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! 

Abstract Pieces

I've plunged into the deep end. I've taken a risk. I've painted more abstract pieces. Yesterday I spent the better part of the day painting. By the end of the day I had created four abstract pieces in acrylic, and some with oils mixed in as well. 

It still remains a mystery to me as to why all of a sudden I have an urge to paint in abstract, when I've never had a desire for this style in the past. However, I am really enjoying the freedom of it and the fact that there are no hard and fast rules. 

I have found that painting abstracts that relate to favourite song lyrics of mine add personal depth and meaning to the piece, as well as painting things that I know I like (trees, birds, etc). How do you approach your abstract pieces?

I must admit, I'm hooked. Even though I'm new to this style, there's something about it that makes me want to keep trying a different technique, a different colour scheme, a larger sized canvas! I keep a sketchbook with my ideas in preliminary sketches so that if it's a while between paintings, I have all the ideas written down (I'll show you this book in another post).

Here's the pieces from yesterdays blissful creative time! ...

"Rainbow Lorikeet" ... acrylic on canvas.

"Forest" ... acrylic on canvas with silver leaf.

"His Glory Appears" ... acrylic and gesso on canvas.

"Bonfire Dance" ... acrylic and oil on canvas.

It's school holidays here, and I really hope to cram in as much painting time as I can ... after I've bought more paints and canvases! 

Happy painting everyone!

Being Brave

I've always loved Impressionist art. It doesn't matter how hard I try to create a different looking work, it always ends up looking very Impressionistic or a little bit Impressionistic. It's the colours, the texture, the movement of the style that I just adore. Van Gogh has long been my favourite Impressionistic artist(Technically speaking, he was a Post-Impressionist artist) His work, to me, is stunning.

One thing I am learning about my artwork lately, is that I'm not really happy to just 'dabble' and be safe anymore. I have this urging to create a monstrous canvas piece of ... something! A landscape? A portrait? Our cat?! Who knows?!! But I think I'm working up enough courage to just jump in and give it a shot! I feel as though I've been 'practicing' for years and years, and now? Now it's time to get cracking!

I would like to see my art progressing and each day, getting that little bit better at what I do. Not comparing myself to others, but enjoying the uniqueness of my own work. Art is, after all, individual expression.

I really appreciate this quote from Matisse, and while it is sometimes easier said than done, it's something that I'm really desiring to implement more into my art.

COURAGE = BRAVERY = BOLDNESS = INDIVIDUALITY.

One thing I do know, is that when I do create courageously, it will most likely have an Impressionistic vibe to it! 

See what I mean?! ...

'The Long Journey Home'.

I used oil pastels to create this piece, entirely from my imagination without a reference picture. For me, that was courageous. And yep, Impressionistic feel! Now, I'm ready to take the step in creating that large piece of work! 

Wish me luck! 

I'll let you know how it goes!

I hope you have a beautifully creative week!

'Moving Forward' ... A Mixed Media Canvas Piece

I spent six hours today working on this mixed media canvas piece. I've only just begun creating mixed media art and I'm hooked! I have still got so much to learn though. When I posted it to my FB page, I received mixed responses, what do you guys think? I am happy with the end result ...

... 'Moving Forward'

Water Colour Painting

Water colour painting is something that I've always admired but automatically put it in the 'too hard' basket. I just couldn't see how I would be able to use the medium well enough to be able to do it justice. However, as you all know I really enjoy learning and trying out new things creatively, even when it's a challenge. I don't want to end up stagnating with my art.

I layby'd four water colour books months ago (do you know how hard it was to wait for them?!!), and I was able to pay them off a couple of weeks ago ... I can't wait to start browsing through them and trying out some of the incredible techniques that are in them!

While waiting to pay off the layby, I painted my first landscape in water colour. I know it's definitely far from being perfect, and I know that the techniques I used can certainly be improved, but I am happy with it for my first attempt. I will frame it, despite it's errors, because I want to remember the small beginning that I made with this medium. 

Here's the piece that I painted ...

I can see the mistakes in this painting so clearly, but I'm keeping it anyway! We've got to start somewhere when it comes to starting something new. 

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.

Art is knowing which ones to keep."

-Scott Adams.

I hope this week you work up the courage to try something that you've always wanted to do ... give it a go, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

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!