There are a few projects on in My Creative Space today.

On the easel is a little mock up pastel study for an oil painting, yes that’s right I am taking a baby step towards a “serious” painting again. It’s exciting and scary.

Little Guys first two years haven’t left me much time or head space for painting, I have done a couple of pieces, but just decorative stuff, not “art”. Even in the couple of years before his birth I didn’t produce much “art”. I was doing lots of corporate jobs and teaching and producing other stuff for the Art Day Out studio, so it’s been a long time. I am itching to get back to my true love.

I have to restock before I can get stuck into the painting, as luck would have it I have the perfect sized stretcher bars, but not enough canvas on my roll to get going. I have stuck to my guns and decided not to compromise on the quality of the canvas, I have a cheap, store bought canvas in the right size taking up room in the studio, but I am going to do this properly. Wish me luck on this exciting journey.

On the studio desk are some prototypes for new magnets for my Handmade Expo stand and a new stripy note book. It will be my morning pages book when I get my hands on another copy of The Artist Way. Thanks to Tinnie Girl for the inspiration to get back into this wonderful book, I am just so sad I can’t find my copy and I will have to go hunting for it in the book store.

To check out some more Creative Spaces head on over to Kootoyoo, it is truly inspiring seeing what else is going on with all the talented folk who play along.

Tumble Seeds

Day 3 of auto post camping photos while we are away camping. Alright, we might be back by the time this posts but I will be soaking in a hot bath ignoring the piles of laundry and all unessential unpacking!

This pastel is from a Fraser Island trip. It is on velour paper which is like very fine nap velvet. It is so different to work on than normal pastel paper, challenging but in a good way. Normally pastels (especially the incredibly smooth Schmincke pastels that I am addicted to) glide over the paper and blend really easily with the stoke of a finger, but on the velour they grab more which was great for the finer detail line work but not as enjoyable when blending the background areas.

All going well I will have some nice photos to share tomorrow of our most recent camping trip and you can see just how long it takes me to turn any of them into artworks (hopefully not too long now that I have an audience!).

Starlight & Nightime at Severn River

Day 2 of auto posting camping paintings while we are away camping. These paintings are from a trip to one of our favorite “local” haunts, Sundown National Park.

This one is oil on silver leaf, the texture created by the silver leaf is so interesting to paint on and by using glazes I retain a glow from within, from the silver. Unfortunately that doesn’t show up in the photos, I have never figured out how to photograph this technique well. If anyone has any tips for me I would be very grateful.

This is a pastel on paper of the same scene; it, like many of my unframed pastels, is hiding away in storage under my bed!

Wordless Wednesday

Check out what others are doing for Wordless Wednesday

A new dawn

I love the drawing I have chosen as my profile picture. It is a pastel on paper called “Sunrising”. It is unframed, which means I don’t get to look at it much, it is in my unframed drawing storage…..under my bed! It is safely stored and respectfully wrapped in archival glassine paper, but under my bed all the same.


It is enjoyable to see an image of it a lot more often now and to know that is often people’s first impression of me and my artwork. It was hard to choose a piece of art to represent me, as I work in so many different styles and media. But this one just felt right and a bit symbolic as this blog and other work I am embarking on at the moment feel as they are the dawn of a new creative period for me.

Sunrising is part of a collection of paintings and pastels that I have titled “Dusk till Dawn” as the name suggests they depict the time between twilight and sunrise with lots of paintings of the night sky and moon in between. I hope to one day exhibit the whole collection together, but first I will have to get over my inability to let some works go, that I mentioned here, as many of these pieces fall into the would like to keep forever category

How did you choose the artwork or photo you use as a profile picture? Do you change it often or stick with the same one?

Don't you wish you were here???

I am craving the beach, the smells and sounds and that incredible view. Alas a visit to the beach is not on the near horizon, but I do love the way my paintings can take me back there. This is a pastel title "Double Island Point II" that I completed after a fabulous, refreshing camping trip. I can't wait for our next camping adventure.