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Push the mids
When the light outdoors isn’t that great to pull a work together cohesively I always remember to push my mid hues. I learned this from a past highly regarded artist/teacher. This actually does work if used smartly without over saturating the hues. This is a section of an artwork and you can see the day has little light to work with.
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Little does he know
My little boy Homer is heading to the Vet specialist early tomorrow morning for a full knee reconstruction or something similar to an ACL knee injury (a bit like the footy players get at times). The next 6-8 weeks will be trying for him and probably me too. He is only four so he is still young enough to recover well. I’m hoping he will recover quicker than they say and back to his bouncy, loveable ready to please self. x
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How to paint with Gouache and a palette knife
I wasn’t sure how to use my Gouache paints with only my pallet knife. Diving in was the only way for me and I have to say my results were quiet nice to see. The texture I was able to achieve with this one tool instead of my brushes has left me wanting more. The palette knife has always freed my work up much more (usually when using my Oil paints), but now I’m happy to say so long as I let each layer dry in between, the Gouache is coping well and I haven’t noticed any signs of cracking in the paint. This was an experiment and I’m happy…
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Whimsical funghi on Hannamule Velour Pastel Paper
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Safe at home
I like to draw and paint people’s cosy homes and the interiors. I’m drawn to these I think as I always feel my most secure at home. We all feel like this mostly but I know there are families that feel extremely unsafe at home. I want my sketches and paintings to bring some cosy, safe joy and know that I think of the struggles some of you are facing. I can’t do much to help but I like to paint to let you see how your home should and can feel again. My plan is to make a little book filled with these safe spaces in my artwork.
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Competition giveaway time (1 more sleep)
I have run a competition via my Instagram over the past week or so and I can’t wait for tomorrow morning when I finally get to choose my giveaway winner. And even more because I love bringing people’s homes to life on the canvas. My experience with running any type of giveaway or competition is limited, so I have already learnt some vital steps along the way. Just the fact that I needed to draft the criteria down rather than keep it in my head as things like ‘how will I draw the winner’, ‘how will I paint an artwork of their home, from life or photos they send to…
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Odd little wonders – work in progress
I really do love nature and have always been intrigued by the shapes, textures, colours, smells of our natural world. On my walks during our winter in Melbourne at times I come across these little treasure patches. They seem so whimsical and earthy and it feels like they are dancing in the wind together or standing to attention on a rock face. So I’m enjoying sketching and putting together compositions of these little cute things. I’m working on Hannamule velour pastel paper for this work and am learning and enjoying the challenge. Has anyone used this paper and if so do you prefer to work on this or the pastelmat…
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Just hanging around
www.instagram.com/p/CP98tl7jJ6y/
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Mudbrick in lockdown
A little mudbrick art studio in it’s cosy surround, picturesque windows built from artist travels in French provincial early-mid 1900’s. This is Montsalvat at the gateway to our Yarra Valley. I spent a few years working up on the mezzanine level as an artist and eventually had to capture it on paper in delish soft velvety pastels. The original is large but this is a lovely little print of it. A place to visit when we are next out of this lockdown in Melbourne.
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Last day of summer holidays
That time has come and I have to go back to work tomorrow. It is always bitter sweet as I would much rather be at home painting and making new art. But I have enjoyed the time I’ve spent exploring with my gouache paints, pastels etc. And I will continue making my little houses as there are so many to capture around my local neighbourhood and further afield too.
