Wednesday 30 November 2016

Visiting my Paintings

I've written about my paintings being hung in different places, one of which is in the house of a friend. The house is up for sale - the agent is another friend, Mary Di Marco from Madeleine Hicks Real Estate. 

I had seen photos on the agency website but I was eager to see the paintings in situ. I called around on Monday. What a beautiful home! It's light and airy and the rooms are spacious, with amazingly shiny floors which help reflect the light.

I love seeing my work on the walls of people's homes, it's where a painting belongs. These paintings look as though they were painted for the house - the colours couldn't have been better chosen. 

If you're in the Brisbane area and you're looking for a wonderful house in the lovely suburb of Upper Kedron, perhaps this is the house for you? 

Here are some of my photos - and, I confess, the focus is primarily on the paintings...

Still - oil on linen

Magnolias - oil on canvas

Strata - oil on canvas


Bark II - oil on canvas


Red Roses I & II - oil on canvas

 Orchids in a Bucket - oil on canvas

The Cliff - oil on canvas 

Monday 21 November 2016

New things and old problems

I love technology as much as the next person but sometimes it can make you a little crazy - particularly when you try to fix a problem and a raft of new and different ones appear along the way. It's a bit like a game of dominos - upset one and the whole lot comes crashing down.

My old laptop had given me six year's worth of trouble free service, but as software develops and changes, the old machine just couldn't cope. My computer guy, clever as he is, made it a bit better, and slightly faster, but in the end when I downloaded new design software the laptop refused to play. 

All went well until I tried to install the printer driver - somehow a glitch occurred and I could not shut the machine down. Eventually, I managed to reboot successfully and install the updated driver.

Then I get a message - printer not found. Sigh.
Well, please don't laugh, but somehow the cable had become detached. Once reconnected, everything worked perfectly.
However, something else was beeping intermittently. I couldn't hear where it was coming from, everything seemed connected. Then I noticed the phone plug was loose.
Plugged in the plug.
Beeping stopped.
Relief. 

Just in case you think I'm not painting - here's a small crop of a landscape in progress...

Cullum Panorama cropped - oil on canvas 

Friday 4 November 2016

Friends helping friends

It's a great feeling when friends show their support for you in tangible ways. Mary Di Marco is one of those. She's a very accomplished Real a estate agent who knows that people are at the heart of her business. However Mary's way of helping people is not confined to the process of selling houses. She's always looking out for other ways to promote others.

The compulsion to paint paintings often results in a glut, and unfortunately there are always more than you can display or hang in ones own home. Mary has alleviated this situation in a couple of ways recently.

The first occasion is a large modern home in her portfolio of properties for sale. This house needed a few more paintings to add a little colour. I was happy to oblige with some of mine that were available. 
Here's the link to the house so you can see where my paintings are displayed.


 Still - oil on canvas 1200mm x 915mm

Thanks to Mary's networking skills, the second place where I have some paintings on display is in the office of the State Member for Everton, Mr Tim Mander. Three of my paintings are now brightening up the walls of his office. I like to think of this as a public service to the community- making people happy and bringing them joy as they go about their day.
                 
Deep Ripple -oil on canvas 615mm x 615mm

Bunya Riverside - oil on canvas 1015mm x 1015mm

Sinister Pool - oil on canvas - 3 x 910mm x 610mm 


Tim Mander MP and I with Bunya Riverside.


Tuesday 1 November 2016

Planning for 2017

As the days fly by we start thinking about planning for the New Year. With this in mind I have designed some calendars for 2017. There are two calendars, one for your desk and the other a wall calendar. The wall calendar has generously sized squares for making a note of important dates. Both designs feature either a collection of my favourite watercolour paintings and the second has a collection of my landscapes in oils. 

I ordered some of each to see how they would look. The parcel arrived today and I'm very happy with how they turned out, and the colour resolution is good.

If you would like one (and these would make lovely gifts) please let me know in the comments. 
The cost of postage for International orders will depend on your location. 

I have also designed a new calendar for my Red Bubble page. These can be ordered online directly from the website.

Desk Calendar with watercolour paintings

                       
                                                            Calendars for 2017

Desk Calendar - watercolours 

Desk calendar - landscapes in oils


Wall calendar - landscapes in oils


Wall calendar - watercolours