Australia calling... it's in our blood, I guess!

I have had a rather busy week!

Most of you know that I grew up in Australia, and that I have two amazing sons. Well, my eldest son, Jordan has decided to give life in Australia a try, too. He's chomping at the bit and raring to go!

My Dad and Jordan, 1992

(photo taken after it was framed, sorry for reflections)

Which means that I've been sinking in piles of paperwork. Even though Jordan is an Australian citizen by descent, the forms to be filled out, photos to be notarized, and long-forgotten files of mine to be dug out have taken up my time completely. Oh, and waiting for a long-form birth certificate from Vital Statistics, too. Just in case there was any doubt that I am, indeed, his mother.

Phone calls to my Dad with requests like "hey, do you know where my High School Certificate is?" and "um, do you know where my Grade 8 report card is?" because even though I'm also an Australian citizen, with the papers to prove it, I also have to prove that I lived there for more than 2 years. Lucky for me, for some nostalgic reason or another I also kept my last income tax return. Oh, you can imagine the humor involved when I called the Taxation Centre in Sydney to update my address on file.

Steve, from Taxation: "now I know that you won't have this, but do you happen to remember the address on file for your last return?"

me: "sure, it's right here."

Steve: "here?"

me: "yeah, on my last income tax return statement"

Steve: "you still HAVE it?"

me: "um, yes"

Steve: "that was 20 years ago. I can't believe how organized you are"

(now this is where anyone that really knows me starts laughing hysterically because I am NOT organized)

me: "well, I guess I kept it because I was so excited to get money back!"

Jordan & Juniper, 2000

Yes, this has been my week. But now the papers are in Ottawa at the Australian High Commission, and apparently the wait time is only about 3 weeks.

Which is good, because anyone who remembers being 18, probably recalls not being able to wait for the weekend, let alone anything else.

Jordan, 2008

Guessing Game

Guess?

I was over at Notes from Smelly Rhino Studio this morning and found that the amazing, multi-talented diva/artist that runs the joint has a pretty cool contest going on. So seeing as how I can't seem to come up with an original thought in my pretty head this morning,  I figured I'd take her advice and share the game.


So here's what you have to do: There's a little snippet from a painting of mine above. Guess what the subject is, and you will win a 4x6 print of it. I haven't listed it yet, so you can't cheat! BUT... I have shown you photos of it before.

Good luck!

The guessing game ends Jan. 31st. ;)

Why don't you make this contagious?
Make a post on your own blog. Add one of your photos and say, "I'm playing the guessing game..What/where/who/When? Guess and you win the print! Guessing game ends Jan. 31st!"

Come back here, guess and leave the link to your blog. Tweet much? Hit the little retweet button and make someone happy (me).

Painting Penny Lane on AquaBord

"Penny Lane"

8x10 watercolour on AquaBord
private collection

Now that the holidays are behind us for another year, I can start showing you what I was working on before Christmas - with no worrying about spoiling anyone's surprise under the tree.

Let me introduce you to Penny Lane.

I wanted to really emphasize the long strands of hair on Miss Penny, and that meant getting creative. So to start with, I selected AquaBord as my surface. My reason for this was that AquaBord "gives watercolorists unprecedented freedom and control. Comparable to watercolor paper, this multimedia panel simulates the absorbency and texture of cold pressed but allows color to be lifted back to white easily while also leaving the richest, most vibrant color possible. This reworkable surface provides natural looking highlights, fluid glazes, transparent subtle layers, and the ability to lift color while the surface is wet or even after it is dry."

(did you like that? pretty poetic, I thought. 

Straight from the horse's mouth, too)


You can get AquaBord at Blicks for about 40% off the list price, in either a flat panel or with a cradle (like a shallow box for displaying "as is")


So as you can see, AquaBord is pretty versatile, and perfect for lifting out those white strands of hair from the black background. True to traditional watercolour, I didn't use any white paint on Penny Lane. My favourite part of this painting, however, is the eyes. I love how I was able to lift out a bit around the reflections, laying in different colours, to achieve that wonderful "glassy" appearance.

Valentine's Day original ACEO paintings

Yesterday I did a little (and I really mean, "a little") de-stashing of my unfinished ACEO art.

What this means is that I dug around in a little box that used to hold taffy from Savannah, GA and found a few pieces that I'd abandoned, and felt inspired to finish.

This crow had a bright yellow background that I didn't know what to do with... so a little bit of paint later, I had a new Valentine's Day ACEO card:

"Red Heart Surprise"

original ACEO painting

Then, while I was still feeling all gushy and full of fancy, I painted this big heart growing out of the grass:

"Bloomin' Love"

original ACEO painting

And finally, I finished one of my Waif Kitties from last spring that just wasn't quite right:

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Another Mudshake for my friend, please

"Another Vodka Mudshake for my friend here..."

Now I don't drink very much. Mostly because over the years I've turned into a rather cheap date. Like "half-a-glass and I'm the happiest chick in the henhouse" kind of cheap.

But while I was away at Ste. Anne's Spa, I was charmed into trying a bottle of Irish Creme Vodka Cooler. Usually I find coolers of any kind to be sickly sweet, which means I couldn't finish one even if I wanted to - a rather safe bet if i want to keep my head on, right?

Enter the Creme de la Creme of coolers... I had a little taste and in the next breath, the bottle was empty.

Shocking, I know!

I am home now, trying to get motivated to clean the house. But with a 2-month waitlist of commissioned portraits ahead of me, I'm afraid the cleaning will have to wait.

Maybe I'll hire a student!

Ah, wouldn't that be sweet, me here painting and blogging while an underpaid teenager puts away the empties lurking in corners of my bookshelf:

(you know, I might be on to something here...)

With that said, I must make a flyer for the local high school and catch up with you on the flip side!

Happy New Year from my (messy) studio to yours.

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