen Delaney’s wonderful exhibition at the Monart Studio and Gallery in Dalkeith. The amazingly detailed and massive paintings are just exquisite. I was in heaven taking in these HUGE works (2mtrs / 7ft high). The breathtaking dragonfly at the back is 2.4m (7.9ft) wide.

The feathers are amazingly beautiful – the shape and colour are all perfect.

The gum leaves and insects are mind boggling also.

And more treasures await you.

In the centre of the room a laden table awaits with original specimens and magnifying glasses.

Feather envy, insect envy and gum leaf envy!

It was like stepping into a Natural History museum from Victorian times.

Get along to see it before it closes – you’ll be in awe.