Last day of exhibition

We took down the paintings today from the gallery cafe. Sold 5 out of 7 and Cath sold 4 out of 7. We did very well all things considered. I'm out of beachscapes aside from the Wylies series that I'm developing further. These were such a bugger to complete due to the structure of the kiosk that I refused to entertain parting with them. Besides they are a series although I'm not sure if anybody would buy the lot in one go.

So what did I learn from a first exhibition?

1. People like beachscapes. It reminds them where they would rather be.

2. People really liked the picture of the kids jumping waves. I always wondered if it was too sentimental but that had wide appeal and I probably could have charged more.

3. The picture of a boulevard of trees went very quickly. The depth of field, perspective and serene feel impressed the audience.

4. Nudes are not as popular. I guess you can't hang it anywhere. Could be offensive.

5. We didn't charge enough. Of course I had no previous yardstick. But we could have upped the price by another 20-30% for many pieces.

6. Reproduction is key to future profit without the pain. Of course the price you can charge is less but the possibility of selling more than one could make this more profitable.

Lands End Kiama

This painting has been a while in gestation and even now I'm unsure if it is complete. A house on the headland in Kiama, South Coast is perched precariously. The sandstone cliff is coloured orangey red and the sea is calm. I would love to live there, the views and the ability to go swimming in ocean pools and beaches. What a lifestyle!

Burlesque live drawing at Double Bay

Received an invitation to attend a free burlesque live drawing session at the Double Bay Food and Art Festival, featuring the lovely Sarina del Feugo and effervescent Tim Gratton. My friend Sue also signed up and we went together.

Sarina was clad in corsetry, fishnet, long gloves and feathers. She looked remarkably saucy. Because we were late, we ended up at the side but that was actually good as interesting foreshortening results. Of course such poses are generally acknowledged as being a challenge to a novice but I like to think that I've moved on from a beginner. The angles from a sideview are also usually more interesting.

Sue told Tim, who was rushing around giving tips to all, about my success with painting water which Tim said "but I taught you how to!" Rightly so... He did!

We also spoke to a woman from Queensland who was entering a body painting contest. Curious to know who her 'canvas' is, we found out that it was her hubby. The poor man went through a full body wax (ouch!) so that he'd be a better canvas! I am sure my husband would never consent to do the same for me!!! I'm quite certain also that no nudity would be permitted at a public festival, so the bodies would have to at least leave their knickers on. She assured us that her dearest would wear proper knickers to hide his buns of steel....

These few frenetic artistic days have made me lose several items; misplaced my hat and thermos mug and probably lost several more things that I haven't discovered yet. Meantime I've been painting a scene inspired by a house in Kiama which is slowly coming along. I hope to post it up soon!

Life Drawing with Pina

Enrolled myself in another life drawing class mainly to jumpstart my creative efforts. This one was taught my Pina who taught portrait drawing at the SCC. She asked us to try 3 techniques: continuous line which produces some funky results, block shading to get the mass in and basic shapes eg circles and ellipses to build up the figure. It has been so long since I've been tutored I'd forgotten these techniques.


Pina says that drawing is a good discipline for the artist: like Barr exercises to the ballerina. Ground work and practice. I tend to agree with her.


Love the figure; just can't work out how to turn them into sellable art works that's all. I intended to paint but couldn't get my act together in the end. These fortnightly classes are perfect for me as it affords time in between to get going on other creative ventures.

First Exhibition Opening

After much preparation, Cath and I made it to the Opening Night. It was a huge social event which was well attended. Many of our friends and family turned up and the place got very busy at one stage.

Our art was exposed to the public eye and it was lovely to be congratulated and be told which paintings were favourites with friends and why. At the end of the night, I sold 4 paintings (50%) and Cath sold 2. There were numerous leads to commissions and requests for other paintings seen at our house and on this blog: "why isn't that here?". All excellent publicity and a big boost to ones self confidence as an artist: that the art was appreciated and saleable. These pictures were taken before everybody arrived - just so that I don't publish photos of others without their permission!

As well, I enjoyed catching up with friends and acquaintances - Roger and I appear to have a vast network and we don't have enough time or energy to catch up with one and all so it was a perfect opportunity to at least see people. To those who came, a big thank you for your support.
As for the analysis of what people liked: they liked the beachscapes. These evoked good times and warm weather. Just exactly what I like about Sydney and why I live here.