it's been a while

The last few weeks have been rather hectic but I haven't been idle!

We had our painting class end of year lunch last month and swapped a little painted and framed gift. I found a pic of these beautiful cups on Pinterest - begging to be painted! 

colourful cups

6 x 8 inches

 

 

started with this ...

 

 

Finished today.

300 x 600 mm

 

And a gorgeous vinyl I found in an op shop

 

Flight

450 x 450 mm

 

This one was inspired by a painting by Australian artist, FRED WILLIAMS.

The image I had was very blurred and I didn't know it was Fred's work

until a friend pointed it out to me. See previous post below.

I have added the birds.

Our final tea party lunch was held this month and although I forgot to take a pic of the actual hearts, I made a couple more of these for our swap gift.

fabric hearts

looking for Christmas gifts???

 ... have a look HERE at LYNDENDALE GALLERY in the Ferguson Valley, near Dardanup, Western Australia via Facebook.

There's lots of beautiful work by south west artists only - including paintings, linocuts, textiles, art to wear, felted pieces, silk scarves, jewellery, glass works, wood and timber pieces and garden art ... plus lots more, in a tranquil farmland setting!!!

Thanks for visiting.

Cait

new things

We're recently back from a few days in Esperance, way down in the great southern region of WA. Lots of driving and lots of canola fields ...

  

and a funny road mail box - celebrating a wedding and new home???

  

 

 

 

One of the dozen or so wind mills(?) from the wind farm.

Not as 'ugly' as our strange and erratic PM seems to think, IMHO ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lots of water gorgeousness ... and a dangerous spot in the Cape Le Grand National Park ...

 

 

 

 The beautiful whale sculpture on the foreshore, near the port ...

 

 

close up - the glass mosaic work is magnificent

(click to enlarge)

 

 

 

I love an old stone building ...

 

 

 

with adjoining shearing shed

 scarf

While we were in Esperance, Himself asked me to knit him a new colourful scarf, so we chose the colours together.

paintings

I started a diptych a few weeks ago, but it's not going too well. I needed to get my head around something new (again, lol), so I started a new painting.

The pic below is the inspiration for my painting at the bottom. It's only the first pass - lots more layers and detail to come yet, but happy with it so far : )

 

inspiration

 

 

 

 

the first layers for Earth Colours 

The strange thing about painting is, the more I learn, the worse I seem to be doing! How weird is that??? Or maybe my perception of my work has changed with discovery of new skills. It's all a bit confusing ...

sewing retreat
It was our annual quilting retreat last weekend. Each year, 8 of us stay in a huge holiday house somewhere on the South West Australian coast from Augusta to Yallingup. We bring 6 gifts to swap - 3 are sewing related and 3 are 'anything'. Throughout the weekend we interrupt sewing, eating, drinking, laughing, eating, drinking ... to choose a wrapped mystery gift and it adds to the fun!

Well ... this year I couldn't think of anything to make that was sewing related. We've all been sewing for DECADES and have most fabric and notions that we need, or want. I nearly didn't go in the swap ... then I thought of this idea ...

Three little paintings of quilts! What else??? They are about 20-25 cm square/rectangular.

I think the recipients liked them and if they didn't, they have permission to 'gift on'!

raggedy stripes

Amish bars with stencilling

ribbed stripes

The quilts were inspired by quilts in two books (top and bottom), Art Quilts - A Celebration and (centre), Amish - The art of the Quilt. I really enjoyed painting them! The 'quilting stitches' were drawn with black and white acrylic pens.

 

nest eggs
This year we also had a challenge and the theme was Circles. 

And it happened to be the 10 year anniversary of an online group I'm in, called Australia New Zealand Art Quilters, so we were asked to make a small quilt in recognition. Our only 'rule' was that the quilt had to be 10 inches square - to reflect the 10 years. I've been in the group for about 7 years.

Well, why not combine two themes???

So ... I created the quilt on 10 inch canvas, painted and stencilled the leaves, free-machine stitched around them and added some hand stitching. The nest and eggs were painted and I stitched circles around and around to create the base of the nest.

Different threads and bits of piping I'd made earlier were layered inside two pieces of Solvy and stitched to death to create more texture. It was all hand stitched in place. There is no visible binding - it is bound with facings, turned to the back.

Very happy with the result. I hope you like it too!

Nest eggs, 10 x 10 inches

Thanks for visiting!

pink tree

 

This one was finished yesterday.

Inspired by a pic I found online, it was originally going to be

recreated on painted and stitched silk, in the style of ALISON HOLT.

But I needed to start a new painting at class a couple of weeks ago

and this canvas was already in my bag ...

 

Pink Tree

25 x 20 cm on canvas

Moulding paste underneath the paint adds texture.

My art teacher CHRIS SKEGGS says it should be framed,

so I think it's a keeper.

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

art auction

I've just finished this small mixed media
and acrylics painting on 9 x 5 inch board,

created for the Art Partners art auction

later next month.

 Tulips 9 x 5"

(inspired by Emma Davis' Stripy Vase)

Finished artworks will be auctioned to support the

Art Partners mentorship program. Art Partners match

protégés (people with disability) with mentors and

together they participate in mainstream

art classes and activities.

 

The money will be used for resources

to develop their program.

 

This legacy began in 1889 when several artists

 of the Heidelberg School held a 9 x 5 Impressionist Exhibition

 in the Melbourne Town Hall.

Most of the works were painted on 9 x 5 inch

 cigar box panels scrounged from

 the local tobacconists!

 

See more HERE

 

 

Thanks for visiting - hope you're enjoying 

the weekend!

 

cheers

Cait

 

 

this week's painting

Just a small one. Love the colours.

 

Inspired by this two-page painting by SORAYA FRENCH

in her book Dynamic Acrylics.

 

 

 

Torn paper table napkins, text and sheet music

glued down - then painted over the top.

25 cm x 25 cm

 

Close.

Window with shutters and balcony.

I think it's a happy painting!

 

 



rainbow
This beautiful double rainbow stunned us on the way home from Perth last weekend!

 

 

 



 

Thanks for visiting!
cheers
Cait

another painting
Finished this one today. I think it deserves to be framed - no glass - just a frame around the outside. I love it : D

Pink Sand

300 x 600mm

 

close

 

 

recent postcard swap
The online Aus/NZ art group's most recent postcard swap theme was Stamp. I found an ink stamp I'd bought yonks ago, with the words, 'Dream a little dream'. That set the story for this one. And my current dream is to do some selective overseas travel next year, so the salvaged postage stamps show different countries to visit!

Six of these were sent to Perth, NSW, ACT, Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand. 

Dream postcards, 6 x 4 inches

postcard

Thanks for visiting!
cheers
Cait

kookaburra
Look who called me to my back door last week ... well, about 2 metres away! Not one, but two. They are rather tame which indicates to me that they are used to human contact and/or being fed somewhere.

Two kookas - one in tree on right

beautiful!

 

A magpie turned up to claim territory!

a baby quilt
I haven't made a baby quilt for, ewwwwwwww ... a very long time! This was whipped up for one of Himself's colleagues - the mum, not the baby, lol.  She's not a fussy gal and the baby is a boy, so I hope she likes it.

wavy line piecing and wavy quilting ...

quilting done by Jenny

label on back

Thanks for visiting!

cheers
Cait

new painting
This one was started a couple of weeks ago. Torn pieces of newspaper are arranged randomly over the canvas and outlined with pencil, then the lines are painted.

My plan was to have neutral colours ranging from off-white, to creams, light tan and a splash of orange ... but it had other ideas (just like quilts do)! I'm quite enjoying the direction this one is going with some transparent layers of colour.

Next step will be to paint out some of the lines so they recede or disappear, leaving others to come forward. 

random squares

random squares, closer

I'm enjoying trying the different techniques ... but last class for this term is next week :-(  I will miss it during the 2 week break.

Thanks for visiting!

cheers
Cait

red ship
Finally, it was finished last month. Love this one and will keep it.

Red ship, 46 x 36 cm

postcard swap
The theme for this swap with Australia & NZ Art Quilters was 'photo'. I started with a pic of a quilt I'd made some time ago, printed it onto computer fabric and then stitched horizontal and vertical lines across it all in variegated thread. It looked a bit ... underwhelming.

So I took a photo of the brooch below.

straw brooch photo, backed with cotton silk

fabric pre-stamped with text

8 x 10 cm

 

I'd made the brooch at a workshop with Western Australian artist NALDA SEARLES. The small rock was found on the local beach where I love to walk and search for treasures.

The brooch pic was printed onto computer fabric, but the printer roller lines kept coming up (when they didn't come up before, derrr???!!!) ... so finally, printed the pic onto photo paper, tore around the heart shape and hand stitched onto fabric that was pre-stamped with a text stamp. Then I echo stitched around one side. I made 6 - all slightly different. Done!

They were sent to ACT, Tas, SA, Vic and NSW.

+ one
One of my postcards in the last swap - sunprinting (in earlier post) went AWOL in the mail, so I did some more sunprinting and made this one today to post to the person who missed out. I hope she receives it this time :-D

sunprinted cotton fabric using stylised leaf

 stencil template over hand dyed fabric

and sprayed with inks 

finished postcard

more paintings
This one was a little A5 'play' on black canvas with sgraffito (sp?) technique! You apply the paint, then scratch back into it with a satay stick or similar to add line and texture.

sgraffito 1

 

sgraffito 2

Mostly paint and not so much scratch here!

best last!

Here is the first stage of the painting I've been working on for a couple of weeks.

My inspiration was actually from a pic in a book by PETER ELFES, taken when Lake Eyre in central Australia was flooded.

This painting was created using inks blobbed over the canvas. Scrunched-up plastic wrap is layered over the top. Once the ink is almost dry, the wrap is gently peeled back to reveal the painting.

In this case, although it began as a waterscape - it wanted to be a very definite landscape!

 unearthed beginnings ...

finished
Not sure what to call it - Blue Hills? ;-))) Australians should get this - it was a popular radio series set in a 1950-1970s fictitious country town!

Blue Hills 90 x 60 cm

close, trees and valley

close, trees

My brilliant art teacher CHRIS SKEGGS helped and guided me with the formation and placement of hills and trees, revealing points of interest and 'knocking back' the overpowering sky. It's been a bit like giving birth so far as emotional energy goes and I'm glad - in a good way - that it's finished.

I may not update often, but I hope you enjoy today's additions :D

Thanks for visiting!

cheers
Cait