This new tote bag is bright and cheery. The black cockatoos that I often see in my neighbourhood inspired this painting. I love their squawky presence, personality and beauty. Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos have a short crest on the top of their heads compared to other cockatoos’ crowns that they flaunt and display ostentatiously. Feeling slightly inferior, this cockatoo relied on creativity and ingenuity to present a hairstyle that turns heads. I’ve titled this painting “Hair Extensions”.
New “Hair Extensions” tote bag
These bright, colourful and sturdy tote bags, with the 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. It is available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/bags/products/tote-bag-hair-extensions
As I write this post, on Sunday morning, it is raining and the Derwent River is awash with white caps, which makes me feel even more thankful for yesterday’s calm and mild conditions. Due to the ideal winter weather conditions of yesterday, there were more people out and about.
My first customers at the stall were three sisters, meeting up in Tassie, where one of the sister lives, to celebrate a sister’s birthday. One purchased a “Salamanca Fresh” tote bag and another bought an A-4 sized print of “Meet Me at the Gate” for her friend’s Christmas present. They meet at the gate to go walking together and she loves fairy wrens. A gift tailored for the individual!
“Salamanca Fresh” capturing a lively Salamanca Market day scene
“Meet Me at the Gate”
Then I met a locum nuclear medicine specialist doing a stint at the hospital here but because of the lockdowns he was not going home for his few weeks off. His daughter, who lives and teaches in the ACT, takes teenagers scuba diving, climbing Mt Kosciuszko and the like to teach them resilience, teamwork, build confidence and many other valuable life skills, loves whales. https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/snowy-mountains/kosciuszko-national-park/summit-walk
“Southern Flow”
He bought “Southern Flow” and “Weightless” prints for her. I didn’t get his name, but he also has a sole business selling shooting equipment. He represented Australia twice in the Olympics and a few times in the Commonwealth Games. I imagine it was in the Men’s trap shooting??
A couple from Newcastle purchased “Sitting on the Fence”. He loves kookaburras.
“Sitting on the Fence”
A man, who lives six months of the year in France, in the countryside of the Nouvelle Aquitaine area, purchased a small “Scarlet Robins” tote bag. https://www.britannica.com/place/Aquitaine.
“Scarlet Robins” made in Australia and washable tote bag
A couple from Townsville bought a “Richmond Bridge” and a “Silent Disco” print. A young lady, looking for a gift for her girlfriend, who lives in the Richmond, Tasmania area, bought her a “Two to Tango” tote bag. This is another tailored made gift because this girlfriend has a male and female emu as pets!! Their names are Ernie and Bert! 😊 Emus as pets are unusual pets but having emu pets in Tasmania is even more unusual because they are not endemic to Tasmania. The emus Tasmania used to have, have been extinct for over 100 years. https://theunfurlingartist.wordpress.com/2020/02/03/the-study-of-emu-poo/
“Two to Tango”
I was pretty keen on packing up and getting away as soon as the gates opened. I was making good time and everything was fitting back into the car quite well and when I finished, I saw my gazebo standing there trying to look inconspicuous. Arg. I had to unpack half the car to pack it again, then got home and unpacked again and then headed out to the Welcome Swallow Brewery’s opening celebrations. https://www.welcomeswallow.com.au/ It’s an awesome venue and space. It was a great evening with amazing tasting boutique beer, made from Nigel’s homegrown, organic hops and raspberries.
I hope that you are staying warm and safe inside this week.
Platypuses, along with echidnas, are the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. In warmer environments, such as Queensland, platypus are smaller, with Tasmanian platypuses often much bigger.
Platypuses close their eyes, ears and nose when underwater. The only sensory system they use when foraging for small water animals such as insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, and crayfish, is touch. They have touch receptors in their bills.
This platypus has walked and climbed into a cosy hammock and is enjoying some daydreaming time.
Hammock Life
I’ve made my painting, titled “Hammock Life” into Limited Edition prints, available at https://pjpaintings.com/collections/wombats/products/daydreaming-a-platypus-in-a-hammock They are printed on William Turner 310gsm print version textured water colour paper, which retains the look and feel of water colour paintings. No wonder I have so many people ask me if the print is an original painting!
This platypus has also walked and climbed into a cosy hammock and is enjoying some daydreaming time. It has a real flair for home décor as evidenced by its wonderfully decorated hammock!
Daydreaming
This painting, titled, “Daydreaming” is not available as a print but the original painting is for sale at Wooby Lane Gallery, Salamanca Place, Tasmania.
I hope that you are finding time to daydream and relax too.
Thankfully it was a mild winter’s day today and the 40% chance of forecasted rain decided to opt on the 60% side of the equation. The Melbournian lockdown status has just lifted and there were quite a few people that took advantage of it. One family, her being originally from Tassie, came to visit family. They purchased a “Sea Life” print.
Sea Life
A first time visitor to Tassie, returning to Melbourne tonight, purchased An A-3 sized print of “Goldilocks and the 20 Penguins” and “The Bun”. She said that she loves Tasmania. 🙂
Goldilocks and the 20 Penguins. This was a popular print today as I sold out of the A-3 size. I should have packed more!!
“The Bun”
The Yellow-tailed black cockatoo has a short crown and when the others are flaunting their long, lush crowns, it takes it can take a toll on their self-esteem. I’ve helped them out by giving them hairdos that turns heads.
Another couple that were leaving tonight, were from Invermay, NSW. They purchased “Who, Who, Who are You? II and so did a lady at the very end of the day, while I was packing up, she ordered an A-2 size of the same print to go to Geelong, Victoria. The A-3 sized prints of Who, Who, Who are You? II is getting close to the end of its Limited Edition print run.
Who, Who, Who are You? II
A couple from Lake Macquarie or Awaba in New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s largest coastal salt water lake, https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/lake-macquarie-nsw, where I have lived for a few years, bought A-3 sized prints of “Salamanca Saturdays” and “Salamanca Fresh”.
Salamanca Fresh
A mother from Cairns, and daughter from Brisbane, bought a “Silent Disco” print. They were on their way to Bicheno specifically to see the Fairy penguins come ashore.
Fairy Penguins enjoying a Silent Disco
A young couple bought a fairy wren greeting card for his mother that lives in Kettering, Tasmania. https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/kettering-tas . The driveway is getting too steep for her so she is moving. She gets heaps of wrens, cockatoos and eagles where she lives and will miss the birds terribly.
Double Date IV
I met a lady from Bellingen, NSW. Silk and Cotton, in Bellingen, sell my greeting cards in their lovely shop. https://silkandcotton.com.au/
The Festival of Voices is on during the upcoming week. I enjoyed an evening at the Vinyl Lounge last night and next Friday I will be enjoying another musical event at the Theatre Royal.
Brilliant weather for Dark Mofo, the AFL game at Bellerive and Salamanca Market today! There were a lot of people at the market today.
I met a lady that took a direct flight to Hobart from Perth. She came for Dark Mofo and is going to explore the north of the state for a week. She asked if I had a print of a cockatoo or a galah, her favourite birds. I showed her “Iconic Aussies”, and she bought the A-3 sized print of it.
Iconic Aussies
An adult daughter and mother, rushing to get to their flight back to Newcastle, bought a “Bunk beds” print and greeting cards.
Two families travelling together, one from Canberra and the other from Sydney, purchased “Lazy Days”. Another lady from Townsville is also taking home “Lazy Days”.
Lazy Days
I met a local young couple that bought some cushion covers for a birthday present for her. I haven’t got them on my website yet but they are coming. They are 40 x 40 cm. I have the cockatoos, wombats, Salamanca Saturdays, Scarlet Robins and a few other images on the cushion covers.
A couple, visiting from Darwin, who have been touring Tassie for 2 weeks, going up the west coast to Cradle Mountain and returning to Hobart, purchased a “Sitting on the Fence” A-3 sized print. Two young ladies visiting for Dark Mofo, from Brisbane, both bought Spiky Bunk Beds.
Spiky Bunk Beds
A young from Queensland that saw Fairy Penguins coming on shore at Bicheno, Tasmania bought a “Silent Disco” print.
Fairy Penguins enjoying a Silent Disco
A couple from Brisbane, visiting their friends, bought “Hair Accessories” and two prints of “Who says Emus can’t Fly?!?. Apparently one of their grandfathers used to frequently ride his motorbike in Tassie.
Who says Emus can’t Fly?!?
Thanks for visiting and I wish you all a great upcoming week.
Sometimes a painting raises more questions than answers.
Why is an octopus sitting on a Yellow-tailed black cockatoo’s head???!!
Hair Something??
What was I thinking!!?? and I’ll pre-empt suggestions of being under any influence of any kind when I painted this.
Some background information may provide you an insight into this creation.
Sea Shepherd asked if I would donate work for their fundraiser, something different to whales that I had painted last year for them. The creative juices started flowing. I’m not sure what prompted my brain to think of Yellow-tailed black cockatoos but that’s where my brain went. Maybe because I often see them from my house, here in southern Tasmania https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/Yellow-tailed-Black-Cockatoo
When I started thinking about them and the fact that out of all the black cockatoos that they are the ones who possess the shortest crowns, I started empathising about their situation that when the other cockatoos flaunted their glorious, big, luscious crowns that they may feel a little inferior with their stubby, unimpressive crowns. And then I thought, well maybe I could help them and I painted the following:
The Bun
Hair Accessories
Hair Extensions
For the fourth painting in the series, I did the octopus. The creative process involves trial and error. Sometimes it is successful and sometimes it is not. Trying and taking risks is the important thing. Although, I hesitate to name the Hair Something an error because I think there probably is somebody out there with a quirky bend that will absolutely love it and the painting will end up taking pride of place in somebody’s lounge room.
I salute quirky-like minded, creative risk-taking people and may you walk tall, with or without, an octopus on your head.
Rain at 6 am, 7 am and at 3 pm was forecasted and unfortunately, I must report, that the weather was predicted correctly. Rain book-ended the market, wet setting up and wet taking down.
I met many visitors from the mainland of Australia today. A couple who took the ferry from Victoria, and she experienced sea sickness for the first time, purchased an A-3 sized print of “Joyride”.
A couple, who bought one of my prints a few years ago, for their former Argentinian exchange student’s first child, has come back to buy a print for their second child. They’ll be posting to Switzerland, where the family is now living, a “Duck Crossing” print for the second child and a Duck Crossing pencil case filled with crayons and the like for the older sibling . The older sibling has one of my prints hanging in her bedroom and now the younger sibling will have Duck Crossing in their bedroom.
Two international students, studying at the University of Tasmania, accounting and engineering, bought some cards and small A-5 sized prints. A group visiting from Taiwan, only spending four days in Tassie, bought “Hanging Out”. They liked that the gum leaves and gum nuts make sort of the same shape as Tasmania.
A lady, visiting from Sydney, chose an “Emu Ice Capades” greeting card. I remarked that it was unusual for somebody to choose an ice-skating card. She said that she and all her children ice skate. Now that’s unusual!! In Tasmania, there is only one ice skating rink for the whole island and the owners have recently retired, so I’m not sure if we still have an ice rink. Tasmanians may have to go to the mainland to have an ice-skating experience now! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-13/tasmania-only-ice-skating-rink-for-sale-glenorchy/12869448
Are you from the northern hemisphere, I asked? She was born in Australia, and they just spoke German at home, and then they moved to Germany when she was 5 years old. Then they moved back to Australia when she was eight and she couldn’t speak any English when she started school in Australia. Then the family moved back to Germany when she was twelve and then back to Australia when she was sixteen. Needless to say, she’s had an interesting childhood and is fluent in both German and English.
The final original painting, titled “Afternoon Siesta”, of my Sleepy head series has sold. A young lady, from Sydney, visiting Tasmania, saw my artwork at Artefacts Inc Gallery https://www.salarts.org.au/portfolio/residents/artefacts_inc/ She bought three prints, including Afternoon Siesta, and returned home.
Artefacts Gallery in the Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania
About a week later, she phoned me because she couldn’t get Afternoon Siesta out of her head. She was so excited about making the decision to buy it. It’s her first original art purchase. She’s originally from Norway, and has lived in Belgium and France too and now she’s living in Sydney, Australia.
Afternoon Siesta
We agreed that this wombat is the most relaxed looking of the wombats that I have painted. I can’t help but feel more relaxed whenever I look at this painting. It looks like every single bit of stress has dripped out of its paws. Now, it’s on its way to its new owner.
I am basically a self-taught watercolour artist. About 12 years ago, I started taking evening Adult Ed classes, when I worked full-time. I have kept practicing and trying to improve my drawing and painting skills ever since.
I have submitted applications for local exhibitions, involving submitting a form, including a high-resolution gloss photograph when requested, and a non-refundable payment. I was so often rejected that I stopped applying. Unlike when you apply for a job, you can phone and ask why you weren’t asked to be interviewed and receive some constructive feedback. With the art application process, you usually aren’t allowed to engage with the judges, so you never find out if you were close to getting accepted, on the right track or are able to seek any kind of feedback to help you.
Rejection is discouraging and I think I briefly found myself skirting around the edges of Imposter Syndrome. Thankfully, for me, I focused on the people who do like and connect with my art, rather than those that don’t, and keep painting what I wanted to paint and I was able to avoid getting drawn into this misery. I can understand how Imposter Syndrome could easily suck you in and really damage your confidence.
I realise that many people underestimate how challenging I find art and think that I can draw anything. Myth buster – there are many things that I simply can’t draw!!, which also could feed into Imposter Syndrome. I struggle with composition, drawing and I usually erase whatever I am trying to draw multiple times. I think if people watched me undertaking a painting from start to finish, that they would be seriously surprised. I am a serious believer that drawing can improve with practice. It is about enjoying trying (the journey), enjoying the end-products that are successful, trying to give as little time as possible to dwelling on those that aren’t, (after analysing them to try to avoid the same mistake/s next time) and enjoying the joy that art gives to the recipients.
A friend encouraged me to submit an application form to enter my painting, titled “Goldilocks and the 20 Penguins” in the Waterways Exhibition to be held at the Long Gallery in the Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania. Reluctantly I did, and success! the painting has been accepted!!
The Water Ways exhibition will open to the public at 10am on Friday 5th February at the Long Gallery, Salamanca Place, Tasmania and continues until Sunday 14th.
The Unfurling Artist: journalising creative journeying 