A new tote bag

Hello everybody,

I hope that all is well and that you were able to start your day by hearing a singing bird.

My painting titled, “Maggie” , is proving to be popular as many Australians have a strong connection with magpies (maggies). Australian Magpies are found throughout Australia, including Tasmania, where I live. The distinctive melodic birdsong of the magpie is synonymous with Australia and the Australian bush. It’s a special way to start the morning, hearing their melodious song greeting when you are lying in bed. 

Magpies begin to produce sounds shortly after they are born and the vocal range and complexity of their song continues to improve as they get older. The call of the Magpie is reputedly one of the most complex in the world which sound like a loud musical flute-like call, often performed in groups.

Magpies often establish relationships with people, routinely visiting for a feed, hence so many people developing a strong connection with the bird, becoming involved with each new generation of the bird’s family.

I’ve expanded my tote bag collection with the new addition of “Maggie”. These sturdy tote bags, with the “Maggie” image printed on both sides, are Made in Australia and are 100% polyester, meaning they wash up a treat. Put them in a lingerie bag for extra protection and cold machine wash.  They come in a Small (approximately 33 cm x 33 cm), Medium (approximately 41 cm x 41 cm) size or Large (approximately 46 cm x 46 cm) size.

Maggie tote bag available in three sizes https://pjpaintings.com/collections/bags/products/tote-bag-maggie

The days and weeks seem to be flying by so quickly. Despite the speed of life, I hope that you are finding time to stop to smell the roses and listen to the birds.

Cheers, from Patricia 

http://www.pjpaintings.com 

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Nesting

Some of my friends said that I shouldn’t add paint to Day #9’s Inktober Challenge’s prompt word “Nest”. They really liked it as it was. So, I left it, but I found myself thinking of it as not finished, so I couldn’t let go of it.

I like to finish art work. Having almost finished or half done art work around me seems to act as a block to starting new paintings. It niggles away at the back of my mind. So, apologies to those who thought I should not add paint because I added paint. What do you think? Should I or should I have not???

Nesting with paint

Nesting without paint

The original “Nesting”, with paint, (lol) is available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/original-paintings/products/nesting

I hope your week is going well.

Cheers, from Patricia (PJ)

http://www.pjpaintings.com

Friendly Encounters in Tasmania

I enjoy unexpected friendly encounters. With Hobart being such a small capital city of approximately 250,000, this is a fairly common occurrence when you are out and about.

I’ve painted two watercolour paintings of some friendly Tasmanian encounters:

A Tasmanian nativehen encounters a wombat

A wombat and Fairy penguin encounter

Wishing you a week full of friendly encounters.

Cheers, Patricia (PJ)

Quality prints of my artwork is available at http://www.pjpaintings. com

Salamanca Market August 6, 2022

It rained off and on, all day long. At the end, I didn’t bother putting the pouches and bags out. They would be hanging up only for a few minutes before I had to bring them back in under cover. The novelty of this wore thin.

My first customer of the day was a couple from Gladstone, Queensland https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/gladstone-qld They purchased an A-3 size of “Outback Glamping”.

“Outback Glamping”
high quality prints available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/emus?page=2

A lady from Port Macquarie, NSW, bought a “Salamanca Saturdays’ tote bag and said that it will be a nice souvenir of Tasmania. https://www.planetware.com/australia/top-rated-attractions-things-to-do-in-port-macquarie-australia-aus-1-94.htm  A young couple, also from Port Macquarie, purchased a “Maggie & Maggie” print for their father who has a family of magpies that have nested in his yard, and he feeds them daily. It started with him noticing a magpie struggling because it had some string wrapped around its leg. He caught it with a net, removed the string and then released it. It has thanked him by sticking around and befriending his rescuer. They also purchased a “Dinner for Five???” print.

Maggie & Maggie

Dinner for Five??? (are they going to share an ant!?)
High quality prints available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/realistic-animals

A couple from Townsville purchased “The Supremes” and “Hanging Out” prints. Another couple bought a “Hanging Out” print for their four-month-old niece that lives in a bush setting outside of Melbourne. Her bedroom has an Australian native animals’ theme.

Hanging Out quality prints available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/wombats

The Supremes

A couple from Canberra, looking for a house in Tasmania because they plan on moving here, purchased a “Maggie” print.

“Maggie”
quality prints available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/birds

An online primary school teacher from Maitland, NSW purchased a “Salamanca Saturdays” and a “Meet Me at the Gate” print.

Salamanca Saturdays
available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/the-world

“Meet Me at the Gate”

A small group of young university exchange students from Norway, who are doing one semester of studies at the University of Tasmania, stopped by and bought some greeting cards and an A-5 sized print of “Salamanca Saturdays”.

When I got home, I hung up the sides from the gazebo, the awning, the tablecloths, and so on, to dry and made myself a hot cup of tea. It was nice to escape the rain and wind and watch it from an inside vantage.

Wishing everybody a happy and creative upcoming week.

Cheers, Patricia (PJ) Hopwood-Wade      

Salamanca Market July 2, 2022

I stepped out of the house before 6 am into blackness and 4 degrees Celsius to head off to Salamanca Market, which officially today it returned to “Salamanca Market”. During COVID restrictions it had different rules and was renamed “Tasmanian Own Market”, but everybody still referred to it as Salamanca Market. But now that it “is” Salamanca Market again, all the sites were open and stalls returned to their assigned sites, so there would have been over 300 stalls today.

The Festival of Voices https://festivalofvoices.com/ is on and that could be what was contributing to the busyness today. I wasn’t feeling crash hot today, so I didn’t keep track of too many stories. I started feeling much better as the day went on.

The first customer of the day was from Brisbane, Queensland, a choir performer at the Festival of Voices. She purchased a “Lazy Days” and a “Hanging Out” print.

“Lazy Days”

“Hanging Out” both prints available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/wombats

A university student bought a “Salamanca Saturday” large tote bag to use to carry her books and study material. Two ladies were walking by, and one of the ladies exclaimed that her son bought her the “Salamanca Saturdays” print (what a lovely son! 😊). She was pleased to meet the artist and told me that she loved it.

Salamanca Saturdays tote bag

A mother and daughter purchased a “Spiky Bunk Beds” and a “Bunk Beds” print to take back to USA with them. They live in New Hampshire.

“Spiky Bunk Beds”

“Bunk Beds”

A grandmother visited the PJ Paintings stall and purchased five prints: “All Ears”, “Helping Hands”, “Scarlet Robin Rescue”, “Friendship Refreshes the Soul” and “Spiky Bunk Beds”. She said that they are going to Manila, Philippines. Then she came back with her daughter and her three children. She bought another print, “Glamour Girls” for another daughter. Her daughter bought three prints of the wombats in hammocks series.

“Helping Hands”

“Scarlet Robin Rescue”

“All Ears”

These three prints are from my Cheer ’em Up series, of scenes where emus come to the rescue and save the day. The emu in the painting titled “All Ears” is such a patient listener that the tip of its beak is getting a little crumpled. This series is available at: https://pjpaintings.com/collections/emus

One young lady was drawn to Tu-whit & Tu-whoo because her grandfather, in Ireland, would pick up the dead ones off the side of the road and get them stuffed. He has a long shelf lined with stuffed barn owls.

“Tu whit & Tu-whoo”

It was good to get home, warm the toes, and sit down with a cup of tea.

Happy Canada Day!

Cheers, Patricia (PJ) Hopwood-Wade      

Salamanca Market February 26, 2022

With huge rainfalls and floods in Queensland, and the forecasted week of rain for Hobart, Tasmania, we gratefully accepted the perfect market weather of the day.

My first visitor to the stall bought an “Emu Charleston” and “Family Outing” print for her new house in Newcastle, NSW. She moved in over a year ago and she still has bare walls, which she intends to rectify with these prints.

Emu Charleston

A lady, from Melbourne, visited the stall in the morning and returned in the afternoon. She bought a framed print titled “Who Says Emus Can’t Fly!?” for her son and A-3 sized prints “Supportive Nestworks” and “Salamanca Fresh” for herself. She bought the final limited edition of Salamanca Fresh. There are no A-4s or A-3s left of this image, although there are still a few A-2s limited edition prints.

“Salamanca Fresh”
now only available in A-2 or A-1 sizes https://pjpaintings.com/collections/the-world

“Supportive Nestworks” a wombat networking with an endangered Forty-spotted pardalote while resting on a supported nest https://pjpaintings.com/collections/wombats

A young man bought “Glamour Girls” for his mother. He thought she would really like it. His partner chose “The Bun”, “Hair Accessories” and “Enchanted Forest” prints. Another young couple came into the stall and said that they want three cards of threes. They found one with three owls, three emus and three kookaburras. Her triplet brothers’ birthdays are in March. Let me guess, you’re the firstborn, I asked? Correct.

The Bun

Hair Accessories

A couple from Mountain River, Tasmania, bought five prints. They bought some PJ Paintings prints a couple of years ago for their first grandchild. A couple from the Gold Coast bought “Unwinding”, “The Bun”, “Hair Accessories”, “Bunk beds” and “Friendship Refreshes the Soul”. A man from Cairns also purchased “Hair Accessories” and “Bunk Beds”.

Unwinding

A lady with her adult daughter stopped buy and purchased a “Sea Life” print. It’s the first Saturday she’s had off in two years. She’s a butcher. She has a shop in South Hobart. They’ve been out for breakfast, then the markets and then a show tonight.

Sea Life

Fourteen-year-old, Dorothy, was an unusual market visitor. I was told that she is an African grey. https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/species/african-grey-parrot/

Parrot at market

Some small original paintings were sold today too: a spotted quoll, my urban sketches of Claremont House https://hobartandbeyond.com.au/place/claremont-house/ (now permanently closed, unfortunately) and the view from Lindisfarne Bay with the Tasman Bridge https://www.ourtasmania.com.au/hobart/tasman-bridge.html in the backdrop, and Funky Jeans.

Claremont House

View from Lindisfarne Bay. I painted on site on a windy and cold day. I drew and painted it in about an hour. I really like the looseness and energy of this painting.

“Funky Jeans”

Thanks for visiting and I hope that the upcoming week is gentle.

Cheers, from PJ Paintings

at site 30 at Salamanca Market, Tasmania

Quality prints are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com

Salamanca Market February 19, 2022

It was chilly in the morning. My face felt cold while setting up the stall. As the day progressed, so did the temperature, eventually getting up to 27 degrees Celsius. We could hear constant helicopter activity and sirens at the market. I found out that was because there was a fire at Mt Nelson. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-19/watch-and-act-issued-for-hobart-suburb/100845458 I think it has been successfully dealt with, thankfully.

My first visitors to the stall was a couple that have been living in Melbourne for five years and are moving back to Ireland. They bought “Enchanted Forest I”.

Enchanted Forest I
available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/birds

Then I had another couple, who bought “Bunk beds” and “Sitting on the Fence” and they told me that they will be coming with them back to Ireland. They have a two- and four-year-old and are also living in Melbourne. They were planning on moving back to Ireland and then the pandemic happened, forcing them to postpone the move. Both families are moving in less than two months. What an undertaking! I feel tired just thinking about a move like that.

Sitting on the Fence

Bunk beds

“The Three Amigos II” was the best seller today. A couple bought a “The Three Amigos II” print for his sister who is going back to Germany, where she currently lives and works. She’s a violinist in Germany. He has another sibling and the three of them affectionately call themselves the three amigos. Another young couple bought three prints of the kookaburras because he wanted one for himself and his two friends. The three of them also call themselves the three amigos. They also bought framed prints of “Bunk beds” and “Silent Disco”. They also asked if they could have a photo of us. I happily obliged.

The Three Amigos II

Then, “The Three Amigos II” went to a couple from the Gold Coast, QLD and a few others sold but I couldn’t catch where their destination was. I went home without a single “The Three Amigos II” print.

A large “Lazy Days” tote bag is heading for Sydney.

Lazy Days tote bag
available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/bags

The cuddly original wombat painting sold today too. It is staying in Hobart.

A regular visitor to my stall gave me this little memento of my birthplace in Belgium. It is unheard of to see anything connected to Hasselt, Belgium in Tasmania.

Thank you for visiting and I wish you a creative upcoming week.

Cheers from PJ Paintings

 at site 30 at Salamanca Market, Tasmania

Quality prints are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com

Salamanca Market February 12, 2022

It was a bit of a chilly start, today. You can feel autumn in the air now, but blue skies and sunshine soon made their presence.

The first visitor to the stall bought a “Double Date IV” print for a birthday present for a lady, who is turning 80 years old, and loves fairy wrens.

Double Date IV print
available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/birds

A “Lazy Days” tote bag was purchased as a thank you gift for somebody who is house-and-dog-sitting on Magnetic Island, Queensland, https://www.townsvillenorthqueensland.com.au/destinations/magnetic-island/, while she is holidaying in Tasmania.

A “Lazy Days” tote bag available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/bags

A lady purchased “Family Outing” and “Beachside Chatter” to add cheer to a Gold Coast paediatrician clinic’s waiting room.

Family Outing

Beachside Chatter

A “The Three Amigos” print was purchased by an Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, art student, specialising in print making. Another young lady bought an “Under My Red Umbrella” print to post to her friend living in Ontario, Canada. I also had a visitor from someone, who bought some of my emu prints about 7 years ago, which are hanging up in her work office in Canada and have been giving her joy for years. That was so nice to hear!

Under My Red Umbrella

A “Tu-whit & Tu-whoo” print will be making its new home in Queensland. A young couple, visiting from Newcastle, NSW, bought a framed print of “Scarlet Robins” and another young couple, expecting their first child bought “Spiky Bunk Beds” and “Hanging Out” for their nursery.

Spiky Bunk Beds

A lady told me that a whole bunch of her friends, including herself, are turning 70 this year. She bought four tote bags as birthday gifts, including one for her.

A lady bought two original paintings. One of an emu with a wombat in its back pack and another of dune-buggying emus.

Original Painting titled “Wombat Courier”

“Dune Buggy” I forgot to take a photo of the finished painting. I painted the dune buggy a bright red which popped against the raw sienna colour of the sand. I drew this for the Inktober Challenge, where you are presented with a drawing prompt word for each day of the month. The prompt word for this drawing was “dune”.

Thank you for visiting and I wish you a creative upcoming week.

Cheers from PJ Paintings

 at site 30 at Salamanca Market, Tasmania

Quality prints are available at www.pjpaintings.com

Salamanca Market January 15, 2022

Salamanca Market January 15, 2021

The Ashes test series started yesterday at Blundstone Oval, Bellerive, Tasmania, and it will continue for four days. https://www.premier.tas.gov.au/site_resources_2015/additional_releases/tasmania_ready_to_shine_as_global_media_attention_turns_to_hobart_for_historic_ashes_test A man from Melbourne, working at the cricket venue, purchased a “Salamanca Saturdays” limited edition print.

My painting of Salamanca Market titled, “Salamanca Saturdays. I inconspicuously snuck my stall into the painting. Available at: https://pjpaintings.com/collections/the-world

An original painting on Khadi Mill paper, made from recycled cotton rags, titled “A Flair for Fashion” was purchased by a lady, who said it looked just like her sister (let’s hope she doesn’t mind the associated resemblance!). Her sister is returning to London tomorrow, so she’s giving it to her tonight.

“A Flair for Fashion”

Two young ladies from Canberra visited the stall. One bought an A-3 sized print of “Scarlet Robins” for her parent’s 25^th wedding anniversary and said that they’re still like lovebirds.

Scarlet Robins

A lady, who is doing done the Three Capes Walk tomorrow, https://www.threecapestrack.com.au/, told me that the airline lost her backpack, and it won’t arrive in time for the walk. That is going to make the walk an even greater challenge. She purchased some greeting cards.

A couple, who bought some of my artwork at Peppercorn Gallery in Richmond, purchased a “Lazy Days” tote bag.

“Lazy Days” tote bag

A group of young people, from Brisbane, bought “Bunk Beds’ and “Devilish Siesta” prints.

“Devilish Siesta”

A young lady visiting from Victoria purchased a “Hanging Out” print and a mother, from Beaumaris, Victoria, purchased “Enchanted Forest I and II” for her child’s bedroom. During this purchase, a blanket of darkness came over, the heavens opened, and it bucketed down for about 10 minutes. A stream of water quickly formed and flowed through my stall site. This sudden storm basically instigated a mass stallholders packing-up event, but it was packing-up time, it just brought it into motion with an urgent fervour.

I wish everybody a good week with time etched out for creative pursuits.

Cheers from Patricia (PJ) Hopwood-Wade

http://www.pjpaintings.com

Not Power-walking

I love drawing and painting strutting emus! I remembered to draw this one walking the opposite direction. Is it something about being right-handed that I automatically draw everything going in a leftward direction???

This emu isn’t power-walking, she’s bubble-walking. 😊😊

Bubble-walking

This painting is available for purchase at pjpaintings.com/collections/original-paintings

Stay safe, from PJ Paintings in Tasmania