30!

Hubby and I are back from a quick whirlwind trip to Melbourne for my 30th birthday. We had the BEST time - eating like royalty, relaxing in our beautiful hotel (The Blackman) and exploring the streets of Melbourne and St Kilda.

Some highlights were:

• Birthday dinner at Movida, Hosier Lane.

•   Riding a bike along St. Kilda Pier, where my grandparents met over 60 years ago.

 

• Seeing "The Block"! We planned on having a sneaky look out the front and totally fluked it that it was "Open for Inspection" day! We couldn't believe our luck. We got to meet the lovely Shelley Craft, and The Block contestants, and walk through all of the apartments!

• Seeing Rama Nicholas' one woman musical comedy "After Ever After" at the Melbourne Fringe Festival.

It was great to get home and see my babies! I miss them so much when I'm away from them. At the same time it was a much needed break. I'm feeling recharged, refreshed and re-inspired!

So far this week I've been busy getting orders up to date, and I finished the mermaid painting I was working on at Comic Con. Some of you may have already seen her! I've popped her up for auction on eBay HERE:

"A Splash of Colour"

Side View

I've also thrown up a few prints up for auction starting at 99c this week - just to spark some interest :) You can view them all HERE.

Well, it's back to reality for me now. There's nothing like school holidays to bring you back to reality after a short break away! :) Wish me luck.

"Jelly Rose"

My first ever spray tan was with a lady named "Gelly Rose". I was so nervous. I went into her beautiful pink and white striped salon, and she was super lovely and friendly and made me feel so at ease! My friend and I didn't know her real name (sorry Sandra!), so every time we wanted to go to that salon we would just say "Wanna see Gelly?". That was probably...10? years ago. Wow. These days, spray tans are pretty much a thing of the past for me. But the name must have stuck, because this afternoon when I was thinking about what to name my new mermaid painting "Jelly Rose" sprung to mind!

"Jelly Rose" Original Painting

I had a picture of a cute blonde mermaid in my head. Most mermaids have long, flowing hair, but I thought there needed to be a mermaid with a cute styled cut! Surely there are hairdressers for mermaids right? This one has a little blonde bob with a fringe! I painted in one jellyfish, and it multiplied! lol. Before I knew it there were three jellies in the painting, and I then I added in a couple of peony roses for a feminine touch. Overall this painting has a calming effect to it.

A quick side profile pic I snapped in the backyard late this afternoon.

The original painting is up for auction HERE in my eBay store.

 *yawn* It's brushes down and bed time for me now. Night! :)



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Tummy Bugs & Tigers

It's been a hideous 48 hours, with Baby A, Hubby and I all coming down with a tummy bug. Miss 5 managed to miss it, which is awesome, but for the rest of us - it's been hard to get out of bed. Adding to that, we had an open home today! So it's been stressful to say the least, trying to get the house as spotless at possible while also feeling like death.

 Needless to say, I haven't had the chance to paint in the past couple of days, and that's driving me crazy! I've got a couple of paintings in the works at the moment, one of which is this mermaid with a short blonde bob!

 

I took a quick pic of it outside yesterday. It's a work-in-progress. Probably at least another 5 hours to go.

I do however, have a new art print to share with you! This one is a commission I did a few months ago, of a beautiful big eyed girl with sage flowers scattered through her long flowing hair. She's sitting with her White Tiger friend. 

"Sage's White Tiger"

You will find "Sage's White Tiger" prints now up in my store HERE. 

 White Tiger's are a rare variation of the Bengal Tiger. They aren't albino, but rather have a "white pigment" to their skin rather than orange! I've been lucky enough to see one up close at Dreamworld a few years ago, but sadly Mohan the White Tiger has since died.

 Free Shipping on all art prints is still currently running in my online store, but only for a limited time. It's automatically discounted at checkout.

 I'm going to see if I can muster up the energy to do some painting tonight. Otherwise, it's back to the couch for me! I hope you're all having a lovely (and healthy) weekend!

P.S. If you want to be the first to know about secret art updates, and go in the running to win a free art print this month, sign up to my monthly newsletter below:

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