Happy end of financial year everyone! I’ve been excited to write that. Sad but true!
Because I’m finally FINALLY able to write this very special blog post, which is a round up of the total money raised and donated to various charities and NFPs - as nominated by the beautiful women who agreed to letting me paint their portrait and designs for my most recent solo exhibition and series ‘Women of Colour’.
The ‘Women of Colour’ series was my most ambitious solo to date. Two years in the making this vibrant collection of striking portraits saw me able to spotlight twelve fellow Australian creative women who have inspired myself - and countless others - in their fierce pursuit of a life lived in brilliant colour and bold substance. This array of ‘Art with Heart’ set out to celebrate cultural diversity and the gift that pursuing a life of creative contribution can bring while also raising awareness and money for 12 worthwhile charities and NFPS. Subjects included fellow artists, writers, dancers, fashion designers, musicians and social advocates from all parts of the country and each subject or designer was asked to nominate a charity or NFP close to their heart to see 20% of the original artwork price and purchased limited edition prints donated to.
Because I’m finally FINALLY able to write this very special blog post, which is a round up of the total money raised and donated to various charities and NFPs - as nominated by the beautiful women who agreed to letting me paint their portrait and designs for my most recent solo exhibition and series ‘Women of Colour’.
The ‘Women of Colour’ series was my most ambitious solo to date. Two years in the making this vibrant collection of striking portraits saw me able to spotlight twelve fellow Australian creative women who have inspired myself - and countless others - in their fierce pursuit of a life lived in brilliant colour and bold substance. This array of ‘Art with Heart’ set out to celebrate cultural diversity and the gift that pursuing a life of creative contribution can bring while also raising awareness and money for 12 worthwhile charities and NFPS. Subjects included fellow artists, writers, dancers, fashion designers, musicians and social advocates from all parts of the country and each subject or designer was asked to nominate a charity or NFP close to their heart to see 20% of the original artwork price and purchased limited edition prints donated to.
Whilst the exhibition officially opened in March of this year for the physical showing of the 12 completed portrait works at Left Bank Gallery on the Gold Coast, I had made limited edition prints of the portraits available for sale with a further 20% of each print purchased going to each respective organisation from as far back as early 2017, so it’s very much been ongoing. I was so totally blown away to witness five of the twelve original portraits finding themselves forever homes at the opening night of the exhibition and in the weeks that followed after hoarding them for over a year and filling every empty wall in our very small mountain home. I simply could not be happier that these works as a collection made such a beautiful impact on the viewers that experienced them in one hit and my ability to spotlight the work of so many wonderful Australian women that truly are inspiring. Incredible things really do happen when women come together! The remaining works and prints were available on my online shop (and still are) but I wanted to finalise and tally up the final donations from print sales before the end of this financial year, particularly for the first works completed in the series and those which sold as originals.
My decision to make this series of work a fundraising project, came about from a few motivating factors. While I certainly don’t make enough money from my practice to even pay tax, let alone claim any back (well not yet anyway!), I still ache to see my work making a real and positive impact on the communities of everyday Australians, from a range of diverse backgrounds and areas of need – because while it is all good and well to produce uplifting imagery to share in the world, I know the impact of art and my creative contribution can go further. My social conscience is very strong and I realised this even more so when I threw myself back into painting in 2010 and I’ve used my art many times since to raise awareness and funds for a number of causes, including the time I participated in ‘Shave for a Cure’ in 2013 raising over $10,000 for the Leaukeamia Foundation (you can read all about that here.)
I don’t just create art because it feels good and I enjoy it, I also create art to communicate what is most important to me and what I want to see more of in the world. If I were limited to describing what that is in just a few words, than I’d have to say I want to see more ‘Colour, Creativity, Courage and Compassion’ in the world. There could never be enough. My art doesn’t come from a place of pain or struggle, it comes largely from a place of gratitude, curiosity and hope and it’s the result of a lifetime experiencing creative encouragement and endless love from my family and community. This doesn’t make me particularly special, but I'm certainly very fortunate and I’m using the privilege that my life grants me everyday, living here in this lucky country, loved, in a body that affords me an expanse of abilities and a desire to do more than is expected - to pay it forward with what I’ve got at hand.. Majority of us are in this position, with different actions and offerings to choose from. It’s all in the actual doing though and I implore everyone to do what you can, wherever you are, with whatever you've got, Because we are all connected and in this together.
The women who most inspire me are the courageous ones, the deep thinkers, the makers, the doers, the ones that dare to go against the crowd in the hope that they will get more from this short life and as a result their courage and action inspires others and even brings about positive change. I wanted to paint just a few of these women to share their contributions on the platforms I've created for myself, they are women I want to hear more from, and see more often in the media and women that I think others can take great inspiration from.. In fact I want to be one of those women! My art, my actions and dedication of time to this creative pursuit can also help to inspire others, I’ve seen this time and time again and it never fails to empower me. I’m always going to go the extra step, even when I know I should take a few less. Call me an over achiever perhaps, but I continue to feel motivated by my gratitude for this life of mine and it really all stems from there.
Added to these very core reasons for doing what I’ve done with this series, I have to tell you candidly that I so often get approached about donating my artwork for various fundraising events, organisations and communities - many of which I know little about or have no experience or link to - which many artists would also have experienced and can very much relate to. While it is always flattering to have your work admired and thought of, I must admit I find it really overwhelming to be asked so frequently for donations of original artwork. It happens at least once per month, and if I added up the value of the works I’ve donated in total over the past 20 years I would easily have hit more than my current annual income. I don't know how many people can say they donated a year's worth of income to charity. It would be of no great surprise if I were to tell you all that pursuing an artistic career such as painting does not exactly equal riches, or any form of financial stability for that matter and even if I were to sell one painting a day I would never cover the hours of work I’ve put into my practice. It’s a career path that requires great financial sacrifice and redefining of what the word ‘success’ personally means to me vs what everyone else might like to tell you. Yet artists and artworks are so often sought after for donations for fundraising events to provide a unique cultural experience to their audience and provide ‘exposure’ for emerging artists and hobbyists alike. While it is great to have a platform to have your work seen on, it can be quite stressful and financially debilitating to give work away for free and to be asked so often – ultimately to help others in need when many artists themselves are struggling to pay their monthly bills. So rather than allowing the overwhelming number of requests for artwork donations to get me down, I decided to take matters into my own hands and find a happy middle ground.
My decision to make this series of work a fundraising project, came about from a few motivating factors. While I certainly don’t make enough money from my practice to even pay tax, let alone claim any back (well not yet anyway!), I still ache to see my work making a real and positive impact on the communities of everyday Australians, from a range of diverse backgrounds and areas of need – because while it is all good and well to produce uplifting imagery to share in the world, I know the impact of art and my creative contribution can go further. My social conscience is very strong and I realised this even more so when I threw myself back into painting in 2010 and I’ve used my art many times since to raise awareness and funds for a number of causes, including the time I participated in ‘Shave for a Cure’ in 2013 raising over $10,000 for the Leaukeamia Foundation (you can read all about that here.)
I don’t just create art because it feels good and I enjoy it, I also create art to communicate what is most important to me and what I want to see more of in the world. If I were limited to describing what that is in just a few words, than I’d have to say I want to see more ‘Colour, Creativity, Courage and Compassion’ in the world. There could never be enough. My art doesn’t come from a place of pain or struggle, it comes largely from a place of gratitude, curiosity and hope and it’s the result of a lifetime experiencing creative encouragement and endless love from my family and community. This doesn’t make me particularly special, but I'm certainly very fortunate and I’m using the privilege that my life grants me everyday, living here in this lucky country, loved, in a body that affords me an expanse of abilities and a desire to do more than is expected - to pay it forward with what I’ve got at hand.. Majority of us are in this position, with different actions and offerings to choose from. It’s all in the actual doing though and I implore everyone to do what you can, wherever you are, with whatever you've got, Because we are all connected and in this together.
The women who most inspire me are the courageous ones, the deep thinkers, the makers, the doers, the ones that dare to go against the crowd in the hope that they will get more from this short life and as a result their courage and action inspires others and even brings about positive change. I wanted to paint just a few of these women to share their contributions on the platforms I've created for myself, they are women I want to hear more from, and see more often in the media and women that I think others can take great inspiration from.. In fact I want to be one of those women! My art, my actions and dedication of time to this creative pursuit can also help to inspire others, I’ve seen this time and time again and it never fails to empower me. I’m always going to go the extra step, even when I know I should take a few less. Call me an over achiever perhaps, but I continue to feel motivated by my gratitude for this life of mine and it really all stems from there.
Added to these very core reasons for doing what I’ve done with this series, I have to tell you candidly that I so often get approached about donating my artwork for various fundraising events, organisations and communities - many of which I know little about or have no experience or link to - which many artists would also have experienced and can very much relate to. While it is always flattering to have your work admired and thought of, I must admit I find it really overwhelming to be asked so frequently for donations of original artwork. It happens at least once per month, and if I added up the value of the works I’ve donated in total over the past 20 years I would easily have hit more than my current annual income. I don't know how many people can say they donated a year's worth of income to charity. It would be of no great surprise if I were to tell you all that pursuing an artistic career such as painting does not exactly equal riches, or any form of financial stability for that matter and even if I were to sell one painting a day I would never cover the hours of work I’ve put into my practice. It’s a career path that requires great financial sacrifice and redefining of what the word ‘success’ personally means to me vs what everyone else might like to tell you. Yet artists and artworks are so often sought after for donations for fundraising events to provide a unique cultural experience to their audience and provide ‘exposure’ for emerging artists and hobbyists alike. While it is great to have a platform to have your work seen on, it can be quite stressful and financially debilitating to give work away for free and to be asked so often – ultimately to help others in need when many artists themselves are struggling to pay their monthly bills. So rather than allowing the overwhelming number of requests for artwork donations to get me down, I decided to take matters into my own hands and find a happy middle ground.
Knowing there are so many incredibly selfless people in this country working hard for very little personal gain to help raise money for any number of individuals, groups, causes and crisis in our communities, the thought of choosing which ones to donate to and which to knock back - is too difficult a task. I have had to say no to many many requests for my artwork, which upsets me but also helps me keep it real, because yes I’ve got bills to pay like everyone else and I choose to pursue a career that sees me earn far less than I could in my previous career as a teacher. But I want it to be noted that creatives are often the first individuals to get asked to give their work and services away for free. Something many tradespeople for example, wouldn’t be expected to do. I see this as an opportunity to educate well-meaning-people and organisers on one simple point. If an artist is already donating a large amount of work and time to fundraising efforts, don’t assume their buckets are bottomless. In fact you can rest assured their limits have likely, already been exceeded. And this blog post also intends to spread that message further.
For this series and personal passion-project, I wanted to learn about the charities and NFPs closest to the hearts of the women I chose to paint, the women who inspire me! By donating a portion of my artwork and print sales, I was still able to pay it forward in a bunch of different directions while covering most of my own costs. It also means that I can tell you all exactly where I’ve chosen to direct my donations for the next few years, so it won’t hurt so much when I tell the next curious person seeking artwork donations that I have in fact reached my quota. And proudly so! Please know that I write this all with love and hope it helps many to consider new ways and means in which to fundraise for your own passion projects in the future.
So it is with endless thanks to the beautiful and generous collectors of five of my originals and the purchase of up to twenty of my limited edition prints over the past 18 months and winning bids from the opening night silent auction event for the gorgeous donations of dresses from Australian fashion label ‘Mister Zimi’, a handbag and purse donation from ‘Marimekko Australia’ and the stunning Australian made scarf from ‘Letitia Green Designs and framed artist prints from Left Bank Gallery’...
the total amount of money raised from this series so far, is; $5130.
The six charities and NFPs to receive donations (and beautiful humans to nominate each) from this total amount are:
The Starlight Children’s Foundation – received $1400 – nominated by ‘Mister Zimi’.
Beyond Blue – received $1275 - nominated by Letitia Green Designs
Sisters Inside – received $240 – nominated by Amrita Hepi
Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture & Trauma – received $780 – nominated by Charmaine Idris of ‘Diva Headwraps’.
Redland’s Centre for Women – received $760 - nominated by Maryann Talia Pau
Cure Brain Cancer Foundation – received $675 – nominated by Tamara Armstrong in memory of our friend Rebecca Fletcher.
For this series and personal passion-project, I wanted to learn about the charities and NFPs closest to the hearts of the women I chose to paint, the women who inspire me! By donating a portion of my artwork and print sales, I was still able to pay it forward in a bunch of different directions while covering most of my own costs. It also means that I can tell you all exactly where I’ve chosen to direct my donations for the next few years, so it won’t hurt so much when I tell the next curious person seeking artwork donations that I have in fact reached my quota. And proudly so! Please know that I write this all with love and hope it helps many to consider new ways and means in which to fundraise for your own passion projects in the future.
So it is with endless thanks to the beautiful and generous collectors of five of my originals and the purchase of up to twenty of my limited edition prints over the past 18 months and winning bids from the opening night silent auction event for the gorgeous donations of dresses from Australian fashion label ‘Mister Zimi’, a handbag and purse donation from ‘Marimekko Australia’ and the stunning Australian made scarf from ‘Letitia Green Designs and framed artist prints from Left Bank Gallery’...
the total amount of money raised from this series so far, is; $5130.
The six charities and NFPs to receive donations (and beautiful humans to nominate each) from this total amount are:
The Starlight Children’s Foundation – received $1400 – nominated by ‘Mister Zimi’.
Beyond Blue – received $1275 - nominated by Letitia Green Designs
Sisters Inside – received $240 – nominated by Amrita Hepi
Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture & Trauma – received $780 – nominated by Charmaine Idris of ‘Diva Headwraps’.
Redland’s Centre for Women – received $760 - nominated by Maryann Talia Pau
Cure Brain Cancer Foundation – received $675 – nominated by Tamara Armstrong in memory of our friend Rebecca Fletcher.
There are still seven remaining original works from my series and six remaining charities and NFPs that were nominated and have not yet received donations from this fundraising endeavour, therefore I would like to continue to raise funds for each of these organisations in the 2018/2019 financial year. 20% of all limited edition print sales of the following portraits will be donated to the corresponding organisations at the end of the next financial year if purchased directly from my online shop:
‘Rainbow Dreaming – A portrait of Aretha Stewart’ Raising funds for AIME Mentoring.
‘The Art of Giving & Receiving – A portrait of Ellen Stapleton’ Raising fund for the ‘Indigenous Literacy Foundation’.
‘The Water – A portrait of Waveney Yasso’ Raising fund for the Puuya Foundation
‘Embrace – A portrait of Michelle Law’ Raising funds for Rare Cancers Australia.
‘Inshallah – A portrait of Yassmin Abdel-Magied’ Raising funds for Youth Without Borders.
‘Centennial Kim – A portrait of Kim Leutwyler’ Raising funds for The Global Women’s Project.
‘Rainbow Dreaming – A portrait of Aretha Stewart’ Raising funds for AIME Mentoring.
‘The Art of Giving & Receiving – A portrait of Ellen Stapleton’ Raising fund for the ‘Indigenous Literacy Foundation’.
‘The Water – A portrait of Waveney Yasso’ Raising fund for the Puuya Foundation
‘Embrace – A portrait of Michelle Law’ Raising funds for Rare Cancers Australia.
‘Inshallah – A portrait of Yassmin Abdel-Magied’ Raising funds for Youth Without Borders.
‘Centennial Kim – A portrait of Kim Leutwyler’ Raising funds for The Global Women’s Project.
I’d also love to take this opportunity to thank and publicly acknowledge the amazing and supportive staff at Left Bank Gallery, who kindly negotiated their commission % to make it possible for me to not only have a beautiful and professional gallery space to exhibit my series in, but also to make it possible for me to donate the money from the sales that I have been able to. Being a self-represented artist is no easy feat and any attempt to put on a solo exhibition comes with a lot of upfront costs and challenges. It’s a financial risk and there are a lot of factors to be considered and details to be accounted for, and if I didn’t have the right space and team of supportive people to work with from the start - and be able to exercise the amount of control and ownership that I was granted, then I can confidently say that my exhibition would not have been the positive success that it was. Thank you so much to Toby for inviting me to have this exhibition at Left Bank, thank you to Milly for the endless email threads, phone calls and meetings to plan the many events and marketing endeavors that you did for me and thank you so much to Jules for seamlessly scanning and colour testing all 12 of my portraits with so much care and attention to detail. Thank you to Bob and Sandra for always providing me with the warmest welcomes, words of support and willingness to help out anytime I came asking and especially when I didn’t. It is truly a rare thing to find such an incredibly friendly and professional team of people in the one building and you are all so wonderful and very much appreciated by me!
To everyone who purchased a ticket to come along to the International Women’s Day Creative Immersion Day and to the amazing crowd of people that travelled from far and wide to celebrate this long awaited event with me on the opening night, I can’t thank you enough for making both events so very special. I shared so much of my heart in the words I shared with you all and I truly felt that you all saw me, heard me and sent the love straight back. I’ll never forget the warmth and connections and smiles I personally witnessed happening between you all as well, my artistic peers, my family, my friends, my greatest supporters and the gorgeous friends you brought with you.
It was truly magic!
Tamara x
To watch the beautiful video captured by Chantal Keegan click here.
For the complete album of stunning images by River Hazel taken on International Women's Day, click here.
And for all images from the opening night taken by Daniel Snare, click here.
To everyone who purchased a ticket to come along to the International Women’s Day Creative Immersion Day and to the amazing crowd of people that travelled from far and wide to celebrate this long awaited event with me on the opening night, I can’t thank you enough for making both events so very special. I shared so much of my heart in the words I shared with you all and I truly felt that you all saw me, heard me and sent the love straight back. I’ll never forget the warmth and connections and smiles I personally witnessed happening between you all as well, my artistic peers, my family, my friends, my greatest supporters and the gorgeous friends you brought with you.
It was truly magic!
Tamara x
To watch the beautiful video captured by Chantal Keegan click here.
For the complete album of stunning images by River Hazel taken on International Women's Day, click here.
And for all images from the opening night taken by Daniel Snare, click here.
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