A watercolour sketch from the kitchen, of a Japanese Maple, my parents gave me.

I enjoyed doing this sketch from my kitchen table looking out the back window. It was done quickly to record the wonderful colours on a Japanese Maple that my parents gave us.   It is a simple freely painted sketch, but I still enjoy it as it takes me back to a happy times in our first home with a young family in Tamworth NSW.

Small Japanese Maple watercolour sketch

More on Mural spray painting experience

My first experience of spray painting - finished! Not perfect, but I was pleased with the results. Apparently the edges should be sharp, but I liked the fuzzy edges in parts. He seems like he is in the sun and haze.

I was in very good company as my work stands with the work of  Crisp and Miko'.
 The children put their beautiful art on the wall a couple of weeks later.

This is inside the wonderful project called  Casa Taller Las Moyas that provides 

educational activities for children. It was an honour to meet the people who run this project.

This is the view looking out from the project. The view I had whilst painting!

My first spray painted mural or street art

I very much enjoyed learning to do spray painting or street art from the well know street artist Crisp This was a collaborative effort with artists Crisp and Miko in Bogota Colombia. We had been invited to do some paint a mural of some ethnic Colombians, on the wall of project that assists children in a poor area in the mountains. I chose to do a Kogi Indian, as I had just seen some whilst hiking in the Caribbean. Crisp and Miko went back there a few weeks later and helped the children to do their own art on the wall also.

 Crisp taught me the process of making a stencil which involved choosing the photo, editing it and then making it into a tonal picture on the computer. I found this very was interesting. Then there was the tedious task of cutting the stencil out with a sharp knife and importantly leaving bridges, so the whole thing didn't fall apart. I had to be very careful not to accidentally cutting the bridges after cutting for hours and it was a test of concentration! Lucky I didn't have many layers of card to cut through like some of the experienced artists have.

Then of course there was learning to use a spray can in a way that gave the right effect. No drips, a nice clean line, shaking the can and moving it fast. What a challenge! I felt a great sense of accomplishment when the 1.5 meter Indian was finished. I will find a photo of the finished work for the next blog.

I would love to hear your ideas about street art. More to come in the next installment.

Work in progress. The black layer was done and now fixing the stencil for the next colour.

'Bellingen Home' Traditional style Watercolour 2013

'Bellingen Home' Watercolour (28cm x 19cm) 2013

This older style home at Bellingen NSW appealed to me as it had so much character and seemed to have a story to tell of families who had lived in it and still do. It seemed typical of many country old Australian weatherboard buildings of it's day. My watercolour sketch was done on site, sitting under a tree, to get shelter from the oppressive summer heat. The style harkens back to the style of painting I did 30 years ago, and it was comforting to do it. A bit like  chicken soup for the artistic soul! A traditional old style of painting for an old style home. The photo is a little darker than the painting.

It is certainly a contrast to the more abstracted acrylic and oil paintings I have been doing over the last couple of years.

Charcoal drawing of my dear friend

I completed this drawing of my wonderful friend a long time ago and gave it to her for her birthday. There are acid marks on her forehead etc now, as I could only afford a cheap frame back then. It was of my first charcoal portraits, so it could be more polished, but I feel I captured my friend, as I saw her, and I am still happy with that.

A few years after she tragically died at 34 years of age. Her parents asked me if I minded if they kept the portrait on their wall. Her parents passed away in old age, and my friend's sister had the drawing for many years. She returned it to me on the 30th anniversary of my friend's death.

I am very pleased to have it again, as I see my friend's thick, wild hair blowing in the wind at the fun picnic with friends. I can remember enjoying that sunny summers day in the country. She was a gentle, intelligent, kind person with a great sense of humour and made my  family and I laugh and smile, and I still smile when I think of her, even though sometimes it is through tears.

Graphite drawing of Banksia bush by Tricia

Botanical style graphite drawing of a Banksia

I drew this piece of Banksia bush that I picked at a friend's place. I have always loved the texture and patterning on Banksia bush blossoms, since my childhood at Coogee, where they grew on the cliff top at the north end of the beach. They still grow well there, and I also have a thriving tree in my yard now in the New England region of NSW. I have found doing such detailed botanical type drawings to be a meditative experience. I do drawings like this every now and then. I plan to do some intensive work on detailed nature drawings in January next year. They are my way of mediating, rather than using the now popular adult colouring books.

"Turners Light" watercolour

"Turner's Light" is a watercolour painting, that I very much enjoyed doing. In this abstracted landscape I used a very free loose broad brushstrokes and primary colours. I was loosely inspired by Turner's paintings of the Rigi in Switzerland. I love Turners more abstracted free wash style paintings.

"Turner's Light" (23.5cm X 15.5cm)

Turner Inspired Watercolour

This is a watercolour that I called 'Turner Inspired' for obvious reasons. I entered it in the Daphne Young Watercolour Art Prize, and I was very pleased it received a "Commended" Award. I enjoyed making this abstracted landscape using free loose brushstrokes. Mind you, I did a few unsuccessful paintings using a similar technique, before I was happy with the results. That is the thing, when you are being very free, the paintings will not always work, but I am learning all the time, so none of the unsuccessful paintings are wasted, even when I throw them away. They are all part of the creative process, and the development of the painting that does work. I love leaving my paintings open to chance and going with what comes, rather than planning them precisely.

"Turner Inspired" (35cm X 26 cm)

Open House Postcard Show at NERAM Armidale and EMSLA Exhibition at Coffs Harbour

There is an opening this evening at 6pm New England Art Museum Armidale NSW of an exhibition called 'Open House Postcard Show' that has three of my paintings on display. I will put some photos of them up on my blog soon. These small paintings will be on view until 21st Jan 2016.

In the meantime, I must let your know about the wonderful exhibition I saw recently at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, NSW. It was the Eutick Memorial Still Life Award (EMSLA) show for 2015. I would love to pop some images up for you but I could breach copyright if I were to do that. However, I recommend you have a look at: http://www.coffsharbour.nsw.gov.au/our-community/facilities-parks-and-places/regional-gallery/Pages/EMSLA.aspx.

The entry paintings were from artists from all over Australia, and it was judged by well known art critic John McDonald. It was a real treat, and well worth seeing, even if only on-line. I enjoyed viewing this strong exhibition.  I'd be very interested to hear what you think of both of the above exhibitions if you get the opportunity to see them.

Here are two acrylic paintings on canvas that make up a diptych that I completed about four years ago.   

Welcome to my blog.

Hello readers. Thank you for visiting my blog. My goal in making this blog is to let people know more about my art and my art making process, as well as receiving comments, tips and ideas from others. I use various media ie oils, watercolour, acrylic, ink, pastel and mixed media and various techniques to create Chinese and Japanese (Sumi-e) brushwork paintings, representational and abstract painting.