New Lessons

I agree with the recent statement about creativity from Claire De Boer, when she says,

"So much of it is about nurturing something within; and the more it is nurtured the more it develops into something strong and beautiful, not unlike watering and feeding a plant".

It gives a picture of not demanding from ourselves, but letting our creativity have room to breath and develop. Giving our creativity the permission to make mistakes, to not always have to create a masterpiece. To not have to always get it right. To not even always have to create something that must be seen. 

People interpret art differently. Art serves different purposes for different people. It takes on different forms for different people. 

In our recent entry into our regional art competition, the outcome for me was no prizes. Am I bothered? Absolutely not! For me, it was never about winning in the first place. It was about being around creative people who 'get it'. They get that urge to create that won't be silenced until the brush is on the canvas, or the pencil is in the hand, or the hammer at the ready. 

There is no point in me beating myself up about not winning a place. There can only be one winner, and that's how it is.It does me, or you, absolutely no benefit whatsoever when we compare our art negatively to the work of others.

I said negatively for a reason.

I did compare my work with others that night. But not from the perspective of 'I really shouldn't have entered' or 'my work is pathetic'. Having my work up on display alongside other artists, allowed me to compare honestly, where I'm at as an artist. I was able to see that while my art is good, with classes, it could be a lot better (as I've not really had any). I don't think I would have been able to realize the opportunity to develop myself as an artist, through doing some classes, if I hadn't seen my work with the others. I'm very thankful for seeing that learning more really does assist with better expression and technique in the artwork. 

So my encouragement to you today is? To put yourself out there. Don't be discouraged in yourself if you don't win prizes. Art is about so much more than prizes. Open your eyes to see the learning opportunities that come from events like this and be thankful that we have a plethora of ways that we can increase, develop, hone and nurture our creativity.

Don't give up on yourself. Keep right on trying and creating. You can do it! You'll be so glad you did!

P.S. My eldest daughter did come second place in the children's category for her piece titled 'Summer Time'. She was very shocked and we are very proud of her
for giving it a go! 

First Ever Art Competition!

Our home is a busy little creative hub at the moment ... and I love it! My two girls and I have decided to enter into a local art competition for the first time! We're very excited to have the opportunity to be involved in something like this, and we're looking forward to seeing all the entries and having a great opening night next Friday night!

There are four sections to enter; art, photography, sculpture and ceramics, and children's art. We're entering all apart from sculpture and ceramics.

For us, it doesn't matter about winning or losing. It's about gathering with like-minded artists, sharing our work, encouraging each other, drawing inspiration from each other, and giving my daughters an opportunity to be encouraged creatively by people other than their Dad and Mum.

These are our finished entries ...

Top is a photograph taken by my eleven year old when she was ten, "Autumns Beauty".
The bottom pic is her first abstract piece. Acrylic on canvas, "Summer Time".

This piece was created by myself. "Moving Forward"

Another abstract piece created by myself. 
Acrylic on canvas with Gold Leaf "Reflections"

My photograph titled "Ollie Boy".

Above photograph taken by myself, "Dew Drop".
Bottom piece created by my eight year old daughter, "Diamonds"

A photograph taken by myself, "Morning Glory"

Above and below images are a triptych that my eleven year old took,again when she was ten.
If you look closely, you can see the beautiful
little bumblebee she's captured in each piece!
"All in a Days Work"

My little artists! They are very excited to be entering the competition! I'm so happy to be entering along side them!

My eleven year old ... "Summer Time"

My eight year old ... "Diamonds"

"Autumns Beauty"

"All in a Days Work"

Now all that's left to do is drive them to the art gallery so they can be displayed with all the other amazing artworks that will be entered! It really is going to be such a fantastic experience, and we can't wait!

So, you'll have to keep popping in to see how it all pans out!

Happy creating everyone!

Exciting News!

Hi everyone! I have some very exciting news to share with you all! Yesterday I opened up a RedBubble account where my artworks can be sold to the public! 

I have a selection of works available from my photographs, to some of my sketches and mixed media paintings! 

Here's the link that you need to follow! Please check it out and share it around for me! I would really appreciate it, thanks!

Happy creating!

(Other places to find my art)

Good Morning Beautiful Country Town

I just love the country town where I live, especially when it's covered in delightful, thick, beautiful fog. It was like this again this morning and I took my iPhone camera on a little drive to capture some of the beauty.

So, let me say ... good morning to you! I hope you have a beautifully creative week! 

(Please do not copy in any way, 

all photos property of Embrace Create Enjoy, thanks)

A Fantastic Opportunity - Art With Cary McAulay (and a small giveaway!)

Last night I had a last minute, fantastic opportunity to be involved with my eldest Son's school youth group. Why is that so fantastic you ask? Well ... because it was an acrylic painting night! I went along, hopeful that there might have been one spot free, and there was!

The night was a proper art class, that was lead by famous Australian artist 'Cary McAulay'. If you've not heard of him before, or seen any of his incredible work, you can check out all of his artworks here.

“No Matter who you are today… if you call yourself an artist – you are at all times standing on the shoulders of the giants that walked the earth before you…. even Rubens, Giotto, Dali, Homer, Monet and yes even Picasso, also stood upon the shoulders of giants!”….originality? that’s when you manage to climb up over the ears and onto that shiny bald head and while slipping around to get a better footing, you realize that it is all about belief in yourself!! heh heh I only get there in my dreams ! that’s because in them – I CAN FLY!” - Cary McAulay.

Cary is a fantastic teacher, breaking down the process of the painting for the year 7 & 8's into 7 easy to remember steps. He is a genuine Aussie bloke who has a passion for art, and a gift for teaching it. He's very modest and ready to assist young artists (or artists of any age) and answer their questions. 

I was able to have a quick chat with Cary before the class began and I asked him the following questions ...

Q: "How long have you been painting for? 

A: "Oh I'd say, since kindergarten, but professionally since 1980"

Q: "Do you only use acrylics or other mediums as well?"

A: "No I use acrylics and oils"

Q: "Which one is your favourite medium to use?"

A: "Oh I couldn't pick, I like them both as much as the other"

Q: "Are you self-taught or have you had lessons"

A: "A bit of both really"

This is the painting that we were taught how to paint step by step by Cary ... 
Isn't it amazing?

The master artist Cary McAulay at work.

A very talented, genuine bloke.

Here's the photo's that I took at each of the seven stages of the painting ...

1.  Finding the horizon line and marking it out.

2.  Creating the sky starting from a darker blue then working to a lighter blue down to the horizon. This stage is also where we added clouds.

3.  Adding the greens and yellows of the ocean and defining the shape of the wave.
This layer is the 'background' of the water.

4.  This is the stage where we added the foam to the crest of the breaker, 
making it crisp white with 'swirling' texture to add to the foam effect.

5.  Blocking out the white in the sail boats and grouping them in an appealing composition.
The white block out is to ensure that when we painted over the top of the sails with the patterns and other colours, that they will stand out effectively.

6.  Adding the reflection from the sky into the water, the white reflections of the breaker wave and little glitters of white on the tops of the waves.

7.  This is my finished painting. In this step I added the patterns to the sails of the boats,
and fixed up places here and there. We added foam sprays to the edges of the wave and small little wave crests out a little bit further.

This is my eldest Son and I with our finished artworks! It was such a great night together!
My Son's piece turned out really well, he is a very talented artist!

While I am happy with my finished piece, like every artist, I can see the areas that I don't like. I would have done the waves smoother for sure. I think that's the one thing that really is bugging me! 

Cary told us all that our piece is not finished until we say it's finished, that we reserve the right to change our piece, go back to it and re-work it if we're wanting to ... maybe I will with the waves, I'm not sure yet.

My Son listening to the 'Introduction'.

I learnt so many new techniques that are able to be used when creating other artworks as well. I never knew how to paint water, and now I can practise what Cary taught until I have more of a grasp on this technique.

I have actually found one of my original photographs on my computer that I love, and I'm going to attempt to paint that one using the same advice and techniques learnt from Cary. 

His teaching is clear, inspiring and motivating. With the approach that he takes, it makes it easier to end up with a half decent artwork!

I'm so grateful for this opportunity and that my Son's school organised such a brilliant youth group activity! My Son learnt so many new things as well, and he's thinking of attempting the photo I've picked to paint next too! (I may even get my other three children involved too!)

It's not only original art and art prints that Cary sells, he has a great range of products like throw pillows (which I just love!) and Calendars. To purchase any of his range, go to his shop here.

So, now all that's left to do, is name my artwork. Cary has named his piece (can't quite remember the name though!) and I'm wanting to give mine it's own name ... I was thinking maybe 'The Race Is On', or 'Ocean Adventure'. What do you think? 

Leave a comment bellow if you have any suggestions for the name, and I'll pick the name I like best as the winner! The prize will be a colour copy print of my artwork! So get busy commenting! I'll announce the winner in a couple of weeks!

If you're wanting to contact Cary you can email him at McAulay1@hotmail.com.

Cary, thank you for the time and effort you put into teaching these young students your techniques. Your passion is obvious, your talent outstanding, and we had a great night. Thank you to my Son's school for arranging this great event for our children, and thank you Son for not being embarrassed to have mum come along!

Happy creating everyone!

A New Toy!

The other day I bought a second-hand Canon EOS 3000 camera.

I'm so excited by this purchase!

I studied photography in grade 10 and 11 at high school and we only had film camera's 'back then'. I loved the challenge of producing a beautiful quality photograph without seeing the end result before development.

Something that I live by is we never reach a stage where we've stopped learning and so with this camera I know that I'm going to really enjoy a new learning challenge all over again! Whatever your creative abilities and interests are, there is always greater understanding that you/we can gain from practise, challenging ourselves and seizing learning opportunities.

I've purchased some film (24exp)and now I just have to wait aaalllll the way to pay day, to purchase the two rather expensive lithium batteries needed! (good things come to ...) But that outlay is minimal especially considering the camera itself was an absolute bargain at just $25! (The seller informed me that it's over $700 worth!) I figure it's a worthwhile investment as far as camera expenses goes.

So, I'm giving the 'old fashioned way' a go again and I'm looking forward to being able to show you some of the results (provided they actually turn out half decent!)

Do you own this camera or similar? Any tips or suggestions for me? Thanks!

Have fun enjoying your creativity!

InkJoy - A Chance To Help

I'd like to let you know that I have begun a small little FaceBook business called 'InkJoy' that sells beautiful and unique hand-sketched and photographic cards made by myself.

 For the month of April, I am raising funds for an incredible charity called LoveHopeJump. This organisation raises fund for African women; freeing them from sexual slavery. Every one dollar from each card sold is going straight to help sponsor four of my friends with this charity, who are going to be jumping out of a plane for these women! (They are much braver than I am that's for sure!!)

I'm aiming to raise a minimum of $100.00 ... I know we can reach that target easily!

Even purchasing one card is sure to help!

Please be generous! The time to help and bless others is now! 

Together we can help to give these African women a beautiful, healthy and bright future!

Please visit my FaceBook page to place orders for cards, these women will thank you for it!

Be blessed this week and thank you for your support!