It was a rather slow-moving day at the market on Saturday but there was a lot to be thankful for. The sun, and not the wind, was out, and there were no driverless vehicles on the move. Last week, a van was left in neutral without the handbrake on and the van rolled into my next-door neighbour’s gazebo.
The morning started off with “Suspended” being purchased by a lady who informed me that it was going to hang in her boat.
Three girlfriends from the northwest coast of Tassie, helped one choose an A-3 sized print of “Glamour Girls”. She wants to hang it above her bathtub. A local Hobartian, who collects fairy wren items, purchased a “Meet Me at the Gate” print. A “Meet Me at the Gate” framed print was also purchased by another Hobart resident.
A couple purchased a “Bunk beds”, “Hanging Out” and “Devilish Siesta” to hang up in their Bed & Breakfast accommodation in St. Helen’s, Tasmania. At the very end of the day, during packing up, there were two couples buying similar sets of prints, but I didn’t have the opportunity to chat much, but I do know that one was a graphic designer. I was quite keen to depart as soon as I could to get home, unpack the car, and get changed to go see the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra play Beethoven IV. https://www.tso.com.au It was a wonderful concert. 😊
The beautifully coloured Golden-Shouldered parrot is listed as Endangered. It is said that there are more Golden-Shouldered parrots in birdcages than in the wild. Nearly a century after the extinction of the paradise parrot, there are conservation efforts taking place to protect the survival of its cousin, the Golden-Shouldered parrot. https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/golden-shouldered-parrot
The Golden-Shouldered parrot was found across most of the Cape York Peninsula, Australia, but now it is only found in an area of approximately 3,000 km2.
A Golden-shouldered Parrot poised for action. Photo Geoffrey Jones (BarraImaging.com.au).
The choice of the Golden-shouldered Parrots’ nesting site is unusual. They nest in conical termite mounds. The Golden-shouldered Parrots are also known as antbed or anthill parrots. They make their nests just after the wet season, when the termite mounds are soft enough for them to excavate. The mounds insulate the chicks on cold nights, but their timing must be just right – if termites are still active, they can cover over the nest entrances, or kill the eggs by cementing them to the bottom of the nest. Survival is a difficult business!
Grazing by cattle and feral pigs exacerbates the plight of the Golden-shouldered Parrots. They require suitably old (30-50 years) termite mounds to nest in. As such, the loss of, or damage to these crucial nesting sites has an impact on their population.
This Golden-shouldered Parrot that I painted is part of a larger painting. I painted a variety of Australian birds in one painting, but I wanted this blog post to feature and focus just on the Golden-shouldered Parrots. How can you not but relish that gorgeous turquoise colour!! It’s an amazing bird, as all birds are.
As I write this post, on Sunday morning, it is raining and the Derwent River is awash with white caps, which makes me feel even more thankful for yesterday’s calm and mild conditions. Due to the ideal winter weather conditions of yesterday, there were more people out and about.
My first customers at the stall were three sisters, meeting up in Tassie, where one of the sister lives, to celebrate a sister’s birthday. One purchased a “Salamanca Fresh” tote bag and another bought an A-4 sized print of “Meet Me at the Gate” for her friend’s Christmas present. They meet at the gate to go walking together and she loves fairy wrens. A gift tailored for the individual!
“Salamanca Fresh” capturing a lively Salamanca Market day scene
“Meet Me at the Gate”
Then I met a locum nuclear medicine specialist doing a stint at the hospital here but because of the lockdowns he was not going home for his few weeks off. His daughter, who lives and teaches in the ACT, takes teenagers scuba diving, climbing Mt Kosciuszko and the like to teach them resilience, teamwork, build confidence and many other valuable life skills, loves whales. https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/snowy-mountains/kosciuszko-national-park/summit-walk
“Southern Flow”
He bought “Southern Flow” and “Weightless” prints for her. I didn’t get his name, but he also has a sole business selling shooting equipment. He represented Australia twice in the Olympics and a few times in the Commonwealth Games. I imagine it was in the Men’s trap shooting??
A couple from Newcastle purchased “Sitting on the Fence”. He loves kookaburras.
“Sitting on the Fence”
A man, who lives six months of the year in France, in the countryside of the Nouvelle Aquitaine area, purchased a small “Scarlet Robins” tote bag. https://www.britannica.com/place/Aquitaine.
“Scarlet Robins” made in Australia and washable tote bag
A couple from Townsville bought a “Richmond Bridge” and a “Silent Disco” print. A young lady, looking for a gift for her girlfriend, who lives in the Richmond, Tasmania area, bought her a “Two to Tango” tote bag. This is another tailored made gift because this girlfriend has a male and female emu as pets!! Their names are Ernie and Bert! 😊 Emus as pets are unusual pets but having emu pets in Tasmania is even more unusual because they are not endemic to Tasmania. The emus Tasmania used to have, have been extinct for over 100 years. https://theunfurlingartist.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/the-study-of-emu-poo/
“Two to Tango”
I was pretty keen on packing up and getting away as soon as the gates opened. I was making good time and everything was fitting back into the car quite well and when I finished, I saw my gazebo standing there trying to look inconspicuous. Arg. I had to unpack half the car to pack it again, then got home and unpacked again and then headed out to the Welcome Swallow Brewery’s opening celebrations. https://www.welcomeswallow.com.au/ It’s an awesome venue and space. It was a great evening with amazing tasting boutique beer, made from Nigel’s homegrown, organic hops and raspberries.
I hope that you are staying warm and safe inside this week.
It was a mild start to the day and then the rains came. Thankfully it passed. With various states across Australia in lockdowns, the numbers were significantly down at Salamanca Market.
The first sale of the day was a greeting card by a lady visiting from Brisbane. Then a couple visiting from Queensland bought two medium-sized pouches, one for their 4-year-old granddaughter’s birthday. They purchased a “Salamanca Fresh” and “Family Outing” pouch.
Salamanca Fresh pouch
Family Outing
A young man stopped by, freshly off a deep-sea research ship back from exploring/researching Australia’s deep-sea Indian Ocean Territories. The ship that docked a few days ago in Hobart. https://museumsvictoria.com.au/article/investigatingtheiot/ They have identified many new species: some blind and/or faceless species and many new crustations. He showed me some of his photos of the newly discovered species. He purchased a “Bunk beds” and “Sea Life” print.
Bunk beds
Sea Life
A couple chose a “Double Date” print for their mother. Another couple, from Brisbane, purchased a “Sea Life” and “Silent Disco” print. Brisbane is going into a three-day lock-down, so they are going to stay longer in Tassie.
Fairy Penguins enjoying a Silent Disco
A mother and daughter bought a Large “Helping Hands” pouch and a Medium sized “Hanging Out” tote bag. A couple from Queensland are taking an A-3 size “House sharing” print back with them.
A family from Brisbane purchased three prints for their baby’s room: “Fairy wrens”, “Scarlet Robins” and “Weightless”. A lady bought a “Bunk beds” print for a birthday gift for a girlfriend that lives in Brisbane. A lady, from Queensland, bought three prints of the Glamour Girls series for herself and her girlfriends.
Fairy wrens
Scarlet Robins
Weightless
At the end of the day, while I was packing up, a daughter and her mother, expecting her third child, chose a “Bunk beds” and “Sea Life” print. She’s having her baby in Tasmania and then they are returning to Fiji, where they live.
After packing up the market stall and then unpacking the car when I arrived home, I got changed into 60’s outfit to go to my friend’s 60th birthday party. The music was so much fun to dance to!
Celebrating Sixty Style
Wishing everybody a good upcoming fortnight.
Thanks for visiting! All print, tote bag and pouch images shown are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com
The Unfurling Artist: journalising creative journeying 
