The Art & Life of Jaz

"Clowning Around" and "Crimson Mermaid"

2012-01-24T12:26:00.000+10:00

I have a couple of new paintings to share today. The first one is "Clowning Around" - that I finished last week and is up for auction at the moment - starting at just $10! It features a clown girl who has run away with the circus! She has big blue eyes, a cute clown hat, some balloons, popcorn and in the distance you can see her circus tent! I must give thanks to my little cousin Paige who helped me with some ideas for this one. :)

"Clowning Around"

The second one is one I just finished up this morning! It's called "Crimson Mermaid" and I'm really happy with the way she turned out.

"Crimson Mermaid"

The original is $149 on eBay, or $145 for Facebook fans. If the original is out of the question - there are also prints available:

Click here to see the 4"x10" Art Print

Click here to see the 6"x16" Art Print

It's pouring rain here in Brisbane, Australia today - and I just love it. Perfect painting weather.

"Fairy Jumble" and "Opulent Olive"

2012-01-17T21:12:00.000+10:00

So it's Tuesday night - and I just thought I'd update a couple of new paintings that I completed at the end of last week. The first is my entry for December's Monthly Painters Challenge. The topic was "Gallimaufry" - a word that I had never heard before! When you google it - it means:

gal·li·mau·fry/ˌgaləˈmôfrē/

Noun:

A confused jumble or medley of things.
A hash made from diced or minced meat.

While a painting of minced meat sounds delightful (Mark Ryden anyone?) I decided to go with the "jumble or medley of things". I ended up with a fairy and a jumble of her things - a sparrow, some mushrooms, a special key, and some pretty flowers and hearts...

"Fairy Jumble"

The original is on a stretched canvas (so it's ready to hang on the wall) and it's 20cm x 20cm x 3.5cm. It's $69 on eBay or $65 for Facebook Fans.

There are also prints available:

Click HERE for the 8"x8" prints

or HERE for the 12"x12" prints.

The other painting is also an entry for the Monthly Painters Challenge - but this time it's a late entry for October 2011 - where I was sick and missed the deadline - so I've added mine in late. Better late than never right?

The topic was "Something beginning with O" and I did a painting of a girl called Olive who lives a life of opulence. Even her octopus friend wears jewels...

"Opulent Olive"

The original is 45cm x 35cm x 1.5cm on stretched canvas (so it's ready to hang straight on the wall) on eBay for $169 (or $160 for Facebook Fans). There are also prints available if the original is out of the question:

Click HERE for the 8"x10" prints

Click HERE for the 12"x16" prints

Ok, I think it's time for a cup of tea...

Let There Be Lightning!

2012-01-04T08:50:00.000+10:00

Good morning!

Yesterday afternoon I finished off a new little painting (9"x5") featuring a fairy and lightning bolts! I decided to put her up for auction starting at just $10! You can view the auction HERE.

"Let There Be Lightning"

Today I'm going to start working on my piece for this month's Monthly Painters Challenge. It's a tough one.

2012!

2012-01-03T08:35:00.003+10:00

Happy New Year!!

We had a fabulous Christmas and New Years break, but today it's back to work!

This morning I listed a new original painting that I actually finished just before Xmas - so it's my last painting for 2011! It's called "Bird Song", and it features a big green eyed girl with a rose in her hair and a little bird friend. I think it's a little finch?

"Bird Song"

The original is up in my eBay store for $129, or you can buy it through my Facebook page for the special fan price of $120.

There are also prints available -

Click here for the 8"x8" prints

Click here for the 12"x12" prints

Today I have a commissioned painting to finish, and I might get the chance to finish off a little fairy painting I've been working on. I hope you all had a great Christmas!

Friday Fun

2011-12-16T17:23:00.002+10:00

Yesterday was the 15th which mean that the entries for November's Monthly Painters Challenge were revealed! This month's secret topic was "Fabric Design". I doodled away on some canvas sheets, until I came up with this design (see below) inspired by retro flowers and a tea party theme! It's kind of a weird shape - mainly because I painted an odd shaped background and worked from there. I kind of like it though because it's gives it a "spilled tea stain" type of feel. It's not for sale at the moment, but I'm thinking of creating something out of it in the future...some fabric perhaps?

My entry for November's Monthly Painters Challenge "Fabric Design": "Tea Party Fabric Swatch

Today is Friday which means I have Miss 3 at home running around, and this afternoon I decided to put the paints aside and we made some "Peppermint Cherry Christmas Balls"! They're similar to the traditional rum balls - but they're made from chocolate biscuits, cherry ripe and peppermint crisp bars! Yum! :)

Miss 3 was pretty excited!

They're easy peasy to make and good to make with kids because there's no cooking involved - just mix them up and leave them to set for a few minutes in the fridge.


The end result!

Also today, I've been featured on Maddablings blog with a special interview! Check it out here: http://maddabling.blogspot.com/2011/12/friday-friends-dusty-divas-art-by-jaz.html

Happy Friday everyone! :)

New Postcards!

2011-12-13T09:29:00.001+10:00

Hello Tuesday!

Yesterday I was excited to get some new postcard designs back from the printer! This time I used Moo and I'm SO happy with the results! They are just perfect.

I've got 5 new postcard packs available: "Birdy Has a Birthday", "Dandelion Dancer", "Peace Angel", "The Mermaid's Garden", and "Owl Angel".

They come in a pack of 4 (with white envelopes). I'll be sending some of the packs out to stores, but of course you can also buy them online in my eBay or Etsy stores. Or, you can just shoot me an email at: artbyjaz@yahoo.com.au if you would like to buy a pack (or if you would like a mix of 4 different prints in your pack).

"Peace Angel" Postcards - Set of 4

Anyway, I've got a mountain of housework to do this morning. But after that - I'll be painting away. I've still got 2 commissioned paintings to finish up before Christmas!

Busy, busy....

2011-12-08T16:11:00.001+10:00

I'm happy to say I'm feeling better than I did in my last blog post. It's been busy, busy here with extra orders coming in for Xmas (art prints and mini paintings have been popular!). It didn't help that Hubby had to go overseas for work for a week, and I was at my parent's place for most of the time - so working from there was trickier than usual.

He brought back a few goodies for me though! A "cake cup" - it's a mug that looks like a cake! A creepy-cute bear called "Tickles", some of my favourite Jelly-Bellys (caramel corn and buttered popcorn flavour), and some weird Japanese anatomy toy thing (I'm still trying to figure that one out!). It's great to have him back home though!

Now I've got to get to work on some commissioned paintings that have Christmas deadlines! Eeeek!

2011-11-30T12:22:00.001+10:00

Hello Lovelies...

November/December is NOT a great time to get sick - but alas, you can guarantee it happens. So I'm sorry if I've been a bit quiet around the place. I've mostly been busy working on print orders and commissioned paintings with Christmas deadlines. Can you believe it's only 25 days away!?

Summer officially begins tomorrow! It feels like it's been Summer for weeks now though. Hope you are all well! x

"Sweet Summer"

Just a quick update...

2011-11-14T20:39:00.001+10:00

I'm not feeling to well at the moment, so I'm taking it easy for the next couple of days. My Monthly Painters Challenge piece is going to be a few days late unfortunately! All art orders are being processed and sent as normal. Sorry if I owe you an email - I promise to try and reply asap!

600!

2011-11-09T09:12:00.000+10:00

*Yawn* I'm a bit tired - I stayed up way too late last night painting, and it somehow slipped my mind that I have a 3 year old to wake me up nice and early. Anyway, hopefully nothing a cup of tea won't fix.

I was pleasantly surprised to notice this morning that I have cracked the 600 'likers' mark on my Facebook page! How awesome! So, as with every 100 followers I get - I give away 3 art prints to random fans. I pick the numbers via random.org so that it's fair and this time the winners are...

#71 - Roetiby Beezley, #372 - Samantha Lawrence and #560 Leah-rose moonshine. Congratulations! :)

For the last couple of days I've been working on finishing those 2 big commissioned paintings I've been talking about. Nearly there! I also have the Monthly Painters Challenge looming with only 6 days until the reveal and only a third of a painting done! Eeeek...

In other exciting news - some of my 8x10" art prints are now being stocked at Cultiver in Ipswich, Qld!

Here's hoping for a productive Wednesday.

7 Things You May Not Know About Me

2011-11-04T17:15:00.001+10:00

I recently received an award from Tracey Fletcher King which means I have to tell you 7 things you may not know about me. So here goes...

1) My favourite flowers are pansies and any type of pink roses.

2) I've never seen real snow.

3) I'm still a bit in love with Taylor Hanson.

4) I opted for hot pink wedding shoes.

5) I hope to one day have a library with a ladder in it.

6) I met my husband while selling him a jacket. That was 7 years ago, and I won't let him throw it out.

7) I believe in fairies.

I now need to pass this award on to 15 other blogs...so here they are (picked very randomly! but all deserving of an award):

Giggleberry Amy
Polkadot Prints
Celbrations at Home
The TomKat Studio
Tiges and Weince
TokyoBunnie
Shiny Happy Art
ArtMind
Thea & Sami
Frog, Goose and Bear
Violet Bella
The Drifter and the Gypsy
Carol Roque
Brusselsprouts
A Christy Production

Happy Halloween 2011!

2011-10-31T13:52:00.002+10:00

We're taking Miss 3 trick or treating tonight for the first time. Hope it's a success!

In other exciting news, I've got an interview up on blog "Number 19" - check it out here!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! x

Good Things Come in Threes

2011-10-30T17:35:00.000+10:00

Friday night some friends invited us to an art opening at the White Canvas Gallery, and even though I felt like crap (had a headcold) I was determined to take advantage of free baby sitting (thanks Mum and Dad!) and have a good night...and a good night it was! It was a group exhibition by 3 Sunshine Coast artists called "Explicitly Graphic". There were 4 lucky door prizes, and out of about say...100 tickets...I won an art print! But...even more amazingly...Wade ALSO won an art print!...and then our friend Tony also won an art print!!! We couldn't believe our luck. I'm sure the other people there thought it was rigged (I swear it wasn't!). It was quite amazing. The print I won was by the lovely Evangeline Cachinero. While I had heard of her "Art For My Rent" project I had never seen her art in person before, but I must say the way she works with mixed media is beautiful.

Wade, Tone and Me. Yes - you read right - Wade's print says "Spank Me" - lol!


My print - "La Española" by Evangeline Cachinero

The rest of the weekend has gone so fast, I've been working on some commissioned paintings and trying to sleep off this headcold. This morning though, we went to the local markets and I managed to find a few cool things:


My favourite story "The Magic Faraway Tree" as well as some other Enid Blyton stories with some really beautiful illustrations - I'll share more of those later.


A cute owl for $2!


Some cute handmade hair clips for Miss 3.

I hope you all had a good weekend! :)

Blackboard + "Halloween Dream"

2011-10-26T12:47:00.001+10:00

I wanted to share a little project we started on the weekend - a blackboard for my studio/office! I've been wanting one for a while and when I saw one at Tracey Fletcher King's house it I thought "That's it - I'm doing it!". I think it will be great for to-do lists, inspirational quotes, and anything else I need to jot down quickly...

Before...my little whiteboard!


1st coat of chalkboard paint. It took 3 coats.

So after 3 LONG days of waiting for it to set properly...I finally got to write on it this morning! Yay! :D


The finished blackboard!

The reason there's towels around is because I didn't realise just how much dust it would create! We still need to add a piece of wood molding underneath to hold to the chalk and catch the dust.

We also painted the end of our kitchen cabinet as a little chalkboard for Miss 3. She absolutely loves it!

Yesterday I finished a new painting called "Halloween Dream". It didn't start out as a Halloween themed painting, I was just painting a white haired girl...but somehow it turned out that way! It must be all the Halloween decorations in the shops influencing me. I can't help it, I love Halloween - I can't wait for Australia to embrace it more and more!


"Halloween Dream"

The original painting is 25cm x 20cm x 1.5cm and is $75 on eBay here .

There are also ACEO's and prints available.

Hope everyone is having a nice week!

Two new original paintings!

2011-10-21T21:38:00.001+10:00

Friday night is here again. I've had Miss 3 home with me all week, because she had fevers last weekend and then proceeded to break out in a (light) rash on her belly and back. At first I thought maybe Chicken Pox, but on later inspection my Mum thinks it's German Measles. In any case, she seems to feel fine, I'm just worried about her being exposed to anyone.

This afternoon I finished two new paintings that I've been working on over the past few days. The first one is "Peachy Butterfly Fairy", a small-ish painting (9" x 5") - which is up for auction on eBay ending next Friday night. It features a brown eyed fairy, with peachy coloured wings on a patterned red background:

"Peachy Butterfly Fairy"

The 2nd painting is one that I'm loving at the moment. It features an angel with dark pink eyes, having a little birthday celebration for her birdy friend (if you look closely you'll see the bird is wearing a party hat!). Of course there's a few lemons, flowers and an octopus thrown in for good measure...

"Birdy has a Birthday"

The original is up on eBay for $169 (or $159 for Facebook Fans). There are also 2 print sizes available:

Click here for the 8x10 prints ($12.99)

Click here for the 12x16 prints ($23.99)

I'm trying to find some good podcasts to listen to while I paint. Today I listened to a couple on CraftyPod, which were pretty interesting. I managed to set Miss 3 up with some paints and a book, and I got a good chunk of time in painting and listening..

If anyone knows of any good podcasts relating to art, working from home, or mummyhood - or preferably ones that combine all three - I'd love to know!

The baby is 3 & September's Monthly Painters Challenge

2011-10-17T11:06:00.001+10:00

It's hard to believe, but my baby girl is 3! We spent the weekend celebrating her birthday, finishing with going to Sea World yesterday. We had a great time, but I'm keeping her home from Kindy today because she's not feeling well, and she seems to have a temperature. It was a big weekend and we're all feeling pretty tired.

On Saturday (the 15th) our Monthly Painters Challenge artworks were revealed for the month of September. The theme was "Dislike". It was a hard one because we all tend to paint things that make us feel good, or things that we like, so it took some thinking. Anyway - I ended up taking the obvious road and painting something that I dislike eating, and that's tomatoes! While I don't mind having them cooked in a soup, tomato sauce or on pasta or a pizza....I can't stand raw tomatoes in salads or sandwiches! I thought it might be something that I would grow out of, but I never have. I just can't stand the taste of them - even though I think they look nice. So here's my MPC piece for Sept:


"You say tomato? I say no thanks"

It's 5"x5" on a stretched canvas (the size of my mini fairy paintings) - so I've decided to offer it at the same set price of $30. You can buy the original HERE on eBay.

Today I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed - I've got a commissioned painting to finish before tomorrow. Deadlines for other paintings looming. An unwell baby. A house still decorated in "My Little Pony" style party decorations, and I'm quite tired from the weekend and being up every 4 hrs through the night giving Miss 3 panadol. After they start sleeping through the night, you forget how hard it is to be up at all hours!

Anyway - I guess I'll just take it one thing at at time today.

One thing I am excited about is I get to choose next month's painters challenge (secret) topic!

Hope you all had a good weekend.

1 yr!

2011-10-04T16:22:00.001+10:00

Hubby and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary on Sunday! To celebrate we got away to the Gold Coast for the night (child free!). We had a nice dinner at Andiamo, had a look at the Casino (didn't win or lose a thing!), and around midnight when the night clubs were just starting to heat up - we went back to our hotel and watched a cheesy Jen Aniston movie and ate chocolate. haha. It's bliss to be able to have some uniterrupted time doing NOTHING! When was the last time you decided to do nothing?...

We also saw 360 girls walk along the beach at Surfers Paradise and break a Guiness World Record for the World's largest bikini parade!

Today I've been running around picking up packaging supplies all around the place. Corrugated cardboard, bubblewrap, mailing tubes, packing tape etc, as well as boring stuff like going to the post office and grocery shopping. Oh, and why did I decide to take Miss 2 (nearly 3) with me? Can someone remind me?? Everything takes 5 times as long.

So now I'm back to working on those 1920 style commissioned paintings I've been painting over the last week. They're 3 big ones (60cm x 75cm) - and I'm nearly finished the 2nd one. I don't think I realised how much time they were going to take. Hours and hours have been poured into them so far. But...I'm really enjoying painting something a little different. I'll post pictures as soon as they're finished! :)

27

2011-09-19T17:29:00.000+10:00

Phew! Another busy weekend. Yesterday I turned 27! I got some lovely pressies - and got to spend the day with Hubby and Miss 2, and then dinner with my Mum, Dad and Sister, so it all worked out perfect. I got these beautiful pj pants that I've had my eye on for a while - they are a new brand that Sussan are stocking called "Night Owl" and they are super soft and luxurious! I just couldn't go past the black and white stripes, the ornate frames, the keys and the haunted houses! SO cute!

My new fave PJ pants!

I also got a few other beautiful pressies from my family :) So spoilt. We spent the day wandering around the Surrealism exhibit at GOMA. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed by it, I thought there would be a lot more Dali's and maybe a few modern surrealist painters, but it really just seemed to focus more on very abstract surrealism. I don't know, I consider myself a "surrealist" painter at times and I have always loved the concept - but I just didn't seem to get that excited about this exhibit. Hmm. A couple of things I did like were:


"Hallucination Partielle" by Salvaldor Dali


"Madame Recamier" - Sculpture by Rene Magritte

and

"Sculpture" by Ariella Higgins (at "Surrealism for Kids" - GOMA)

I've also recently listed a new mini painting to my shop called "The Witch's Black Cat"

"The Witch's Black Cat"

- all of my mini original paintings are just $30 at the moment - the cheapest way to own one of my original paintings!

Today I've been busy with commissioned paintings, and I probably will be tomorrow as well, but if you're interested in what original paintings I have available at the moment, they can all be found HERE.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! :)

Monthly Painters Challenge Entry - August 2011

2011-09-15T21:22:00.000+10:00

Today I had the pleasure of meeting up with Tracey Fletcher King and Tracey Potter - two other artists who participate in the Monthly Painters Challenge. It was lovely to meet Tracey Fletcher King for the first time in person and see her lovely home and studio space. I also found out she is the Queen of TEA! Flavoured, spiced, balls that blossom into flowers - you name it - the girl has got it. Yum!

For those of you who haven't heard of the Monthly Painters Challenge before, it's where a group of artists are given a topic each month (which is kept top secret) and they each interpret the topic in their own way to create an artwork, which is revealed on the 15th of each month.

For the month of August, the topic was "SAFE". I tried to think of things that make me feel safe, and one that stands out to me is rain. Just a cloudy sky can begin to calm me down. I find rain really cleansing, and the sound of it when I'm all inside cuddled up makes me feel incredibly safe. So in a way my painting "Safe in the Rain" is a self portrait in a way...


"Safe in the Rain" - 20cm x 50cm x 1.5cm

I decided to put the original up for auction starting at just $30. You can view the auction HERE. There are also prints available on Etsy.

Tomorrow is Friday - the weekend is near! :)

"Sunflower Fairy"

2011-09-14T11:02:00.000+10:00

Good morning!

Last night I finished a new painting called "Sunflower Fairy". Amy (from Giggleberry Creations - who make beautiful bunting btw!) was tweeting how her and her daughter planted Sunflower seeds and from there the idea grew (pun intended). So here she is:


"Sunflower Fairy" 30cm x 30cm x 1.5cm - ready to hang on stretched canvas

The original is $129 on eBay (or $120 for Facebook Fans). There's also prints available in 2 sizes:

Click here for the 8"x8" prints

Click here for the 12"x12" prints

Today I'm getting a wholesale order (lots of prints!) ready to be sent out. Oh, and Miss 2 is home so that also means stopping every 2 seconds to get a drink, make food, fix a doll that has sticky tape stuck in her hair, clean up a spill, or pretend to be an Octonaut. You know, things like that.

Red Fest 2011

2011-09-12T12:34:00.001+10:00

Phew! What a weekend. We went to Red Fest on Saturday, and had a great time.

I entered 3 paintings into the art show there - and "Pisces Mermaid" sold while we were there! It was so coincidental actually - we were only in the art pavillion for about 15 mins and my painting sold while I was there! It was fabulous because I got to meet the buyer. Here's a photo of the lovely Brooklyn in front of her new painting!

That night we headed down to NSW to visit Wade's parents and the rest of the weekend was spent going to the beach, eating too much junk food, seeing Wade's dad's new place and exploring their property. We even found a skull! Thankfully it wasn't human, haha - it was a dog skull.

It's already lunch time here today (Monday) and this morning has been filled with running around - picking up paintings, dropping Miss 2 at Kindy, food shopping, doing laundry etc...but now I'm going to settle in and get some painting done.

On Friday I started a new piece with sunflowers in it...I've only started sketching it up at this point, so I hope to get some more done on that today too. It's 30cm x 30cm on a stretched canvas.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Ready for Red Fest

2011-09-06T17:31:00.000+10:00

Today I've been getting 3 paintings lacquered and ready to hang at Red Fest this weekend. Red Fest (which used to be called The Strawberry Festival) has been a part of my life (pretty much for ever?) and so it's exciting to be able to hang my art in the little art competition that they're having. I'm taking "Pisces (Zodiac Mermaid)", "Frog Fairy" and "Princess Peppermint".

I also got some work done on a new angel painting...oh, and chased and played with and changed and fed Miss 2 of course. :)

"Skellyfish Mermaid"

2011-09-02T15:39:00.000+10:00

This afternoon I finshed off a new mermaid painting. It's been a while since I did something a little 'darker' so for some reason or another - this little mermaid began to take shape - along with some skeleton fish, black coral and bubbles...

This one is called "My Skellyfish Friends"

The original is 35cm x 45cm x 1.5cm and it's up on eBay and Etsy for $129 (or only $120 for Facebook Fans).

There are also 2 sizes of prints available:

Click here for the 8"x10" print

Click here for the 12"x16" print

In other exciting news - I found DIET Vanilla Coke at Drink Depot! I'm not a huge soft drink fan, but I love Vanilla Coke, but don't want the calories - and let me tell you - DIET Vanilla Coke is as RARE as hen's teeth! It's so hard to find. So you can imagine my excitement when they were selling 24 for only $14.40! So excited.

It's now also Spring! My favourite season. Not too hot, not too cold - with the excitement of Summer and Christmas looming in the distance. Oh and a couple of special birthdays! :)

Oh, and Father's Day is this weekend! How are you celebrating?

A few things I'm loving right now...

2011-08-29T17:02:00.006+10:00

Fiona Hewitt's illustrations, and her Dumpling Dynasty products!

It's strawberry season!

My new Holly Hobbie t-Shirt (thanks to my Mother-in-Law) :)

This little doco called "Time Warp Wives" - pretty interesting!

"Red Butterfly Fairy"

2011-08-27T16:54:00.005+10:00

Lots to blog about...too little time...so I'll make this short and sweet.

A couple of days ago I listed a new original painting "Red Butterfly Fairy" - which is not exactly the most creative name - but pretty much says it all about this painting :)

The original is currently on eBay and Etsy for $129 (or $120 for Facebook fans).

There are also prints available:

8" x 8" - $12.99

12" x 12" - $23.99

In other exciting news, my best friend gave birth to a healthy baby boy on Thursday! Welcome to the World little Nate! I can't wait to meet him. :)

I'm selling out a lot of my jewellery and craft supplies as well - super cheap - most WAY below cost price - so if you're up for a bargain, check out my temporary Etsy destash store. That's also been keeping me busy this week with orders (on top of art orders!) to send out.

My Mother-in-Law is also staying with us this weekend, so I'll be catching up on some painting later tonight. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Commissioned Painting + Jewellery Sale!

2011-08-24T11:00:00.006+10:00

I just wanted to share a commissioned piece I've been working on for a lovely girl in The States. It's kind of "Alice in Wonderland" inspired, but with her as the main focus in the painting.

I'm also working on finishing another (big) commission at the moment. So as of right now I don't have any other new art to show you. I've got a couple of paintings in the works though! :)

Also for those wondering about getting a custom painting from me - I've now got a price list up on my website: CLICK HERE to see my commission price list.

My little Miss 2 goes to kindy 2 days a week, but the other 3 days where she is home with me we're always trying to come up with different things to do while I get some painting work done. Sometimes she even paints with me. (Warning: it gets messy!)

I'm also getting rid of a TON of my jewellery and craft supplies on Etsy. Grab a bargain. It's going really CHEAP - all under $5! Click HERE to see the store.

Today I'll be painting away...hopefully I'll have some new art to show you tonight! :)

Monthly Painters Challenge - July 2011 Entry

2011-08-16T10:09:00.007+10:00

Ergh. I've caught that stupid head cold that's been going around. So, things are moving a little slower here than usual for a couple of days. One of the great things about working for yourself is you can do things at a slower pace when you're sick - but I guess I end up working crazy hours to make up for it later.

Also I'm a Mummy - and Mum's unfortunately don't get sick leave.

For July's Monthly Painters Challenge, the topic was "Happiness". It was a hard one actually - because it's such a broad topic. Anyway, I started to think of the things that make me happy. The number one thing that springs to mind is family. It's #1. I thought I'd try something a bit different this month and do a photo instead of a painting. So I took some photos of my daughter Ariella, and this one just screamed contentment and happiness...

Also - I've reached 500 fans on my Facebook page! I did another draw (via random.org) and the winners of the free art prints were:

#435 CARRIE LAPHAM, #89 ISOBEL VICTORIA and #370 JESSICA BARRY - CONGRATULATIONS!

Today (with the help of panadol) I'll be working on two big commissioned paintings that I've got in the works.

In the meantime...I'll leave you with these floral shoes I'm really into at the moment!

A Big Weekend!

2011-08-08T16:33:00.003+10:00

It's Monday afternoon and I'm just coming down from quite a big weekend!

It was filled with shopping, my Mother-in-Law coming to stay, birthday parties, running after a 2 and a half year old, late nights, and hosting a baby shower!

Today I had quite a bit of art work to do, but I ended up going to see my Great Aunty at the old people's home with my Mum, Aunty and Cousin - which turned into lunch etc...

So now it's Monday afternoon, Miss 2 is home from Kindy, and I'm just starting to catch up on work! This could turn into another late night...

"Little Miss Muffet"

2011-08-02T14:16:00.005+10:00

First of all - I would like to wish my little sister a very happy 21st birthday today! More celebrations to come...

Last night I finished off a nursery rhyme painting. It all started with a shopping trip to Coles. I was at the checkout (and bear in mind - this Coles is in a shopping centre) and as I was paying...this SPIDER came wandering over towards me. It wasn't a little spider either - it was quite big! It was pretty much the last thing I was expecting at the checkout. It was strange because I was like "Eeeek! A spider!!" and the checkout chick and the lady behind me seemed to think it was no big deal - it was like I was the only one who could see it. From then on I seemed to have 'Little Miss Muffet' pop up in my head over the next few days and it just kind of went from there. So here she is: my "Little Miss Muffet"

The original is $125 on eBay and Etsy (or $115 for Facebook fans).

Of course, there are prints available as well. They come in 2 sizes:

8x10 ($12.99)
or
12x16 ($23.99)

The great thing about these sizes is that you can find frames for them in just about any shop.

This afternoon I've got some commissioned work to do. Hope everyone is having a nice week so far!

R.I.P Margaret Olley

2011-07-26T21:08:00.005+10:00

Today Australia lost one of its most prolific artists - Margaret Olley. While I'm not exactly a still-life painter, there's still so much I admire about her work and her work ethic. Also, being Queensland born, I feel like I can relate to some of her stories about growing up and being an artist here. Her work will now live on...

Today I found myself running around Officeworks, and making print and ACEO orders for most of the day. This afternoon however I managed to finish a mini painting I've had in the works. This one is called "Vintage Flower Fairy" and, like all of my 5x5 mini paintings, it is only $30.

I'm going to spend the rest of the night painting and catching up on True Blood, but I'm going to leave you with my favourite Margaret Olley quote. It seems her and I are more alike than I first thought -

"I’ve never liked housework. I get by doing little chores when I feel like them, in between paintings. Who wants to chase dust all their life? You can spend your whole lifetime cleaning the house. I like watching the patina grow. If the house looks dirty, buy another bunch of flowers, is my advice."

Monday...

2011-07-25T14:54:00.006+10:00

This weekend just gone I had my friend Tab and her little boy come to stay. We hadn't seen eachother in a few months, so it was really nice to catch up. We went to a local school fete and went for a walk around the markets yesterday, so I didn't get a lot of art work done, but it was worth it!

Last night I finished off a new mini painting "Sunset Butterfly Fairy", which has sold already, but don't worry, I'm working on lots of new mini paintings - and there's currently 14 available in my eBay store! These little paintings tend to go pretty quickly though - at $30 it really is the cheapest way to own a piece of my original art work.

Today I've been busy getting print orders ready that had come in over the weekend. I also managed to get some background paint down on a new (30cmx40cm) canvas...

I'll be working more on this one tonight - but now it's time to go pick Miss 2 up from Kindy!

"Pisces (Zodiac Mermaid)"

2011-07-21T16:44:00.008+10:00

Today was a Kindy day for Miss 2, which made it a productive day for Mummy! hehe.

I finished off my latest zodiac painting. I think I've said it before, but I'm not doing them in any specific order - I think it makes it more fun that way.

So far I've done Scorpio, Cancer and now Pisces! Because Pisces is a water sign, it seemed fitting to do a mermaid. The symbols of Pisces are two fish swimming in different directions, so I added in 2 koi fish. In the background you can see Neptune, the ruling planet of Pisces - which was also convieniently a purply/blue colour! I also added some bubbles and a tattoo of the Pisces symbol on the mermaid's arm. It's also special for me because my Dad is Piscean!

The original is $199 on eBay and Etsy (or $190 for Facebook Fans). There are also prints available.

Click HERE to see the 5"x10" Prints
or
Click HERE for the 8"x16" (Big!) Prints

As for seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 the other day - I loved it! I don't know why I wasn't excited, but it was probably a good thing, because I was really impressed when I saw it. It was a fitting end to the series - and yes, I have read all the books. What a nerd.

"Frog Fairy"

2011-07-17T12:49:00.006+10:00

It's a rainy weekend here. Which is just how I like it really...so we've been catching up on the last couple of Harry Potter movies and we're ready to go and see The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 tonight. For some reason I'm not that excited. I usually am about the HP movies, and this is the last one, but I just feel like I could take it or leave it really. Not sure why? I have a feeling it might be boring...

On Friday night I finished a new painting called "Frog Fairy" - it features a pretty brunette fairy with 3 of her froggy friends around her. I love frogs and especially green tree frogs - so cute! The original is currently on eBay, Etsy for $129 (or $120 for Facebook Fans!)

If the original is out of your budget - there are also prints available! :)

Yesterday I started painting a new painting in my Zodiac series...can you guess which sign it is?

Monthly Painters Challenge - June 2011 Entry

2011-07-15T11:37:00.005+10:00

This week I've been focusing on finishing my "Monthly Painters Challenge" piece. This month's theme was "RITUAL". The word immediately invoked images of tribal ceremonies, bamboo torches and witches casting spells by candlelight. I kept thinking, "Oh, I've got ages! I've got all month!" but of course, by the start of this week I realised I better get started! So I came up with the idea of creating a totem pole out of doll's heads. When I googled it, I came across this image:

(i need one of these in my backyard!)

and the inspiration grew from there. I started picturing a totem pole made from dolls heads of "big eyed" girls similar to the ones I usually paint. In the end, I came up with "Totem Dolls". The original is available on eBay, Facebook and Etsy and it's $110 (or nearest offer!).

For the next month, I must make sure I start early...because things always end up taking longer than expected, ideas change...etc. The rest of the girls have come up with some beautiful artwork also - so make sure to check it out! It's always interesting to see how each person interprets the one topic each month. I wonder what next months will be...?

Bow Fairies!

2011-07-08T17:40:00.005+10:00

Well my Hubby is back from overseas safe and sound :) Very happy about that. He also brought back Peanut Butter M&M's (with real peanut butter inside!) - very happy about that! It's been a weird week with him away and a bit of a different schedule around here. Some days I worked here at home and for the last couple of days I tried to work from a 'make-shift studio' at my Mum's. The lighting there is terrible, so I could pretty much only paint until the sun went down, and with little to no computer files and slow internet access it wasn't as productive as I hoped it would be. Not to worry though - I did get some other things done that I had hoped to do (a friends baby shower invitations, some shopping, trips to Officeworks etc...).

Today I listed 2 new mini paintings up for sale! "Blue Bow Fairy" and "Pink Bow Fairy" - both are $30 (as are all my mini paintings).

This afternoon I've been catching up on print orders and going to the post office, grocery shopping etc...

Today is Friday! Woohoo! Bring on the weekend.

When Hubby's away, the Wife will...paint!

2011-07-05T12:27:00.004+10:00

It's a bit of a weird week here this week because Wade (hubby) is away overseas for work. Missing him a lot already! :(

This morning Miss 2 and I went for a play at Capalaba Regional Park (or "Bunnings Park"). It was absolutely PACKED! I forgot that it was school holidays. It was good though - Ari had a fun time playing on all of the different playgrounds and I got to catch up with a friend that I haven't seen in over 6 months. Plus it's a really beautiful sunny day today - clear blue skies - so it's a bit of a shame to be inside all day.

Yesterday I finished up work on 2 big commissioned paintings, and a new mini painting and now I'm feeling free to do something new! :) At the moment I've got a few original paintings available, plus 13 mini paintings in my eBay store. The mini ones tend to go fast so if there's something you like, snap it up! Also, you don't have to buy through eBay if you don't have an account or whatever - just send me an email to artbyjaz@yahoo.com.au and let me know which ones you want.

Ok, now I have some laundry to do (fun!) before I'm back to painting...

"Sideshow Aly" Painting

2011-06-30T19:14:00.007+10:00

Just a quick post while my Tuna Bake is in the oven for dinner!

I wanted to share one of my latest commissioned paintings with you. It's a big eyed girl on a brightly coloured carousel horse!

This one was painted for an online store called "Sideshow Aly - Clothing, Accessories and Gifts". It's a beautiful store run by a local Brisbane Mum - Alycia Hansen, and they seriously stock the cutest things! And no, I'm not just saying that because I created her logo. I could clothe both myself and my family exclusively in Sideshow Aly's clothing and live happily ever after...just check out some of these designs!

Too cute!

Ok, dinner's ready...

65th Wedding Anniversary

2011-06-27T10:23:00.005+10:00

We spent the weekend in Warwick celebrating my Grandparents 65th Wedding Anniversary. My Gran says the secret to a happy marriage is agreeing on money! I was surprised by that one. No, not true love, not finding your soul mate, you just have to agree on the finances. Haha - she did say it helps if you like eachother too.

I've worked out that Wade will be 92 and I'll be 91 on our 65th Wedding Anniversary. :)

Last night I worked on making a few changes to my website. I haven't published them yet, but I'm hoping to update it on the 1st of July...just a few new things like a commissions price list and wholesale information etc...

Today Miss 2 is at Kindy so I've got a few uninterrupted hours to throw myself into working on 2 commissioned fairy paintings that I'm painting for sisters! Cute!!!

You can see any of my available original paintings HERE on eBay or HERE on Etsy.

Studio Clearout

2011-06-22T09:40:00.008+10:00

Yesterday on the spare of the moment I decided I needed to clear some space here, so I put 50% off 3 of my original paintings! "Cat and Mouse" - now $67.50, ~~"Sweet Summer" - now $69.50~~ (now SOLD), and ~~"Alice and the Puppy" - now $44.50!~~ (now SOLD). I don't do this very often, so get in while you can. :)

I've been getting quite a few commission requests lately, which is awesome! I love hearing other people's ideas for paintings and working with them to come up with something that they love. Up until now I haven't had a specific price list for commissions, so I'm thinking I'll do that in the next couple of days and put it up on my website and facebook page.

This morning I've got a Drs appointment (just a check-up), and then I'm going to be working on some commissioned paintings and a couple of minis.

Yesterday was the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year) so from here on in there's going to be a little bit more sunshine every day!

Working away...

2011-06-21T11:11:00.003+10:00

I've been laying low the past couple of days just working on commissioned paintings...which I can't really post pictures of until I have the clients approval, so unfortunately there's not a whole lot to see here at the moment!

Wow fancy Ryan Dunn dying? I've always been a fan of Jackass and Viva La Bam, and it seems a shame he (and his passenger) had to die in what looks like an accident caused by drink driving. In this day and age there's enough knowledge out there to know better. So sad.

At the moment I'm lacquering a couple of paintings to get ready to send off today, and then I'll be working on another commissioned fairy painting, and maybe some new mini paintings!

If you haven't become a 'liker' of my Facebook page yet - please do! I'll be giving away art prints to random fans every 100 followers I get. Next stop - 500!

Monthly Painters Challenge - May 2011 Entry

2011-06-15T14:11:00.007+10:00

I'm part of a group called the Monthly Painters Challenge. It's where 6 artists are given a random theme to work on for the month and on the 15th we release our art for everyone to see! We also don't show eachother throughout the month, so it's a complete surprise to see what everyone comes up with. This month's theme was "Light". I tossed a few ideas around, and I kept coming back to the saying "light on her toes"...which of course made me think of a ballerina. I also thought about light things like feathers, ribbons and dandelions. The end result was "Dandelion Dancer"...

She is painted in acrylics on a stretched canvas (ready to hang straight on the wall), and the original is $59 on eBay (or $55 for Facebook Fans!).

I have Miss 2 home with me today, so we're keeping occupied with ABC Kids, doing puzzles and colouring in! I'm also working on that big commissioned painting I was talking about the other day. I'm hoping to get it finished this week. I'll be able to show you all pics once it's finished and has the clients approval. :) In the meantime, off to paint I go...

"Owl Angel"

2011-06-12T21:04:00.008+10:00

If you're wondering what I've been up to all week, I've been lucky enough to work on a couple of fabulous new commissioned paintings. For some reason they always come in in groups. I'll have no commissioned work and then BAM! 3 at once! Not that I'm complaining of course!

I've also managed to get some work done on my entry for the Monthly Painters Challenge. It's super top secret for 3 more days so I can't share any pics just yet...

The weekend has flown by, but I managed to finish up a HOOT of a painting tonight (that one never gets old!). It's called "Owl Angel" - and it's got an Autumn/Wintery tone to it I suppose, which is appropriate here at the moment.

The original is up on eBay for $139 (or $129 for Facebook Fans). There are also prints available!

I'm so glad we have a long weekend this weekend - how is it already Sunday night!? So happy to have hubby home from work tomorrow. I might even make poffertjes for breakfast...mmm...

80s Rock Star Party!

2011-06-05T19:12:00.005+10:00

Friday (the 3rd) was my husband Wade's birthday, so last night we had a 80s Rock Star themed party. I was so impressed with everyone's costumes! It was straight out of 1985. Heaps of fun!

So...having said that...I obviously haven't got much art work done over the weekend, but it was worth it. Last week I got 2 commissioned paintings done and out the door, and tomorrow I'll be working on another big one (60cm x 60cm)!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Monday Morning...

2011-05-30T10:03:00.004+10:00

Ah, it's Monday again. It was a nice relaxing weekend...a couple of drinks with friends on Saturday night, and pottering around and getting some painting done yesterday. Today I'm keeping Miss 2 home from Kindy because she doesn't seem to be very well - she doesn't want to eat and she's just generally clingy and miserable.

I still have a fair bit of painting that needs to be done today though. I've got 3 commissioned pieces in the works at the moment, and I've also got to seriously get to work on my painting for the Monthly Painters Challenge. It's where 5 other artists and myself set a 'theme' each month and come up with our own interpretation of the theme through our art. This month's theme is a secret for another few days but I can tell you it's quite tricky! It will be interesting to see what the other artists come up with.

I've been working on the commissioned paintings over the weekend, so I haven't got any 'new' art to show you, but in the meantime you can see all of my available originals HERE on Etsy or HERE on eBay.

Also, if you're interested in a commissioned painting - where you get to choose exactly what you would like in the painting - feel free to email me at artbyjaz@yahoo.com.au with your ideas! :)

Winners!

2011-05-26T17:11:00.003+10:00

I was happy to wake up this morning to over 400 likers on my Facebook page! Every time I reach another 100 fan milestone I have a draw and give away art prints to random fans. Today's winners are:

#400 Gypsy-Soul Threads
#91 Alice Peverill and
#191 Taay Habibii Lovelyalotz
(Picked via random.org)

If one of these names is yours - please send me an email to: artbyjaz@yahoo.com.au with the address you would like your prints sent to. :)

Today Miss 2 was at Kindy, so I ventured out to get some more (big!) canvasses for a couple of commissioned paintings I've got in the works. By the time I got home and started laying down some layers of paint on one of them, it was time to go and pick her up! So at least I got a head start on them. I'll be working on them again tonight after dinner.

The next facebook draw will be at 500 fans!

"Strawberry Butterfly Fairy"

2011-05-25T12:04:00.005+10:00

It looks like I might be giving away a few art prints this afternoon on my Facebook page - I promised I would when I reached 400 likers and I'm currently at 399! :)

Last night I finished a new painting called "Strawberry Butterfly Fairy". There's lots of little details added into this one - she has big pink butterfly wings, as well as butterflies flying around her, strawberries, a little ladybug in there somewhere, and vintage style flowers in her hair.

The original is in my eBay store for $139 (or $129 for Facebook fans - just write a 'sold' comment HERE). There are also prints available:

Click here for the 8x10 print
or
Click here for the 12x16 (BIG!) print

I feel like I'm finally recovering from that headcold I had last week. It knocked me around for a while there. Today I'm going to be working on a couple of commissioned paintings and maybe even some more minis!

P.S. Don't forget my "Starry Night Mermaid" original painting is up for auction HERE! It finishes 27th of May at 8:13pm (AEST).

"Starry Night Mermaid"

2011-05-20T20:17:00.003+10:00

I've just listed a new original painting "Starry Night Mermaid" on eBay starting at just 1 cent! Everyone has a chance at this one...

Night!

Sore Sore Throat

2011-05-20T09:03:00.003+10:00

Just a quick post because I've been hit with a crazy headcold. My throat has never been so sore! It feels like razorblades. Thank god for cold and flu tablets at the moment, and the help of my Mother-in-Law who has been staying with us and helping out so much. I'm so thankful!

I've been trying to fit in a little bit of painting here and there, hopefully in a couple of days I'll be feeling better and I'll have lots of new art to show you!

In the meantime - I've got 21 originals available HERE! :)

"Hawaiian Fairy"

2011-05-16T19:25:00.005+10:00

Today it was just hubby and I at home for the 1st time in a long time! Miss 2 was at Kindy and Wade was home sick. Now I feel like I'm getting sick too. I never used to get sick at all until Ariella started Kindy, and now she seems to bring everything home! Anyway - enough about that. The painting show must go on!

Today I finished a new painting called "Hawaiian Fairy". The initial idea came about because I'm entering it into a little competition which had the theme "Hawaiian". So - go figure. A Hawaiian fairy! It was either that, or a mermaid - which I think I'm itching to paint next...

The original is up in my eBay store for $199 (or $189 for Facebook Fans).

Of course, if the original is out of your budget, there are also prints available:

Click here for the A4 sized print
or
Click here for the A3 sized print

I think I might get an early-ish night tonight. I'm keen to finish a "Margeret Olley" biography I'm reading at the moment, but right now I'm painting...

Available Mini Paintings!

2011-05-11T10:49:00.003+10:00

9 Mini Paintings Available!

$29 each.

This is the only way you can get an original painting of mine for this price...so grab them while you can.

Mother's Day & "Oceanic Fairy"

2011-05-09T19:00:00.005+10:00

Yesterday I had a nice Mother's Day with Wade, Ariella and Wade's Mum. I got woken up with some nice pressies - new slippers and a beautiful handmade card and photo frame from Ariella - so adorable! Then went to swimming lessons, followed by a wander around the markets, and when Wade's Mum headed home in the afternoon I got some painting time in. We had dinner with my Mum the night before, so we got to spend time with both Mums which was nice. :)

Today I finished off a new painting called "Oceanic Fairy". It's 20cm x 20cm x 3.5cm - Acrylics on Stretched Canvas.

The original is $59 (or $55 for Facebook Fans), and there are also prints available.

Click here for the 8x8 prints ($12.99)
and
Click here for the (BIG!) 12x12 prints ($23.99)

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

"A Bird Friend Long Gone..."

2011-05-06T17:43:00.005+10:00

This afternoon I finished off my latest painting "A Bird Friend Long Gone". It features an angelic girl with her long lost bird friend. There's something about bird skulls (or any animal skulls for that matter) that is so intriguing...

The original is $125 on eBay, and there are also prints available....

Click here for the 8x10 prints
and
Click here for the (BIG) 12x16 prints

Today I spent most of the day painting and running around after Miss 2. Needless to say the house is in quite a state! This Sunday is Mother's Day, so we've got Wade's Mum coming up to stay with us tomorrow. Before then I better go tidy up...

Happy Friday!

"Cancer (Zodiac Mermaid)" Painting

2011-05-02T20:56:00.012+10:00

This afternoon I finished off a new zodiac painting. It was about time I did a 2nd one! My first one was "Scorpio" - about 9 months ago, and I was going to do them in order...but have now decided just to do them randomly. Mix them up a bit! So here's "Cancer". It features a beautiful pink haired mermaid wearing pearls (Cancer's gemstone). Beside her is a little crab friend (the symbol of Cancer), as well as a lotus flower (the starsign's lucky flower). In the background the Moon (Cancer's ruling planet) is shining brightly and if you look closely you can see the starsign's constellation in the sky...

The original painting is $139 (or $135 for Facebook Fans), and the prints are also available.

Today was a public holiday (Labour Day), so it was nice to have Hubby and Miss 2 at home, even though I painted most of the day. Hope you all had a nice long weekend!

Will & Kate 2011

2011-04-30T11:42:00.003+10:00

Last night I had a couple of girlfriends and my sister come over to watch the Royal Wedding of Will and Kate! It was so beautiful. Kate's Alexander McQueen gown was stunning. When I heard rumours of it being a McQueen design I thought it was a strange choice for 'understated' Kate, but when I saw the actual dress it just kind of made sense...

We drank sparkling apple juice , ate Lisa's Cob, mini pies, and royal cupcakes! :) (it was a tame affair, haha)...

This weekend I'm going to be doing some more work on a new zodiac painting...it's about half way finished. In the meantime, all of my available original paintings can be found HERE.

Have a nice weekend! :)

"Snowflake Fairy"

2011-04-27T19:12:00.005+10:00

I've just finished and listed a new mini painting - she's called "Snowflake Fairy". She probably came about because the weather has really cooled down here over the past couple of days. It never gets cold enough to snow where I live (in fact, I've never seen real snow!), but this little fairy seems to be bringing the cooler winds with her...

My mini paintings are 5" x 5" and they're ready to hang. They are all priced at $29 and they're the cheapest way to buy a piece of my original art! Some people choose to collect them and hang them in sets of 4 or 9 on a wall. You can view any mini paintings I have available HERE. :)

Night! x

Bye Bye Easter!

2011-04-26T15:40:00.006+10:00

We're back from our Easter long weekend! I've been pigging out on a bag of Cadbury's Easter Magic Selection - an awesome assortment of mini eggs - Top Deck, Crunchie, Dream, Turkish Delight, Caramello, and Cream Eggs. The Turkish Delight is my fave!

We had a nice couple of days in Ballina, except for the fact that Miss 2 was sick for the first night/day with temperatures. We did still get in a bit of time at the beach though, watched a couple of movies at home (well - Wade's Mum's house), and had a beautiful coffee at a little coffee shop right on Shelly Beach. So nice! Yesterday, Anzac Day, we drove 4 hours from Ballina to Warwick to visit my Grandparents, and stayed the night there, and then drove 2 and half hrs back home this morning.

Now I'm catching up on a heap of emails, and I've got all these ideas for paintings swirling around in my head...I should try and get those under control. I'm looking forward to a busy week...

Stamps & Easter

2011-04-21T16:27:00.006+10:00

Hello!

I'm excited to say that I've got a new venture going on - this time with Queen Kat Designs. My art is being made into rubber stamps that you can use for card making, scrapbooking, letters etc...and they are so cute! There are currently 8 available (with more to come) and you can buy them HERE. Here's some examples of things that have been made using my stamps:

I love the idea of stamping - and you can basically colour them in any way you want! :)

In other news, the Easter Bunny is on his way - and we're heading to Ballina for a few days. I'm going to be leaving my online stores open, so feel free to order away and orders will be sent first thing on Wednesday 27th of April.

Wishing you all a safe and happy Easter filled with hot cross buns and chocolate!

"Halloween Magic"

2011-04-19T16:22:00.006+10:00

Hello!

Well I've just finished a new painting this afternoon. It's called "Halloween Magic", and it features a cute witch! I know it's April, and Halloween is another 194 days away, but I thought I'd get in early. I think Halloween is chic all year round anyway. There's a few different things in there - bats, lollipops, a jack-o-lantern and tiny stars...

The original is on eBay, and there are also 8x10 and 12x16 prints available.

Speaking of occassions, Easter is this weekend! We've already started cracking into Easter eggs around here...

We'll be heading to Ballina again this weekend, and I'm not sure what I'll be doing with my online stores yet, but I'll sort it out by the end of the week. What is everyone else doing for Easter?

Monday...

2011-04-18T15:53:00.002+10:00

We spent the weekend in Ballina, and even though it rained most of the time, we had an awesome time catching up with rellies (on Wade's side) that were up from Sydney.

At the moment I'm working on a Halloweeny themed painting - but today has been a bit of a write-off so far. I woke up with a killer headache, then had a Dr's appointment (just a check-up), then I went to get some groceries (& Easter eggs!)...and when I got home my head was SO sore I took some pain killers and slept on the couch until it was time to pick Miss 2 up from Kindy! I feel so much better after the sleep though. I'm planning on catching up tonight...

Ageing.

2011-04-14T12:47:00.004+10:00

I just got home from visiting my Great Aunty at the old people's home. Sorry - Residential Nursing Aged Care Centre. Unfortunately it's quite depressing there. Due to lack of funding, there's dementia patients mixed in with elderly patients that are mentally able, but not physically able, mixed in with middle aged people who have suffered brain injuries etc. It smells unappealing and quite frankly, doesn't offer much hope for the future. I can only hope that there's something better to look forward to when our generation, and even our parents generation, reach that age.

It's kind of ironic that last night I finished reading "Mr. Playboy - Hugh Hef ner and the American Dream". I can only hope that at 85 I'm as youthful as him. While I don't advocate everything he stands for, I do think he's played a big part in American pop culture revolution, and his zest for life and business is to be admired.

Anyway, I still feel like I'm kind of sick. I'm not sure whether it's psychosomatic, or whether I really am sick - or getting better and my body is just fighting off the flu? hmm...

Yesterday I finished off the commissioned paintings I was working on, so now I'm going to throw myself into some new paintings I started last night and try to be positive.

Kat's Magical Patches

2011-04-12T19:10:00.005+10:00

I've got a new partnership to share with you all! :) I've licenced my artwork to Kat's Magical Patches Fabric Shoppe! This means you can now buy 'fabric blocks' with my artwork on it which can be used for making bags, purses, cushions...pretty much any crafty project you can think of!

Stay tuned because Kat's Magical Patches is also bringing out a new product line very soon that I'm also involved with. :)

Tonight I'm finishing up some mini commissioned paintings that I've been working on today.

Oh, and I bought Violet Crumble Ice-Cream...so I'll be eating that too.

"Sweet Summer"

2011-04-11T14:53:00.001+10:00

Hello!

I just finished the painting I showed you a progress shot of a couple of days ago. It's called "Sweet Summer" and it features a big-eyed cutie surrounded by lollipops, flowers, cupcakes and of course - ice-cream (my favourite food)!

The original is available on eBay or through Facebook (+ Facebook friends get a $10 discount!).

If the original is out of your budget, I've also got 8x10 and 12x16 prints available.

It's time to pick up my little Ariella from daycare now. I think I'm coming down with something...my throat is starting to hurt and my head feels kind of stuffy. Great.

In brighter news though - I'm making Lamb Korma tonight. I've never made it before, so wish me luck!

Playtime, worktime...

2011-04-09T12:23:00.006+10:00

This week has flown by! Mostly it's been filled with housework (though you wouldn't think it looking at the mess my house is in), painting, and boring errands...However yesterday Ariella and I had the pleasure of going to Lollipops Playland with Kate and Isabelle (who's 3)! Personally I think it's pretty expensive...$10.90 (for over 2's) + $3.50 for adults (although that includes a drink) + $3 for socks (yes - we forgot socks). Then there's lunch...etc...so for Mum and Bub you're looking at at least $20 for a play. But - it was raining, and Ariella loved it, and it was a pretty casual environment to catch up and have coffee..so it was worth it.

I realised this morning that the Archibald finalists have been announced for 2011. My faves are:

"Mother (a portrait of Cate)" by Del Kathryn Barton (2008 Winner)

"Margaret Olley" by Ben Quilty

"White Cocoon" by Matt Doust

Today I'm lucky enough to have Wade home with me - so we're having a nice relaxing Saturday pottering around the house, mowing the lawn etc and I'm hoping to get some painting done.

At the moment I'm working on a 'Summer' themed painting. Kind of ironic seeing as Summer is now over - but oh well. Here's a sneak peek....

Feeling the chill...

2011-04-05T10:57:00.004+10:00

Good morning! Can you believe I'm sitting here with a hoodie on? It's the first morning I've actually felt cold this year. I'm looking forward to rugging up and having cozy Winter days and nights...

Yesterday I finished two new mini paintings. They are "Skulls in Her Hair" and "Diamonds in Her Hair". Personally, I'd prefer to find diamonds in my hair...but hey.

Today I've got my little Ariella home with me, so we're going to be watching some ABC kids and possibly making muffins...but I'm also keen to get some painting done! :)

So Lucky.

2011-03-31T22:16:00.005+10:00

Well this morning I was a little bit naughty and with Ariella at daycare, I skipped out on my day of work and went to a movie with my Mum. We saw "Hall Pass", which was actually pretty funny! Very far fetched, and the acting was a little off at times, and if you can look past the really bad fake tans that most of the actors had (what was up with that?), then it was really quite good! I love Christina Applegate by the way, and she can do no wrong. All in all it was a great day. :)

Then tonight I also skipped out on some work because Wade & I got caught up watching this documentary called "The Toughest Place to be a Midwife" - it's about a British midwife who goes to Liberia, Africa to see what it's like to be a midwife there. Omg...it really made me feel so incredibly lucky to have been born in Australia, and to have my family here. So so lucky.

Painting wise though - I'm currently working on a couple of new mini paintings...

My latest completed one is of a "Blue-Ringed Octopus Fairy" - the original is $29, and prints are also available.

Goodnight!

"This Sucks"

2011-03-29T14:41:00.006+10:00

Hello!

I just finished a new painting - it's 20cm x 20cm x 1.5cm - and it's aptly named "This Sucks". No - the painting doesn't suck, (well, I don't think it does at least). It's a little vampire who is trying to cut back on the bloodsucking...so she's turned to lollipops instead. It's kind of like quitting smoking I suppose. I don't know, I've never been a smoker...or a vampire.

Anyway - the original is $55 on eBay ($49 for Facebook Fans), and there's also prints available! 8"x8" (20cm x 20cm) prints are $12.99 and 12" x 12" (30cm x 30cm) prints are $23.99. :)

Amazingly - Miss 2 is having a daytime sleep right now. I find it hard to get her to have a sleep in the day, but she must've been tired because she fell asleep all by herself watching tv! So I'm going to be making the most of this time and get some painting done...

Weekend Art & Craft

2011-03-28T17:09:00.004+10:00

Hello!

Well I didn't get a lot of painting done this weekend because we had my Mother-in-Law staying with us, so we were busy chatting, shopping, going to swimming lessons, etc. While she was shopping the other day she spotted these cute ribbon necklaces for little girls and she thought it was something we could probably make. So on Saturday night we put our heads together (and my pile of never-ending craft supplies!) and came up with some cute necklaces to give as gifts to some little girls we know.

This one is one that I made for my little cousin:

It was made using:

Red & White Gingham Ribbon
Alphabet beads
Foam Flowers
Buttons
Big Acrylic Bow

All you really need to do is thread the beads on and tie knots where you want to keep them in place, and then the foam flowers were glued on to the ribbon. It's so easy because you don't even need to add a clasp, you just tie the ribbon where you want the necklace to sit. So easy!

As far as painting goes, today I've been working on a new vampire painting. She's coming along nicely...should be finished tonight! :)

"Pink and Yellow Polka Dot Fairy"

2011-03-25T16:26:00.003+10:00

Hello!

Today I've had Wade (my hubby) home sick from work (he's all sniffly) and of course Miss 2 is home today as well (she's absolutely fine and full of beans). So far I've prepared and sent out print orders, and the usual household stuff + groceries. I only went down to get milk and of course I spent at least $50 more on other miscellaneous items that I was SURE we needed over the weekend - crackers, dip, pizza, sugar free ice-cream sundaes...you know, the usual ~~impluse buys~~ necessities.

This afternoon I've just posted up a new mini painting of a little "Pink and Yellow Polka Dot Fairy". She's only $29 (as with all of my mini paintings) - it's the cheapest way to own a piece of my original art! :)

Well, it's Friday afternoon, so I expect everyone is HAPPY and of course, there will be no mention of Rebecca Black. Tonight, we're having an easy dinner (not sure what yet - maybe those oven pizzas? They say they're woodfired! haha), and I'm getting some painting done.

"The Mermaid's Garden"

2011-03-23T20:21:00.006+10:00

Tonight I posted up a new painting that I actually finished late last night. It's called "The Mermaid's Garden". I started out just painting the mermaid in, and then slowly I just started painting in these underwater type plants, which kind of reminded me of jellyfish actually, and then the flowers just kept on coming, creating a kind of 'underwater garden'. She's up for sale for $110 - but is only $100 for Facebook Fans. :)

The 12x16 prints ($23.99) are available HERE and the 8x10 prints ($12.99) are available HERE.

In other news - I have been completely addicted to the TV series "19 Kids and Counting"! I mostly watch it while I paint. At first I was like "Oh, these people are freaks..." and then after a while, (and after going back and watching "17 kids and counting" and then "18 kids and counting")...I found myself growing to love them! The show really is addictive and it never ceases to amaze me at how this family live with 19 KIDS! I feel like I'm snowed under at times with one toddler and a husband (and a house and small business), but these guys make my life look like a piece of cake.

Anyway, tonight I'm just painting away on some mini paintings. I might start another big one tomorrow when Ariella's at kindy.

Night!

Monday

2011-03-21T11:49:00.006+10:00

Phew! Just finished a ton of housework. The weekend was filled with having friends over, Wade (my husband) working both days, Ariella (my 2 y.o. daughter) had swimming lessons, visiting Mum & Dad, etc...so this morning when I dropped Ariella off at daycare and did some grocery shopping, I arrived home to a house that looked like a bomb had hit it! It really shouldn't come as a surprise, it usually looks this way. Anyway, it's now 12pm and I can finally sit down with crumpets, that are black (because I was multi-tasking, and my toaster isn't the top of the range. It cost $9.98 5 years ago ok?)...anyway...

If I was working outside of the home I would have to close the door on it and think about it later, but because I live where I work, it's really hard to concentrate on the task at hand when there's mountains of toys, laundry, dishes...I feel like if I get these things out of the way I can focus a lot better on painting. I'm sure most people who work-from-home feel this way - right? I look forward to getting a maid! Haha...

Another thing I did over the weekend was begin to list my NEW A3 art prints! These are so cool - double the size of my A4 prints! These are printed up to 12"x16".

I haven't listed them all yet, I will continue to list over the next couple of days. If there's a particular one you would like that I haven't listed yet, just contact me (artbyjaz@yahoo.com.au) and make a request. :)

Today I'm going to be working on a couple of new paintings that I've got in the works...

I'll post pics soon. x

Beware: Toilet Training Ahead!

2011-03-11T11:26:00.004+10:00

Well Ariella's at that age now where it's time to kick the nappies and start going on the potty! I think it's easier said than done, but we're giving it a go, so wish me luck! :)

In the meantime I've got a couple of new mini's up in the store:

"Big Blue Eyed Fairy" and "Violet Vampire"

and to make some room around here, my original "Hansel and Gretel" painting is up for auction starting at just $15!

In between toilet training accidents I will be working on new paintings...

Mini Paintings & Baking!

2011-03-07T12:33:00.008+10:00

Hello! :)

This morning I listed 2 new mini paintings that I finished over the weekend. They are "Peachy Angel" and "What Pretty Fangs You Have!". Both are at a fixed price of just $29! It's the cheapest way to own a piece of my original art.

Ariella is at kindy today, so I've been busy getting some orders ready to send out and getting some painting done without little hands clawing at me and a little (big) voice squeeeeling at me! The difficult part of my day today is trying to pry myself away from these delicious blueberry muffins that Ari and I made after dinner last night:

OK, so we might have cheated a little - but this is baking with a 2 y.o. on a Sunday night at it's finest!

I hope you all had a great weekend! :)

"A Jellyfish Friend"

2011-03-02T20:19:00.005+10:00

How HOT is it!? It's 8:24pm here in Brisbane (Australia) and it's still hot. I think someone needs to inform Mother Nature that it's now March, and therefore not Summer anymore. /rant over :)

Today I finished a new painting called "A Jellyfish Friend". It's quite big - 45cm x 45cm - and the original is up on eBay for $135 ($129 for Facebook Fans). I had fun painting the bubbles!

If the original is out of your budget, the 8"x8" prints are available and at the moment they are on sale - only $9.99!

The other sale prints as of today are:

"Alice Meets the Caterpillar"
"Blueberry"
"Delilah Bunnybow"
and
"Hansel and Gretel"

Tonight I'm going to be working on some more mini paintings - at the moment I've sold out of them! :)

"Alice Meets the Caterpillar"

2011-02-23T17:09:00.006+10:00

My head is feeling much better today! :)

This morning I finished off "Alice Meets the Caterpillar". It's the 11th painting in my "Alice" series and it features Alice (in Wonderland!) as she peers over the mushroom to find a blue caterpillar peering back at her! The original is up on eBay for $139 ($130 for Facebook Fans), and 5x10 prints are available for $12.99.

For the rest of the day, in between Ariella's nappy changes, play times, eating times, and cleaning up after disaster times, I've started painting a new mermaid...At this stage I've only put down the basic shapes, I'm not even entirely sure what's going to be in it at the moment, I'll just take it as it comes...

After a sausage sizzle at Kindy the other day, it turns out that Ari loves sausages! We never really have them at home, but if it's something she eats well then I'm all for it! So tonight we're having sausages, and I'm going to attempt to make a pumpkin and feta salad.

Stupid headache :(

2011-02-22T15:21:00.005+10:00

I went to bed on Sunday night with all good intentions of being super productive this week. When I woke up yesterday, I took bubby to Kindy and then there was this heatwave happening here at my place, so I decided to go to my Mum's for a couple of hours to cool down. When I picked Ari up and got back home, my head was starting to ache, and despite taking Panadol for the rest of the night I woke up this morning with a CRACKER of a headache (migraine?)! Luckily, once again my Mum (a saint!) came to the rescue again and watched Ari for a couple of hours while I slept it off.

This afternoon I've managed to get some art prints made, paintings packaged and made a trip to the Post Office, but I still don't feel 100%. I might try and get some painting done...I feel like if I don't it just adds to the guilt, and the need to paint, and makes the headache worse.

What am I complaining about though? Christchurch, NZ, had a massive earthquake this afternoon. I hope those poor people are coping ok.

Quick Weekend Update

2011-02-20T15:34:00.004+10:00

Wade's Mum came to stay with us this weekend, so we've been busy socialising and I haven't had much of a chance to paint.

Right now though Wade is at work and his Mum has left, so I'm going to get some painting done before meeting some friends for dinner later tonight! :)

I'm going to try and finish that Alice in Wonderland piece I've been working on in the next day or so..

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

"Princess Peppermint"

2011-02-18T21:38:00.005+10:00

I painted "Princess Peppermint" about a month ago, thinking that I might put her aside so that I can hang her in a shop/cafe/gallery/art show sometime soon. But while she's been sitting here on my computer desk...I'm really loving her...and I've found myself wanting to share her. So I thought to hell with it, I'll post her up for sale, for everyone to see, and if she sells...well I'll just have to paint something else to put in a show!

To be honest I'm happy having her sit here for the time being. She's one of my faves so far.

Peppermint is probably one of my TOP flavours - no - probably my #1 favourite flavour - on a close par with chocolate. And when they're mixed together - there's nothing better. Especially if it also includes ice-cream. Choc-Mint Ice-Cream anyone!?

Here she is: "Princess Peppermint"

The original is $129 on eBay ($120 for Facebook Fans).

Prints (8x10) are $12.99.

Tonight I'm going to be painting a bit more of my latest "Alice" piece.

Happy Friday! :)

New Auction and Sale Prints!

2011-02-15T10:19:00.007+10:00

Last night we ended up going to Sunnybank because we had a Hoyts gift card to use (and Hoyts cinemas in QLD are few and far between). We had chinese for dinner, and then saw "No Strings Attached" - the new Ashton Kutcher/Natalie Portman movie. It was quite good! Wade really liked it, which he didn't think he would! It's pretty funny. It was nice having a night out - just us - but we missed Ari of course!

This morning I've put my original "Pretty In Pink" painting up for auction starting at just $10 - you can view the auction HERE.

I'm also going to be listing different sale prints from time to time - they are only on sale for a limited time - maybe 2 weeks at the most, and then they're back to full price. So grab them while they're cheap! :)

"Day of the Dead Princess"
"Naughty Cal"
"Alice and The Puppy"
"My Blue Ringed Friends"
"Cherry Blossom Fairy"

Today I'm working on a new "Alice in Wonderland" painting, and sketches for a new project that involves stamps! I'll tell you more about that later... ;)

Happy V Day

2011-02-14T11:13:00.007+10:00

Yes I know, it's full of consumerism and it's hated by some, but I think it's nice to be able to focus on love for a day. I mean - we all love someone, right?

Ariella's having a "Valentine's Day Disco" at Kindy today, so that leaves me with some time to get some painting done! :)

Yesterday I listed a new original painting called "My Little Dragonflies". It features a purple haired princess, with BIG bright orange eyes, and bony little dragonfly friends flying around her. As well as the original, I've also listed the prints - the 8x10 ones start at just $12.99!

Tonight Wade and I are having a romantic dinner to ourselves! I can't wait! :)

"Alice and The Puppy"

2011-02-12T16:06:00.004+10:00

It's Saturday and it's a beautiful day outside! But...Wade's at work, and Ari is happy watching "My Little Pony the Movie" (which is the old skool version btw - so 80s!). So it looks like I should take the opportunity to stay in and paint!

Yesterday I finished "Alice and The Puppy" - the 10th (!) painting in my "Mini Alice" series. Well, they started out 'mini' - 8"x8" but the last couple I've done have required a bigger canvas, so now it's really just my "Alice in Wonderland" series. I've sold the rest of the original paintings in the series so far, so this is the only one available at the moment. Of course, you can still get all of the prints though if there's one that you particularly like.

Speaking of puppies, we really want a little pug puppy! We've decided that we'll wait until we have a bigger house though. At the moment 3 of us, and a cat, is enough in our little townhouse. :) Seriously how cute are they though!?

Thinking of Valentines...

2011-02-09T18:17:00.004+10:00

I've been starting to think about little Valentine's Day things to do with Ari, and I was looking at Martha Stewarts Valentine's ideas this morning - there's some really cute stuff to make! We'll probably look at doing something over the weekend while Wade (hubby) is at work.

Last night I added 2 new mini paintings to my eBay store - they are "Green Butterfly Fairy" and "My Crazy Pink Hair". They're at a fixed price of $29, so first in gets them :)

Today I've been painting a new "Alice in Wonderland" painting - it will be the 10th in the series! Here's a photo of just the sketching stage...can you guess what it is yet?

Tonight I've gotten out of making dinner! We're going to Mum & Dad's for a roast. Yum!

"Frangipani Fairy"

2011-02-07T17:12:00.005+10:00

You know it's the start of a good day when you go out for coffee and come back with art! That's what happened to me this morning when I met up for a chat with Tracey Potter. I was very lucky to receive a beautiful art print of hers mounted on a foam backing. It's adorable! I need to find somewhere to sit her in my house now...

I also listed a painting this morning that I finished late last night - it's called "Frangipani Fairy" and the original is up on eBay for $55 ($49 for Facebook Fans).

If you love her and can't afford the original, the next best thing is a print! 8x10 prints are only $12.99 - they fit in most standard 8x10 frames which you can buy practically anywhere! :)

Tonight after dinner (we're having chicken, chips and vegies - how gourmet of me!) Ill be working on some more mini paintings - they are running out like hot cakes!

Sunday.

2011-02-06T08:53:00.003+10:00

Thankfully, Cyclone Yasi wasn't quite as severe as first expected, but it still managed to cause a lot of damage to homes, boats, caravans, trees and the Great Barrier Reef. Down here in Brisbane it means that fruit and veggie prices are up (yes - lettuces are $5 each)!

This morning I've re-listed 2 original paintings due to a non-paying buyer on eBay. So here's your 2nd chance at "Delilah Bunnybow" and "Mini Blue Butterfly Fairy"!

I didn't get ANY painting done yesterday, so I'm really hanging to paint today, but first I need to take Ari to swimming lessons. Wade is working...bleh.

Cyclone Yasi & 2 new mini paintings!

2011-02-02T10:12:00.005+10:00

Wow it's another HOT Summer's day! It's times like these I dream of having an air-conditioned studio to paint in...

I shouldn't complain, because our North Queensland neighbours are having a much worse day. There is a big (level 5!) cyclone heading their way, and most of the major towns are being evacuated. Luckily, I don't think we'll be too badly affected here in Brisbane, but QLD sure is getting hit hard this year - first with the floods and now this cyclone. Hold tight everyone! Stay safe up there!

Yesterday I finished two new mini paintings - "Little Vampy" and "Rockin' Blue Fairy" - they're both $29 and first in gets them. :)

Also - with Valentine's Day on the way (less than 2 weeks!) "A Letter From My Valentine" prints are on sale for only $9.99 (normally $12.99). The original is still available too! :)

I'm off to make ice cold drinks for me and Ari!

"A Letter To My Valentine"

2011-01-31T14:50:00.007+10:00

We're back from NSW! We had a nice time seeing Wade's relatives, sight-seeing, swimming, and basically trying to stay out of the Summer heat! Ariella loved it at Wade's Dad's place because they have lots of animals - horses, rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, birds... She even had a ride on 'Bear' the miniature horse! So cute!!

Today Ari was back at daycare and I managed to get a good chunk of painting time in. I finished my Valentine's Day themed painting - it's called "A Letter From My Valentine". It features a girl (a princess maybe?) holding a love letter close to her heart. It's currently $79 for Facebook Friends (or $85 on eBay or Etsy).

The day has flown by! It's already time to pick Ariella up. Tonight after dinner (I'm making Beef Stroganoff) I'll be working on some more mini paintings!

Back on Sunday...

2011-01-24T17:17:00.004+10:00

It occured to me over the weekend that Valentine's Day is 3 weeks away, so I've started working on a Valentine's themed painting. I don't really know where it's going...I kind of just started out painting bits here and there and it's slowly turning into something. Anyway, I'll be sure to post pics of it later.

Tomorrow we leave for NSW. We're driving down to see Wade's parents and we're staying until Sunday. In that time, I will be putting my stores on "holiday mode" so that nothing can be ordered while I'm away. If there's one painting in particular you are after, just go to my "Available Paintings" album on my Facebook Page and write that you want it in the comment field beneath the painting you want and when I get back you'll be the first to have it. :)

Yesterday I finished another little mini painting - she's called "Gold Fairy" and she's $29.

Anyway, I'm off to change a nappy (oh, the joys of my afternoon!) and then I suppose I should think about packing. Hope all the school kiddies had a good 1st day back! :)

2 New Partnerships!

2011-01-23T13:39:00.007+10:00

Back from Ariella's 3rd swimming lesson, she was much more confident today than before. I'm so proud! Haha...

Now it's back home and back into painting. I just thought I'd share a couple of cool partnerships I've got going at the moment. The first is with "My Tag Art" who are licencing my artwork as tubes and tags for people to use in digital scrapbooking, collaging, graphic design, creating signatures and profile pictures etc. There are currently 4 images available, with a lot more to come! :)

The 2nd is with "MistyDreamz" who are licencing my artwork for cross-stitch patterns and designs! Ok, I'm going to let you in on a secret here. I did my first tapestry at the age of 11 - which was actually a "long-stitch" and eventually I got the bug for it and started trying "cross-stitch" and ever since I've loved it. I just don't really get the time to do it anymore - so this is the next best thing! If anyone buys one of these patterns, I would love to see the finished cross-stitch! Please send photos!

"My Blue Ringed Friends" + New Mini Painting

2011-01-21T15:43:00.006+10:00

I hope you are all feeling better than me. I've woken up today with a headcold :( sniffling and sneezing...

Yesterday I finished off a painting called "My Blue Ringed Friends". It features one of my most favourite creatures - the octopus. Blue Ringed Octopi are extrememly poisonous and are usually an unlikely friend, but this mermaid seems to be immune to their venom.

The original is currently on Etsy for $129 or on eBay for $135 (because eBay's fees are higher). You can now also buy the 5x10 print directly from me for only $12.99!

I also added another mini painting to my eBay store yesterday - she's called "Little White Flower Fairy". You can view her HERE (if she's still available).

The weekend is upon us! I'm hopefully going to be staying in and getting a lot of painting done. :)

Auction Winner and TONS OF PRINTS!

2011-01-18T16:18:00.005+10:00

Congratulations to Lisa, the winner of my Flood Appeal Auction on Facebook! Thank you so much to all who made bids and sent the message around, it really is a great cause to contribute to.

Whoa - It's HOT here today! It's definately the hottest day we've had so far this year. As I sit here typing I can feel the stickiness of sweat on me. Gross. There's also a storm rumbling in the distance...kind of reminds me of this painting...

Over the past couple of days I've been working on a painting that I can't show here yet, it's one I'm hoping to put into a shop sometime soon, and of course once I do I will show pics.

Exciting news though - I'm now offering a HEAP of new PRINTS!!

Most of them are sized 8"x10" (or 20.3cm x 25.4cm), so they fit in most standard 8x10 frames, and are priced at $12.99. They are all up in my Etsy store, some are also in my eBay Store, and I'll be slowly adding more to my eBay Store over the next couple of days.

In the meantime, I'm going to be getting some more painting done. I'm currently working on another mermaid. I think I better turn the computer off now, I don't want to risk it in the storm!

Stay safe everyone!

Queensland Floods

2011-01-12T12:12:00.005+10:00

Queensland, where I live, is currently experiencing the worst natural disaster it has ever seen. Our rivers are flooding, and 75% of the state is now flooded, with over 16,000 homes expected to go underwater. There's currently over 90 people missing and 10 confirmed deaths.

Fortunately, we live in a part of Brisbane that will (hopefully) not be affected too badly. We're high and dry at the moment! :) Many other people haven't been so lucky, and the Premier has created a Flood Relief Appeal in which you can donate money towards the people who have been affected.

I'm assisting in one of the only ways I know how at the moment! By painting and giving the proceeds to the appeal. I've created an auction on my Facebook page for my "Peace Angel" painting - and all proceeds will go to the Flood Relief Appeal. The auction is on from now until 6pm Sunday evening (the 16th Jan). It's a great way to donate to a great cause and also get some original art for your money! Postage is free, and I will post Worldwide. Good luck! :)

Ariella's Room + New Mini Paintings

2011-01-07T16:22:00.007+10:00

Hello! Have u taken your Christmas tree down yet? I've just started taking mine down today...

We've had a busy week! We finally got around to painting Ariella's room. I've always wanted my little girl's room to have stripes - and they turned out beautifully! It took a while to measure out the stripes, and tape it all up properly, but it was worth it in the end.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Tracey Potter, a fellow artist! It was nice to take a break from the usual daily grind and catch up with someone who spends most of their days painting as well! Tracey paints the most magical little paintings filled with pirate birds, gold fish sharks, and many other things that make you question the World around you!

In the past few days I've finished a few little mini paintings!
"A Twig in Her Hair"
"Vampire Cutie"
and
"Shy Purple Fairy"

They are each 5" x 5" (or 12.5cm x 12.5cm) on canvas panels. In the past I've put them up for auction, but I've been getting requests from people who want to buy them outright without having to wait for the auction, so now I'm going to be offering them at a $29 "Buy It Now" price on eBay, Etsy and Facebook, and any that don't sell within a week I will then auction off. So it's basically first in best dressed! I think that's the fairest way to do it at this stage. :)

I can't believe it's Friday already! Woo hoo!