The Wedding

It's over, and without incident.  Please, please, please leave them alone now.

In honour of the occasion I have constructed a simple collage. No frills, no artistic merit, it is what it is.

They admired her train as she walked down the aisle...

May they live in happiness all the days of their lives... but it'll be difficult.

Minimalist Abstract

Well, I've been through many techniques lately in my quest for an artistic style of my own. This work is one on my road to enlightenment.

"Cleft" - 90 x 90 cm

Detail 1

Detail 2

I've tried to keep the composition as simple as possible and use texture and colour for impact. Don't know if it works or not. Perhaps I should put it aside for a while and bring it out again after a few weeks.

I think the detail photos are a little out of focus, will redo them later.

April's Letters

What a month! I feel like a social butterfly wafting from one 'do' to another.  Gallery openings, lunches, dinners... all very enjoyable occasions but I still have to fit in the other stuff.  Between socialising, housework, and the garden there's been little enough time to 'create', but have managed my letters for the ALAW project.


M, N, O, P



Sometimes they are more collage than paint but, hey, variety is the spice of life isn't it?

Inspiration At Home

While I am still painting, painting, painting,  there are no completed works to photograph right now. Soooooo I thought I'd share some photos I've taken in my backyard.  Having a large block of land is a joy, and occasionally a burden.  While it takes a bit of maintenance there are sometimes wonderful surprises when you least expect it.

Such as these gorgeous funghi:

Some research revealed that the second photo is of 'bridal veil funghi'... an apt name don't you think?

Another joy is the proliferation of native birds. I feed them wild bird seed.  Only enough to tempt them back, but not enough to sustain them, so that they continue to find their natural sources of food.

While this is not a 'great' photo, I keep it aside because I love the movement and think it might make the basis for a future painting.  I call it "Galah Confrontation".




Ah well, back to the studio. There is much to do.

Easter Greetings

Easter has taken me away from the blog.  Friends calling, much cooking and general frivolity.  Speaking of frivolous... this weeks Scrapiteria challenge is 'Easter' (eggs, flowers, chooks, rabbits, etc).  My contribution is a simple collage...

In - eggs - plicable

Happy Easter everyone....

Moving To Abstract

After years of being hindered by traditional ideas of painting I seem to be leaping off into the unknown world of abstract.  I feel free at last!  It seems many artists begin with traditional works, then progress to the abstract.

I used to paint like this... (and sometimes still do)

The Valley

My latest abstracts bear little resemblance to the above landscape.

Blue Squares

Noughts And Crosses

While many casual viewers might think this is a step backwards, for me it is an enormous progression. The same rules apply to these works as to a more realist painting. It is all about shapes, colours, tones, mark making, etc. In my new, enlightened, view my abstract paintings have more going for them than previous works.

I would love to hear your views on this.

Creative workshop

Had a fabulous weekend abandoning myself to creative play, at a workshop run by Aileen Shaw.  Aileen is a very talented local artist with infectious enthusiasm for life and all things 'art'.

Aileen demonstrating

Aileen is a born teacher and her workshops produce enormous results from everyone, no matter how experienced a painter. As yet I haven't completed all the work I began (seven paintings), nor have I photographed the completed works.  However, here are two stages of one 'work in progress'.

This was the initial phase of establishing a composition using lots of paint in the colours of choice.  I don't know why I particularly chose this palette, other than I wanted a 'bright' base to work on.

The next phase involved 'mark making' and texture. Line work, pattern, splashing, and adding some tonal differences to already established areas, has this work well on the way.

Am now 'tweaking' the painting to bring it to a final result that I'm happy with.  Once complete I'll post it on this blog.

More Adobe

I can't seem to keep away from the computer. I wake up VERY early and my first thought is check email, blogs, other sites etc., and then play with Adobe Photoshop to inspire me for the day's creativity. Any photo can be altered radically to make a whole new image, with an completely different meaning.

Such as:

This photo of two sisters (my friend Cheryl's grandchildren) in a shared moment looking at photos on a camera.

Became:

It could be called  'Conspiracy" or something equally sinister because of the palette. Maybe there's a painting in the offing, or perhaps it will just be filed with hundreds of other images that I have saved over time. 

13th International Collage Exchange

At last! The ICE exhibitions are up and running. View them here. The selling exhibition will be on display at the Percy Thomson Gallery in Stratford NZ. The museum collection is going to The Learning Connexion, an International art institute which is building a new premises, and gallery, north of Wellington NZ.

I am pleased to have work in both exhibitions.



Moon/Earth 1 -  (selling Exhibition)



Moon/Earth 4 -  (museum collection)

This has been a very exciting project for me, and will be even more exciting in May when I receive my package of exchange collages from these very talented people.