There are times in this artistic life that I am afforded the luxury of getting paid for work that I’ve created, watching it head off to far and distant forever homes. Last week I had the privilege of sending a canvas print all the way over to the South of France to an excited new collector. A total thrill! Times like there are so wonderful, so uplifting and really reassuring not to mention financially rewarding.
There are other times when I get to plan for bigger painting projects such as mural works in commercial spaces or at schools where I get to work to a bit of a brief in the designing stages, before launching into some full body working out to create large scale paintings. These times also feel like a huge privilege and honour and are great for getting my excitement and motivation on the up! I'm looking forward to commencing a new mural project in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for progress posts soon enough.
There are times where I get to put my teacher’s hat back on and prepare my home studio for some workshop action, allowing others to come along with an open mind and be inspired to try some new approaches and be waited on as they indulge in some serious making time. My studio is like a little bubble, where time seems to stand still and we can forget about whatever else is going on in the world.
There are times where I get to put my teacher’s hat back on and prepare my home studio for some workshop action, allowing others to come along with an open mind and be inspired to try some new approaches and be waited on as they indulge in some serious making time. My studio is like a little bubble, where time seems to stand still and we can forget about whatever else is going on in the world.
Then there is time for passion projects, and it’s been a whole year since I’ve worked on one. This time last year I was counting down to the launch of my most ambitious series ever; ‘Women of Colour’ - A series of 12 portrait paintings that I created over two whole years. It officially opened on International Women’s Day and I organised a number of events to celebrate the series, to celebrate women of colourful substance and to inspire countless others. I wanted the series to be bold, colourful,and meaningful and to create positive change. The works each had a charity or NFP nominated by each subject (or fashion designer’s work depicted) and 20% of the works sold during the exhibition would be donated. The show was a great success with $5000 being donated to the various charities and I’ve never felt more proud of what I could achieve artistically, as I did at the opening and throughout the duration of the show. It was joyous, uplifting, inspiring, rewarding and quite overwhelming. I feel floaty when I think back to the magical moments I shared with those who came along to help me celebrate, to learn more about the subjects and the series and to just experience the 12 works hanging together.
I worked on this series in between mural projects and running workshops, I worked on the portraits when I wasn’t working on commissions or botanical works for retail spaces that show my work. I worked on these pieces on weekends where I missed out on spending time with my family and friends. I worked because I knew I had to reach the goal I had set for myself, because I knew the rewards would come if I did the work. I worked hard but it didn’t always feel like work. Each time I completed a portrait I felt immensely proud and closer to reaching my goal.
Much like exercise, you feel motivated when you see results but you also feel positive during the actual doing of the work. The endorphins kick in and we feel better for showing up. I find the same thing happens in creative work. Painting is quite meditative, as you focus on a point at the end of your paintbrush and this steadies the mind. When my ‘Women of Colour’ series ended and the show came down, I wanted to slow down and take some time to recalibrate. I didn’t throw myself into a new passion project, I just plodded along with jobs as they arose and held more workshops for keen creatives – but I didn’t have a passion project to keep coming back to in between jobs and my transition back into the slow lane took a lot longer than I thought it would.
I’m now very much attempting to transition back into PASSION! To immerse myself with work that makes my heart sing. To keep showing up to do the work, knowing that it will once again reward myself and others.
The time has come again and I’m currently contacting a few inspiring subjects to consider sitting for portraits. The excitement levels are on the up as I await their responses and it feels good to have this purpose in my practice once again. There are many painting prizes to enter these new works into for 2019, another nice little incentive to get back on the portrait painting horse. But I still need the paid work to continue to float me as I work across both parts of my practice, so please keep me in mind with your own art collecting, mural projects or desire to come along to a workshop. I’ll always need the support of others and as needy as it might sound I need your encouragement. We all need encouragement.
You can show your support by purchasing one of the remaining post card packs from my ‘Women of Colour’ series which includes all 12 of the portaits I painted in glossy postcard form to fit a small picture frame or to spread a friendly message via the mail to your friends and loved ones.
Much like exercise, you feel motivated when you see results but you also feel positive during the actual doing of the work. The endorphins kick in and we feel better for showing up. I find the same thing happens in creative work. Painting is quite meditative, as you focus on a point at the end of your paintbrush and this steadies the mind. When my ‘Women of Colour’ series ended and the show came down, I wanted to slow down and take some time to recalibrate. I didn’t throw myself into a new passion project, I just plodded along with jobs as they arose and held more workshops for keen creatives – but I didn’t have a passion project to keep coming back to in between jobs and my transition back into the slow lane took a lot longer than I thought it would.
I’m now very much attempting to transition back into PASSION! To immerse myself with work that makes my heart sing. To keep showing up to do the work, knowing that it will once again reward myself and others.
The time has come again and I’m currently contacting a few inspiring subjects to consider sitting for portraits. The excitement levels are on the up as I await their responses and it feels good to have this purpose in my practice once again. There are many painting prizes to enter these new works into for 2019, another nice little incentive to get back on the portrait painting horse. But I still need the paid work to continue to float me as I work across both parts of my practice, so please keep me in mind with your own art collecting, mural projects or desire to come along to a workshop. I’ll always need the support of others and as needy as it might sound I need your encouragement. We all need encouragement.
You can show your support by purchasing one of the remaining post card packs from my ‘Women of Colour’ series which includes all 12 of the portaits I painted in glossy postcard form to fit a small picture frame or to spread a friendly message via the mail to your friends and loved ones.
Find them here.
I’ve also added a SALE category to my online shop with heavily reduced original works looking for forever homes.
Find them here.
OR if you are considering coming along for a workshop at some stage this year, I’ve advertised a few dates in the coming months which you can register your interest for by sending me an email.
Thank you as always for taking the time to read what I’m up to and for sharing the love with your kind comments and support.
I’ve also added a SALE category to my online shop with heavily reduced original works looking for forever homes.
Find them here.
OR if you are considering coming along for a workshop at some stage this year, I’ve advertised a few dates in the coming months which you can register your interest for by sending me an email.
Thank you as always for taking the time to read what I’m up to and for sharing the love with your kind comments and support.
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