FUN WITH COLOURFUL TRAYS

Did a bit of general tidying up in my studio over the weekend, and decided to decorate two small trays which I use to organize art materials. The one came with a Christmas gift - could have had bath goodies in; can't remember. The other one is a "blank" that I bought at a hardware store.

I collaged the bottoms of the trays with collage papers I created (plus some old book pages), and then painted the rims in all the yummie, bright colors I like! What fun!

This one was a pale, insipid, mauve. 

Love how it came out; talk about "spark joy"! 

Before

After. So much better! 

A bit more colour in the studio can only get the creative juices flowing! Maybe I can paint a few more things; who knows what's next?! ☺

CHEERFUL COLOURS

I stood in a shop by the art supplies last week, looking for a warm, yellowish red. What caught my eye, was a flourescent orange red! YUM!!  ☺ My first reaction was, 

"I'm not allowed to use that colour in serious artworks." 

What??!! Who said that???  I bought it!! 

Later that day, in a gallery, I saw abstract works by a very well-known South African artist, using...fluorescent colours!!!  Yeah!!

And today I got to try mine out!

Art Journal Entry. 21 June 2019.

Acrylic, permanent marker, pencil, collage. 

For my artwork today, I finished a commission I started last week. It's the view from a friend's back garden. Sort of. Enhanced. 

"View from a Zululand garden". Acrylic on panel. 

450 x 275mm.

I used mostly a palette knife for the painting. For the palm leaves I used a little flat nylon brush. It works very well. 

JOY IN THE NEW YEAR

Joy in 2013.

Collage and Mixed Media on Paper.

200x285mm

Wishing you joy in this new year!

- the joy of contentment and appreciation

- the joy of nurtured relationships

- the joy of forgiveness

- the joy of the victory found through surrender

- the joy of finding a way where there seems to be no way

- the joy of discovery

May you truely be surprised by JOY!

"You will fill me with joy in your presence, 

with eternal pleasures at your right hand"

Psalms 16:11

TWO NEW GREETING CARD DESIGNS

Having been inspired by other artist's printmaking, I played around a bit with some of my previous watercolour paintings of Little Bee Eaters and came up with these two new card designs:

I digitally collaged the two birds with text and then brought back some shadows and their eyes to add definition. 

TACTILE TEXTURES

Did I mention that I liked textures?? I do indeed!!

I had SUCH fun making these collages of currogated cardboard, plastering them, pouring on sand, painting and embellishing them with embossed patterns, and finally adding a bit of glitz by rubbing on some gold.  

"Shack I"

Collage & Mixed Media on board

450 x 310mm

"Shack II"

Collage & Mixed Media on board

450 x 310mm

The initial inspiration for these collages was this photo of rusted little currogated iron storerooms (I think?)  that I took last year while taking a walk with my sister along the beach in Walvisbaai, Namibia:

IT'S A GIRL!!

No, not mine. :-)) My husband's niece is having a baby girl and this is what I made for a baby-shower present: a photo-collage-painting!

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

Collage and Mixed Media

500x400mm 

It contains some of the sonar pictures of the unborn baby, eg middle left, and a picture of the parents.

The textures were built up with lace, tulle and cheesecloth, symbolising the "weaving together". The two corner embellishments were made out of pewter.  

The text that I incorporated into the collage, is Ps 139: 13-17

13 For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!

How vast is the sum of them!

The baby shower was a lovely picnic in Mitchell Park, Durban. 

 Isn't this a nifty nappy cake??

I really had fun doing the collage and would be very happy to do some more, if anybody would like to order something similar! :-)

GUINEA FOWL FUN

In South Africa we have two types of Guinea Fowl - the Helmeted (on the left in picture below), and the Crested, on the right.

Illustration from the book,

"Roberts' birds of Southern Africa"

(Artwork by K. Newman)

The one more common in KZN is the Crested Guinea Fowl, so that is the one I most often get to see.

Inspired by the artist, Robert Burridge's "Circus Birds", I had some fun collaging and painting some of our African Guinea Fowls:

Guinea Fowl 1 & 2

Collage & Mixed Media on Mounting Board

150 x 190mm each

Guinea Fowl 3 & 4

Collage & Mixed Media on Mounting Board

190 x 150mm each

And, I couldn't resist doing some watercolours of their very peculiar faces:

Beauty Contest I and II

120 x 170mm

Watercolour, pen & ink on Paper

Helmeted Guinea Fowl

175 x 130mm

Watercolour, pastel, pen & ink

Crested Guinea Fowl

175 x 130mm

Watercolour, pastel, pen & ink