Whizzing By…
The year is just whizzing by and I have found myself up to my eyeballs in research…lol…Art course…what did I expect!
I have found this really great guy…love his work. Mr Jack Unruh…he does the best line and colour drawings…very accomplished man. Check him out, I found his work in the National Geographic to start with.
This is part of an email I sent to him…”From across the world in New Zealand, Kerikeri you made me want to know more about American History…Daniel Boone was only ever a character in a TV program…I thought he was just a myth…not a real person with pain and sadness. Thank you for educating me. I would not have read the article if I had not been stopped by your paintings.”
Jack was gracious enough to reply to me with the information I needed to complete an essay. It is nice to know that their are such talented artists ready to share their expertise with others.
So thank you Mr Jack Unruh…from across the world.
Jo
Always In My Heart
Always In Your Heart…
There are people in my life that will always have a place in my heart…they are precious people that have changed my life for ever…
This tree glows with Love Light…just like my heart…
Beneath the tree is Gesso…Gesso gives the extra texture that adds movement and branches…surprisingly, the patterns I painted with the Gesso are all hearts…there are at least 6 or 7 hearts beneath the tree…fitting really.
Always In My Heart
Enjoy…I love this so much.
Jo
Focusing on the Future
Well, I did it…I am working from home. This will hopefully allow more time to paint but so far all I have done is catch up on 9 months of accounting that has been carefully saved for me since I went and worked of someone else…there you go…
Stark Reality stikes again….I think that this is where my new painting comes from…realising that our own business needs me. I need to focus on the future and just do what needs to be done…Inland Revenue waitings for no-one!!!
Focusing On The Future
The best part of my future is….2 more days on a NemeshArt course…can’t wait. I am looking forward to catching up with friends very much and learning new skills too…most excellent.
Jo
As Easy As 1, 2, 3
Yeah Right!!!!!
I have been trying all morning to edit photos of my paintings for the Gallery only to find that downloading a nice new program was the easy bit…
Technology has a way of going out of date before your even really begin. The new program down loaded fine but then when I went to use it boom…out of virtual memory…who would have guessed!!! My little Laptop kept falling over, poor thing, it took me ages to be able to uninstall it because it was running so slowly…OK so I can stop whining now!!!
Here are my pictures…I wanted to tweek the colours however that has proved more difficult than I expected, so all I can say is that they look even better in reality…fantastic even!!!
Yellow 1of3
yellowred 2of3
Red 3of3
There you go….As Easy 1, 2, 3…
Blimey
Have a great day.
Jo
Expect the Unexpected
I started with 2 colours and white…a paint shaper and nothing in particular to paint…
Slowly the background turned into a butterfly that transformed into a fairy which then morphed into a purple and white flower and as if by magic my mermaid appeared…her face still covered in water…she was really quiet lovely….
- ENCHANTED
Blimey, I have had the worst time trying to recreate this painting…I went through so many versions before I found her that I am having a world of difficulty.
I have painted a couple more canvases but none of these has transformed so freely…
Nevermind…all in due course.
Expect the Unexpected.
Jo
Inspiration From Many Sources
Yesterday I had a wonderfully inspirational day…
It helps selling two paintings and see someone else excited about my work…totally inspiring.
Inspiration and support came from all the great people in my life who have cheered for me even when I was stuck and had forgotten to cheer for myself….THANK YOU.
My sister came for dinner last night…she is an inspiration to anybody who knows how hard life can be…she is a strong and beautiful woman…inside and out…and I love her to pieces…
Encouragement from my painting Master to PAINT MORE….WOW….so I did.
So late last night while I was watching “Love Actually” these little Hearts and Flowers appeared…my first triptych in many, many years.
Enjoy… Be INSPIRATIONAL…
Jo
Getting Down and Dirty
I had the best fun painting this Underwater scene….with memory’s of Mary’s fabulous painting and a love of the sea my blank canvas took a brand new shape!
There was purple everywhere…it is such a consuming colour…deep rich and very vibrant.
Diving In the Deep
I enjoyed this one so much, the coral has many, many hearts…fun.
Jo
Dedication To Sharon
In my life there was a very special lady….Sharon…my Granny looked after Sharon until Granny died…then Rita looked after her…she was always in my life apart from about 6 years when I lost contact with her when Granny died…and by then she had a wonderful and different life with Rita…Rita is one of God’s angels…very special indeed.
Sharon’s body grew up but her mental capacity remained at the age of a 3-4 year old child…having said that Sharon was capable of doing alsorts of every day things….she loved colouring books, food magazines and soft toys…she did not forget people and she always asked after my Mum and Dad…I loved her with all my heart.
Sharon died on the 27th July 2008 of ovarian/stomach cancer….in May 08 it was confirmed and less than 2 months later she was gone…during her illness she was so graceful and gentle…she faded away as she could no longer eat…Sharon died a death that you would not wish on anyone but she touched everyone that she came in contact with…
Her favourite song was…”You Are My Sunshine”
"You Are My Sunshine"
This painting is dedicated to the Sunshine that Sharon was…may she rest in peace among the beautiful roses in Onerahi Cemetry.
Is their someone special you would love to remember…I would be honoured to paint such a painting for you.
Peace and Love
Jo
When Days turn into Nights…
People ask me how I manage to fit painting into my already busy life…I work fulltime, have 3 wonderful children, my husband and I own Deepweb.co .nz, a web design company, I write poetry, I walk as a hobby, I practice Taekwon-do and last but not lest….I paint….actually I do heaps of other stuff too.
It is called making the most of my life and every minute I get to grace this earth…
I paint and write into the deep night, one does not begat the other….it seems that when I have a writing binge I am bearly able to paint and the other way around…at the moment it is painting that takes the fore…Friday night painting finished at 1:15am on Saturday morning…I lost track of time.
I become amazed and delighted at what appears on the canvas. My biggest issue is that I have to keep my fulltime job to pay for my canvases and the art workshops…
I have yet to take more paintings into Coco, I am enjoying them on my own walls and I am inspired by them too. I am not sure I want them to languish in a cafe/gift shop out of my view…I will have to get over myself sooner rather than later.
These are the two paintings from Saturday’s efforts…
Feather - My First
I am delighted with the Feather, it appeared unexpectedly and just looked amazing.
Anemone Sunset
The “Anemone Sunset” was created using the blending techniques that Nemesh taught me and my imagination…
I can’t wait until the next workshop…21,22 February 2009, at “The Quarry Arts Centre”…the class is almost full but I understand that are a few places left…
Anyhow….my days quickly roll into nights and the nights are just not long enough…I love painting!!!
Jo
Painting From The Heart
It is time my friends to paint from the heart using all my new found freedom….so with that in mind and no plan what so ever….this is what I created.
Past, Present and Future
Failing that let me have a go at painting for you…today I recieved my first commission request…I am sooooo delighted. I enjoy painting so much that any opportunity to paint is a good one to me.
Jo
Creative Juices
Wind God
For 9 months I languished in a creative black hole, being unable to paint…I went to sleep each night with a large blank canvas next to my bed and would wake in the morning with no more of an idea of what I would create.
I came to see that this black hole was created out of fear…Fear that I would reveal my heart and that would spoil things for me, fear that I would ruin a perfectly good canvas with clumsy attempts at creating a masterpiece, fear also that I had no talent and people would laugh at my work.
Janet Planet came to my rescue…Janet owns the wonderful South Sea Arts in Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Janet talked me into going on my first Nemesh Workshop to break my dry spell.
It Worked….YAY….
With Nemesh’s patience, coaching and new techniques I managed to unlock the fear door and walk right though it…at the same time a found a new appreciation for Bob Dylan…strange but true.
So attached today is my first painting on my own after my new beginning…I have considered changing it however it reflects the “Wind God” that has moved my world…it shows the waves and eddies formed as he moved across the land…the land is a shapely large breasted woman reclined and merged with the “Wind God” all at the same time…He really is a powerful being in my life and moves everything around me and with me…
I was stunned at what appeared when I started to paint… Sunsets….Sunrises…Sails, Angels and Hearts . What a relief that my passion had not run away…it was just in hiding.
After my second Nemesh Workshop….7 Days at “The Quarry Summer Do” I realised that I could paint anything that I put my mind to…real things, portraits and bubbles!!! Who would of thought….and now I am dripping with creative juices…it is so yummy and loads of fun.
Fearless and Free to Paint…..YAY.
Jo
Koru - Complete
Koru - Complete
Well, Saturday was a busy one…
Anytime you are in my neck of the woods visit Coco, it’s worth the effort and you get to see my work “live”.
You can also email me to arrange a visit to see what I have on my walls at home…
Jo
When is a painting finished?
Koru - Unfinished
Mmmmm, good question.
My Koru is a prime example…last night after spending another 3 hours creating it….a total of 7 hours so far…I looked at it with tired eyes and considered that I had finished…
However…in the day light…I can see that it needs more dark…and more shaping and…the list goes on…so I am not finished with it’s creation…maybe another hour or to and I will be able to declare it complete…but NOT YET!!!
You can however…over work your painting, I have seen and created examples where I have turn my work to a lovely shade of mud…
Ahhhh, Yes…mud….but all is not lost…with a pallet knife and paint shaper you can remove the mud and begin again…
A painting is finished when you declare it complete! This does not mean that you can’t go back at a later date and add some special touches. It does however give you the separation required to start a new painting.
I have discovered that I can get really attached to my painting as I am creating the vision in front of me…it is hard to declare something complete when you just want to spend more time on it!!!
I have attached my Koru…in it’s uncomplete state so you can see what I mean.
Jo
Delicious Oil Painting Retreat
Rising Love
Last night I had every intention of finishing my next Koru painting but alias the long days and nights finally caught up with me.
Last week I spent 7 days in the company of new and emerging artists. We attended the “Summer Do” at The Quarry Arts Centre in Whangarei. Our most excellent tutor was Vjekoslav Nemesh. I have to say, he is so talented himself, his paintings have such depth and colour they are mind blowing. NemeshArt is where you will find his online gallery, Nemesh’s work is even more stunning in real life….they are WOW…
We were so lucky. Now I am armed with new techniques and a new confidence that had been missing. Very soon you will see some of my old work refreshed…just because I can.
Check out the Link to NemeshArt
Nemesh’s course was awesome and very worthy of the money spent…I am doing another one very soon…yay.
Jo
