Salamanca Market, February 4, 2023

Good soaking rain, the kind that gardens love, not Salamanca market stallholders, greeted us this morning. Because my stall is on a slope, I had to build bridges with the lids of my crates, with an edge on the curb and the other side on the pavement, to put my bags of tote bags and the like on, so that the stream of water ran underneath the lids. The kookaburras seemed to be enjoying the steady rain. Thankfully, we did get some breaks from the rain, but it kept reappearing.

My first customer appeared wearing shorts. I didn’t notice because I can’t see people’s legs very easily from over the prints, but he was bemoaning wearing shorts. He just arrived from Brisbane where it is hot and humid, so he had a good excuse. He bought a “Hammock Life” cushion cover.

Hammock Life 40 x 40 cm cushion covers, made in Australia, are available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/cards/products/copy-of-cushion-cover-of-a-platypus

A family visiting from Munich, Germany, purchased “Silent Disco”. They liked the fairy penguins that come to Tasmania’s shores.

Fairy Penguins enjoying a Silent Disco https://pjpaintings.com/collections/birds/products/dancing-penguins

A couple from Brisbane bought “Bunk Beds” for themselves. She loves wombats.

A family of sleepy wombats. Quality prints of Bunk Beds are available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/wombats/products/copy-of-sleepy-head-series-bunk-beds-wombat-watercolour

Two brothers from Melbourne purchased “Sitting on the Fence” for their Nanny’s 60^th birthday. She brought them to Tassie to celebrate her birthday.

“Sitting on the Fence” prints are available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/birds/products/sitting-on-the-fence

A couple, from the cruise ship docked in Hobart, purchased an original ink and watercolour painting of chickens to hang in their kitchen in Brisbane, Queensland (Qld).

Chickens!!

Another original sold today. I titled it, “Mesmerising”. The couple that bought it had bought a “Richmond Bridge, Tasmania” print several years ago. She described that they had it framed in an antique frame, how good it looks, the joy it brings and how much they love it. Stories like that are always so nice to hear.

Mesmerising

Two sisters, one living here, who moved from New Zealand with her husband and children, the other from NSW, bought a “Salamanca Saturdays” print for their Mum.

Salamanca Saturdays

One of many working on the Iron Man event https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Community/Events-and-activities/Upcoming-events/IRONMAN-70.3-Tasmania purchased a “Maggie & Maggie” print. She calls Noosa, Queensland home.

Maggie & Maggie – a print of my original painting

Somebody from the cruise ship, from Cairns, Qld, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairns loved and purchased a “Salamanca Fresh” tote bag.

such a cheery and colourful tote bag

A “Glamour Girls” print is travelling to Montreal, Canada and “Devilish Siesta” is going to Newcastle, NSW, with a student studying Occupational Therapy.

“Glamour Girls”
Quality prints of Glamour Girls are available at:
https://pjpaintings.com/collections/emus/products/glamour-girls-1

At the end of the day, I packed my soggy things into the car and then unpacked them to air out and dry.

Until next week, take care and have fun being creative.

Warmest regards, Patricia (PJ) Hopwood-Wade

Quality prints of my art are available at www.pjpaintings.com

Art thought for the day:

“The source of genius is imagination alone, the refinement of the senses that sees what others do not see, or sees them differently.” -Eugène Delacroix  

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Salamanca Market Nov 2, 2019

Rain is a good thing, and we needed it, but it would be nice if there was a rule that it wasn’t allowed to rain on Saturdays. It rained while setting up, stopped  and then rained when taking down.

I had a family from Chile visit and they chose three prints to take back to South America with them: “Beachside Chatter”, “Who Says Emus Can’t Fly?!” and “Glamour Girls I”.

An older man, from New Zealand, stopped in for a browse. I thought that his belt buckle looked like First Nations People’s art work and it was. He bought it 36 years ago in USA when he was doing a motor bike ride from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon on a Triumph, hence, he bought “Bonnie & Me!”.

Bonnie & Me!

An older couple from Nevada, USA, who have spent a month on the mainland, ‘bumming around Australia’ as he described it bought some greeting cards and another American couple from North California, where the fires are burning, bought a “Duck Crossing” and “Sleepy Head” pouch.

A couple, with a very articulate four year old daughter, bought some prints. I was so impressed with this little girl’s communication skills and confidence. She just struck up a conversation and chattered away with me. Her vocabulary was impressive.

A couple from Victoria, bought a “Bunk beds” print. It was his birthday gift. I wished him happy birthday and he told me it was yesterday, the same day as my mother’s birthday! He said, ‘she’s probably the same age, 71’. Not so, he’s a spring chicken compared to my mother’s age!’

Bunk beds

I met illustrator Marsha Wajer, who bought, “The Bun” and “Christmas Siesta”. An urban sketcher visited my stall, too. We did a Liz Steel workshop together a few years ago. She was on a girls’ weekend with a large group of her girlfriends.

This wombat has given its hammock a rather Christmas festive appeal. Prints of my original painting are available at: https://pjpaintings.com/collections/christmas/products/christmas-christmas-siesta

A lady, who told me that when she was a kid, an emu stole her vegemite sandwich (definitely an Australian emu!), which after that incident, she was scared of emus. She must have gotten over it because she bought “Joyride” for her partner and “Spanish Eyes (Red)” for her sister.

Spanish Eyes (Red)

A couple of ladies from Brisbane, bought a large “Salamanca Saturdays” tote bag for a friend who paid for their Tasmanian accommodation. A young lady bought a “Fairy wrens” print to send to her mother in the UK.  A couple, who did a direct flight from Perth to Hobart, bought “Bunk beds” and “Afternoon Siesta” prints.

Near the end of the day a young lady from Poland bought “Afternoon Siesta” for her parents. She’s been in Australia for six months and is returning to Poland on Tuesday.

Afternoon Siesta

As the market was coming to a close and people were heading up the street, I heard a boy, I’m guessing that he was about 10 years old, asking his father, ‘dad, dad, how’s my behaviour now, dad?’ I hope he achieved a gold star.

The most popular prints today were the wombats.

A thought to ponder: “I am not strange. I am just not normal”, Salvador Dalí

Wishing you an awesome and creative upcoming week,

from Pj Paintings, stall #30 at Salamanca Market, Tasmania

P.S. Tote bags & pouches are available at http://www.pjpaintings.com

Gallery Duty

I did gallery duty today (Sunday) at Artefacts Gallery located in the Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania. After cleaning shelves, changing displays and pricing art work, I settled down behind the desk and got my paints out. There were very few people about, so painting some of my Inktober drawings seemed like it would be a good use of my time.

A couple from the mainland of Australia came in and he, in particular, was curious and asked me questions about my prints and then about what I was painting. I explained the Inktober Challenge to him, where we receive a prompt word for each day of the month.  I was painting the drawings for Day #10 “pattern” and Day #11 “snow”. He said he really liked “pattern” and asked me if he could buy it? “But, I haven’t finished painting it”, I said. He didn’t want anymore paint added to it. He liked it as it was. “Would you like me to paint the hat?” “No,” was his reply. “The boots?” “Nope”. So, it was pronounced – SOLD after I took a quick photo of it.

finished or unfinished “pattern”

Has anyone else ever sold a painting before they consider it finished???

He left and returned a few minutes later asking if I could paint “snow” and they would come back in two hours for it. So, in between serving customers I painted. When they returned, they both said “wow” when they saw it and commented on how much difference colour made. Another Inktober drawing pronounced, SOLD. That’s six Inktober paintings in two days.

Painting for the prompt word “snow”

Thanks for stopping by. Hope the upcoming week goes well for everyone. PJ Paintings