Sunday 27 October 2013

From Mistake to Magic

Today I came into work at my usual time to start and found out that my roster had been changed and I wasn't due in for another 3 hrs.  What would I do?  Too far to be bothered going back home but I was in the city and not keen on sitting in amongst the concrete.

I decided I would head over to Southbank (Brisbane) to have a look around the parkland and pool.What a great decision.If you have never visited our fair city. You might not have seen the beautiful sculptural walkway covered in bougainvillea . It is magical. I think it is a little bit of heaven on earth. It is almost as good as walking under the Jacaranda trees when they are in bloom. Or standing on the carpet they create as the jacaranda flowers fall. That is a special memory from childhood.

Also I sat and listened to the crows and the other sounds of the city awakening.
The joggers on the pavement and the sprinklers starting, because we have had one of the driest Octobers for years.

Then to fill in a little more time I went and sat in a small cafĂ© and ordered breakfast. Something I rarely do unless on holidays and as I sat writing my little blog I thought of JK Rowling all those years ago sitting in a little coffee shop writing those magical stories and dreaming of big things in her life.  I also dream big .  I dream of a time when people will see my artwork and understand the positive messages I want to share with them.  To put my art on their walls and to believe in themselves and this miraculous world we live in. A world where going to work at the wrong time can make a really great start to the day.

Hope you have a wonderful day too!!!



Friday 18 October 2013

Day 7 pt 2

Day 7 pt 2

Hi to those who read my last blog about the wonderful time I had at Dandelyon Gifts but I put in the wrong address. It is actually at 173 Boundary St, West end which actually crosses Vulture Street. Hope you are all taking my advice and popping in tonight or even today. Sorry about the mix up in the address. Have a great weekend.





Day 7



 Day 7 

This week I was lucky enough to go to a  shop that was new to me and is absolutely delightful. It is called Dandelyon Gifts and for anyone in Brisbane you should make your way there. You will  enjoy their huge range of Art, Christmas decorations, motivational messages, beautifully hand dyed tablecloths and so many more interesting things. Saturday night they are having their last night of Christmas Preview Nights between 5 and 7.30 pm. Make sure you let them know you are going on 1300 775 616 because not only do you get to shop but they are offering a little nibble as well.



 I was really impressed by the quality of items that were available and it was the perfect mix of handmade and commercial items to make shopping interesting. I popped in for a short visit but ended up staying over an hour. What was also amazing was the warmth of the owners Julie and Greg. They are genuine, hard working  people who are creative and very community orientated.  


So as Molly Meldrum used to say "Do yourself a favour" and try a new exciting shop where you could quite easily do your Christmas shopping. It is easy to find on 173 Boundary Street, West End. I would not normally just talk so much about a business and this isn't just a fake plug for a friend. I had never met either of the owners before Tuesday nor been to their shop before. It is just so nice to see a small business with so much heart and we all need these types of small businesses because we don't want to end up with just big chain stores.


Have a look for yourself

Thursday 17 October 2013

Day 6


Day 6

This is a little bit of a cheat on my daily blog. I am running a little time poor so instead of writing a blog I send you all a bunch of beautiful pentas flowers to try and put cheer in your day. They are wonderful plants and great to put colour in your garden.  Have a lovely day and I will see you here again tomorrow.

Wednesday 16 October 2013



Day 5

Well today is Day 5 and I must admit I have loved getting back to my blog and getting all those creative thoughts going. I have had such a wonderful 12 months getting started and the only thing missing is finding the perfect audience and the way to share my work with people.  

I have been an artist for a long time but have never been able to focus time on what I want to do with my art.  Life is hard in that you still have to earn money to live and not just throw everything away and become a mad painter. But I have so many thoughts inside that I think can help people be strong in their life. Just reminding people how truly wonderful they are and can be.  I know that people need to be positive in life and I also know how words and thoughts have helped me during hard times in life.

 I  want to share  the beauty of life with positive words. My prints would be a great present for young people to believe in themselves. Or for a person of any age, just to remind you to keep believing in yourself and your friends and life. So if you have someone special in your life that maybe needs a pick me up, come over to my etsy shop and see if my words can make their lives just a little bit better.




Tuesday 15 October 2013

A special moment





Day 4 

I wanted to share a picture I painted that means hope for me. It  captured a moment of pure trust where such a small and fragile butterfly would trust a human many times it's size. This actually happened to me one day years ago and was a truly an amazing moment.

I was hanging the washing on the line and a butterfly began flying all around me, I decided to stop still and put out my hand. Within a few seconds the butterfly landed gently on my hand. It felt like a miracle. Then it slowly flew away and  it came back again . It landed three times on my hand and it was a feeling I cannot explain. Don't you love those moments that are so unexpected. 

It is like when you go whale watching and these huge animals come so close to you to let you see them and interact with them. I was on a boat at Hervey Bay whale watching when a whale came under the boat a couple of times and then it popped up right next to me so close I could smell it's breathe. I could look it right in the eye.  We have so many beautiful things in life to experience but most of the time we are just caught up in our daily life and sometimes just stuck in our heads.

I am planning on having more of these special moments and less of that stuck in my head stuff.


If you were reading my blog yesterday you might remember when I asked you all to have a go at something my birdie might have been saying.
I have had one taker Suzi Poland who said "Here's looking at you!"
Thanks Suzi

Monday 14 October 2013

Day 3 and ready to blog.

Well if you have been following my blog since I started you would have seen that most of my paintings and prints have positive messages. Sometimes I start with a  message in my head and I then paint something to portray that message. Other times I start with something I am driven to paint and then I try to find the words that go with it. 

This little fellow has been sitting around while I have been having my little enforced break and he is just waiting for the words that match him. He looks so positive and happy. So this week I am going to be working out what he has to say that might be motivating for others (and for me).  If you have something amazing you think he would be saying, leave me a comment below. I would love to hear what you have to say. Let your imagination go wild.


Sunday 13 October 2013

My Four Legged Portraits

Well today is Day 2 of a week of blogs I am trying to complete. And  I thought I might share with you some of the commissions I have been lucky enough to do, of some beloved animals. I love the idea of painting things that touch somebody's hearts and our four legged angels, certainly fall into that category. Our pets let us behave like our true selves and know us like nobody else.

 It is always a challenge to really contain their personalities in a portrait. But I think if you can get the eyes right you can look inside their hearts. Some as you can see are soft, some proud and some are a little sad.
You may notice I have done blue backgrounds on a few of them and believe me I have thought of other colours and would be happy to do other colours if requested, but some how the blue brings out their coat colours and give them a really regal look. I hope you have enjoyed this look at some of my friends and will join me again tomorrow for day 3 of my week of blogs. See you then.












Friday 11 October 2013

I'm Back

I can't believe that it has been so long since I have written on my blog but as John Lennon said
               "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans".
 If you read my last post I was just preparing myself to get up every morning at 5 am for a new job I was starting. This was a huge change for me from night owl to early morning devotee - but guess what it happened. I now have no trouble getting up at the amazing time of 5 but the only problem is I cringe when it is time to go to bed. I haven't mastered the art of fitting much into the day when you have to go to bed early. And so that precious part of my life, the creative part has had to take a back seat. I have almost been scared to pick up a brush because the problem is that once you start painting again, it is what consumes you and you want to stay painting late into the night.You suddenly get into that zone where time just passes at twice the speed and the part that suffers is your body. It doesn't seem to function on less than 5 hours sleep. 
So to start getting back to painting I began with a different kind of painting- furniture painting. I have these 4 chairs that I have always called "Happy Chairs" because they have always been painted bright colours. I inherited them from a very precious great Aunt who also had a painting habit. When I tried to strip them back to the bare wood I found about 7-8 different colours on them and then started to worry whether some of it might be lead paint. I therefore decide painting over them was the best course of action, Each chair is a different colour and I am going to give them a shabby chic finish. I have to share them with you.
         Don't they just make you happy to see? They do me. And then I remembered some old stools that I had under the house and they will become some plant stands for the entrance or in the yard. Now I have had a paintbrush back in my hand I am starting back into my art. But haven't you got some piece of furniture that is old and tired and you could revamp with a lick of paint. Some little coffee table that might look lovely painted red or orange as a eye catcher and talking point. When we are surrounded by colour it lifts our spirit. And to do something yourself brings the love into it. 


Speaking of love my dog just loves to be around when painting is going on and I think she thinks she is a paintbrush (or perhaps a canvas) because she just has to help. She looks good in blue and purple.

 Now to get back into my blog and art I am going to set myself a challenge. To write on my blog every day for a week. I will really have to start working hard so I have something new to show for each day but we will see how it goes. So stay tuned.

Thursday 8 August 2013

A New Day


I am starting a new job on Monday and it starts at 7am which is an early start for me as I am a confirmed night owl. So in preparation for my early start I have been practising getting up at 5am to get my body clock ready for my new lifestyle. 

 I decided I might as well get a new view of the day at that time. I live near the water and have spent much time there in my life, because I feel it clears my mind and lifts my heart. But in all those years I have never headed to the water very early in the morning. Morning sleep has always been my most treasured sleep. 

This week however my heart has been opened in a new way by what I have seen. What a glorious beginning to the day seeing the light  change and the sun's journey over the water. Sometimes I get stuck in life and am not sure which way my life is going. But maybe I don't have to make big changes in life to become unstuck, perhaps I need to just look at my day and my life at a different time and see what is amazing. Mornings at the water or maybe sitting in the sun at lunch to re-energise myself. I should just sit in the garden I have created instead of working in it. It isn't just a place to plant and maintain but to soak in the beauty that is already there. 

We are always looking at the "Big Picture" of life and planning the future but how many sunrises and sunsets have we missed not revelling in their  beauty. My mother passed away a few years ago and she suffered from Macular Degeneration for those last few years of her life and could not see much. But I would see her in the mornings sit on the side of her bed looking out through the window and I remember asking what she was doing and she would say "I am listening to all the birds in the morning and how beautiful they are". Even though she was nearly blind and dying of cancer she still saw the wonder in life. 

So don't miss the amazing world we live in or maybe just start looking
at it from another view or time and let the wonder seep in. It might just get you unstuck. I hope it does. 


  

Sunday 28 July 2013

Is your house a Quirky House?

I don't know if you have been caught up in all the house improvement shows lately like "The Block" and "House Rules". I have been watching and drooling over all the beautiful furniture and finishes that they manage on these shows. 
You start to think about how it would be to have a perfect house but then I think, I wouldn't fit in a perfect house. I would have to be perfect to live in a perfect house. I would have to be neat and tidy and have everything in it's place. 
That is why I like to live in a Quirky House like the ones I have painted in this print. We aren't all the same and it is time to let it all out  and be our quirky selves. So dare to be different. Perfect is fine for some people but personality is great for all of us. 

Sunday 7 July 2013

Art show

Well it has been a big weekend with me putting some paintings in an Art Show. It is good to stretch yourself and I wanted to have a bit of fun putting in some different styles. Over the years I have done all sort of art including landscapes, portraits, buildings, motivational pieces, sculpture and animals. Each is enjoyable and fun to do but you never know what people are looking for on any particular day.

The ones I put in were an interesting mix. 



 I was so excited to do this painting with the recipe for Lemonade scones and I made it like a very old textures crackly board. I thought someone would love it in there kitchen. Just like grandma's old recipe. 







This is a painting of an old pair of boots and I love painting anything old. Showing the age and texture is wonderful.










This is one of my newer paintings with a great message and lots of colour and textures. It is done in acrylics and inks. 
So a great weekend and a bit more experience. Now here is a bit of a squiz at some of my work over the years. Hope you like it.





Sunday 16 June 2013

I have just finished a new print that I am excited to put in my Etsy shop and share with you . The message is Find your Bliss, Find your Self. That is how it is for me, painting again after a bit of a break, has brought a lot of joy and gives me so much peace in that moment. It reminds me to stay steadfast on the journey I am on and to believe that if you are doing what you love - life is good. So I hope you stay with me on my journey and follow my blog.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Walking in the Rain

Just a quick note to let you see my new painting and I have prints available in my Etsy shop. I love it. I love the colours and textures and the feeling of strolling down the road in the rain. That is great for the weather we are having at the moment. Lots of rain which gives plenty of time for painting. Hope you enjoy it.

Tuesday 4 June 2013

My New Obsession -Making Jewellery


In one of my recent posts, I mentioned I had started to make some pendants with my own artwork and it has been consuming all my time. I have cherished every minute of it. The work is very intricate work but I love that it is a way to use the paintings I have had fun doing of whimsical birds, animals and buildings in a new and exciting way. Also I have enjoyed honing my skills in using resin, which I find to be addictive to work   
with and wonderful to touch when finished.

There is such a bonus with making my own
jewellery because I have made myself a full set and I enjoy wearing them and bringing smiles to peoples faces. I have found because of the many colours I use in each piece they virtually go with everything. 

Anyway I hope you have enjoyed seeing 
 them and if you would like to see all my work just click on the Etsy sign on the right of the page and it will take you to my Etsy shop where you can see all my jewellery and prints. 

Monday 20 May 2013

"You is Kind"


I recently re-watched the movie "The Help" and the words that Aibileen,who is an African-American maid, tries to teach  to Mae Mobley, the little girl who is entrusted to her care, really made an impression on me. They are simple words but I began to use them as affirmations for myself every day. 
You is kind
You is smart
You is important
I have found that the simplicity of these words have touched my heart. We all try to improve ourselves during our lives but these words make it easy for me to remember and repeat to myself. 
 "Am I kind"? I think that I am. I was brought up to think of others and to put others before myself sometimes to my own detriment. But it lets me sleep at night and feel  good when I can help others. 
"Am I smart" well I get by and especially if I don't get in my own way. 
But the one I slip up on is the "Am I important".  I think that this is a tricky one for a lot of us, we were brought up to look out for others which sometimes put us back down the list. So this is what I will definitely be working on. I am important because life is like a big jigsaw puzzle and we must all be here to make up that puzzle.  Why would my puzzle piece be less important than yours or the piece of somebody else.
So after doing this for awhile I have added  another line to my daily affirmations.  
You is worthy
and aren't we all.
(Thanks to Gayle from www.abeautifulmessinside.com for the above picture which reminded me of the importance of these words)

Monday 1 April 2013

Soar

Last week I was lucky enough to go to the Stitches and Craft Show. It is exciting to go to places where their are so many creative people. I was in a place where people want to teach you about there products and new techniques and I know that they all wish you would buy their products but they also want to share their knowledge. The ones that end up selling the most are those that still have the excitement in their eyes about what they are doing because they make you feel that same thrill. It goes back to the old adage that if you do what you love you won't work a day in your life.

Over the last year I have learnt the amazing things that can happen when you surround yourself with people who are interested in the same things that you are interested in. From doing online classes with Kelly Rae Roberts, Jane Davenport and most recently being involved with Life Book 2013 and Tam Laporte.
All of these talented ladies share not only their skills but it is the community that comes with them and the moral support that envelopes you that keeps you going in an environment that could be very isolating.

At the show I loved seeing all the new products but can't wait till mid year when the Papercraft show comes around.  I have found a new way to use my art by putting my prints on pendants and I am really excited about making them. So far I love the way they are turning out and can't wait to make one for myself. Will soon have some pictures of finished pieces. Can't wait to share them.

So for now I will leave you with one of my latest paintings that has a message for all of us.  

Don't hold back   Soar......


Thursday 14 March 2013

Say No to Bullying Day

Tomorrow is "Say No to Bullying" Day and we have all been encouraged to wear Orange to show our support and to say NO. I wonder if there is anyone who has never been a victim of Bullying somewhere in their lives. I myself have a few battles with bullies and funnily enough it was never in my childhood. I think it was because I had a good basis in life from my childhood that it didn't affect me then but as I began taking the reins of my own life I let people have too much control over how I felt about myself.

Sometimes you listen to those you work with who have there own agenda. It starts slowly with off handed comments and criticisms that you try not to get upset about but then they see that you react and they know what works against you. Slowly and surely they take away your confidence and eventually you no longer know what is your truth and their truth.

Don't let them do it. Tell someone and either stand up to them or get away because otherwise it sneaks into all areas of your life. I have heard so many stories of this and with my own experiences I know the toll it takes. So tomorrow I will be wearing Orange and I will be thinking of others and my most recent bully and I will show them that they are not in control.

You know the best revenge is to live a "Great Life". Because that is what the bully  is trying to take away from you. This is why I like to make art with positive messages. I want to encourage others on their journeys as I muddle my way through my journey.So tomorrow when you get up and look in your cupboard for something to wear - grab something Orange and show everyone that it is not ok to Bully.



Tuesday 26 February 2013

I have been working hard and really loving coming up with some new prints. Something positive for people to put on their wall or desk or to buy for someone they care about. I want people to believe in themselves and have reminders that life is good. I am going through some stuff in life myself and know that positive people, books and messages have helped keep me going. Being creative is really healing so as well as helping myself and trying to make changes for others.

Sunday 24 February 2013

Well a lovely lady by the name of Melanie has done up a button for me that is my word for the year and that is Happiness. I have never been one for New Years resolutions but I liked the idea  when it was suggested that you  pick a word for the year and try to focus on it throughout that year. Many words went through my mind like kindness or belief but I thought if I concentrate on Happiness and looking for it in every situation it will bring only the positive things into my life.( If you would like to see Melanie's website follow the link http://www.onlyabreath.com/2012/12/theyre-here-free-one-word-blog-buttons ) Maybe you might want to choose one word for your year - it is never to late.


So whenever you do set your self a task like Happiness you know it will be tested. And so I have found that I have had to try and keep happy even though I had to leave my job. I started a new job in September but it was not meant for me. It was something that made me unhappy and uneasy. Somehow you have a feeling when you know something is not the right fit for you but you persist for many reasons until you find the toll is too great. The only way to true happiness is to trust your inner voice. So I am now looking for something new and while I am looking I will continue to paint and learn. Here is what has been keeping me busy this last week.


Sunday 3 February 2013

Well I have been missing in action from my Blog but for good reasons. I have been so busy painting and I find it tricky to balance my time between painting and Blogging and putting things on my Etsy shop. There are just not enough hours in a day. I am also doing on-line classes  learning more techniques and using new products which is really exciting. This year has started off a wonderful year will all this movement in the right direction - getting to spend more time with paint on my hands (and my clothes and the table). That is like heaven. So now the challenge is Balance. Anyway I wanted to add some of the works here that I have just completed and put in my Etsy shop. Hope you like them . Also great news I have made my first Etsy sale and a sale of one of my paintings from two lovely people who were kind enough to share my new adventure. Thanks to you both