Patience

I was looking over my past blog posts and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t made a post about my new cat Patience.  She isn’t really new.  I think I got her in October or November of 2016.  She is a rescue cat and she is about 4 and a half years old, we think, not sure though.  She is a very special cat because of her history.

She was rescued from somewhere by someone in New South Wales and I think she had 4 kittens.  So then she was on death row in an animal shelter in NSW.  Then another person came along and rescued Patience and her kittens from the shelter.  Then for some reason Patience and her kittens were shipped by plane to an animal rescue organisation here in South Australia. 

After a while Patience’ kittens were weaned and she then spent a year in foster care until I found her.  When I went to visit her the first time, the first thing I loved about her was her ears, they are quite big.  She was curled up asleep in a cat run and she was very fat Lol!  She was very well looked after, along with other cats.  I was told that she is very quiet and that she doesn’t really like to do anything and sleeps a lot.  This suited me fine.  I really wanted a chilled out cat.  So I bought her home and she was very quiet for two weeks because she was in a whole new situation but she was really enjoying the backyard.  Over time she became really active and lost all her weight because she was able to get out and about and run and jump and climb.  I discovered she was a great mouser and rat catcher and she could stand her ground with all the other neighbourhood cats.  My Mum still can’t believe that Patience is the same cat we picked up and brought home over two years ago.  She seems so youthful now compared to then.  And she is very patient and slowly she is teaching me patience.  She would have to be patient to put up with me I think.  She is such a gem.  I feel so happy that I can provide a place where she can be active and enjoy herself, though I think she does more for me than I do for her.  I think what I love most about her is that she is a survivor and she is so cool about it and just takes it all in her stride.  I really have come to love her. 

Recharge

When I’m going through a rough patch I find mself living for the sunsets.  It was so beautiful 

at O’Sullivans Beach tonight.  I’m sorry, I am aware of the amount of sunsets I post, please forgive me if they are not interesting, I just love them so much😊

Night Wandering

‘She Wandered ThroughThe Emu Bush At Night’

8” x 10”

Gouache and Watercolour

This painting is about the night and the magic and freedom of the night.  I remember reading diaries by Virginia Woolf and I remember her talking about how, at night, all things are possible.  It is a time for dreams, even if you are awake.

Peace

The Bluff Christies Beach, SA

I don’t think I could live away from nature, there is something about being close to things that are real and alive and so vast that puts everything in perspective and brings so much peace. 

Beach Weather

Fish and Chips At Sunset

8” x 10”

The weather is slowly warming up now and we are almost into beach weather.  I got the idea for this painting a while ago.  Eating fish and chips at the beach as the sun goes down is such an iconic thing to do here and I just wanted to capture that in a painting.  Also there had to be animals, including the little Redcapped Plovers which I see a lot during winter, not so much in summer because there are people everywhere.

Flow Magazine 2019 Calendar

I was so excited to receive this in the mail recently.  It is the Flow Magazine 2019, 365 Day, Tear-Off Calendar in Dutch.  It features a new illustration everyday from Illustrators all over the world.  I feel really fortunate to have one of my own illustrations included in this calendar.  I made this drawing ‘Vineyard Dreams’ a while ago but it is still a favourite of mine.  I really love Flow Magazine, it is always so beautiful to read so this is kind of extra special😌

Mental Health Week

‘Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.’

- Ovid

This is one of my all time favourite quotes.  I’m a person who has way too much going on in her brain, usually at the most inopportune times so properly resting my brain has been a learning curve for me.  I always feel so refreshed after getting some real rest.  I thought I would post this painting for Mental Health Week.

Winter Cat

‘Winter Was Especially Boring’

Because my cat gets so bored in winter.

Spring

I think that finally Spring is arriving. We are having days where the air is warm, even by the ocean in the evening.  The air smells of cut grass and the blossoms on the trees are so fragrant, it takes me back to childhood where life seeemed so free and easy.  

  (The little black marks on the sea are surfers, they seemed so much bigger in real life).

The Cold

It has become the time of year where I am getting tired of the cold.  We have had a lot of rain this week which I was thankful for because it has been a dry winter and it means my peach tree is getting a good drink.  I took this photo of the Bluff at Christies Beach on August 1 last year on a rare evening when it was still and there were few clouds.  I think the sky is prettiest in the winter.

Horses Birthday

This photo is a throw back from the late 1980’s of my pony at the time, Tina.  She was a Welsh cross and Palomino.  I always think of her a lot at this time of year because on 1 August it was Horses Birthday for horses in the Southern Hemisphere(to coincide with foaling season).  It was time spent with her, and her paddock mates, that inspires the use of animals in my art.  I spent many years trail riding in the bushland south of Adelaide, coming across all sorts of creatures.  Tina never really liked to be ridden, she bucked me off many times.  Her favourite thing was food, particularly fresh spring grass so I really hope she is in an afterlife full of all her favourite food and all of her friends :)

Portrait

I drew this portrait of my sister in law, Steph, in her wedding dress quite a while ago.  I worked from some photos that I took of her.  I planned a whole project around the photographs but I wasn’t happy with the concept in the end and decided to leave it.  I really did enjoy making this picture though.

Winter Solstice

Port Noarlunga Jetty

It is well and truly winter and even though this sunset may look warm it was quite cold and not much warmth from the sun.  It feels good to put on a coat and beanie and go out for some fresh sea air.  I am so glad we have just had Winter Solstice and that the days will be becoming longer.

Faces

These two paintings are examples of different work that I have been doing.  The girl with the blue background was made with Oil paint and the other painting is Watercolour and Gouache.  I have been working on trying to be a bit looser beacause I just get so tight and I really don’t like the result.  I was happy with these because even though they are not as loose as I intended, they became quite soft and gentle in the end and I started to feel I was onto something a bit different to what I have been doing.  So I will see where all this leads.

Houses

‘Reimagining Salter Crescent’

Watercolour/Gouache On Paper

25 cm x 20 cm

I made this painting earlier this year and I wasn’t happy with it so spent more time on it.  I did put it up on Instagram earlier too.(I did have an Instagram account open but I have deactivated it for now because I found that it wasn’t a great fit for me, I may reactivate it down the track).

In the area where I live, the architecture is quite eclectic and interesting.  I love all the diversity and this inspired me to paint one of my favourite little houses, which sadly has been demolished to make way for town houses.  I think an old lady lived there and there was a little dog that would yap at me when I walked by.  Sometimes there would be a sign saying ‘Eggs For Sale’, so I knew there were chickens as well.  It was just so cute and cosy and I really miss this home now.  I am glad I painted it so I have a permanent memory.

Experiments

My favourite ‘fairy tale’ house on the Esplanade, with an almost full moon.

 

Port Noarlunga Jetty

It’s been a while since I posted and I just wanted to let people know that I am still here but have been largely experimenting with my art this year so far and unfortunately don’t have anything that I am happy enough with to show.  I am excited about what I am doing though and I will post some new art soon.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of pics of my favourite place to go in winter.

Changes

'Still Autumn Night'

Gouache/Watercolour on A4 Paper

'Wild Bunnies On The Esplanade'

Gouache/Watercolour on Hotpress Paper

I haven't posted all year since January but I really wanted to put something up and talk a bit about what I have been doing and not doing :)

I have really struggled health wise this year which makes it hard to make art but I have been doing a bit of playing around with different styles and mediums.  I decided that I had come to the end of the road with my coloured pencil drawings.  I felt I had come to the end of a phase in my life and really felt the need to do something new and slightly different.  I have been playing around with watercolour and gouache paints and lighter subject matter.  I really wanted to move to more of a folk art style in terms of subject matter, painting more about my environment and my love of the country and nature and the lifestyle that goes with it.  My previous works were more confessional and personal and I wanted to move away from that.  I now am enjoying working with the paint, it feels better and more natural than the coloured pencil.

Thank you to all the people who supported me and my art this year, I so appreciate it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and that the New Year brings all good things!