RIP Seb

Our beautiful Seb passed away last Sunday which is why I haven't blogged for a while. I will get back into it when I have some energy back. I am trying to complete 7 small paintings and am finding it difficult, I hate painting small, what I need now is a very big canvas!.

Finished!

It was a traumatic start to the week. At 5am Monday morning we had to take our gorgeous cat sebastian who we love dearly to the Essendon Vet hospital, he was suffering from a massive asthma attack and they didn't give us much hope. This turned around and unexpectedly they saved his life and he comes home today at 5pm!. Monday and Tuesday painting was far from my mind. On Saturday (and on a lighter note) I completed my 140 x 140 canvas! It's the biggest I have done and I'm happy. I prefer to work on a large canvas, it suits the way I work, I love to use big broad strokes and really get my arms moving, so it was great. I can't wait to order more of this size. The only issue is they don't fit into our car so to get them around is a pain! I'm not sure what the title is but it will come to me, I just need to keep looking at it and thinking about it. I have actually done something a little different in this painting, the strokes at the top (nearly white) have been washed back a little with a sponge to reveal parts of the layer underneath which was dark grey. It has given the painting more texture and movement. A lot of 'mistakes' happen in my work and part of the process is deciding whether to include them (go with it!) or not, so this was initially something I hadn't planned, but I made it work for me. I'm looking forward to completing a commission for a friend this week also, work on paper, similar to a story board (which I did for another customer a few weeks ago), it's due Friday so I'm having a busy week! Can't wait to give Seb lots of cuddles.

How does it make you feel?

This is one of my paintings ("Keep loosing my way") which hangs on my nephew's bedroom wall near his cot. At 3 months old his parents would hold it in front of him, he would stop crying and stare at it and smile.

About 2 years ago a man ventured into my studio and fell in love with a painting. I never convince anyone to buy one of my paintings, I tell them if they go away and it's still on their mind the next day and they can afford it, buy it. So many customers wait until it's too late and get quite upset when the painting they loved has sold. He asked the price and I told him, I think it was around $1500, he wasn't a collector so to him this was a lot. He asked "why does it cost so much"? (eeek! let me tell you, this is a GOOD price). My response: There are so many things you are paying for. For a start, the painting would have taken me around 1 week to produce (these are 8 hour days), not the whole time is spent painting though sketches, ideas etc. are all part of the process. You are also paying for what I have learnt over the last 15 years and what is essentially "me". Another thing, this is a one off, you are not buying a mass produced item, no-one else has this item which should evoke a unique emotional response every time you look at it. He bought the painting.

Collecting Art

I just read a post on A Reason to Paint about collecting Art. Great post. It got me thinking about our own art collection. We started purchasing art a few years ago, sourced mainly from smaller galleries which are rented by the artist, usually small pieces we have loved. I have spoken to so many people who have visted my studio about prices they see on artwork in commercial galleries, why do they cost so much? (this will be a separate post), how do they start a collection when the work is so expensive? The simple answer is research. There are many ways one can start collecting art they love, especially now when so many emerging artists have websites and blogs, the internet is fantastic for collecting art and there is so much out there. Use google and just contact them directly! (but please don't ask for a discount it's a pet hate). Keep in mind also, don't expect cheap, I had a lady who came to my studio a couple of years ago, a painting I was exhibiting was around $800 (it was quite big so this was very affordable) and she asked me why it is was SO expensive! she said she bought something in Bali for $20 what is the difference? she asked... Mmmmm, what could I say to explain why? I would have to start from scratch and it would be a long conversation. Part of that would be explaining what original artwork was, the difference between it and a reproduction, list goes on and chances are she wouldn't know. So know what you are buying. If it's a print, know what it is (etching? Giclee? ask!), and how many in the edition. The 'paintings' you see at Ikea or Freedom, these are mass produced prints. We also visit award exhibitions, e.g. Williamstown Festival Contemporary Art Prize (which I was a finalist in). This was in April this year and 87 artists were part of this show, some represented, some not, but affordable, great artwork! There are so many of these all over Australia. My golden rule for collecting is buy something you love. Don't ask "Is this a good investment, will the price go up?" if you are really looking to 'invest' do your research, look at the artists CV, you need to know where they have exhibited, how often, awards they have entered etc. follow their progress for a little while and remember, nothing is a sure thing unless you have a lot of money to spend and can purchase a Brack!. (we love our piece by Buni "If I was your girl" pictured above).

Big canvas!

Oh dear, I am still working on the painting I posted earlier, must add something else though I have no idea what or where so leaving that one for now. I'm a little too scared to touch it too in case I wreck it. I have also been tackling a 140cm x 140cm canvas for the last few weeks now, I have done so many layers, though I think today is the day! the process is always the same, layer upon layer, shapes form which I either cover or bring out, then the finished piece will come to me quickly, and will only take an hour or 2, but I have to be there at the right time!. If I feel flat, nothing will happen, it's only when I am full of confidence and feeling energetic when I can successfully produce something. I admire artists who work full time and also paint. After a long day in an office I am hardly going to feel like painting!

Lister

Anthony Lister is one of my favorites (my husband and I bought a drawing about 2 years ago from his transit series we love it). Other fav's are Angela Brennan, Rhys Lee, Sally Smart, list goes on there are so many and quite varied. This particular painting of Anthony's I adore, the subtlety of the line work around the face and body is awesome. I am trying to achieve this almost sketch like line in my paintings, haven't made it yet! Anthony is such a prolific painter and we have been following him for a few years, one day we'll purchase a painting! The painting here is titled 'T.V. Guide Spells', it can be viewed along with other work on his site.

Art and Music

I have to listen to music when I am painting, and a glass of wine helps as well. I'm listening to Eddie Vedder (into the wild) and also Norah Jones at the moment (how different can you get)! It depends what mood I am in and what I'm working on. My problem right now is my ipod has frozen and I can't fix it, in the middle of a session this is bad! I can't paint when I am in a bad mood either. Some other artists I paint to are Justin Timberlake (another eh? one, though the energy from his songs really get my hands moving) and also Bat for lashes. I also have some classical but don't tend to listen to those as much (thought I would when I added them) I would have to have these really loud though haha.