It is the last day of 2019, and among other things, I’ve spent some of it doing something that will hopefully put smiles on faces in the new year.
I did some more work on this commissioned piece for the Rotary Club’s 200th anniversary. They have chosen The Great Gatsby as their theme to celebrate this significant milestone. Seeing this finished will bring a smile to my face and hopefully theirs!
I added the finishing touches to this painting. This is the first painting of a series of three. These paintings will be great for a beach shack.
The title of this painting is: Holding Hands II
My new Sailor Fude pen arrived today. I couldn’t wait to try it, so out I went and drew this house. I should have set myself up on the footpath (sidewalk) but I couldn’t motivate myself. The steering wheel really got in the way. I couldn’t really get the hang of making different line thicknesses with the pen but with a bit more practice, I should be able to.
First drawing with new Fude pen
Once again, I got the right side of house’s perspective wrong…. but I’m happy with the liveliness of the picture.
Happy New Year everybody! I hope 2020 provides the world with a lot of things to smile about.
Apparently there are many correct answers to this question. One could be a green-grey colour if you’re a statue guarding a house in Bellerive, Tasmania.
or one could be white if you’re the white emu photographed by Nicola Thiele in Snowy Monaro, NSW.
A rare white emu spotted
According to University of Sydney Associate Professor of avian and zoological medicine, Lorenzo Crosta, the emu is a rare sight but it is not an albino emu. An animal with albinism displays absolute evidence of melanin in the body, including the legs, which would be pinkish or very light in colour. Lorenzo’s explanation of the white emu is that it has leucism, which is a partial lack of melanin, and thus the white feathers.
If you’re an emu that I paint, your feathers could be beige, blue, black and turquoise…
and you’re pretty good at dancing the Charleston!
Cheers. Hope you’re having fun and kicking up your heels wherever you are.
I did gallery duty today and after doing all the gallery-type jobs, I settled down to paint in between serving customers. I thought I would paint a matching pair for this painting that I painted for the Inktober prompt word “frail”. I wanted to paint one with a different coloured butterfly and looking the opposite direction so that they could be looking at each other .
Unexpected Guest
While I was painting the blue butterfly painting, a man bought it. He’s going to give it to his mother, who loves butterflies, for Christmas.
The emu with the orange butterfly was also sold and it is going to be hanging in a Aged Care Residential Centre.
Wishing everybody a peaceful and rejuvenating weekend. Cheers, from PjPaintings
I was hoping that by today I would be posting the finished painting but with drawing, erasing, re-drawing, making more changes, and things just generally taking longer than I thought, (I always underestimate how long it will take me to paint something!) this is what I got done today.
Do-si-do
Cowboy boots crossed that next time I’m able to post the finished painting. Until then, take care, from pjpaintings
More progress is being made on my commissioned piece for the 60th anniversary of the National Square Dancing Convention that will be celebrated in Deloraine, Tasmania, 2019. The emus are the fun part. I’m a bit nervous about painting the barn. I will have to try really hard to not let the painting get dark when painting the interior of the barn.
Here’s couple one and three:
… and here’s couple two
One more couple to do and then I have to start painting the barn. Yikes!!
Thanks for visiting and I hope that everybody’s week is going well.
About half of my paintings are emu themed. I have the privilege of displaying them at Salamanca Market in Tasmania, which on average has 20,000 visitors on any given Saturday. As a consequence, I hear quite a few fascinating pet emu stories. For example, one that grew up with a herd of goats and acted like it was just one of the herd, another who thought it was a dog and would immediately drop onto its back for a belly scratch when it saw its owner and another who thought it was part of the human family. Emus seem to take on characteristics of those they grow up with, whether animal or human, and develop steadfast bonds. I have had several former pet-emu-owners shed tears when they told me their stories about their pet “Priscilla” or “Jasmine”.
Another case of unusual-emu-bonding was recently discovered in North Carolina. An animal shelter rescued some animals from a property whose owner suddenly disappeared. Among those rescued was a male donkey and female emu. The shelter tried to house them separately but the donkey started distress-braying and the emu became extremely anxious. They quickly ascertained that the donkey doesn’t like the company of other donkeys. The emu and donkey have an inseparable bond and they even cuddle and sleep together. Therefore, they have to be adopted together.
Introducing Jack and Diane at the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue. A story where two creatures with different looks, backgrounds and even breeds learn to stand together, protect each other and love.
I’ve also recently discovered a special animal-emu bond.
Have you seen an unusual bond between animals?
Wishing you a great upcoming week.
Special thanks to McPhocus (Averil McPhedran Hall, photographer extraordinaire) for alerting me to the story.
Day 6 of the Inktober Challenge and the prompt word is ‘Drooling’. This is a bit of a stretch but I reckon that there might be a few emus drooling when this bird walks by.
Drooling
I love my striped tights and this quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship:
“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
We had another Salamanca Market day under blue skies and sunshine. It was a busy day. When I came home, Charli-dog and I went for a long walk and enjoyed the beauty and stillness of one of the many reserves at my doorstep. When I returned home I was too tired to write, hence I’m writing my Salamanca Market update Sunday morning, rather than immediately after the market.
Waverley Flora Reserve
The first people to visit the pjpaintings stall were from Malaysia. They chose a red and yellow “Poppy Fields” and a “Fairy Wrens” print to accompany them back home after holidaying for two and a half weeks in Australia.
Fairy Wrens, Australia’s voted number one most favourite bird
A grandmother bought “Duck Crossing” for her granddaughter. She returned later in the day to get “Who, Who, Who are You? II” for another granddaughter, if she could part with them she said.
Two local ladies, one a psychologist, stopped at the stall to buy artwork for her office. She wanted happy images, at eye level, for her clients to look at. The two deliberated and eventually decided upon “Richmond Bridge, Tasmania”, “Retail Therapy, Salamanca”, and “Who, Who, Who are You? II”.
Retail Therapy, Salamanca
A lady, who was in Tasmania for the Masters’ Games, purchased a small print. She won Gold and Silver in the Dragon Boat races of 20 and 10, plus the drummer and one at the back who steers. A young graphic artist from Devonport, Tasmania purchased “Sea Life” and “Tu-whit & Tu-whoo”.
Sea Life
A couple from Brisbane bought a small platypus original painting. He chose the painting with the rather plump looking platypus. “I’ll have the well-fed looking one”, he said. He was telling me that he saw a platypus, with his binoculars, climb out of the water onto a rock and scratch its tummy with its back paw. How special is that?!
Two ladies from Tamworth, NSW are taking back with them “The Three Amigos” and “Double Date”. They said that they see these birds and rusty gates all the time where they live so these prints fit right in with their surroundings.
The Three Amigos
I had an extremely enthusiastic pair visit the stall from Chinchilla, Qld, a town with a population of approximately 5,500. She bought four prints and then returned later on in the afternoon and bought five more! She said that she went to her hotel room and laid out the four prints on her bed and thought, “I have room on my walls for more.” She returned just before I was going to start packing up, arriving saying she was hoping I was still here because she just loves the art so much she wants more.
Today’s most popular print was: Suspended
Suspended
A thought to ponder: “Amateurs look for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” – Chuck Close
I’m not sure what Chuck is exactly trying to communicate with this statement, but I suspect that in his view waiting for inspiration is procrastination. If time is going by and inspiration is lacking, I agree just start painting something, but some of my most creative and successful ideas have arrived when I allow myself some quiet think time, despite trying to quieten this ‘you are procrastinating’ feeling trying to push me to pick up a paintbrush.
Wishing you many happy, creative moments, from the Pjpaintings stall #30 at Salamanca Market – Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
