I want to paint!

Not having a studio at the moment is driving me crazy! We are moving in 3 weeks so everything is in boxes. I have two paintings I want to complete by next Wednesday and I'm going to have to unpack and delve into some boxes and set up my easel again. I had stopped buying paint about 8 weeks ago because I didn't want to have to drag it all to Rye, so I have hardly anything. Sketching sounds like the obvious solution to my lack of creative outlet, I draw a lot, but drawing always leads me to painting so its frustrating when I can't follow through. There are however many benefits to setting up in a new space - I need to purge anyway, I have some canvases which I have painted over again and again and really need to get them re-stretched, I also want to work on a new series and refresh my materials (and ideas).

A gallery nearby(ish) has sold anther 2 pieces for me (I've sold my art through my own space for the last 3 years so having someone else talk about my art and sell it is a strange feeling) my works aren't exactly easy to explain so they are really doing a great job too. It has always been the plan to go out into the wider world with my art in 2009 when I don't have my studio/gallery, so timing couldn't be better.

I'm finishing this blog with one of my own paintings - this is pretty much my favorite - I completed last year. Should have held onto it :(.

Rhys Lee

Ahhh, another favourite. I have been thinking about him today (and Anthony Lister) because one of my boxes is full of artist postcards/invites. Rhys was in there, I can't remember which exhibition it was for but it was older work, the colorful carnival scenes. Luminescent almost fluorescent oranges, pinks, greens, yellows. His palette is amazing. I can't afford his work ( I went to a solo at Helen Gory about 5 years ago and the works were $7,000, if I had the money then I would have purchased one). This is GREAT work, an amazing artist. This guy can paint. In general, I would never buy a painting (over say $1,500) if I had not seen more than one. I want to see where they have been, what they have produced in the past and how they have evolved. I want to know that they can paint, and not just copy and copy and copy because it sells sells sells. This guys work moves me in a similar way to Angela Brennan (though she is a number of years ahead in her career). I look at this and almost weep!.

SOLD!

If there are a few weeks where I don't sell anything, or there are no nibbles, I question my abilities - is my work bad and no-one is telling me? Talk about paranoid. This flips as soon as the sales come in of course. Looking at my dog right now, even he has a sold sticker on him (the small red dot in the middle of him), it's hard to see but it's there on his fur. My little kitten Wilbur was playing with a row of red dots which are now scattered all over the floor and one has stuck to Bailey. Apparently there has been a slowing down in art sales over the last few months which is not surprising considering the economic downturn. I have my own little gallery where I sell my work and have managed to sell a few pieces during this time - I also have other work to fall back on (teaching etc.) if I didn't have this, I would be so stressed and this would affect the work I do.

Regardless of the current situation, I find more and more people are 'getting into' art in general (original art that is). At the same time though it will still take a lot of people many years to realise the value in original art. And I mean the 'real thing' (something you love, something good, something that speaks directly to you) not 'brand' art (a name only, another post). It still floors me when someone asks Why does art cost so much? Arrggghhh.


This is part of my studio boxed and ready to go. I'm bursting at the seams now to create as soon as we move (to Rye in December). I have so many drawings, ideas etc and I just want to start. We are renovating a double garage, adding sliders at the front and a deck ,its totally private and surrounded by trees, a dream!

Paintings Update

There was a painting I was working on in August which I have posted again here. I had said it needed something on the left, so I added another figure, though he is fragmented hahaha he is a head and a striped tie. My figures have started to come apart a little (oh dear do I feel like I am coming apart? nope, could mean something else though? interesting. I used to include chairs in my paintings and had someone point this out and ask if I should sit down to paint), I like this, so now there are heads, torsos, shoes, ties floating around the landscape. All the same bustling figures I see in the inner city. How is this going to change when I move back to the country?, who knows, but I'm excited about it.

Rye - here we come!

My husband and I are relocating to Rye in December, we can't wait! we have been living inner city for years (Richmond for the last 3) and are really over it. We are both originally from the country, so it won't be a huge shock for us. One of the many bonuses is that I will have a big studio. I have really outgrown the space I am in now and need to spread out. There are so many things I want to do which I need tools and room for which can't be done here.

I'm thinking about having 'open studio' days every Sunday in January which I'm really excited about. This will hopefully give me the opportunity to meet potential collectors in the area (and people in general). It will be fun too!

I am also in the process now of meeting with some galleries, little scary but I knew one day I would need to do this...and it's so important for me to establish great relationships with whoever I exhibit with, so I am taking my time with this one and doing my research. In the end, I want to sell my work, it makes no sense to me signing with the first gallery that comes along if my work doesn't really appeal to their clientele. Which of course isn't good for the gallery either.

I am looking forward to the future!

the WAR of ART

OK, it has been a while since my last blog (sounds like a church confession!) Of course I have given myself PLENTY of excuses. The fact that I haven't produced a single artwork over the last few weeks (which I am not happy about), doesn't help. I haven't felt particularly inspired, though I still need to blog. I do feel like I'm having one of those slumps though, where I question everything all over again, subject, palette etc. I just need to get through it.

Something that helps me get my creative juices flowing again is a little book called the WAR of Art by Steven Pressfield. I am sure plenty of you have it, if you haven't it's a must! not only for creative people, everyone should have this book. It's an easy read too, it's short and to the point. I read certain chapters over and over again, sometimes the whole book again. One of my favourite chapters is "Resistance and Love" (page 42):

"Resistance is directly proportional to love. If you're feeling massive Resistance, the good news is, it means there's tremendous love there too. If you didn't love the project that is terrifying you, you wouldn't feel anything. The opposite of love isn't hate; it's indifference.

The more Resistance you experience, the more important your manifested art/project/enterprise is to you - and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it".

Love it!!!! I'm about to drop some work off to a great (and reputable!) gallery in Melbourne, then off to the folks house in Ballarat, I'm feeling good.

Evolving as an artist

My style varies a little, to me a little too much though to others it doesn't. I guess I can be overly critical sometimes. However it's hard not to think about this. Artists seem to be under pressure in their early years to stick to a definitive style. This allows an artist to fully explore a chosen theme / technique before moving onto something else. Works are also more sellable if they are easily recognisable (it helps). It probably says something about my impatience as well. I get bored easily and a little too excited to try something new so this way of working just doesn't suit me. Painting is so exciting and full of unpredictable moments so I hate restricting myself. I have tried sticking with a really specific style (specific subject, color scheme, technique, format) but I always struggle with this and as an artist who constantly explores new ideas, it's going against the grain for me.

Angela Brennan is an artist whose work I have always loved. Her work is also varied (2 pics above "Splendid" on the top and "Faites l’amour pas la guerre" at the bottom). I saw her most recent solo exhibition at Niagara in May this year. Angela was identified as one of Australia’s 50 most collectible artists by Australian art Collector magazine in 2005 and is represented in major collections. Her work encompasses portraiture, text paintings and landscapes - the text painting above is from 2003 and the landscape is 2008. Her landscapes are my favourites, they are large and colorful and bold, they ooze confidence and spontaneity which I love. In her latest works she included a pearl type paint which glittered on an angle and was something so unexpected in a landscape. I believe she paints a lot on the floor (canvas flat on the ground) and I can just see the colors going onto the canvas in big broad motions. So full of energy to me, yet these bold areas of color still seem to have a calm floating stillness about them. Her work really moves me and is a must see in person as they are large paintings and so impressive. It's also nice to see an accomplished artist explore her subject matter with varied methods in the one exhibition...and all paint on canvas!