Category Archives: painting

Kangaroo ~ Art for Australia

2 Replies

Kangaroo — acrylic on canvas, 205 x 205 mm, 2020. SOLD

This little kangaroo road sign is officially one of my favourite paintings. Ever. I love the curves and the colours and the sign and the shadow falling across the road. I’m a bit tempted to keep this one… So if you are interested in buying it (and supporting a good cause), I suggest hopping over to my Etsy shop before I change my mind.

‘Kangaroo’ is the latest painting created to raise money for people and wildlife who have lost their homes because of the out-of-control bushfires in Australia. I will be donating 50% of the sale of these artworks to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund https://www.gerf.org.au and Wildlife Victoria https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au. 🇦🇺

Koala ~ Art for Australia

8 Replies

Koala — acrylic on canvas, 150 x 150 mm, 2020. Available.

This little Koala is the second in my series of small paintings created to raise money for people and wildlife who have lost their homes because of the recent bushfires in Australia. I will be donating 50% of the sale of these artworks to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund https://www.gerf.org.au and Wildlife Victoria https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au. 🇦🇺

You can probably guess what the next painting in this series is going to be… but be prepared for a bit of a twist : )

Art for Australia

6 Replies

Superb FairyWren — acrylic on canvas, 150 x 150 mm, 2020. Available.

It has been heartbreaking to watch the bushfires wreaking havoc day after day, week after week, month after month. We watch the news from the safety of our living room in New Zealand, more than two thousand kilometres away, and feel completely helpless. I have family over there. My mother grew up in that beautiful countryside. We spent many Christmases in Victoria when I was young…

How do you paint when the world is on fire? What do you paint? Why even bother? And then I found my answer in a Maxine Hong Kingston quote:

“In a time of destruction, create something: a poem, a parade, a community, a school, a vow, a moral principle; one peaceful moment.”

This little Superb Fairy-wren is the first of a series of small canvas paintings I’m creating to raise money for people and wildlife who have lost their homes as a result of the devastating fires in Australia. I will be donating 50% of the sale of these artworks to the Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund https://www.gerf.org.au and Wildlife Victoria https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au. 🇦🇺

“the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognised as your own”

― Mary Oliver

Te Waikoropupū Springs

Leave a reply

Te Waikoropupū Springs I and II in the Drawing Room

Happily, these two landscapes are my first paintings of the new year/decade. I began them last year, pronounced them “finished” this year, and have just put a lovely gloss varnish over them.

Te Waikoropupū Springs is known locally as Pupu Springs (never mind) and is one of my favourite places in New Zealand. It is an absolutely stunning place to visit if you are ever anywhere near Golden Bay (at the top of the South Island). Famous for the clarity of its water, the reflected colours ~ especially the ultramarine blues and bright turquoise ~ are breathtaking.

‘Te Waikoropupū Springs I’ — acrylic on canvas, 205 x 405 mm. Available.

‘Te Waikoropupū Springs II’ — acrylic on canvas, 205 x 405 mm. Available.

Inner Critic

8 Replies

I painted ‘My inner critic is no expert’ as a reminder : )

There are days when we are so critical of ourselves… days when we think we can’t or we try but things don’t go well and so we decide we won’t… days when the little things overwhelm us and the bigger picture is nowhere to be seen.

Even if they are few and far between, these days still lurk. They return time and time again. Maybe I’ve just painted* the best thing I’ve ever painted and I feel on top of the world. I move on to the next one and nothing goes right. But why? Yesterday it was easy. Yesterday was a joy. Yesterday I even felt like an artist.

Mark Romer famously referred to this as part of The Creative Process and Danny Gregory has devoted an entire book to the subject (‘Shut Your Monkey’). Yes, I’m a big fan of laughing at our inner critic. We do not ~ repeat NOT ~ have to take them seriously.

Okay, sometimes it’s easier said than done. But worthwhile things are very rarely easy. And creating art, no matter what anyone says, is most definitely worthwhile.

* feel free to substitute any creative activity you enjoy for “painted”