I'm in a bit of a pink mood lately, dispite the on-coming winter, and I was having a little pink inspired search through Svpply and came across these gorgeous personalised tea cups from a lovely little shop, Gleena:

They also have some lovely little cups with a moth print, below, as well as some lovely serving bowls and votives - all very sweet. I'm a bit of a tea drinker, especially when I'm painting, and I'd love my own personal cup like this.

All photos via Gleena.

The last couple of days have been particularly productive, both generally around our home as well as in the studio. I've finally finished a painting I have been working on and off upon for a few weeks, and for now I've decided to take a break from this particular series:

Untitled, Acrylic on canvas, 18"x18"

I have one more that I'm still working on, but it is considerably different from this one, much lighter and brighter, and once it's done I'm going to put my dark blue paints away for a while.

I picked up 3 large canvas' and a whole different set of colours have been brought out of my paint box. Totally different, in both style and colours, and it has totally rejuvenated my practice. I'm excited to be in the studio again!

I'm not a big shopper - well that's not true, I love to shop, but I love vintage, so my main haunts are op shops, ebay and garage sales. But there are a few things that I do spend a bit of money on. Like many women, I love shoes, but for me, it's all about boots. Every Autumn the hunt begins, and every so often I come across something I love. But that's still not good enough - it has to be on sale. Big sale. 70% off kind of sale. Like these, which I picked up this morning:

Are they not the cutest little boots - great heel, not too high, and super comfortable, they're perfect for this winter. And in this pic, they're sitting atop a beautiful vintage steriliser can (of all things, I know) which I picked up on the weekend at a church garage sale (much more my style), along with this little lovely:

I know it's a pot, but I'm not sure whether it's coffee or tea related - it's Austrian, which is interesting, and in great condition for a vintage pot. I was a very happy shopper.

Deer, oh deer.

If you saw this post you would know I recently purchased a little lovely from a favourite blogger of mine, Ez from Creature Comforts. She's been raising money in support of the Red Cross to support relief efforts in Japan, and at last count she has raised $770 - a mighty effort for one blogger/photographer! Well, it's found a new home in my daughter's bedroom below, before:

and after:

a closer view

After seeing how she displayed it in her Etsy shop, I was inspired, and I've decided to keep it modest, using some very pretty tape (though I might frame it in future). The great thing about the tape is that it's so papery (and pretty), it won't damage the print.

The lamp there is new also, picked up at a garage sale for a couple of bucks! Love it.

It's starting to look like I'm slightly obsessed with chairs - that wouldn't be far from the truth. I see a lonely chair in need of love and it's like a puppy at a pound, staring at me with sad eyes - I have to take it (I've done that with dogs, too!). Here is a recent adoptee:

This is a little sad soul that I picked up on ebay for the minimum 99cents. A vintage child's chair, I had to drive to the other side of town to collect it, and felt a little bit ridiculous doing so - such a long way to go for such a small thing, but I'm glad I did. I wanted to keep its vintage look, and I didn't want to spend much money doing it, so a couple of coats of bright yellow spray paint and it's found a new life in our home. Perfect for my two little people.

I had a lovely weekend, full of gardening and happy children and some serious picture hanging, turning a relatively bare wall (relatively, given the large space available) into a bit of an eye catcher, possibly overwhelming.
Before:

And after:

I haven't decided whether I like it or not yet - obviously its holding a lot of my own work, and I don't know how I feel about that, but I do like to see my recent work, it helps to solidify what I've done and informs what I do in the future. The thing is, this wall has made me very aware of the colours that I typically work in - it is so dark - which is funny, as it doesn't reflect my personality at all (it does reflect my fingernails, which are always stained dark blue from the paint). 

So, I'm taking this self-reflected feedback on - it's been bothering me for a while, and this has just re-enforced it for me, I'm moving to lighter, brighter colours - at least some of the time. And I think I'm going to change these pictures regularly - and hopefully, over time, I will be able to start collecting more of other artist's work (I have a few originals and prints, but these are small, and would have been dwarfed by this gallery wall).

I've been doing a bit of a mood-board overhaul, which I do from time to time (I've been keeping a mood board on and off since I was a teenager). The flags aren't just for fun (though seriously, great colours), they're a little reminder of future travels which I'm very excited about.

Most of these tear outs have been taken from Real Living, Frankie magazine, and Inside Out magazine, but some of these images are years old, so I can't be specific.

I'm really loving these looks for work, both from Country Road, but I have no idea if I can pull it off - in particular the long skirt (though I don't think I'd chose those shoes?).

another stray

A little op-shopping adventure paid off this morning, with yet another stray chair for my dining setting. A very quick re-upholstery job and I was able to transform good bones (but a little drab), to something a bit more stylish and young family-friendly.

Its great when little jobs like these are made so easy - no sanding or painting required, and a scrap of fabric I owned meant that the total cost was just $15. And I can, of course, spruce up the fabric in the future if I like. Here is the fabric up close:

I've been flicking through the lovely pages of the March/April edition of Inside Out magazine (a beautiful Australian interiors/lifestyle magazine) and came across a great feature on a little on-line boutique called The Lowercase.

The feature and the shop are both absolutely lovely, and they've really hit the mark in catering for timeless, beautiful children's décor (among other things). Their Urban Jungle Duvet collection is perfect, and I love their styling.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this on-line store develops, as they are apparently going to be adding to their collection in future. 

Some serious procrastination following a seriously busy weekend. My current paintings seem to be taunting me from my studio, but I intend on gaining some ground this afternoon. In the mean time, another little painting from my archives. This one still hangs from our little office alcove.

My morning was spent driving a long way for a very small chair that I picked up on ebay on the weekend. Its a vintage child's chair with great bones, in need of a lot of love, which I will hopefully get around to giving it over the week.

um-ing and ah-ing

The aforementioned console table just isn't cutting it in its current shade of warm, reddish wood. I'd really like it to stand out a little more than it currently does, but I just can't make my mind up on the colour. Here it is:

And this is the hallway that it is part of, which connects directly down a short staircase to our sunken lounge area (and the much too big TV):

Given the warmth of the red rug, I'm inclined to go with a warm colour, like red, but I'm now thinking a contrasting colour might be nice too. Eventually I hope to paint the inside of the front door a charcoal colour, which will basically go with anything.

So, lots of um-ing and ah-ing, but no actual doing yet. We'll see (poor quality photos due to my point and clicker, rather than the DSLR).

I've hit a wall with painting today - its the same with every painting, except this time I've hit a wall with three different paintings- 3 different walls. Normally this doesn't happen simultaneously, and I can go on with another work while I wait out this phase, but not today. Its like the awkward teenage years, except for a painting. Nothing quite fits together, its ungainly, clumsy. And you just have to keep going and get through it. I've been distracting myself, procrastinating, and its so easy to find them, so here are today's distractions:

The new Lonny magazine is out.

Hanna is running a fantastic post card swap, which I discovered via Camilla Engman.

Finding inspiration through Jennifer Davis' beautiful work.

Purchasing art while supporting the huge devastation in Japan, through Creature Comforts. I chose the following, beautiful print, titled 'You're Dazzling My Deer', which will look beautiful in my daughter's room (or perhaps mine).

And, of course, a little bit of blogging, and discovering that my link text was just too pale, so I'm changing it now.

I've got a birthday on the horizon, not a significant one, but a birthday none the less, so naturally I'm beginning to ponder what I'd like. Thanks to a beautiful new hall runner in our entry (from my lovely sister), I'm having to re-think painting the new console table in that area, and I'm now thinking red for the table, a bright fire truck red, with a calming grey on the door. A little wish list with these colours in mind.

1. Holly Becker's new book; 2. Chanel nail colour; 3. Necklace; 4. Bag; 5. Art print; 6. Gum boots

Its been a busy week around here. After starting back at work (for 1.5 days) I decided I needed a little break! So I headed to Queensland for a few days to visit family and drink wine on balconies in balmy evenings, watching massive bats and geckos and all the other crazy northern wildlife. I am rested and ready to paint, once all the administrative and cleaning tasks have been seen to. So, without any recent work ready to show, here is something I worked on some time ago:

'Shallow Night' Acrylic on Canvas 29.5"x39"

Its larger than I usually work, and it takes up a permanent position above our dining table.

I mentioned in my last post that some of my other paintings are much more 'oppressive' than my more recent work. Case in point:

'Lifted' Acrylic on board 20"x24.5"

This was the second painting from my 'In to view' series, but I'm questioning whether it belongs there. I was experimenting with painting on board and discovered that it wasn't really for me. I like the 'give' of canvas. I actually purchase mid-level pre-prepared canvas' from my local art supply shop. I've experimented with a few different brands, as well of course with stretching my own canvas. What I've found for me, having a part-time job, raising two kids, along with all the other projects I enjoy pursuing, I just don't have the time to stretch my own canvas, and purchasing them individually is way too expensive. I know that I'm sacrificing somewhat in quality, but I've found that the brand I buy have just the right amount tooth (texture) for me, and they are very durable and sturdy. They're also very affordable, and I can get straight to painting, rather than labouring over stretching my own, worrying that I won't get the right stretch etc. etc. Now, rather than writing about it, I really should get back to some more painting.

Some new painting, using some new colours - well, variations of my usual colours I guess. This is pretty different to what I usually do, and it has a different feel to it too, much lighter in mood.

'Leaving' Acrylic on Canvas 18"x18"

I don't know yet how I feel about it. I think I have to continue to make a conscientious effort to use lighter colours more often. Its nice not to be covered in dark blue paint, and it brings out a whole new side to my paintings, much less oppressive in tone than some of my other work.

A little sneak peak into my bedroom, with a little tray that I picked up at an op-shop and turned into a lovely little make-up/perfume/jewellery station, courtesy of a DIY from Prudent Baby:

Organisation is one of my big 'to do's' these days - with little kids its so easy for things to get out of hand very quickly, and having little places for everything really helps.

I love this crazy mirror - I actually got it from Target of all places, drastically on sale. Mirror plus jewellery/miscellaneous stuff holder, perfect.

Among the busyness that was this weekend, was a bit of a garden clean up. This mild, wet summer (the wettest as long as I've lived here) produced copious amounts of fruits and leaves and all things green and colourful. We've been harvesting massive amounts of tomatoes and cucumbers, the herbs have gone crazy, and we have jalapeños and pumpkins galore. Its so amazing to watch all this happen, some of it overnight.

Of course, with great weather comes great weeds, and my poor husband spent hours dealing with those.

Below is one week's worth of harvesting - this is actually a really BIG basket, and so much soup and sauce and salad has been made.

Given that the weather is cooling so quickly, I think these huge basket loads are just about over. But its been such a productive summer, I don't think we can handle any more tomato soup.

I'm still fighting the demise of yet another summer. Even my paintings seem to reflect my love of long warm days and iridescent sunsets. Of course, I love that where I live we get 4 solid and distinct seasons, with great variation among them all. But this summer was so fleeting, and so my paintings are starting to emerge all peachy and soft, as opposed to the darker blues and blacks from my earlier work. Inspired as such, here are some lovely soft colours to see out the summer with.

1 Free People dress; 2 Camera; 3 Gold ring; 4 Ballet flats; 5 Tank top

Its also great to see that Free People are now shipping to Australia - I'll have to investigate whether its actually worthwhile.

Another week, another chair. Except that this chair (which I picked up from a garage sale for $3, thinking naively that taking off the ugly orange paint that covered it would be a piece of cake) has been a bit of a nightmare. I was so very, very wrong. I wish I could hire the person who painted that chair, because they did a very good job: primer, multiple coats. I think it took about 10 hours, all up, to transform. And mid way through I had to alter the transformation. Originally I was only going to paint the legs, but as I scraped and sanded and revealed the beautiful soft honey-comb coloured wood of the seat, it also revealed a really ugly, contrasting, reddish hardwood in the back and the legs, meaning the backing had to be painted too. Here it is before (though I had already started at it at this point, it was originally all orange):

And here it is after, looking a little more 'country' style than I would have liked, quite humble, but overall I'm very pleased with it, and it compliments our new table nicely. 

Speaking of the table, it is also on its way, with just one more coat of Danish oil to do (which I'll hopefully get to tomorrow). So much hard work has gone into this new dining setting, I hope it looks good in the end. Its certainly very satisfying to watch and complete the transformation, but our house smells of paint and oil fumes, and my hands are still very much trashed, scratched and paint splattered.

Today got crazy, mostly due to a small person not having a big sleep - together with some serious sanding and paint scraping, which is taking forever, I'm exhausted. But despite this, I did get to indulge in one of my biggest 'mother to a little girl/doll' wishes: pigtails

I was so close to doing this to my son when he was smaller (who am I kidding, I did! but only to see what it would look like : ) She looked absolutely adorable, and now I want to get her into bed and have a glass of wine. aaah.

How much fun is Svpply? I've been spending more than a little time there since discovering it. Its like going shopping with a friend who knows where all the great stuff is! I've been wanting to find some fun accessories for our place in yellow (I think I'm mentally fighting the on-coming cold), and this is a great way to do it, sourcing products from all over the internet.

1 Pendant lamp; 2 Cute tea towel; 3 Vintage egg basket; 4 Serving spoons

Of course, so much of this is wishful thinking, but what I love about this site is how it can inspire your eyes to spot similar products locally and within a tighter budget. Though I really love that tea towel... and I'm definitely going to be looking for a sweet little egg basket like that - if I need a can of yellow spray paint I'm sure I can manage it!

spoilt

My husband and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, and I have most definitely spoilt. A lovely new Michael Kors bag for work, and a bottle of Moet & Chandon. I was quite chuffed (and he totally outdid my present for him, eek!).

 Unbelievably, the day after he was hit by a car while riding to work - thankfully he is fine, some scratches and bruises, and this is not the first time this has happened! I don't know how many lives he has left!

A little snapshot of our kitchen above, with one of my first 'In to view' series paintings in the background.

'Emergence' Acrylic on canvas board, 20"x24"

I have a lot to do today, including more paint stripping, possibly some sanding and polishing, some shopping and hopefully I'll fit in some painting too - oh, and some parenting!

lighting

We've had grey day after grey day lately - Autumn is definitely here. Add that to the trees around our home and it makes lighting tricky, so I haven't been able to capture any new work. Its very frustrating, as I'm trying to trial a new camera as I'm thinking of splurging on a proper digital SLR for my birthday. Maybe there will be sun tomorrow? But for today, I'm going back into my archives to something I did a while ago:

'Small motion' Acrylic on canvas 12"x16"

This painting was based on a sketch I took during a life drawing workshop some time ago, painted in 2010. I'm hoping that once my life settles down a bit and my children are a little more manageable (15 months and 3 and a half are interesting ages), that I'll be able to continue with the life drawing classes. They help in so many ways.

just finished

Fresh from my easel, not even varnished yet (in the past I've always varnished with a satin finish, but this interrupts photos considerably, as well as picking up light if its not hung in a low light area, so I'm considering moving to a matt finish in future). This is from my 'In to view' series:

'Drift' Acrylic on canvas 18"x18"

I seem to have developed a pretty good system for working on multiple paintings at once. I've recently started buying my canvas' 3 at a time, twice per month, giving me the freedom to work on more than one each week. In this smaller size I tend to be able to finish 1-2 paintings per fortnight, productive but still able to give attention to each painting, as well as all the people, pets and other things I've got going on.