1 week down, 51 to go

Meet Rose Henna or should I have called her Henna Rose? She is one of my new mixed media paintings and I've just listed her in my Etsy shop.
I've had a great week, drawing, painting, sketching. Over the weekend I did let myself off the hook a little and just sketched or did nothing, but it was an unusually busy weekend. Still, I'm not going to beat myself up just because of a day off. That isn't the purpose of my commitment to painting everyday. Quite the opposite really. I am allowing myself to paint everyday and that's a positive thing.

When I was in Paris I picked up a new (to me) sketching pen - Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. As you can see it's quite a bold black and very calligraphic. This is the first drawing I did with it. It really is quite fun to use once you get over the shock of how bold every little touch of it is. I discovered going for bold was the best approach. I used this pen over the weekend to sketch Roly. I haven't scanned it yet but it's pretty weird. He never stands still for me, or if he does it is with his bum end pointed at me!
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I did this drawing on our first visit to the Lourve. On this particular day we only visited the outside. There is so much to see without even going in!

...I simply remember my favourite things and then I don't feel sooooo bad

Making things, pattern, gentle rain, sleeping, old books
My latest entry in Clare's Moleskine for Moly_x_25. It's part of Moly X: An International Moleskine Sketchbook Exchange. This one is nearing completion. Look how full Clare's gorgeous book is now.
In fact, this one is done all bar Clare's own final entry. What a ride this book has had!

The Williams

Finally I have some art to post here!

My second entry in Tracy's Moleskine is titled "The Williams." Tracy's Moly-X-25 did not start with a specific theme but from day one has been destined to be a book exploring our favourite artists. "The Williams" is a homage to William Kentridge, William Morris and anyone named 'William' in a Boys Own Journal.

News: 2 New Exhibitions and an Outlet

Yesterday I had a lovely drive to Bellingen and Dorrigo with my dear friend Annie Matheson. We had a lovely day drawing inspiration from the rainforest, mountains and rivers as well as the many artists work we viewed in the galleries, boutiques and information centres we stopped at along the way. Annie is not only a wonderful artist and friend but she also has a flair for marketing and is helping me approach my hurdles in that area. I really baulk at anything marketing related but with Annie at my side yesterday, I am very pleased today to be able to make a couple of announcements. I’ll do it in chronological order!

Notebooks and Cards
Originally uploaded by Jan and Roly

Our first stop was at The Old Butter Factory just as you arrive in Bellingen. The old factory has been converted into a cluster of shops around some beautiful gardens under huge old shady trees. We had a good coffee at the café first and then visited the Butter Factory Woodcraft Gallery which is always great for a browse. Even more so from now on I am happy to say, because it is now an outlet for my handprinted cards and Moleskine notebooks. It’s open 7 days a week from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm so please call in when you are in the area.

After a drive up the mountain we had a delicious lunch at Ruby’s in Dorrigo. Refuelled and feeling great after such a wonderful and successful morning, Annie introduced me to Annie Purser of Pinnata Gallery. Found in the main street, this delightful little gallery is packed with superb work by many regional artists. I showed Annie my paintings and I’m thrilled to say she loved them. She told me she would have them on display later that afternoon! I will be keeping her stocked with my work from now on, so if you are in the area, please call into the gallery for a look. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday 9:30am to 4:30pm.

Waiting for Someone Special Acrylic, ink, liquid graphite and collage on canvas

Wish You Were Here Acrylic, ink, liquid graphite, embroidery and collage on canvas

We drove back down the mountain feeling very happy, stopping a couple of times to see the Rainforest Centre and more good shops and came home feeling very pleased with my day and with a small gift of Australian pepper in a grinder for my dear pepper-lover.

The second exhibition I can tell you about is the Focus Postcard Show opening tonight at 6pm at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery in which I have 3 works on exhibition. The show will run until May 9 so you will have plenty of time to see my paintings and artist book if you can’t join me there tonight. It will be a great night too as there is actually 4 exhibitions opening! Print and Process works from the NERAM Collection, Meander II Helen Geier’s printed and pierced works on paper scrolls and screens and an exhibition of Stephen Leek’s strong and bold figurative paintings. I am honoured to be in such amazing company. It really is an unmissable exhibition! The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday between 10am and 4pm, and on Sunday afternoons when there are Sunday Salons on.

Waiting for Someone Special Acrylic, ink, liquid graphite, embroidery and collage on canvas

Wish You Were Here Acrylic, ink, liquid graphite and collage on canvas

I love paint!

When I first started this blog I had a little sentence at the top that said I like to paint, draw, make things, sketch, paint... yes, I like paint! It was there up until only a couple of months ago when I was finally too embarrassed by the references to paint in a blog where there are practically no paintings. You see I have called myself a painter for over 15 years, but shortly after starting this blog I just stopped painting. Lots of reasons, and none. Just stopped. And it's true - I love paint!

"He's a Suitor"

To my relief my desire to paint has been building up for the last few weeks and finally spilled out of me, onto the pallet and then onto the canvas. I have been inspired by William Kentridge (no I will never stop mentioning him!) and wanted to have a go at Goccoing on the canvas too. These three paintings are the result, silver gocco prints of pattern combined with acrylic paint, ink, collage and real silver-leaf.

"Helping Hand"

I combined my own drawings with those from the books "The Wide World Story Book for Girls" (1937) and "Ideal Book for Boys" (no date but similar vintage). Oh, the risks one takes in the name of art!

"The White Glove"

In this one I used the old pages of "Complete French Course" and "Electricity in the Home - Teach Yourself Guide" to create the tones and form of the face. Acrylic paints in silver and reds allow the guy I saw in the coffee shop one day to come alive on the canvas.

"Under Influence"

With these 4 paintings I've re-opened a new department in my creative life and a whole new section in my Etsy shop. They're all available if you like them enough!

Drawing up a storm

These two drawings were done as part of my drawing course. This one, "Warming to Warming" is a satirical look at the issue of climate change. I was thinking about how ridiculous some of the politicians 'solutions' seem; the 'solution' you have when you're not having a solution. I began to extrapolate that ridiculousness. I came up with the idea that if we could get used to the problem, and even work with the pollution to create a new kind of beauty - decorative smog - that would be a 'solution' too."Grey Greenhouse" is a work with similar inspiration. I found a recent quote from Prime Minister John Howard - "...economic growth should take precedence over emissions cuts". I silhouetted key words from this quote with smog coloured paint and added some of the 'decoration' I had included in the above drawing. These images were then cut up and shuffled in an effort to emulate political process.

Both of these drawings were done on pages removed from an old book from the "Teach Yourself Building" series, JE MacFarlane's 1945 "Electricity in the House".

In the news yesterday, John Howard promised to commit to greenhouse gas targets - after the election! Seems my artistic motivation wasn't too far from some kind of twisted reality.

When is a banana not a banana?

The good, the black and the white

Firstly, let me say it's good to be back! I've got a lot to catch up with here, but I'll start by letting you know about my special guest visitor. Eric Maisel is my favourite author on matters of creativity. And talk about being creative! Eric has come up with a fabulous idea to promote his latest book Ten Zen Seconds . Eric will be undertaking a blog tour of the world! He will be actually (well, 'virtually' really I suppose...) visiting my little blog on the 4th of May. Leading up to then, and for a little while after, I've got some special things planned so that you can enjoy Eric's ideas for creative mindfulness and some art all mixed up together.

And secondly, here are a couple of drawings I've done while I've been off-line, a black still life and a white one.


The black one was done on white A1 paper using paint and oil stick. I've never used oil-stick before and I must say YUM! It is almost delicious the way it moves and goes on.





The white one had to be a collage. I did both of these as part of my studies. This one was also done on white paper (A3) and using paint, shellac, cardboard, paper, masking tape, tracing paper, found paper, pencil and a stamp I quickly made out of craft foam. Lots of fun!

The Worlds Greatest Dad