When I first started using soft pastels 22 years ago I had to use the kitchen table. Not very healthy now I think about it! From there I progressed to the computer room, which was a big space but not very conducive to concentrating when the kids were using the computer. Then came my big opportunity …. a room all to myself. It was small with my husband’s fishing rods in one corner and my sewing machine in the other, but it was MY art room! My husband would tell you I was actually sharing his fishing rod storage area! Two years ago I began using acrylics so had to pack my beloved pastels away because there wasn’t enough room for both mediums in my small room. Not long after I retired from work
One of my Gallery Directors has been encouraging me to paint bigger and I have been unable to because my workspace just didn’t allow it. We have since moved and now I have a dedicated art studio (yay!!) and more room for bigger paintings. So I bought a nice big easel (more yays!!!) and the biggest canvas I could fit into the car ( 91.5cm x 152.4cm) just before we headed off on our Summer caravan trip down the south coast of NSW for five weeks. While we were away I took hundreds of beach/water photos looking to capture that special moment to transfer onto my big canvas. I especially love the transparent wave with the light refractions on the sand and I wasn’t disappointed. The water was emera
After retiring I am able to dedicate a lot more time to my art and have been researching how to increase my profile. I don’t want to be ‘famous’ … I just want to be able to use my art to benefit more than myself and buyers. This is what I’ve done to date: 1. Created my own webpage with an original Domain name. 2. Spending more time on my social media sites and have researched how to use social media more effectively. 3. Painting a series of Turtle paintings to support the Turtle Hospital in Townsville, Qld. 4. Completed a demonstration painting at Finite Gallery, which resulted in a sale. This turned out to not be as scary as I thought so I am thinking about doing it again in the future. 5.
Welcome to the first blog post on my website! I will be doing weekly blogs to share tips, works-in-progress and any relevant art-related information that I find interesting and think others will too. Follow me to keep in touch with what I'm up to :)
