I slacked off last week and didn’t post anything for the “dessert” topic, but I’ve definitely made up for it this week! (Actually I did create something for the dessert theme but wasn’t happy with it so didn’t post it.)

I went a little nuts with this theme, and created not one but 5 paintings!  I’m thinking of doing a few more and making a calendar of proverb paintings.  What do you think?

Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Bloom Where You are Planted

Variety is the Spice of Life

It Takes Both Rain and Sunshine to Make Rainbows

I hand-wrote the proverbs onto the paintings after the paint had dried, using black ink and a calligraphy pen – one of the old fashioned ones that you dip in the ink.  I was very relieved not to have any major ink-blot mishaps on the paintings (although I got lots of ink on my fingers)!

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This week’s selection is inspired by this painting:

It’s actually stinking hot here right now, so I’m a little envious of my northern-hemisphere friends and their white winters   To get me into a cooler frame of mind, I’m featuring beautiful items in blue, white and silver.

First up this week is this sterling silver necklace with interchangeable amazonite and pearl pendants, by Emily Wiser Jewellery.  I love that you can wear just the white or just the blue pendant, but I think they look great together.

You may have noticed that I am very taken with swirls, and they feature heavily in my artwork.  Bearing that in mind, I’m sure it isn’t difficult to guess what caught my eye about this beautiful necklace, titled “Romantic Getaway” by Beach Glass Gone Wild!

The next blue and white beauty on my list is this gorgeous vintage vanity fair robe in periwinkle blue, from Fine Vintage Apparel.  It’s just too pretty for words!

This Silver Snowflake necklace from Inbal Jewelry and Design is just lovely.  It would make a lovely addition to a winter outfit, but I think it is so pretty I’d wear it all year round.

Last, but most definitely not least, is this stunning card featuring artwork titled “Buckwheat Branches” by IsabellaFlora.  The card is blank inside so it could be given for any occasion – it’s just beautiful!

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We put our Christmas tree up this weekend, and I’ve started thinking about Christmas cards.

Last year I painted a Christmas picture and used the image to make my cards:

I’ve finally gotten around to painting something for this year’s cards.  Its a bit different to last years, but I hope people will like it all the same.  I’m going to get the prints made up sometime tomorrow and I’ll post a picture of the cards when I’ve made them.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway if you haven’t already done so!

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I typed “Spain scenery” into Google, and this is the first image that I really loved:

Scenery Near Arro, Ainsa, Spain

This photograph was taken by Graham Pritchard.  You can see some of his other photographs here.

I used this photograph as inspiration to paint a watercolour of this beautiful scenery.

Scenery Near Arro

As you can see, the painting is not exactly the same as the photograph – I used the photo as a jumping-off point, and let the painting develop in whatever directions felt right to me.

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“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars”.

This painting was inspired by that quote:

If you would like to purchase this original watercolour, it is available at My Etsy Store.

I have recently launched a Facebook fan page – become a fan for exclusive specials!

Don’t forget that my calendars make lovely Christmas presents – just click the image below if you’d like to order one!

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This week, let’s try something a little different. Let’s all download Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière and use her somehow in a piece of art. You can cut, collage, paint, decoupage, whatever your heart desires as long as you use some part of this image in your art.

The portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Rivière is a painting by the French Neoclassical artist Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, now in the Louvre. [more information here]

My interpretation of this challenge was to create a watercolour painting/collage with one of my signature style backgrounds.  I also gave her a bit of a wardrobe update and a bit of extra lippy.  I’ve titled this one “Mademoiselle Caroline Riviere Dreams of Love on a Starry Night”.

If you’d like to buy this painting, it is available at my etsy store.

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In other news, I am currently working on a piece for a commission.  I will upload pictures as soon as it is finished, but I am really excited about this one

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I have titled this work “Tipped with Silver”.  It doesn’t show up too well in this picture, but the edges of the tree branches have been given a very thin silver outline.

Tipped With Silver - Acrylic Painting by Kirsten Bailey

This Sunday was my first visit to the Springfield Lakes Art Group, and I had a great time!  This week Sally Harrison came along to teach us all some techniques, and our focus was colour mixing.  We were given a strip of paper from a famous painting, and our task was to try to make the strip “disappear” by matching the colours.  I found it very challenging!  My strip of paper was from a painting by Camille Pissarro, although I’m not sure which painting it was.  This is what I came up with:

Reflections on Pissarro - Acrylic Painting by Kirsten Bailey

I had a lovely time and learned a thing or two.  Many thanks to everyone at the Springfield Lakes Art Group, and especially to Sally Harrison – you can check out her beautiful artwork here.

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I deviated totally from what I was originally planning to do for this topic, but I guess that’s how it goes sometimes with art.  Here’s what I came up with – “Cold Fusion”:

"Cold Fusion" - Acrylic on canvas - 16" x 20" - $150

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This is a set of 4 watercolour paintings based on the 4 Gallilean moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

Io:

"Moons of Jupiter - Io"

Europa:

"moons of Jupiter - Europa"

Ganymede:

"Moons of Jupiter - Ganymede"

Callisto:

"Moons of Jupiter - Callisto"

These paintings have been framed, and are $100 each, or $300 for the whole set.

"Moons of Jupiter" series in frames

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