I'm back after a no blogging break.

It is taking me awhile to get used to the blogging and making it a weekly habit. It may be because I am a fairly private person, who doesn't feel the need to tell people what I am doing. It also could be because although I have been busy painting, I haven't been finishing my paintings. I have been chasing the new challenge and going from one painting to the next. Anyway, I have a lot to finish,so I must get onto it this month. In the meantime, what picture to post on the blog. Let me think!

Aha, I love the wonderful effects you can get with watercolour. Back washes used to be discouraged in traditional watercolour practice, times have changed and you can do what you like now, and have such fun with them. Here I have used back washing in the sky, mountains, hills and foreground. I like them. What so you think?

Experimenting with back washes. 

1st Prize and Commended in Armidale Art Prize

Hi Readers,

Very good news. My painting pictured below won first prize in the Contemporary Section and another painting titled The Tree received a Commended in the Landscape section of The Armidale Art Prize 2016. I am thrilled and excited to receive recognition from a fellow artist and judge. I was away on holiday when the Exhibition opened, so I was delighted when my friend emailed me with the good news. I will include a photo of the painting The Tree in this post. This painting started as an abstract work, but then I was drawn to do a free and old tree. Both paintings are oil paint on canvas. http://www.armidale.nsw.gov.au/whats-on/art-events/armidale-art-prize-and-exhibition-2016; http://www.linkedin.com/in/trish-petersen-298973aa?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile;

The Tree

'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.

"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)

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.