Croxley Eraser #642

Daily painting #642 5"x5" oil on primed canvas panel

Just as fast as it came around, our wonderful summer holidays have come to and end! My son begins his Grade 9 year at High School today and in a few days time my daughter will start her last year in Senior Primary School. It is quite pleasant to go back to some kind of routine but it is so hot it feels like it should still be beach and bikini (okay...maybe not quite a bikini) weather. 

The last few days have been spent shopping for and sorting new stationery, covering books and getting school uniforms ready. A tedious task indeed..except maybe for buying stationery! I have to own up to being a stationery fiend! I adore new stationery and there is nothing like a new pen or materials... that is if you are a stationery junkie like me! If you can't relate to my stationery obsession then perhaps you are thinking I am a bit crazy but a little crazy is good, so I don't mind! I can't say my son shared my enthusiasm for his new stationery...but then again perhaps it had more to do with the end of summer holidays and going back to school!

Here's hoping my children (and yours) have a fabulous 2016 school year...

"Make mistakes, take chances,

be silly, be imperfect,

trust yourself and 

follow your heart."

(Unknown)

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Trio of cherries #641

Daily painting #641 5"x7" oil on primed canvas panel

My 3 little smooth boards that I experimented on have been used up and with the last few days of school holidays here, getting to a store is near impossible as I seem to be a glorified taxi service for busy teenagers at the moment! So I am left using what is available in my studio and so yesterday I returned to setting up a quiet, moody little still life again.

There was something comforting about the tradition of it all...the familiar oils...the traditional little still life...the more controlled painting...the safety of feeling more in control. Huge contrast to the crazy, dripping, unpredictable and less controlled, messy exploration of working with the inks over the last few days. I have loved both processes and it got me thinking about how we tend to box ourselves with regards to style or expected outcomes. I have a feeling my enjoyment of both processes had more to do with mood and my own head space rather than anything else. That is what I love about daily painting...it is an immediate reflection of that moment...subconscious reflections on a mood, a story, an object, a day. I don't have time to think too much about what it is I paint or why, I just do it...paint, draw, make 'mess' or simply sit quietly and do what feels comforting and familiar!

Don't waste time thinking about what to paint or why...just paint..just do it and the work will come!
(Unless of course you get interrupted by a nagging teenager that wants a lift to a friends house...hehehe!)

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Ink roses #640

Daily painting #640 5"x7" ink and acrylic on primed board

I had 3 pieces of smooth Masonite board in my studio which I must have had cut at some point to try out as little daily painting boards. I usually work on canvas boards which I prime and sand down. Although much smoother than working on a stretched canvas, they still have a slight texture and so I don't enjoy using ink on them. I decided to prime these little Masonite boards to experiment on and so over the last 3 days you have seen some little ink and acrylic experiments. I love the fact that once I have primed the surface and sanded it down slightly, the surface is smooth and the inks can run and the acrylics slide over the surface. It has been fun to 'play' and experiment on a new surface. I definitely need to experiment more....and I LOVE the smooth surface!

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Rose bud #639

Daily painting #639 5"x5" ink and acrylic on primed board

One more exploration with ink....and a little acrylic.

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Pincushion #638

Daily painting #638 6"x6" ink and acrylic on primed board

I felt like experimenting and playing with some other materials today so I hauled out my inks and acrylic paint. A totally different feel to my lush oils but I had such fun and I really like the outcome! It just reminds me that I need to find time to 'play' and experiment more....2016 I have big plans for you! 

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Opening red protea #637

Daily painting #637 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

The red protea was still in my studio. While it certainly hasn't wilted in the heat, it has started to open up really quickly. But I am hopeful...last night we had the first little rainfall in ages. The smell of the rain falling on the heat scorched earth was simply heavenly! It is still overcast this morning although extremely humid after the little bit of rain, and I am hoping we have not seen the last of it. While a little shower is certainly respite for our burnt dry grass and empty swimming pools, we need the rain to bucket down in our catchment areas and on the farms. So hoping for more rain....

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Red protea #636

Daily painting #636 6"x8" oil on primed canvas panel

The only flower that seems to cope with the awful heat we are experiencing at the moment. Everything else seems to wilt within a day. The problem is that proteas are hard to find at the moment...but this one is a beauty! 

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