Another painting

Following the theme of  "Ponderings" I have recently finished (????) this oil painting.... 90 by 120cm.

Over the holidays we are camping at Dumaresque dam near Armidale..there are wonderful waterlilies in this old water reserve and I intend to sit and draw, and be inspired each day. Bliss!

Lilies

I have finished  a couple of waterlily paintings.

Cloud Reflection is an oil painting on stretched linen ..101 x 101 cm. I used layers of coloured glazes and experimented with splashes of medium over the wet..this is quite evident in the "cloud".

Sunset Lilies was initially underpainted with acrylic and is the same size as the one above. I find acrylic so much "louder" than oils. This painting has had subsequent layers of oil glazes applied.
Both can be viewed  at Paris Design Living, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

More Baskets

I don't feel that I have done very much artisically lately but I have made a few more little baskets from bits and pieces I have found locally.

 Gleaning and gathering promotes the whole ethos of "waste not want not" (I can hear my mother's voice as I type those words) and everything becomes an adjunct to future works.  I retrieved these shells from a friend's seafood platter when eating out at a local restaurant. You might see them hanging off the side of a basket in a few weeks.

 Referring back to the original inspiration of the nest, I finally picked up the brush again and did a few studies on recycled craft paper ...(out of the bin of my brother's factory)..each about 40 x 50cm. Painting on gessoed craft feels so relaxing after the "drag" of the canvas surface.

Again back to the canvas..not finished yet and still way too fiddly..about 50 x 60 on a stretched panel. Will experiment on some wood panel as am keen to paint on an easier slippery surface.

Nest and baskets

A week ago I found a beautiful little nest which had fallen from a tree..so  poignant seeing one of these delicate structures now empty and discarded. 
This one has some white and blue plastic twine threaded through the natural fibres. Plastic is such a blight on our environment.

The nest  inspired me to make some rough coil baskets. I haven't done any basket making for years and I had forgotten what  a peaceful and contemplative activity it is. The core of all the baskets are natural fibres I picked up from my local creek area..the first one was sewn with string, and the second from an unravelled silk  scarf.  The last two (foreground) were made with only grasses, dried vines and twigs. Have no idea what the names of any of the natural materials are, but it was great to go foraging and gathering, and the only implement needed to make the baskets, was a darning needle.

Reflections of Nature exhibition

Last week three friends and I had an art show at the Richard  Randall Art Studio, Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens. The studio is heritage listed and  a most charming venue to exhibit in.
The other artists were Angie Archibald, Sharon Dekoke and Michelle Goodchild. Angie and Sharon are two wonderful ceramicists, and Michelle exhibited her beautiful silk paintings alongside hand made porcelain jewellery.
Although Saturday was a very wet day we had a steady run of people through all weekend and I want to thank all the lovely friends and family who came to visit us.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone, and am grateful to know such talented and giving friends as Michelle, Angie and Sharon. Beautiful work girls!!