PjPaintings at Salamanca Market September 22, 2018

On Thursday, when I was teaching my adult academic writing class, my day job, I started sneezing and a full-blown cold quickly came upon me.  I had to go get a box of tissues and try to get through the rest of the day teaching in between sneezes and blowing my nose.

I didn’t feel too bad this morning, so off to the market I went.  Well, I struggled through the day and wished I had stayed snuggled up in my comfy, cozy, warm bed!

Spanish Eyes (Yellow)

I met quite of few visitors from America today: a lady from California, who has been dreaming of visiting Australia ever since she was a little girl.  She bought ‘Spanish Eyes (Yellow)’.  Two different groups from Oregon.  A man, who described himself as a nomad, purchased two extra small prints of ‘Who, Who, Who are You? II’ and ‘Salamanca Saturdays’. A couple from New Jersey bought ‘Glamour Girls’ and ‘Family Outing’ to make the return trip back to USA. Another happy stall visitor is taking her ‘Who, Who, Who are You?II’ print back to Hong Kong.

Who, Who, Who are You? II

A grandfather, originally from Croatia, with his two adult granddaughters visited the pjpaintings stall.  Apparently, he has an extensive elephant collection.  He was quite enraptured with ‘Thunder’ so his granddaughters bought it for him.  One of the granddaughters is an artist and loves all things creative, especially working with clay and sewing.

Thunder!

I met a few tourists that have taken advantage of the new direct Perth to Hobart flights, including a mother, who broke her wrist ice-skating in Tasmania, on day two of their holidays!  Parents of 20 month old Banjo, who, I was told, is obsessed with kookaburras and owls, were thrilled to have found ‘The Three Amigos’ and ‘Barn Owls’.

The Three Amigos

A couple, who bought ‘Duck Crossing’ last year for their baby, Lucille, told me that they can’t wait to give it to her for her upcoming birthday.

Duck Crossing

Lastly, I met a young lady, originally from Germany, an exchange project manager, working in Sydney.  She’s returning to Germany in November.  She bought a small ‘The Three Amigos’ pouch.

The print titled ‘Barn Owls’ was the most popular print this weekend.

A thought to ponder:  “Art is the cultural bedrock of a civilization and its worth is beyond measure.” ~Richard McKinley

Thanks for stopping by.  Wishing you a creative and happy week,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

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PjPaintings at Salamanca Market September 8, 2018

My fingertips were cold setting up the gazebo while a noisy and raucous group of Yellow crested cockatoos circled overhead. The sky was bright blue and then the sunshine arrived and it felt beautiful.

A couple from Brisbane bought a ‘Two to Tango’ print as an engagement present for “a couple that has everything”. They were really pleased to find something unique and that they think the couple will love.

A lady from Brisbane purchased ‘Lost Worlds’. It was her first time visiting Tassie and her first piece of art from Tasmania. She said that she tries to buy a piece of art from the places that she travels to.

Lost Worlds

A couple from Hong Kong purchased ‘Sea Life’. A tourist from Minnesota, USA, will be adorning her desk with a 4”x6” ‘Who, Who, Who are You?’ print. A young couple bought an A-4 sized print of ‘Who, Who, Who are You? II’ to post to her sister living in the UK.

Who, Who, Who are You?II

A man, who has purchased a hotel on Macquarie Street in Hobart, Tasmania, bought several framed prints to brighten some of the rooms. A daughter, from Melbourne, bought a ‘Double Date III’ tote bag and pouch for her mother’s 70th birthday. Her mother loves Superb-fairy wrens.

Double Date III

A young couple from Sydney, back from doing the Overland Track, where they were lucky enough to avoid rain and see snow, purchased a ‘Scarlet Robins’ print. An Ohio, USA, student purchased an extra small ‘Suspended’ print. She’s attending university in Sydney.

A couple from Perth will be taking back with them a ‘Poppy Fields’ print. They love Cary Lewincamp and have all of his CDs including the one with the cover that I illustrated.

Grandparents that bought a White Faced Scops Owls print for their very unwell newborn granddaughter 3 years ago re-visited the stall. She was born with her intestines on the outside. She locked eyes with the owls and smiled. That was little Olivia’s first smile. It brought tears to the grandmother’s eyes just telling me the story again. She had emailed me with the moving story, which was so nice to read. Three years on and Olivia is doing great they said.

White Faced Scops Owls that brought a smile to Olivia’s face

The whale and the Tango prints (Two to Tango and Taking a Dip) were the most popular this weekend.

A thought to ponder: “A picture is a poem without words” – Horace

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a creative and happy week,
from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market September 1, 2018

There was just enough wind and rain to keep me on my toes throughout the day.

I had another visit from my Devonport dental surgery, who is lining the walls with pjpaintings pictures to help calm the nerves of those biding time in the waiting room.  Where magazines may not succeed in bringing a smile onto a face, a pjpainting may.

A couple bought a ‘Scarlet Robin’ print to post to his sister living in France.

Scarlet Robins

I had a young man from Scottsdale, Tasmania visit the stall.  I asked him where he did his year 11 and 12.  Traditionally, high schools in Tasmania go to Year 10 and then you attend a college in the city to do years 11 and 12, but he was able to do the two senior years at Scottsdale High School, thanks to a state government extension trial to help more rural Tasmanian students complete year 12. He’s now doing Health Science at the University of Tasmania in Launceston.  He does some drawing too.  A perfect fit when describing procedures, he can also illustrate them to help patients better understand what is happening.  He is taking back with him a ‘Who, Who, Who are You? II’ print.

Who, Who, Who are You? II

A couple from Launceston, who bought ‘Thunder’ last year, is adding ‘Who, Who, Who are You? II’ and ‘The Three Amigos’ to their collection on pjpaintings.

The Three Amigos

I had proud grandparents of 14 month old, Lily, from Brisbane, visit the stall today. Last year they bought a ‘Who, Who, Who are You? II’ print for her.  It’s hanging up in her bedroom and she loves it.  She can almost say emu and when her parents or grandparents count the owls, she bows her head after each owl is counted.  Lily is now going to be welcoming ‘Duck Crossing’ to her bedroom wall.

Duck Crossing

I finished this little original last night and it sold before 9 am!

A Galah

‘Family Outing’ was the most popular print this weekend.

A thought to ponder:  “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent van Gogh

Wishing everyone a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

A Troublesome Pair

I find koalas and echidnas difficult to paint.  It’s a hit and miss situation.  More often than not, I’m not totally happy with what I’ve painted… but are artists ever 100% happy with what they’ve painted???

I’ve often told myself, that’s it, give up on these marsupials and monotremes but there is something about the challenge and their cuteness that draws me back again and again to try this troublesome pair.  I once read, but unfortunately didn’t take note of who was imparting this wise piece of advice, ‘don’t strive for mastery. Strive for prolific and the mastery will come’.  In other words, practice.

Here’s this week’s attempts.

An echidna hoping this log is hosting an ant party

This week’s koala painting

Some previous attempts.

and more

For now, I think I will go back to painting birds, but I’m sure something will draw me back to trying to paint this problematic pair again.

Thanks for reading and I hope the upcoming week is a good one for you. 🙂

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market August 25, 2018

It’s so nice to have the days getting lighter and longer. A couple of ladies visited the stall at approximately 8:30 am. They said that a stall holder told them that the market opens at 9 am but that the tour bus they took yesterday had told them that Salamanca Market started at 8 am. The latter is correct and I was glad to start the day with their early visit. They bought a tote bag each and a small zipper pouch for a friend who loves owls.

I had a nice conversation with a Hobartian, in his early 20s. He draws and is also trying to draw using an ipad program. He bought a card of ‘Suspended’, his favourite of my paintings, and a sticker. He came back in the afternoon because he had lost his sticker, so he bought another ‘Salamanca Saturdays’ sticker.

Suspended

A young lady, from Barcelona, studying in Sydney, purchased some emu themed Christmas cards to post to Spain. Grandparents from Mornington, Victoria, bought a ‘Family Outing’ and ‘White Faced Scops Owls’ prints to hang up in the room that their grandchildren sleep in when they visit.

A couple that live on a rural property in Lismore purchased a framed ‘Hayride’ and another couple, farmers in Queensland, who are not experiencing drought conditions, also purchased ‘Hayride’.

Hayride

A lady is taking a ‘Story time’ and ‘G’Day’ print home to Colorado, USA and a young couple is taking ‘Suspended’ back to Queensland with them. A piano teacher bought little ‘Duck Crossing’ pouches to give as thank you gifts for people that helped with the production of their school’s play, a modified Ugly Duckling story.

Duck Crossing

I sold one little original this weekend. An echidna I painted two nights ago.

‘The Three Amigos’ was the most popular print this weekend.

The Three Amigos

A thought to ponder: “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” Vincent Van Gogh

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you a creative and happy week,
from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market August 18, 2018

Rain was forecasted so we were very lucky to not see one drop of it. There were white fluffy clouds and blue skies instead.

 

Hobart is hosting the Festival of Bright Ideas, promoting science, this weekend. A mother, whose daughter is living in the UK, a scientist and the founder of The Curiosity Box, (www.curiosity-box.com) bought a ‘White Faced Scops Owls’ for her UK granddaughter.

The ‘White Faced Scops Owls’ print

 

Many small originals were purchased today with whales going to China and Hong Kong.

Baby Sienna was given an original platypus painting last year. She’s about to have her second birthday, so her grandmother was sent back to the pjpaintings stall to buy another original. A galah was chosen for Sienna this year.

A small galah original painting

A Yellow-tailed black cockatoo was selected by a young lady who told me that her UK grandfather is a watercolourist. He has bought her paints and she is currently trying to learn watercolour painting. She showed me a photo of a lovely blue and green humming bird that she painted.

A Yellow-tailed black cockatoo original painting

 

Prints from the unfurling series were popular today. One is heading back to Phoenix, USA, another to the mainland, two are staying in Tasmania, one is going to China and I can’t remember where the others are going.

 

A ‘Scarlet Robin Rescue’ print was chosen as a gift for a friend expecting her first grandchild. ‘Helping Hands’ and ‘Who, Who, Who are You?’ are travelling to Texas, USA. She told me that her daughter wanted her to get something whimsical. I think she has fulfilled that criterion.

Scarlet Robin Rescue

 

A sister-in-law bought a ‘Family Outing’ print for her brother-in-law. The print represents his family. A lady, from Brisbane, whose friend has my artwork hanging up in her home, sought my stall out and bought ‘Duck Crossing’ and ‘Yellow Poppy Fields’.

Duck Crossing

 

Rising Above it, Entanglement and Lost Worlds from the Unfurling series were the most popular prints this weekend.

 

A thought to ponder: “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong” –Joseph Chilton Pearce

 

Thanks for visiting and wishing everybody a happy upcoming week from stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

My Dog LOVES my Art!

Meet Charli, my small American Cocker Spaniel that is now almost 12 years old.  I’ve had her since she was a puppy.  Don’t let this cute little face fool you.  She is mischievous and requires an eagle eye on her at all times.

There are a few tasty items that she finds scrumptiously tempting beyond self-constraint. Each time, after she commits the crime, she hangs her head in shame, but to no avail… she cannot resist the tasty chewiness of paper products, especially the extra delectable, mouth-watering 100% recycled cotton rag paper kind.

I was photographing this painting, titled “don’t look up” and had placed another painting on the chair beside me.

Don’t look up

My phone pinged and while I was texting a reply, I thought I saw something black pass behind me but when I looked nothing was there (she’s very sneaky) and then I heard the familiar sound of trouble – chewing!  Charli! I called out but it was too late… she was already internalising my art work.

Charli loving my art 

I’ve tried to rescue the remainder of the painting.  What do you think?  Is it salvageable?

I framed the remainder of the painting

Thanks for visiting and hopefully you and your art have a safe week.

Runaway Bay

When in Rome do as the Romans do, when in Queensland sketch a koala while travelling on a train from the Brisbane airport to the Gold Coast.  This little koala was sketched from a travel brochure I picked up at the train station but I did see a koala in the wild the next day.  The koala was darker than I expected.  I am a somewhat concerned about its tree-choosing skills.  It was snoozing in a low spot, in a small, short tree that was extremely close to the road!

A bumpy sketch while taking the train to the Gold Coast

I’d like to try to sketch, Marlo, the Gold Coast Labradoodle.  Such a cute face!

Marlo

Runaway Bay is a picturesque suburb on the Gold Coast in Queensland.  Winter is a nice time to visit Queensland, when it’s not too hot.  I stayed at the clean and spacious Runaway Bay Motor Inn.  It’s not flash but I liked the vertical lines of the palm trees, so I quickly drew it up while I was waiting for my ride.

Runaway Bay Motor Inn

My sketch of the motor inn

I also visited Mullumbimby to deliver some of my art prints and greeting cards to the Tinker Tailor Dancer Tailor shop located on the main street.  Niyati, the owner, introduced herself to me at Salamanca Market last year when she bought some prints and cards for her business.  Here’s a small sketch of her shop, with cars (usually I try to avoid drawing cars :-)).  It’s a busy main street with a surprising amount of parked cars everywhere, including a long way down all the side streets.

Main Street, Mullumbimby

A chair and plant I sketched when I had a few minutes before I headed back home to Tasmania.

Thanks for visiting.  Wishing you a good week.

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market August 11, 2018

With winds blowing down trees and causing havoc on Friday, Saturday was approached with trepidation but there was no need to fear because it was a windless, mild day.

My first customers were two young ladies visiting from Taiwan. One was particularly drawn to my small original painting of orphaned grizzly bear, Grinder, housed on Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, Canada.  She said that her heart is connected to bears.  She lives on a mountain in Taiwan and loves it when she sees bear paw prints or their scratches etched on trunks of trees. Forests with bears are healthy forests she told me. Grizzly bears do not roam the forests of Taiwan, rather an endangered species, the Formosan black bear, also known as the white-throated bear. It is a species endemic to Taiwan. In Bunun legend, the Formosan black bears share a common ancestry with humans. Unfortunately, these bears face an uphill battle for funding to ensure their survival.

Grinder, the grizzly bear

A couple, who had just arrived in Hobart from the mainland, wheeling their suitcases through the market, bought a ‘Glamour Girls’ pouch.  They are staying one night in Tasmania, coming only for the Scottish dancing event, held at the Hobart Town Hall.  They come each year for it and said it is a blast.  I had never even heard of the event.  Another pouch, featuring ‘Tu-whit & Tu-whoo’ is travelling to China and a large tote bag with my ‘Illustrated Tasmanian map’, is going to make its home in Japan.

A young family, building a house in Melbourne, bought a ‘Duck Crossing’ and ‘Sea Life’ prints to hang on their brand new walls.  A family, from Sydney, bought their young son a ‘Hayride’ print and their daughter, ‘Duck Crossing’.  ‘Kookaburra Rescue’ was purchased for a couple living in Norway.

A ‘Black & White + One’ print was purchased for a Sydney music room.  I was shown a photo of the room and the black upright piano on an iPhone.

Black & White + One

A couple from Brisbane is taking home a ‘Sea Life’ print to add to their ocean themed collection of pictures hanging in their hallway, which currently consists of an octopus, seahorse and crab.

Sea Life

Duck Crossing was the most popular print this weekend.

A thought to ponder:  “Art is a line around your thoughts.” – Gustav Klimt 

Thanks for stopping by.  Wishing you a creative and happy week,

from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.

Changing Style

I started this painting last year, actually about 18 months ago.  I have a lot of paintings that I start and then put aside to work on a commission painting, for example, which often ignites another idea that I go on to paint, and then abandon it to start another painting and so on.  This is ridiculous, I’ve told myself, and have set a goal to start finishing incomplete paintings.  The problem is that the way I paint is always evolving and changing.  I have a changing style.  I can’t remember the technique/s I used to get certain effects or some of the colours I mixed together, or I just paint differently now. Does this happen to anyone else??

Close up of my wing detail

Note to self… finish a painting before you start another, before your style changes again.

Thanks for visiting.  Cheers, from pjpaintings