Spring (sort of)

 

 

 

 

 

Spring has arrived and I say sort of because we are still having rain and storms while it is trying very hard to warm up.  I did get out for a walk today, it was so warm and felt good to wear a t shirt again.  Thought I would post this photo of new spring Ranunculus which have really cheered me up.

 

I still have illness hanging around, though things aren't as bad as they were in winter.  Just trying to drag myself out of the mental and physical hole I have been in this year.  I have felt artistically confused all year also which hasn't helped things.  Just trying to work out which road I want to go down next.  Which brings me to a drawing I made a while ago.

 

 

I was talking to someone last week about this drawing.  I thought I had done my research and had drawn a Crow like the ones I see everywhere but apparently they aren't Crows they are Ravens.  I'll have to do more research and find out more about it.  I really love them.  They perch on the power pole outside my yard and I sit and watch them.  I read that they are extremely intelligent and capable of tool making.  I watched some amazing videos about it, it was so fascinating. 

 

Bye for now :)

 

 

 



Lamb and Blue Wren

 

 

 

 

Oh wow.  This month has been so trying!  The weather is absolute crap, raining every day which makes it hard to get out and do any exercise.  My yard is a mess of weeds and I feel embarrassed every time I look at it.  I am definitely on the verge of getting out there and making it look nice again.  Feeling not so good mentally or physically.  Just waiting for some sunlight of the physical and metaphorical kind. 

 

This picture is one of my latest body of work.  I love lambs and it's lambing season right about now.  I also love Blue Wrens.  There was a Blue Wren that used to jump around the garden outside the kitchen window at my Nanna's house.  When I was on holiday there I would sit at the kitchen table and marvel at it's beautiful black and blue plumage.

 

 

This drawing was made with colour pencil on board.

 

 



Cats

 

 

 

'Besties'

 

 

 

 

 

'Frenemies'

 

 

 

 

I love drawing cats.  I wouldn't say I'm a 'cat mad' person but I have one and she is so mysterious to me that I feel compelled to draw versions of her.  She's so aloof yet loves to follow me around and get involved with whatever I'm doing, especially gardening.

These drawings were made with coloured pencil. 

  

Jungle Animals

 

 

 

                   

 

Oh wow, two posts in two days.  I think that's some kind of record for me. 

I just finished this coloured pencil drawing for my new baby niece, Phoebe.  My sister inlaw, Steph said she wanted an artwork featuring jungle animals.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  I wanted it to be bright and interesting, I'm hoping that they will like it.  

 

I'm not sure what I will do next, I'm having lots of new ideas lately which is great.  I'm eager to start working on those and see how that turns out.  At the moment I'm in the middle of giving my house a massive clean, so have been distracted by that.  I can't wait til I can settle into some new work again.

 

 

 

Lizards

 

 

 

 

Hi there!  It's been a while but yes, I'm still here (just)!  Just thought I'd post this quick ACEO I made for a card that I made for my brother for his birthday.  He loves lizards.  I love lizards too but not as much as him.  I love the little Geckos that come and live in the house over summer. 

Before the drought, I had a few Blue Tongue Lizards living in my backyard.  Once, I had left the back door open for the cat to come in and out and one of the lizards came inside and hid behind the washing machine.  I had to feel where he was and gently wrestle him out!  My cat just sits and looks at them with a perplexed look on her face - it's really funny :)

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Cat

 

 

 

 

 

Hi there!  This is my Christmas drawing for Mental Health Coalition, South Australia.  I thought I would do a Christmas cat, inspired by a couple of great people who work at the Mental Health Coalition.  I also noticed on the Mindshare website last year that some people weren't looking forward to Christmas.  I know Christmas can be stressful when you have an illness to deal with.  So this drawing is about Christmas not going quite right. 

 

I'm not too stressed about Christmas yet.  As long as I have somewhere to take a nap on Christmas Day(after 2 days of food preparation!) I'm okay.

 

 

 

 

Spring Flower Inspiration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Spring, even though the weather is still coolish.  Just had to share some of the plants flowering away in my garden at the moment.

 

Flowers always inspire me when I'm not feeling particularly creative.

Dark Horse

This is my latest illustration 'Dark Horse'.  It's coloured pencil on board and the size is  36 H x 52 W.

It's kind of a snapshot of how I was feeling a couple of months ago - defiantly trudging along through life.  :)

I really enjoyed working on this one.  I enjoyed drawing and colouring all the little details.

On another topic, the South Australian Living Artists Festival (SALA) has just begun and I'm looking forward to getting out to see some art.  There is a retrospective of the work of Anna Platten (one of my fave artists'!) on at the Art Gallery of SA which I am really keen to see.

Well, for me it's back to painting and giving my garden a much needed clean up to get rid of all those winter weeds!

bye for now :)

Sketchbook Drawing

Hi there!  Yes, I have posted much later unfortunately.  Lots of excuses but that's boring stuff (including a bout of flu - yuck!).

Have been trying to keep warm in this frosty weather.  I am usually spending time walking down the beach this time of year but illness has prevented that.  Winter is the best time to be down there as there aren't as many people and I can drift off into my own little nature world while I'm walking.

As you can see I've been drawing in my sketchbook.  I drew this from a photograph of Lanie Lane on a magazine cover but she kind of morphed into a totally different girl.  This happens to me a lot when trying to draw people and faces.  It's like there are all these people inside of me, bursting to get onto the page.  In the photograph of Lanie, her eyes were more intense, but I feel this girls eyes are wistful, dreaming eyes.  

I don't usually show these types of drawings, I only do them to keep my mind sharp.  I'm working on an illustration at the moment which I had hoped would be finished and posted by now but isn't.  Hopefully soon.

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mum.  Our whole family are going out to lunch tomorrow and I hope mum has a fantastic day.  I am really looking forward to some yummy food and seeing my family!

Bye for now :)

Autumn

'Why does the end hurt so beautiful?'

Yes, it's Autumn here in Adelaide.  We had the most beautiful, warm, golden days up until a couple of weeks ago.  Since then it has been cold and there has been rain, which I always look forward to because we were in drought with water restrictions for so long.

I wanted to do an autumn artwork.  I was thinking about endings and how sometimes when some things end, it really hurts but the hurt is intertwined with memories and there is this beautiful kind of melancholy(though still awful), kind of like the beautifully coloured leaves and dimmed light of autumn.  Also sometimes, I just don't want things to end and don't want to let go but I have to.

My health has been improving lately and I'm hoping to get much more art done.  I'm so grateful when my head is clear and I can think clearly about creativity and what I'm doing.

Well, I hope to post again sooner rather than later!

Bye for now :)

Easter

Hi there!  It's been a long while (again!).  I've been under the weather for quite a while but things seem to be improving a bit.  I've been reading when I can.  I bought 'My Life In a Column' by Tracey Emin.  It's a collection of column entries she wrote for the Independent newspaper.  It's so good.  She has such enthusiasm for life and seems to feel so free.  I wish I could let myself be a bit more free (too much worrying!).  I also love the stories she tells about her cat 'Docket'.  When I've been low, I read it and she always cheers me up a bit!   I've also been looking at art books and magazines, mostly contemporary art.  There are so many great artists out there.

As you can see I have made an Easter inspired artwork for mindshare.  It kind of has many meanings hard to put into words.  I don't like to talk much about what my art means because I like others to take their own meanings from it.  It isn't meant to be a religious work.  I guess I was thinking about when I was a child and I felt so unfettered and 'New'.  I was thinking, 'how do I get back to there?'.      

Chrissy Art

Hi there!  This is my Christmas artwork for Mindshare.  It's in coloured pencil and ink pen.

Life has been kind of heavy lately so I wanted to make something happy, cute and uplifting.  I guess it was inspired by the stories I heard about 'Mad Pride' and 'Bonkersfest' in the UK.  I've spent so much of my adult life feeling ashamed of my illness and eccentricities but i've decided to embrace those things, they're a part of me, part of who I am.  The world would have no colour or beauty if everyone was the same.

In the same vein, Christmas can be what I make of it.  Christmas doesn't have to be what popular culture dictates.  I think most often that it isn't and people end up disappointed.  I do get into the spirit somewhat.  I love giving pressies and baking yummy stuff!  I just don't have the unrealistic expectations of Christmas that I used to.

Well, warm Christmas wishes to everyone!

bye for now!

Doll Experiments

'Elsa The Red Shoe Girl From The Deepest Seas'

H 70cm

Muslin, Calico, Wool.

Hi there!  It's been awhile, I know.  I've been experimenting making dolls.  She's a prototype named Elsa.  I love vintage looking cloth dolls.  She kind of turned out Folk-Art-y.  Not that there is anything wrong with Folk Art, it's just not what I intended.
I was inspired by the story of the 'Red Shoes' and swapping a meaningful 'handmade' life for a life of artificial highs to ease the pain of loss of self and spirit.
Of course she's from the 'deep', like all my figures are.  As I finished Elsa I was flooded with new ideas, so hopefully I will upload more dolls down the track.  I'm preoccupied with drawing and painting at the moment which is what seems to happen when spring comes along and the sun's out for longer.

Bye for now!

New Art Blog

Hi there, this is my new Art Blog.  Please feel free to look around.

'The Light At The End...'

Oil on Canvas

100cm H x 76cm W

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'Hanging On To That Star'

Oil on Canvas

100cm H x 76cm W

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'Gardening Keeps The Monsters Out'

Coloured Pencil on Board

40cm H x 29cm W

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This is a Coloured Pencil drawing I did for my Nanna.  The paper is roughly A3 size.