treasury: dark

i have really missed making my saturday shopping list posts ~ it just seems too much to try to fit it in before the cricket day starts!! maybe in a month or so i will get back to it. in the mean time i'm enjoying making etsy treasuries. . . i can easily add to the 'project' a little at a time.
and i guess i can't help that they tie in with what i'm working on {loosely!}.
here is the link.

feb $10 print . calendar on sale

i can't believe it's february already! time for a calendar sale!! was $28, now $18.
'side table' is the $10 print for february.
{thanks to everyone who bought my calendar already}
happy feb :)

my creative space

yay for the first creative space for the year ~ maybe some structure will start creeping in to our days now, i can almost feel it happening!
i've taken our about-to-start-school {on tuesday} boy swimming and i'm hoping to spend an hour on these new paintings. fingers crossed that i can keep the flow and not go overboard.

i'm hoping to visit more spaces this year ~ it always seems to be a rush to get there, and most often doesn't happen til the following day . . . better late than not at all??

happy creating :)

visit kirsty to play + see.

treasury: a walk through these woods

i caught a treasury this morning. clicking on the image = visiting the treasury :)

this+this=that

i did this small drawing/painting on paper for jamie's new blog {small expectations}/flickr project: this+this=that.
the idea is that jamie posts a few inspiring images together, then we interpret the inspiration and come up with our version of 'that'.
you can see the inspiration for this week here.

thanku for the votes! it's really hard when there are so many cool people in every category :)

poppies . recent interview

i'm a bit excited to say that i've been nominated for a papergoods award as part of the poppies! {thanks lisa} . . . you can vote here!

also, i did this interview for artwall a little while ago {thanks katie}.

and, thanks to jodi for this post at the creative jar.

happy australia day to you :)

a new painting + print

here's a painting that i did yesterday ~ '3 tents'.

it felt so good to finally sit and do this painting . . . after almost 5 weeks of 'opportunity' to paint, i actually got to it. i seemed to have done heaps of other work {the whole while thinking, i'd love to be/should be painting!} and a lot of getting out of the house with the family. . . the conflict of how to spend time, when it feels like time is flying by!

the top and 3rd pics are the print and the other 2 are scans of the painting. there are some differences between the two this time ~ apart from the slight colour difference. the print is a version of the painting before i added the dark grey details with paint. i made these marks with pencil initially. this seems to have worked best in the print form, as the scan caught the sketchy detail and left out the light tricks {pencil on acrylic can be seen in some lights and not others}.
i added the dark grey for the painting {on wood} to make it more visible!

the print is listed on etsy and madeit, and the painting will follow after the varnish.

now, if i can just hop off the computer and head back to my desk and do some more painting . . .
happy friday to you!

** thanks to aphrodite for this post :)

there was a huge smile on my face when i opened this mail yesterday. i had a friend and her two kids here and we were in the middle of lunch, but i was too excited to wait to open it!
i did an art swap with aris and this is what she made for me {i just love it! *thanks aris*}.
you can see her beautiful work and insight on her blog: peekadoo.
i think she might open a shop any day now too :)

scoutie girl collage

big thanks to Tara for this great collage post on scoutie girl ~ and thanks to kellie for the shout out :)
scoutie girl has featured collage artists all week, you should go see!

hubby and i are off for our very first kid-free over night tonite! somewhere local with a pool. my dad and his wife are here to stay with the kids, so we are all happy.

** thanks also to nancy + kelly for these posts.

happy weekend to you :)

new work

these are the pieces i've been working on over the holidays. i took lots of photos but the shiny embroidery thread is very tricky! the shine of the thread {which i love} seems to look tacky when i brighten the shots in photoshop {a necessary step}!
the stitching has been fun and the thread has turned out to be just the kind of addition of colour that i was after. i didn't want to cover up the drawing with paint ~ i wanted to keep the simplicity of the drawing . . . and the paper is 100% cotton . . .
i took these photos in the kids' room against the an old map. i'm hoping to get some better photos soon.

thanks so much for all the comments on my last work post :)

art making + marketing :: an interview with nancy mungcal

the second interview in the 'art-making and marketing' series is with the lovely nancy of prettylittle thieves. i hope you enjoy her responses, and her specially drawn illustration as much as i did :)



does marketing your work come naturally to you, or do you find it to be a task that is always lives dangersously at the top of your to-do list?
Marketing does not come naturally to me at all. It also sadly does
not come close to being at the top of a very long to do list. It's
honestly something that I have to make a conscious effort about. I'm
trying to become friends with marketing.

does knowing that you will be marketing affect the way you work?
I don't think about marketing when I'm working. For me, this would
not be a good approach for my work. My priorities tend to be with
being happy with the work and to feel I've interpreted my thoughts
and inspirations.

do you have a best selling piece or series? is this piece/series your personal favourite?
My personal favorites sometimes find new homes and sometimes stay
in mine. I do have certain recurring themes in my work that seem to
resonate with people more than others.

do you find it tricky to single out one piece to represent your shop/work as a whole?
If I had to pick a piece to represent my work as a whole, my
anxiety level would greatly increase. This would be followed by my
head hurting from thinking too much. It would be a daunting task as
I feel my work is a constantly evolving process.

what are your tips for marketing fine art?
Please pass the marketing tips over here. I like to think of
marketing as introducing my work, saying a friendly "hello". There
are many great online sources such as design sponge, modish,
pikaland, bakery, and the storque, which is etsy's blog, to name a
few with lots of ideas for getting your work out there. I tend to
read a lot and do lots of research especially for shops, galleries,
and shows I might be considering. It's important to be open and
fearless in the experiences that your work could bring. I'm also a
list maker and like to document the progress of any effort I make in
this area...such as lists of people to contact.. I also do my best
to set goals, even if they are small steps to try to expand my world
everyday. I also think that it's important to try different things
(blog, flickr, twitter, facebook, etc..) but to also remember that
not all things work for everyone and that's ok. Find the ones that
work for you and share what you love to do.

prettylittlethieves.com
www.prettylittlethieves.etsy.com

thanks so much nancy :)

2 new prints and 3 'new' collages

so far january seems to be about house-keeping for my shops rather than creating masses of new work {which in my imagination i had planned to do!}. i have made some new pieces which i hope to share soon ~ but they have been a little tricky to photograph . . . i've also spent most of the time doing family stuff instead of working ~ usually the summer holidays is a great chance to get lots of work in. it's been fun.

the 2 new prints: full moon with birds and we live in the hills are prints of some of the first drawings i added to my etsy shop {2 years ago in march}. i almost feel that i could add a 'vintage' tag to them! they were done in the post studio/oil paint, pre-acrylic days!!

you might remember the collages ~ sometimes i miss the listing step in my rush to get to the next thing.

thanku for all the comments on the artwall post. i forgot to mention that the site was illustrated by jessica gonacha swift :)

** don't forget to add your details with your comments so i can visit you too :)

art wall

artwall is a fun project/great concept that i'm really happy to be a part of {thanks to Katie Stephenson}. click on the image or just here to wander through this virtual house with art on every wall!

also, big thanks to Janick {creativeadoration} DeAnna {the red stitch} + Heather King {heatherkingphotography} for the calendar love :)

january print offer

for each month of 2010 i will have the corresponding print from my 2010 calendar in my etsy shop for $10!
january's $10 print is 'roadside'.
happy jan :)