PjPaintings at Salamanca Market October 21, 2017

This week is Diwali, the Indian Festival of Light, so my weekend commenced with a visit to Friday night’s Street Eats Franko, at Franklin Square, which is a much enjoyed new Hobart City Council initiative that debuted in 2016.  Each Friday evening until after Easter, there are food stalls and live bands playing at Franklin Square.  It has an awesome atmosphere.  I love dropping in on a Friday evening.

Celebrating Diwali at Street Eats @ Franko, Hobart with the awesome Hobart Post Office on Elizabeth Street in the background

Some additional events taking place in Hobart this weekend is a gathering of about 400 Rebel motorcyclists and the International United Nations Peacekeeping & Overseas Policing Association are meeting in Hobart.  The latter are having a service Tuesday morning, October 24^th, at St David’s Cathedral, Hobart.

Rebels driving off the Spirit of Tasmania ferry, Devonport to Hobart

It was a hectic day at the market today, as I interacted with people from different parts of Australia and the globe.  I met a lovely young lady from Brazil, who was reluctantly going back home tomorrow, upon finishing her studies at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.  She was doing her PhD on whales in the Antarctic Peninsula, thus the whale prints catching her eye.

A lady from Port Macquarie area said that “Suspended” gave her ‘goose bumps’.  She bought it to give to her husband.  They were on a boat for hours when two juvenile humpbacks visited them.  They spent about half an hour around the boat, bobbing their heads up out of the water and laying on their backs, a magic and unforgettable experience.

Suspended

I met a lovely couple in their 80’s.  The gentleman told me that he was 19 years old and she was 17 when they went on their first date.  They had three daughters  (the younger two were twins).  They spoke some French with me as they lived a year in Montreal.  She was a teacher for many years.  She said that the first class she taught had three sets of twins (one set, identical twins) and one set of triplets.  He was a musician so they went away with a “Black & White + One” and a small “Retail Therapy, Salamanca” print.

Black & White + One

A mother bought “Thunder” for her daughter who is elephant mad.  A couple from Indonesia is returning home with “Double Date IV” and “The Three Amigos” and a couple from New Zealand with “Walking the Dogs” and “Off to the Races”.  Both prints from the unfurling series and “Café Paris” are going back to Kalgoorlie, WA and a family from the Blue Mountains in NSW is returning with “Tu-whit & Tu-whoo”, “The Three Amigos” and “Double Date IV”.  “Helping Hands” and “Who, Who, Who are You?II” are off to Sydney.

 

Walking the Dogs

I unexpectedly caught up with a former Return to Study student and a current student, who surprised me with a bunch of gorgeous flowers for a belated birthday gift.  So nice 🙂 :-).

Spinning Gum and Statice Flowers

Today’s most popular print was: Double Date IV

Double Date IV

A thought to ponder:  “If I could say it in words there would be no reason to paint.” ― Edward Hopper

 Wishing you many happy, creative moments, from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market

Thanks for stopping by.

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My favourite Inktober drawing so far

This is a case of where less is so much more.

I really didn’t feel like doing another Inktober drawing and my enthusiasm for Inktober was seriously waning.  I considered quitting but from somewhere I was able to muster enough self-discipline to try to spit something else out.  I chose a rabbit and drew the head part and thought, “I don’t want to do anymore!!!  I’m sick of this relentless coming up with a new drawing every day” so I  quickly and roughly finished off the body.

When I stood back, I thought, “wow!  I love this little guy!!”  I find simplifying and making suggestions in drawings incredibly difficult and if I had set out specifically to try achieve this, I’m quite sure it wouldn’t have turned out as well as this did.  It’s funny how sometimes when “I really don’t feel like painting or drawing” something really good gets created or sometimes that feeling is captured and reflected in the painting and it turns out the way you are feeling, a sad and despondent piece of art.  I suppose I need to keep this in mind for when I don’t feel like painting or drawing. To help motivate myself, I need to remind myself that I might produce something that I really love and that will give me so much pleasure, like this little rabbit.

A rabbit for Day 14 of the Inktober Challenge.

My favourite drawing so far.  I like the lack of detail and the simplicity of  the rabbit’s body.  It helps to lead the eye, and keep the eye, looking at the head of the rabbit. 

A squirrel for day 15 of Inktober.  I wasn’t able to achieve the art of suggestion with this one.

A squirrel for Day 15

We’re more than half way through the Inktober Challenge.  So far I’ve been keeping up with a drawing a day, a little behind with the posting, but travelling okay with that part of it.  At times the Finish line seems far way but I’m still in it, despite finding the motivation part tough at times.

Is anybody else struggling with Inktober??

Thanks for stopping by.

Day 11, 12, 13 #Inktober Challenge

Day 11

For Day 11 of the Inktober Challenge I drew a Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike.  The pattern and colouring of their back feathers is what attracted me to this bird.  The name is apparently a reference to their feathers, which have a similar pattern to those of cuckoos, and their beak which resembles that of shrikes.  This bird is native to Australia and southern new Guinea.  It has a protected status in Australia.

An Artline ink drawing of the Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike

A Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike photo by Bruce Bain

Day 12

For Day 12 of Inktober I drew Zebra Finches

Zebra Finches photo by Roy Beckham

Day 13

A drawing a day is starting to feel relentless.  Where is the Finish Line!?  I haven’t been paying too much attention to the Inktober prompts but ideas and my enthusiasm for Inktober is starting to wane.  The prompt word for day 13 is ‘teeming’ so I thought I would draw a page of teeming insects.  I didn’t draw as many as I intended.  I lost steam.

teeming insects?  Top left is a Tectocoris diophthalmus, Scutelleridae, the one next to it is a Ectomocoris decoratus Stal, Reduviidae, top right insect is a Morna Florens, Pentatomidae and the bottom right hand insect is a Peltocopta crassiventris, Tessaratomidae 

teeming insects’ page

Well, what shall I draw today???

Any suggestions?

 

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market October 14, 2017

Ahhhh, there’s nothing like a cup of tea after the market!  It was a slow start today but it got much busier as the day went on.  I think people saw that it was a nice day so they rolled over and stayed in bed a little longer.  The wind picked up slightly in the afternoon, which rattled the nerves after dealing with three weeks of upending-tables-type-of-wind but thankfully it behaved itself today.

The stall holder from up the street was making his mark early in the morning.

There were a few expectant mothers that visited the stall and three of them had Christmas due dates!  Uncanny!  I had the same due date for my middle child but he decided to arrive on January 5^th, consequently putting on weight that extra week, weighing almost 10 pounds at birth.  Yikes!

A popular print for the baby’s room

A grandmother from Darwin chose ‘Story time’ and ‘Who, Who, Who are You?II’ for her grandson’s bedroom.

Story time

Some visitors from the UK, which visited the stall last week, said that they have come back to admire the large, framed original painting of elephants, titled ‘Thunder!’  They decided to take back to UK an A-2 sized print of ‘Thunder’ and some smaller pjpainting prints.  They were lovely and returned again with friends to show them my art work.

 Thunder! 

Two ladies stopped by and one said that she had two pet emus, named Pinhead and Boofhead.  They got them as chicks.  She said it took them ten years before they found out that they can eat emu eggs.

A couple from Adelaide bought ‘Black & White + One’ for their music room.

Black & White + One

A man visiting from New Zealand purchased ‘Beauty Queens’ to take back with him.  An original Tassie Devil and Koala is travelling to China.  ‘Suspended’ was thoughtfully chosen for a gift for a boyfriend.  It involved a couple visits to the stall and quite a lot of deliberation.

Suspended

‘Outback Glamping’ was bought for a gift for a partner.  They had not long returned from visiting Uluru.

Outback Glamping

The Christmas cards attracted more attention today, especially ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Emu’. We are creeping closer to December.

Today’s most popular prints were: Scarlet Robins, Suspended and Who, Who, Who are You?II

Scarlet Robins

A thought to ponder:  “At the end of the day your ability to connect with your readers comes down to how you make them feel.” ― Benjamin J. Carey  I think that this applies to all art.

Wishing you many happy, creative moments, from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market

All prints are available for purchase at http://www.pjpaintings.com

Thanks for reading 🙂

Bruny Island

I celebrated my birthday on Bruny Island, an island about 50 km long, which is more like a north and south island joined by a thin piece of land, named The Neck (pictured above).  There are only about 600 of the people kind of residents living on Bruny, the other residents being many rare and endangered plants, animals and birds.  Its natural surroundings display year-long art exhibitions.  Nature puts on fabulous art shows.

This shell was embedded in the sand.  I swear I did not put it there for the photo.  I took this photo at Cloudy Bay Lagoon, Bruny Island.

Isn’t this the coolest looking sand wave!!?  Cloudy Bay Lagoon, Bruny Island.

more sand patterns at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

a sand stream at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

sand bubbles

a beach necklace

natural rock art at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

not so natural rock art at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

shell on beach at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

shell on beach at Cloudy Bay Lagoon

A sea urchin on display at the Quarantine Station, Bruny Island.

I had such a peaceful, relaxing and wonderful time on picturesque Bruny Island.  My feet walked over dramatic terrain,  my stomach was fed delicious Bruny Island food and the eyes were fed plenty of natural and people-made art.

Thanks for stopping by.  🙂

Day 10 Inktober Challenge

A seahorse for day 10 of the Inktober Challenge.  This took about three hours in total to draw with an ink pen.  During the Inktober Challenge, I’ve switched to my bigger Desigual handbag to accommodate my sketchbook and pencil case.  This has been a good move because I find myself pulling out my sketchbook more often.  Some of this sketch has been done in a cafe, while waiting for my food to come, and waiting in a queue.

The beginnings of the seahorse.  This photo more accurately captures the colour of the paper it is drawn on.  I like how you can create a 3-D look on a 2-D plane.

Thanks for stopping by.  🙂

Quarantine Station, Bruny Island

Day 8 of the Inktober Challenge

One of the goals that I set at the start of the Inktober Challenge was to draw more buildings and do more urban sketching.  I’m not doing great with this goal, but I did make the effort to tackle drawing the Health Officer’s Quarters, built around 1885 on Bruny Island.  This building is one of many that once serviced the state’s quarantine program.

Cleansing Room in the foreground with the Health Officer’s Quarters in the background

The site is situated at Barnes Bay, on an isolated peninsula of Bruny Island.  The historic maritime quarantine station operated from 1884 – 1919.  It also processed 9000 World War I soldiers upon their return to Tasmania.  The ‘Cleansing Room’, enclosed by a nine foot fence, was the only entry point to the site.  It’s sad to think that after surviving the horrors of war, soldiers were then stripped and bathed in a dangerous concoction of chemicals (nasty ones, truly banned from direct contact today) detained for a week and then released to go home to their loved ones if they received the all-clear with a final health check .

The bath soldiers were ‘cleansed’ in

Sea urchins displayed in the Cleansing Room.  Nature’s art exhibition.

Later, the site was used for Plant Quarantine and techniques from 1955 – 1986.  Because it was the only station in the country on an island, it was used as the national location where introduced plants were tested for diseases.

I struggled with this building, as I do with all my attempts when I try to draw buildings.  Angles and perspectives challenge me, to say the least, but maybe that is what keeps attracting me to this genre of art.

Ink pen drawing of the Health Officer’s Quarters, Quarantine Station, Bruny Island

I forgot to use two strategies that I think could have provided some assistance.  Firstly, focusing on the negative shape of the sky, and secondly, establishing the volume of the building – drawing in the lined cube shape (the skeleton of the house sort of speak).  I think this could have helped with accuracy.  Focusing on the positives now, some angles aren’t too far off and some depth is captured.  I’m not giving up yet!

Thanks for stopping by.  🙂

 

Day 7 & 8 #Inktober Challenge

Day 7

Pressed for time, I drew and painted “shy” platypus on day seven.  ‘Shy’ is the Inktober prompt for day seven.  I discovered platypus doing the 2016 Inktober Challenge and I’ve been drawing them ever since.  I do the outlines with a reed and a combined ink mixture of Indian and Quink inks.

I really like the cool effect created when the ink bleeds with the watercolour.  I wish this would happen with every platypus beak I paint!  🙂

Cool ink and watercolour effect happening with this beak.  

Day 8

An owlet for Day 8 of the Inktober Challenge.

Thanks for visiting!   🙂

Angels at the Market

PjPaintings at Salamanca Market October 7, 2017

After three Saturdays in a row of battling with wind, it was such a relief to have a still day.  The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue.  I think we owe our thanks to the visiting angels.

Three young ladies, from Sydney, down for a wedding, were at the market right at 8 am and picked up a Spanish Eyes (Red) for the couple.  Their eyes are locked in love while dancing with only eyes for one another.  So romantic!

Spanish Eyes (Red)

There was a tour group from Singapore visiting Salamanca Market and many perused the pjpaintings stall.  A Danish couple purchased a couple of prints to take back to Denmark.  I told them that their prince, Prince Frederik, admired my emus enjoying the snow when I had an exhibition in North Hobart.

Prince Frederik of Denmark

Sing Australia, wearing their teal green shirts and blouses were dotted around the market.  They have an annual national get together and workshops.  The singers from all over Australia are touring Tasmania.  Also, today the finals were being played of the 2017 Australian Masters Hockey Championship.

A ‘Salamanca Fresh’ and ‘Family Outing’ print is heading over to Hong Kong, but not without a photo of the purchaser, prints and I.  A sister is sending a ‘Beauty Queens’ greeting card to her sister in France.  She’s there as an exchange student.  We weren’t quite sure how to say “emu” in French but we figured it probably is “emu” with a bit of a French accent put on the word.  I’ve Googled it and it looks like we were correct.  It is ‘emeu’, with an accent on the first ‘e’.

Salamanca Fresh

Family Outing

A long time FB supporter and encourager, who took a tribe of little platypus originals and prints to Scotland, sent her neighbour, who is visiting Hobart and Salamanca Market, to pick up another platypus original destined for Europe.  Their neighbour unfortunately had quite a rough ride over on the ferry.

Fashion at Salamanca Market.  Now that the weather is getting warmer we’re starting to see more people get dressed up for the occasion of market visiting.

A market goer dressed for the occasion

Saturday’s most popular print was: Double Date IV

Double Date IV

Stall # 29, my stall neighbours, who make gorgeous fairies, beanies and scarves

a handmade pure wool fairy by Jodie Goggins 

gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday.  I like this photo because it represents three continents: Africa, where my son is currently living.  I bought this painting in Ethiopia.  The strength and determination, despite a tear creeping over a lower eyelid, drew me to the painting.  The bear from Vancouver where I grew up and the beautiful flowers from beautiful people and Tasmania, where I have lived longer than anywhere else.

A thought to ponder:  “All forms of madness, bizarre habits, awkwardness in society, general clumsiness, are justified in the person who creates good art.” ― Roman Payne

Wishing you many happy, creative moments, from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market.  Thanks for stopping by for a read.  🙂

Day 6 – #Inktober Challenge

Sitting in a waiting room today, mindlessly flipping through a magazine, when I suddenly thought, “what am I doing!!?”, if I have any chance of getting a drawing done for day 6, I got to get cracking!  So, out came the sketchbook and I drew an outline of a bird.  It’s a generic bird.  If somebody thinks it resembles a specific bird, it’s purely a fluke.  I did the ink work with an Artline pen when I got home.

I mainly paint with watercolours. I’m enjoying Inktober, spending time with another medium and exploring creating patterns with pen work.  I think that pattern making is easier to do with ink than it is with watercolour paints.

A bird for Day 6 #Inktober Challenge