I have made some of my little fairy paintings into cards and am in the process of setting up an Etsy shop to sell them online. I have had a wonderful response from the locals (that's you library ladies) and from my family so I'm pretty sure they will create a special occasion for many more people.
They are available in packs of 3. All one design or one of each. All packs purchased will come with a handmade "Mystery Card" of my choosing that I know you will love.
If you are desperate and they aren't online yet, send me an email & I will get some to you.
With the success of the last painting reverberating through me I glued up another smaller canvas with pretty papers and a fairy in mind. I had done a follow your heart fairy for my niece, Daly, a couple of years ago and dredged up the sketch again. This one is much different but the intention of this fairy is the same, to remind you to "Follow your heart".
The fiddly body bits and gold-leaf I saved for a day when Fleur was back at school & am satisfied with this effort. I asked my father for his opinion to which he replied "what's she for", so this lead me to write the words of intent at the top so there's no confusion.
MY TIP: If you glue papers on with gel medium, return as it dries because thin paper will leave air pockets. Be patient and keep easing the air out from underneath. Some papers do tear if you bother it too much but I like the distressed look anyway!
Happy painting.
Hi! Welcome to my blog where I plan to talk about my art and show off my latest creative efforts and how they came about.
I welcome your comments and feedback.
I did a drawing session near the start of the year and ended up with a very quick sketch of a friend, Cushla, reclining on the couch. During the last school holidays I came across a canvas whose size immediately made me think of Cushla. My 5 year old daughter joined me in preparing the canvas and helped me glue on the papers. When dry, she doodled chalk drawings in the background while I painted in the body in 'maybe' colours. These have evolved and I like the colours Fleur used and ended up using that mustard colour in the background as a result.
On the more detailed painting session I set Fleur up with a decent size canvas and she chose her palette and we painted together in concentration for quite some time. The final tweaking of lips (3 times), hand (twice), hair and top of couch I did over a few evenings while cooking tea and Glenn played with Fleur. The varnishing was done after tea on the final night. Yes the house was a bit of a shambles that week but I was very happy to have a finished piece. Cushla looks self-satisfied and relaxed on the couch. It's not perfect and it's not technically correct and I LOVE it!
The Margaret River Bookshop has agreed to hang it above their counter for the month of July. I really want people to see it. This is new for me. Usually I'm not sure.
When I saw what Fleur had done on her canvas that day we painted together I was amazed. She stood back and said 'I'm done', then ran off to play with something else and left me to it for awhile.
A very satisfying painting experience. MY TIP
Try not to be too "precious" about your painting with a child around. Get messy, have fun and don't think about the end result too much. If the picture or materials are precious, save it for another time.
