“Breathe” Oil on Canvas WIP

As you may have noticed i have been a bit absent of late.

I am not going to share as its just a bit too much atm and for a Phlegmatic & Melancholic temperamental person such as myself, well lets just say I am hiding in  a hole

Today i FINALLY got to paint! woot!

This is going to be a piece for my contemplation series

ALSO while i am here, please bare with me over the next few days, i am finally going to get around to doing that blog update i have been meaning to do for the last 4 months, so things may look a bit funny for a bit

Monets Garden - Ref. 030

This last month I have been wrapping up for the end of the year,  we have already had many Christmas functions, catching up with friends, fund-raising events and a 5week stint of orientation -  getting ready for my oldest son who will start “Big school” in January.

Studio and business wise I have  been reviewing and organising my systems.  Trying to work out a way to deal with tasks, projects and issues that fall upon my plate, all that STUFF that needs to be done and  how all of that ties in with the family life – its been a busy busy time.

This year, particularly in the second half,  I have been extremely overwhelmed with all that there is to do.  Being overwhelmed has meant that i haven’t been relaxing, haven’t been enjoying the good times because I have been so stressed out, it’s meant that new things coming along have been even harder to deal with its just been a complete snowball effect.

Anywho ramble ramble, the good news is that thanks to David Allens – Getting things done (Thanks again Ron for recommending it), and  Rebecca Mezzino,  from Clearspace (whom i attended her seminar earlier in the year) I think i may have found a way to get it all sorted and most importantly feel relaxed about it. If all goes to plan it will be such a large shift for me, as i will be able to actually get to a state where I am not riding a rollercoaster from day to day and can just have a bit of fun free from guilt worrying about all the other things that i should be doing. Something i am striving for in my life BIG TIME!!

So in saying all that i have been very busy organising, organising and reviewing, organising and asking myself – “Whats working?” and “Whats not!”,  “What do I WANT to do?” and “What is taking up my precious time that I  don’t want or need to be doing ?” – Important questions for balance and i guess inner peace .

Morning Mist -Ref 032

In this process I have been able to revisit to some of my older artworks that i have lying around. Wondering whether they can be sold, reminding myself about things that i enjoyed about them, what i like and dont like, i even have gotten the paintbrush out and spruced up a few i wasnt too happy with where i thought they were lacking and found myself actually liking them again! (something i never do!)

I am also in the process of continuing to enter all my artworks to Flick, which tracks all my artworks, their status, price, sizes etc. Which will help me keep track of what is where but also to help plan for future works as I can review things at a glance.

So, Busy Busy busy. I am really looking forward to the new year I hope that all this i am doing will mean i can begin with a fresh outlook. I will be having a more specific review of my goals for 2009 and plans for 2010, as I did this last year and found it such an important task to do.

Today is also the 7year anniversary, of a very important day in my life, loosing a loved one is a hard thing to go through, as time goes by it is easier to deal with but you still have a little piece of your heart missing.  Today, I will be giving my loved ones an extra special cuddle so precious are our children we are so lucky to have them!

This weekend I have been sorting, tidying my office/studio. Partly for my own sense of wellbeing but also becasue I have the opportunity for a few exhibitions coming up so I wanted to have a look at what i have got As well as that, the end of year is coming up so it means time for review the year that was 2009 and planning some direction for 2010.

It’s often hard I think not matter whether its art or business or whatever to look at yourself and review areas for improvement but I really feel like crutical factor. As an artist / creative person you get so involved in your work so close to it sometimes you really cant see the overall picture. Look at everything with a fresh eye can sometimes mean that you see things you never have seen before.

So anyway here is my stocktake my collection of current art here at the studio. Some new some old, most originals but some prints. Some painted some coloured pencils .. it really is a melange of stuff.

If you have the time, I would absolutely Love ANY feedback anyone can give me on what you like / dont like. If you were to put one of these in your home / buy one as a gift what would be the style you would like ? What appeals to you. Its really good just to get feedback on what other people think ! 

If your on my mailing list I might just send a little package your way Christmas is on its way.

p.s if your interested Prints are $22- AU inc GST  Make a great gift

Still going on this one Like i said wasnt sure where it was going, still not sure, will do more on this one once the paint dries abit Sorry for the poor photo, the colours are slightly different in RL and there is some red in the dress that you cant see here.

And yes i am purposely leaving the sky like that . for some reason i like it hehehe

So, i seem to have a Contemplation series, it seems that its a theme i visit regularly in both paintings, in my Tree Girls and in my drawings.

I was urged today to start another one, not sure what its turning into as yet and sorry the colours just arent that great in this photo. Despite myself i do like doing these sort of paintings means i am moving forward discovering something new even if i learn “not to do THAT” again Trying to remain positive atm.