Enjoying the moment

(above: "standing on the edge")

Well, all works are now in the hands of Therese and Phillip at Gilligan Grant Gallery, they will hang the works over a few days and the next time I will see them is at the opening. I am enjoying not having 'work' on my mind this weekend. I can finally relax!
Straight after the opening, we are heading to Hotham for 3 weeks to make a movie - I won't have time for post exhibition blues - I'll be in "production manager" mode...stay tuned!

Finally there..

I have completed all works for my exhibition which begins on the 2nd September. Most works were delivered to the gallery Gilligan Grant for hanging a week or 2 ago (some a couple of months ago). I am still working on 2 extra's. I always planned to do 13 paintings all up - but only hang 10. It's all coming together finally! I can also give the studio a big clean and am already looking forward to working on another series.

There will be 4 framed works (on top of the 10 paintings so 14 works exhibited in total) - I finished framing the remaining two only yesterday. I am really happy with my drawings and the frame I chose is amazing! One work has pre-sold and another on hold. Fabulous!

The journey has been hard but great, I have learnt so much about how I work and what I need to get through it successfully - I had high expectations of myself from the start, every piece I had to be 100% happy with - I never let go of this. I hope sales reflect this.

Lives of the Artists

My posting habits are strange. I post frequently for a few days, then there are gaps of a few weeks. I post more when I am feeling happier with my work (which I am now after a great studio visit yesterday), when I'm behind schedule or I'm just not resolving anything, I feel a little deflated and can get quite obsessed with my work, and don't think about much else! I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I picked up a fabulous book the other day "Lives of the Artists" (Calvin Tomkins) to add to the expanding collection of artist biographies we have. I find these books so inspiring because no matter how famous, artists seem to hit the same old obstacles when producing a body of work, all the time. This book profiles artists such as Cindy Sherman, Damien Hirst and Jasper Johns (wish I was the one who dreamt of a painted American flag one night). My fav would have to be Julian Schnabel who is a painter turned film director but desperately wants to be known for his painting, more so then his films. In an interview when someone asked whether he was going to make films now instead of paintings, he answers "Listen, I've made a thousand paintings and I've made two films. I'm a painter. Does that answer your question?"

Loaded Zone

Thought I better post the painting! (re below).

BELLE August/September

My work "loaded zone" appeared in Belle magazine this month. Very exciting! It has been so nice to have collectors contact me and congratulate me. They are part of my journey, they always had faith in me so THANK YOU. One of them has 5 of my works in her home - she was so excited and so proud!

(bottom left in the pic)



I am on track with my works for the solo show at Gilligan Grant in September, what a relief! The show opens on the 5th September and I can't wait to see all of my pieces hung. It's such a great space.

A familiar place..

My work is about the rush of bodies, the sense of isolation and yet the exhilarating nature of a city space. When I moved to Rye I thought I might have some issues with inspiration, considering I was now leaving inner city Melbourne where I took my inspiration and ideas from to a lot more quieter / smaller town of 8,500 people!. Rye is bustling in summer, but with a different set of people.


Set me free (on paper) 2008

I was in Collingwood last week and said to my husband "I do miss inner city it's so exhilarating!" he replied with "What do you mean you miss it - you can be here at least twice a week if you want to, it's an hour and a quarter away!" he was right. I just need to be more organised, maybe if I do it's going to mean more to me when I create something inspired by a trip which has taken just a little bit more effort.

Hey, it's well worth it!

Painting from the Source.

My solo exhibition at Gilligan Grant Gallery will be earlier then first thought - instead of October / November, I am looking at early September for my show.

I have now cleared out part of the double garage which will be my temporary studio until we have the whole space turned into a full studio for me and office for my husband. I love working there already - the weather is still warm enough to leave the garage door open and the space is totally private, on top of a small hill with lots of trees and birds.

I have discovered a strange thing. I have actually noticed this in the past: when I am painting and someone is talking to me (about something totally unrelated) either in person or on the phone, it works really well for me! I seem to..well..paint better! I twittered this today, and another artist mentioned the book "Painting from the Source" in relation to this. Her thoughts (my twitter friend) about my discovery made sense. She said I must have been working from 'within', so my conscious mind restricted by rules wasn't active. This makes so much sense to me. I tend to think way too much when I paint which can stunt the flow of creativity.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to the first full day I have had in my studio for a week!