The weekend just past was super-busy for me.  I had a stall at The Handmade Expo, which was great fun as always.  We had a great turn out this month with people out and about voting.  A big thank you to all those who stopped by my little stall!  After the Expo we visited family and then the next day attended a birthday party.

With a weekend like that, I was very pleased to be able to get a few evenings to myself to get some painting done!  Of course, sleep is overrated

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This year I’ve also been given the opportunity to participate in the Cerebral Palsy League‘s ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ exhibition.  The Cerebral Palsy League is the largest non-government disability services provider for people with a physical disability in Queensland.  Having taught a student with Cerebral Palsy I’ve seen first hand the necessity of an organisation like this, and so I’m very happy to be able to support them.

This year’s exhibition theme is ‘The Joy of Living’, and I am donating the following painting, titled Sunset Joy:

The painting will be auctioned at the Gala Opening and Cocktail Reception on Wednesday 12 May 2010 from 6:30pm, at Waterfront Place, Eagle St, Brisbane.  For more details, please see the Art for Art’s Sake website.

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I wanted to have another go at creating a painting using these colours, and this is what I came up with:

It reminds me of the shrubs they have around my school which drop white flowers in a carpet all over the ground.  The branch of the tree is actually painted in navy watercolour paint although it looks pretty close to black.

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I’m looking forward to selling an an easy, casual atmosphere – it’s a good way to dip my toe into the water before the big Handmade Expo market next Saturday!

I hope to see you there

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Yesterday I presented a talk and tutorial to the lovely ladies of the Springfield Lakes Art Group.  I demonstrated some of my watercolour techniques to them, and talked a little about my keepsake boxes and promoting art with Etsy.  I was really nervous but had a great time.

This is the painting I did as part of my demonstration:

Today I  finished and delivered the commissioned piece I was working on for a dear friend of mine.  It was very satisfying to see it finally hanging on the wall:

As one door closes, another opens they say – well, as I completed this commission, I received a new one – a customer wants a personalised painting similar to a painting I sold titled “When it is Dark Enough”.  I look forward to the challenge of creating a piece she’ll enjoy!

I finished two other watercolours this weekend too, titled Poppy Field and Winter’s End.  I also started work on two acrylic paintings which I hope to include in the upcoming Abundance exhibition.

I got a print done of my Sunset Storm painting for a customer in the US, and at the same time did some 4″ x 6″ prints of various paintings to make into cards.  I also put in an order for some new business cards from Moo.

As you can see, I got a LOT done this weekend – I didn’t get any housework at all done besides cooking dinner tonight, so I owe it all to my wonderful husband that I got so much arty stuff done

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I thought I’d share with you all a few upcoming events I’m involved in.

Firstly, I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be a part of an exhibition at the Art Factory gallery in Merivale St, South Brisbane.  The exhibition is called “Abundance”, and it will feature an abundance of different styles of art – 10 artists in total are featuring their work.

Many thanks to Michelle from Art Salon for all her hard work in organising this exhibition.

We’ll be having our opening night on Friday the 19th of March from 6pm till 9pm, and then offering morning tea on Sunday the 21st.

Last year I was happy to be able to support Variety by donating a painting to their Heart Art Show.  I’m delighted to be able to donate another painting this year – although I’m a bit disappointed the show is going to be on at the same time as our Abundance exhibition, so I won’t be able to go along.  I’m hoping my painting will make some money for charity though!

My third exciting upcoming event is a talk about my art and technique for the Springfield Lakes Art Group this Saturday.  Public speaking is not my forte so I’m slightly terrified, but I hope it will help me to grow as an artist and a person.  I’ll try to write a post afterwards and let you all know how it went!

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Sorry the picture isn’t great – my camera has a habit of running out of batteries at inconvenient times.  You’ll just have to visit the Coffee Club and check out the paintings in person!

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This painting was inspired by one of my favourite quotes:

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.”
~Albert Camus~

In other news, I have posted my first fan special on my KL Bailey Art Facebook Fan Page.  If you’re not already a Fan, become one today – I will be posting weekly specials on paintings!!

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I’ve actually done several tree paintings this weekend but I thought I’d space them out a bit.

This one is called “Silver White Winter”.  I did the silver detailing with glass paint.  It keeps its shine and gives the painting a textured feel.

It’s a weird painting to do at this time of year, as it was stinking hot here today, but I am listing it in my Etsy shop and hoping that it’ll be picked for a winter feature, as it is winter in the northern hemisphere where most Etsy buyers are from!

More trees to come, so stay tuned!!

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I don’t really need an extra excuse to paint trees, and was planning to paint some trees this weekend anyway. I think I’ll be contributing more than one painting to this weeks theme!

My first painting:

What I wanted to do with this painting is to represent the fact that beauty does not mean looking like everyone else.  Being an individual and being yourself is more beautiful than becoming a carbon-copy of the ideals projected by the media.

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