Colour Burst

I  hope everyone is enjoying the Easter break, also Anzac Day for us here in Australia.  Raining again, although we did have a beautiful day on Good Friday and picnicked in the park with family.  We have eaten our share of chocolate and other easter treats and I will be glad to get back to normal again!  Too much of a good thing!

The above painting is just a small one - acrylic on canvas.  I'm thinking of making a matching pair of large paintings based on this small design for my lounge area - a big burst of colour!

Page 64

You may have already heard of 'What I wish For You'  by Patti Digh.  Happily I received a copy of it in the mail today, since my artwork (page 64) has been included alongside an essay by Michelle Drabik (page 65). Woo Hoo!

Really exciting to see something of mine published with this lovely group of writers and artists.  The essays in the book are full of gentle wisdom, accompanied by some beautiful artwork, I'll be treasuring my copy! 

Thank you Patti for the opportunity to contribute to your book!

Now to settle in with a cup of peppermint tea to read it from cover to cover!

Just Married!

Another painting in the naive style I enjoy so much, this one called 'Just Married'.  I loved painting all the little flowers floating down like confetti on the happy couple.  It was completed in just over a day, since Saturday was a consistent downpouring of rain, and there was nothing else left to do but paint!

Busy

This fish is a lot like me lately, diving into the car in the mornings for the drive to the station, then hopping on the train for a 40 min ride down to work.  Days at home I dive into the housework so I can have some free time left over for art and other things.  In a word, busy!

We have been sitting on our veranda in the shade for our morning coffee during the summer months.  Now that it's cooler we've moved the table out onto our front patio where it gets the sun all day.  A lovely peaceful spot amongst the herbs, the lime tree and tomato plant.

My son has just passed his Learner Driver test with 100% accuracy, so we are now officially in driver training mode.  I think I'm more nervous than he is :)  We will organise some proper driving lessons as well, so he'll be up and motoring soon.

I have also been happily road testing some handmade soaps from Martie.  They look and smell just gorgeous and leave your skin beautifully moisturised.  You can buy them in her Etsy shop if you would like to try them too.

Tomorrow is Saturday and I am going to tackle another big painting.  I'll let you know how it turns out...

Banksia Pods

This is a drawing and sketch I made of a banksia pod , some ten years ago, now pasted in my journal.  The first a semi-abstract drawing, the second a realistic sketch.

Banksias are character filled trees native to Australia, with quite ugly seed pods that are wonderful to draw.  During a bushfire, the intense heat makes the pods crack open and drop their seeds into the earth.  When the first rain comes, up pop the banksia's with their olive green, often serrated leaves amongst the green fuzz of the other native plants also regenerating.  And so the cycle continues.