This painting is available for purchase via my Etsy store. Prints and products are available via Redbubble.
Moonlit Tree – Original watercolour painting of a black swirly tree silhouette against a blue starry moonlit sky
Tag: starry
Heart Felt at :the mezzanine: @ Entangle – Living Art
The Heart Felt exhibition at :the mezzanine:, Entangle – Living Art, is happening in just under a week and I’m starting to get nervous excited!
This is the first time I’ve been involved in an exhibition since before my daughter was born, and I think the theme fits perfectly with my painting style. Many of my paintings, especially my ‘family tree portraits’, feature hearts and convey feelings of belonging, love and connectedness.
I really enjoy being involved in exhibitions. Not only do they give me an opportunity to showcase my work, but they also allow me to see the work of others. My husband is staying home with the kids on Friday night for the opening, so this exhibition will also an opportunity for a kid-free night out!
If you enjoy my work, I really hope you’ll take this opportunity to come and see it in person. I do my best to scan or photograph artwork carefully, but seeing it in person really brings it to life. There are also 6 other artists showcasing their work, and from what I’ve seen of their work so far, I’m extremely honoured (and maybe a little intimidated!) to be showing my work alongside theirs.
“Heart Felt” opens at 6pm on Friday 4th August at :the mezzanine: @ Entangle – Living Art, 38 Williams St, Dayboro. The exhibition runs through until August 27.
A family portrait with a difference!
Many people are looking for interesting art for their walls to represent their families. I myself have grand plans for a family feature wall in our next house.
I can create a work of art for you that represents your family in a unique way. In my family tree portraits, I represent the family using a number of my signature swirly trees.
In the portrait, I represent each parent in a different primary colour. I then represent the children as a secondary colour that is a blend of the two parents’ colours, to represent that the children are a blending of the two parents. I also use hearts to represent the love the family shares. I can do any variation on this theme you like, including creating a portrait for blended families with stepchildren. It is a great way to have an artwork on your wall that uniquely represents your family. These paintings can be created as anything from small watercolours on paper to large acrylic paintings on canvas.
Another way your family can be uniquely represented on your wall is in a painting like this:
In this painting, only a couple are represented – however, smaller birds could be added to represent children. Once again, a painting like this can be commissioned as anything from a small watercolour to a large canvas. I have plans to create a painting like this for my own family – but I think I might make the background more like this one:
If you’d like to commission a painting that represents your family in a unique way, please contact me!
Abstract watercolours
I love painting in watercolours – it’s definitely my favourite medium. My watercolours are a bit unusual compared to many I’ve seen, as many of them are abstract or naive in style. I love making abstract watercolours because it gives me a chance to let the paint have a ‘mind of its own’.
Many of my favourite abstract watercolours are inspired by science, like my ‘Moons of Jupiter’ series:
Some more ‘space’ inspired works:
From the very big to the very small – some of my other abstract watercolours are inspired by microscopic images:
But I think my favourite overall is this one – it’s only a tiny painting, but it has a lot of detail:
Don’t Forget to be Awesome
So I haven’t posted here in a while, for a lot of reasons – I haven’t had much time for creating since I had my kids, and I’ve had even less time for the more tedious aspect to having an art business: promotion. I’ve completed a few paintings since I last posted, but just didn’t get around to putting them up here. I’m also hoping for a long-overdue overhaul of this website, but I’ve decided not to wait until that’s done before I start getting organised again.
My latest painting is called DFTBA, and I think it’s very fitting that this is the beginning of my creative revival. I hope you like it!
More Owls…
I recently had a request for a painting featuring owls – I’d never painted an owl before until a bit over a week ago when I painted Satellite and Sage. Now I could be a little addicted!
Here’s my latest creation – I’ve titled it “Midnight Meeting”:
I’m looking forward to this Saturday’s Handmade Expo, where I will have my original art, keepsake boxes, jewellery and cards for sale, including some owl-inspired pieces. Brand new to the market will be my wearable art rings, featuring prints of some of my most popular paintings.
I’ve still got a week to make new pendants and rings – are there any designs you’d just love to see on one of my jewellery pieces? Let me know and I’ll make sure I have them there.
Hope to see you there – stop by and say hello!
Satellite and Sage
This week’s topic over at Illustration Friday is Satellite.
I’ve combined this idea with a request I had for some owl paintings, and come up with this:
The satellite is of course our moon, and the sage is my wise old owl.
I’m going to have a few more tries at some owl paintings, so stay tuned!
Seeing Stars
I’ve always been fascinated by the stars – I love looking up at the night sky, especially when I’m away from the city and the artificial light no longer dims the stars. One of my favourite childhood memories is that of looking through a neighbour’s telescope. So it’s not surprising that stars feature heavily in my artwork. Nor is it a surprise that some of my favourite Etsy items are star-themed as well. Here are a few of them:
From top to bottom, left to right:
1. Starry Night Cobalt Glass and Silver Charm Bracelet by Trash and Trinkets. This charm bracelet features the prettiest shade of blue, along with star and moon charms.
2. Stellar Stream – Indigo/Gray Freeform Crochet Necklace by Irregular expressions. I am in LOVE with this necklace! I love the title ‘Stellar Stream’, and it really does bring up memories of seeing the milky way clearly emblazoned across the sky. Best of all, it’s totally unique!
3. Starry Night Serving / Pasta Dish by Spinster Sisters Pottery. This dish is so pretty it almost seems a shame to put food on it! Glazed in midnight blue with white crystal stars, it would make a wonderful centerpiece to the table.
4. The Original Velvet Purple Candileria by Blue Room Pottery. How cool are these? I can just imagine how pretty a room would look lit by candlelight filtered through one of these beauties, stars playing against the walls.
5. Starry Night Necklace Lapis Lazuli, Pyrite, Sterling Silver by Red Chair. If you were to trap the night sky in a string of pearls, I think it would look something like this. This stunning necklace features lapis lazuli beads, blue as the night sky, offset by the shine of Pyrite.
6. Starry Night Embroidered Cloth Napkins by Monkey Beetle. These simple, elegant and beautiful napkins would add a little starlight to any dinner table. You can even get a glow-in-the-dark version!
Inspire Me Thursday – Inspired by Mademoiselle Caroline Riviere
It’s been a while since I’ve participated in an Inspire Me Thursday challenge, but I’ve really enjoyed this one:
This week, let’s try something a little different. Let’s all download Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière and use her somehow in a piece of art. You can cut, collage, paint, decoupage, whatever your heart desires as long as you use some part of this image in your art.
The portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière is a painting by the French Neoclassical artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, now in the Louvre. [more information here]
My interpretation of this challenge was to create a watercolour painting/collage with one of my signature style backgrounds. I also gave her a bit of a wardrobe update and a bit of extra lippy. I’ve titled this one “Mademoiselle Caroline Riviere Dreams of Love on a Starry Night”.
If you’d like to buy this painting, it is available at my etsy store.