Remembered Landscapes

Remembered Landscapes is a collection of paintings that I have been working on over the last few months. They are all inspired by the Australian Bush and the Upper Yarra area of Melbourne and include a mixed series of both abstract and more traditional landscape paintings, all with a typical Clair Bremner twist.

The exhibition will be on display from the 6th - 22nd of September at Established For Design in Malvern East. I am really proud of this series and I am looking forward to seeing the work on display surrounded by a beautifully curated collection of furniture and homewares.

You are invited to the exclusive opening event. Please join us for an evening of art and drinks to celebrate.

Thursday 6th September, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Established For Design
287 Wattletree Rd, Malvern East

[If you are interested in attending please click on the button below to RSVP for catering purposes ]

RSVP HERE

Do you have a Sketchbook ?

.... I have a confession. I am a sketchbook purchasing addict.  

I love buying sketchbooks, the new fresh clean pages, the potential and anticipation of filling them with pretty things. However, I am not that great at actually using them.  

At this point in time time I think I have four...maybe even five sketchbooks going at once. I usually have one in my bag, one in the car, one at my home and several at the studio. 

I use them sporadically to sketch composition ideas, jot down names for paintings or ideas to sketch later. I also use them to brush up on my general drawing skills and some poor souls just get random pages torn out of them when I need to write down a shopping list or phone message. I have some that were really expensive and others that were just impulse purchases from discount stores. 

I love the idea of starting with one sketchbook and filling in every single page with sketches and art but I just can’t seem to commit. I also love looking through older sketchbooks to see how my ideas have changed or developed. Sometimes I’ll come across old sketches that never made it to a full painting and I’m inspired to finally paint it.  

What about you? Are you a fellow sketchbook hoarder?  

Tools of the trade

The main medium I prefer to work with is Acrylic paint. Over the years I have experimented with every art supply and material imaginable. Early on, while I was studying Viaual Art at TAFE,  I was actually using oil paint because I thought that you weren’t a “real artist” unless you knew how to use oil paint. 

As I have aged and matured I have realized how rediculous that idea is and that you can be a real artist and use whatever materials you like. I also always hated the messy cleanup process that is involved with oil paint. So once I started to get back in to painting on a regular basis I decided to use acrylics.  

The fast drying time, vibrant colours and easy cleaning qualities are all perfect for the way I work.  

I also use a range of brushes to create my art, all of them are cheap and some of them are not even “artist” brushes. I use nylon brushes, house paint brushes from the hardware store and a few mop style brushes that are meant to be used for stenciling or applying gesso but I like the scratchy messy marks that they make.  

I am a terrible brush owner. I abuse them all the time. I let them dry out, or I soak them for days on end in dirty water. I use them to varnish and then forget to was them. I use them to scoop out blobs of paint, smoosh them into containers and clog them up. When they are dead I throw them out and buy new ones. 

I use a few different brands of acrylic paint, but mostly Derivan Matisse, Golden Acrylic and Hydrocryl. I mix different brands together to make up my own colours as well as using colours right out of the tube. If I know I’m going to use a particular colour a lot then I will mix up a big batch and keep it in a plastic container with a lid. I also use Liquitex paint markers to add in some of the fine details on top. 

I paint on both stretched canvas and watercolour paper, I have my canvas custom stretched and sent to me and I purchase my watercolor paper in large sheets or pads. The canvas is 12oz cotton and the paper is always 300gsm cotton or above. 

Open Studio 11th-12th November

This year I'll be taking part in the Yarra Valley Open Studio Tour which is held over three areas and three weekends between September and November. The Warburton area will be on the 11th and 12th of November from 10am-4pm.  

You can come and visit me in my studio at 21 Woods Point Rd in Warburton (in the YREC Business Village opposite the caravan park). I will have original artworks for sale, including paintings on canvas, paper and a exclusive collection of hand painted original ceramics.  

To find out more about the Open Studios, including the other participating artists, you can visit the official website at  https://www.yarravalleyarts.org.au/yvaopenstudios

Inspiration vs Painting

Here is a quick little peak into my process. The paintings for my upcoming exhibition were all directly inspired by the Yarra River. Some were sketched interpretations and others, such as this one below, were inspired by photographs.  

I never try to copy a landscape exactly, I always like to use my own interpretation which gives my paintings their imaginative and dreamlike quality. As you can see, although I was directly inspired by the photo, the finished painting has taken on a whole new feeling of its own. I tried to emphasis the feeling of the sun going down and the last warmth from the day hitting the riverbank to the right.   

Last Light (152cmx101cm Acrylic on Canvas) will be in display during my exhibition Yarra, which is being held at Cambridge Studio Gallery in Collingwood from the 8th to 26th of March. There will be opening drinks on the 12th of March from 2pm, it would be lovely to see you there. 

Studio snapshots

Here is a little peek into the studio and what I've been up to lately. If you want to see more behind the scenes stuff make sure you subscribe to my instagram account.  

I've started another piece for my new series. This will be in my show in March titled Yarra where I will be focusing on the local river scenes. 

I finished (and sold)  this pretty piece. 

I also completed this commission that was started before Christmas. I usually don't take that long to finish commissions but I have been away a fair bit these last few weeks.  

I have a big pile of canvases due to be delivered soon so it will be a busy few weeks. If you would like to pop into the studio to view anything in person then feel free to message me. I haven't forgotten about that Open Studio day either... it will happen soon!  

New Year. New Studio

I mentioned on here a few weeks ago that I was planing on moving out into a new studio space. Well the time has arrived. I picked up the keys to the new studio last Thursday and I've been slowly moving in over the last few days.  

I have been a full time professional artist for about three years now, however now that I have a "real studio" I actually feel like a real professional now. So silly but that's how my brain works. 

I'm really excited to see where this next year takes me and to see how having a studio outside of my home for the first time ever changes the way I work. I'm hoping that I will be a bit more productive during the week. I find it hard to not procrastinate doing other things when I'm at home, it's always much more tempting to just sit on the couch with my knitting and Netflix. Hopefully having official working hours and a place to go every day will make me more accountable and productive when I need to be.  

It will also be awesome to be able to welcome clients into my studio without having to lead them through my lounge room and messy kitchen first. I am happy for anyone to pop in and see me whenever I'm there (which will be quite often during the week and by appointment on weekends).  

After the Christmas and New Years break and once I have settled in I am planing on holding an official opening/open studio day. I'll let you know when that's happening via Facebook early in the year.