"F nish Th s B k": An Adventure Of Sorts

 
Got my hands on this little gem today. "F nish Th s B  k" by Keri Smith is an interactive book that allows you to write all over it, and has an array of instructive steps and activities that you must complete in order to ‘finish’ the book (as the title so aptly states). Its a great tool to harness you sense of adventure and creativity. I’m having so much fun with it already.

A Spot of Sunshine

Have to say, I've been busy dreaming of the summer months (and all their glory) quite a bit recently with all this cold, cloudy weather lurking around. Just thinking about sunshine, sand, ice cream, bikini's and temperatures that could actually be classified as warm is like emotional torture, seeing as summer still seems so far away.

With all that daydreaming I chanced upon this pair of uber-cool Sunflower Harem Pants recently from Sabo Skirt. (Don't you love it when a great fashion find coincides with a moments thoughts!) These pant are the perfect little number to see in the warmer months. They're classy and casual, and not to mention super fun. I may also have a slight bias considering the fact that sunflowers are my favourite type of flower. But, in any case, I have to have these ASAP.

The Benefits Of Studios

Willem de Kooning's Painting Studio

I am so envious of any artist (developing, established, or hobbyist) who has access to a quality studio and work area. The number of benefits from having a large empty space to work, spread out, and get messy are beyond imaginable.

Trying to produce quality artworks from your bedroom is achievable, yes, but I can promise you not only is it incredibly frustrating but impractical and (unbearably) unproductive.
I can't speak for all artists, but my experiences cover everything from getting distracted by useless and time wasting exercises to managing to get paint everywhere, such as the splotch of turquoise paint that now permanently resides halfway up my curtains.

But the tidying- that's the killer. So often I feel forced to stop and tidy away my current project in order for me to also live in my room. Not that my room is particularly tidy anyways but is is a necessary element to the respect of our rental property (and ultimately my safety) if I don't have canvases strewn across the floor, pencils disappearing in piles of wet paint palettes, jars of turps being knocked around, or a nest of paper inspiration and old works instead of bedsheets. Because if I don't sustain and injury via art materials, then I certain won't be as lucky when my mother finds out about the damage that such a lovely mess is creating.

The tidying sucks. So many times I wish I could just leave everything out, and come back to it ready to jump straight back in, without having to worry about getting everything back out again. It's almost as if you have to reset your ideas and inspiration over and over again every time you pack down. Its something that I've always wondered just how much impact it has on my amazing ability to lose interest in 50% of all paintings/drawings that I start.

Seeing studios such as Willem de Kooning's (top image) and Charmaine Olivia's (bottom image) just turn me green with envy thinking about how much more productive it would be to have access to such an amazing facility. But unfortunately as always, these things cost money. Something that's not easily come by in the market of developing artist. So for now, I can only dream that I will some day be able to call some form of studio my very own.

Unknown Studio Space

Charmaine Olivia's New Studio

Colour Love

Had a play with colours this morning in my oil painting workshop. This sketch is based on the painting that I'm working on in the workshop at the moment, which actually has a completely different colouration. The colours that I was using were starting to get boring so I had a mess around on the sketch. I'm going to have to work them into the painting now somehow, because I like them too much now.

A Familiar Tune

In my pursuit to further my artistic abilities, and broaden the audience that view the work that come as a result, I have been immersing myself into the social media hype to increase my chances of  'getting my name known'. This (of course) includes beginning this very blog as a way of showcasing my development as an artist, the things that inspire me, and anything and everything in my so-called 'creative journey'.

I felt it was necessary to provide this (cliche) introductory posts even though soon I will most likely have posted so much that it will be lost in the distance realms of a blog that not even the most dedicated fans venture into.
But for those few who will see it before it melts away into bloggers no-mans-land, please excuse the tackiness of such a post, but I do feel that now that I have got this trivialness out of the way, i have clear the path for more interesting (better) stories, ideas and inspiration.