Love is in the Air…twenty five years later
So what’s the plan, Gregory ? (hint, now may be a good time for that engagement ring I never got!) And friends, family and students…I’m not fussy, I’ll accept flowers and chocolates from anyone 🙂 |
Special Days Ahead (men, read the last line carefully!)
Father’s Day coming up and there’s Spring in the air and of course there’s our big 25th Wedding Anniversary. All this made me think of MEN. You don’t have to be fathers. Come explore your creative side at my Beginner’s Workshop on Sept 18th for HALF PRICE. This is just a once off gift for men, never done before, probably never to be done again! So send me an email to book your half price place (or for your husband, brother, boyfriend). Come on men, be brave like the ladies 🙂 |
A little snippet of what you might learn…creating texture
Texture drives my paintings, it directs where I place colour and light. It is my metaphor for adversity. And from that adversity, I am driven to find ways to express the growth and transformation that stem from it. If a work is only about texture, or its only dark, then it doesn’t interest me, because contrast is what makes many images powerful. And this can also be said about life. The joy one feels in good times is heightened by how one may have felt in the really dark times. If these ideas resonate with you, I’d love to share my painting process with you in a workshop, where we’ll have fun with texture, colour and light. |
Sharing a ‘Dance in the Park’…
It’s currently hanging at the Vic Park Art Awards in Park Centre foyer opposite Target, until this Sat Aug 27th. Lots of great artworks on display from many artists. You can even have your say and vote for your fav painting to win a prize. |
Are you ready to take THE NEXT STEP?
THE NEXT STEP is only open to those who have attended Painting for Beginners. So if you would like to take THE NEXT STEP, click here and book your spot on Sat Oct 22nd or SUN OCT 23rd. Early bird discount price: $195, full price $220. The first person to book a place will get a very special surprise! Email me to see if that’s you! |
Unsure of what to do next?
Sun Sept 4th: Father’s Day (last minute gift?) |
The Creative Habit
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PS Find me on Facebook – my brand new page !. I invite you to wander around it and see the beautiful albums of photos from various classes (you might see yourself there!) and also images of my art. I’d love to read your comments, and click on LIKE at the top right hand side of the page. All photography by an awesome new talent.
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VIEW MY CLASSES
Who’dve thought? I can barely believe it, but yep, we’re celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary this Sept 28th! (That’s us on our wedding day!) Actually, to be fair, this goofy picture was banished from our wedding album, but kept on as favourite of the mother-in-laws. Greg and Mary found it recently and the faded photo has taken on a new lease of life (…as we fade…!)
I was thinking just recently how much of a privilege it is for me to take anyone through this my Beginner’s Workshop. It’s part of my profession, but in truth, it feels more like a gift (to me). At the risk of sounding sappy, it really is such an honour to be a part of someone’s creative journey.
Texture is very important part of my work. Before I introduce any paint onto a canvas, texture is laid down first and then I add colour to it. It’s all part of the 7 Step Process I teach. This is one of my student’s lovely paintings, created in a Beginner’s Workshop in July. I think it’s stunning!
My first large work in a long time – it was a delight to make and at times, I felt like an observer as the painting emerged on the canvas from red oxide dust, paint and gesso. It was alsoa very different experience working with Greg close by, watching me as I painted. I couldn’t leave him, as he was too unwell, so I set up my ‘studio’ next to him. He lay there, bravely battling with the pain and discomfort that cancer brings, half watching me and half watching the telly, and I kept an eye on him and an eye on the canvas! Dance in the Park is very textured with lace and leaves and has all the contrast I referred to earlier – in a way, joy and adversity were co-existing within the same room, and this image arose directly from those ideas.
Some of you already know of my new class THE NEXT STEP – a crazy FUSION of ‘Taking it Further’ and ‘Focus on Colour’ into one intensive follow up workshop! As always, it’s a jam-packed-bursting-with-content workshop, but this one is REALLY intensive, as it’s 2 classes merged into one.
I have 4 suggestions: If you’d like to find out more about whether my art or workshops are for you, visit my 
I’ll leave you with an excerpt from my current favourite book – Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit: “There is a process that generates creativity – and you can learn it and you can make it habitual. Everything is raw material. Everything is relevant. Everything is usable. Everything feeds into my creativity. But without proper preparation, I cannot see it, retain it, and use it. Without the time and effort invested in getting ready to create, you can be hit by the thunderbolt and it’ll just leave you stunned.”SUBSCRIBE TO MY MAILING LIST and GET MY E-BOOK FOR FREE
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