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.