A few years ago I’d sold a painting of fish on old slabs of timber to a friend. Fast forward a few years and someone who’d seen it wanted something similar.
Of course, its not so simple just ordering a painting on old timber, an old shutter or door. FIRST you have to FIND it. Which means looking at every rubbish pile you walk or drive by anywhere you go. Sorting through stacks of old wood wherever you see one, searching for something suitable.
Remember, I no longer have sheds where I can store every potential piece of rubbish wood I find…
Once you locate the right piece, you have to carry it home, then prepare it – wash and clean off dirt or whatever might have accumulated on it, sand off the worse weathering and layers of old paint, cut off any rotted or jagged bits it might have, mend where needed, and generally prepare the surface for painting.
Then paint it. Last finish with varnish and some method for hanging it.
Don’t get me wrong. This is right up my alley. I love doing this stuff. I just wish I had the luxury of the multiple sheds I had in Tasmania to store my stash of future projects. Back then I could pick up anything I thought would ‘come in handy one day’, so that when I had a commission (or an idea) I could just walk around the sheds looking for the right piece…
Those were the days…
Do you detect a note of nostalgia in my voice typing? Yes, you do. ‘Cause lately I’ve been thinking about Australia more and more and miss it more and more.
sigh.
Anyway. Enjoy some fish.
Here is the finished piece, sitting on my workbench outside cause I have no space to hang it.
Its been almost a month since I painted these wings on No Forma, the shop where I had my exhibition. And I’m only now finally getting to sharing a post about them.
I’d never done a painting on glass before but it worked out great. I used acrylic paints which scrape off easily and had to use 2 layers of paint with most colours to make the wings opaque enough.
And then, Just because, here is another photo of me and Vincent enjoying the sunset.
And here is little Milly – just because she’s the cutest of my little customers and the look on her face is priceless!
Not a dog, but this is a little guy who visited my yard a few weeks ago. Vincent let me know he was there, stuck in a corner, unable to get out. I caught him and put him in a cardboard box with some leaves for him to hide in, then I called the wildlife rescue place here on Paros (https://alkioni.org/). They normally deal with birds, but they will take other wildlife if necessary. They kept the little guy for a couple of days to make sure he was healthy and eating, then set him free in the hills somewhere.
Turns out he must have been part of a litter who somehow ended up in my neighbour and mine’s courtyards. A few days later another one appeared. And I saw a dead on the road next to the supermarket next door too. Poor little guy.
We have high stone walls so the only way these 2 little guys could have gotten in is if they fell into the yard somehow, maybe trying to burrow into a wall and slipping down it into Adrian’s yard, and from there to mine.
Henry, the one who is living here now only spotted now and then in the evenings, is getting quality kitten food and fresh water and is welcome on both sides of the fence. I’ve already had an offer from a friend who will take him once he needs more space as she has a big safe garden.
While my brother was here I didn’t have the space to work on anything larger than would fit on the corner of the kitchen table. So, when he asked me to paint him a fish on marble as a gift for a friend, I got out some broken marble pieces I had, my watercolour pencils and watercolours and made this for him. Since he’s flying, he needed the marble to be thin and light so I used a broken marble tile piece I found.
Turns out I’m really good at doing fish… must be in the blood. My grandfather on mom’s side was a fisherman, my family on dad’s side and my brother are all in the fish/seafood business… That must be it.
You already know I’m a magpie, constantly picking up crap stuff I find anywhere and everywhere. So, I had this spare bit of marble that I decided to paint while I had my stuff out and the table was already occupied with it all. This time I decided to do something different. I rarely paint birds, but I saw this photo and loved the way they all seem to be gossiping.
You know what I love about painting watercolours on marble? Its the way the marble doesn’t soak up the paint – it allows it to sit there till it dries. It takes longer to finish a painting as I have to wait between stages, but sometimes the pooling of watery paint gives me the effects I want and allows me to bleed colours together in a way I can’t get on paper.
Anyway, here is a quick look at the bedroom made into a studio before mom and Peter arrived. That whole wall was my working space, with great light coming in through the window which faces east. The opposite wall is bookcases and storage.
Later on I added a shelf (I found tossed out on a scap pile) and an easy access way to store paint tubes using clip hangers I already had and didn’t really use. After mom and Peter arrived I had to shuffle things around as I needed to put up the blow up mattress to sleep on.
This is Peter bonding with Vincent.
And here is Vincent, looking gorgeous as ever at a beach bar.
Well, there you have it. Two posts in two days. Who knew!
I finally got around to painting the dutch door I made for french door into the courtyard. I made this door for a couple of reasons. I groom dogs and I do them out the back there. The courtyard is very safe and enclosed, but I would always have to close the french doors to keep them from escaping into the house, and greek french doors never have handles to open from the outside. The dutch doors allow me to keep the doors open with the flyscreen closed – and protected from little monsters running straight through it.
The other reason is that I was visited by a rat twice a few years ago.
Once was enough. Twice was beyond enough.
I like to keep the back door open all the time, flyscreen closed, to get fresh air. And rats chewed through the flyscreen. UGH.
Hence, a dutch door.
Here are the before and after pics. Before, boring old marine ply which didn’t improve with exposure to sun and rain.
And after… I gave it an undercoat of white, then an ombre blue background, finished by painting a mess of wildflowers on it and a coat of outdoor varnish. Both sides.
Pretty, ain’t it? I love it. Of course we’ll have to see how well it holds up to the weather and dogs scratching at it to escape being groomed…
For those curious about how it was done, I used brushes and house paint for the undercoat and background. Then I used acrylic paint for the flowers and grasses. For those I was very experimental. I collected various plants on my walk with Vincent that day and I used them to create the grass by dipping them in paint of various green shades and smashing them onto the wood.
I used leaves and flowers pressed into paint to create the leaves and flowers. That didn’t always work so well, so I used brushes, cardboard and anything I could think of to add more detail and shape.
In the end I think it came out very pretty. I’m sure the visiting dogs agree.
And now for the bad news.
Turns out my Australian Business Number (ABN) was cancelled due to the fact that I haven’t used it or filed any income tax since moving to Greece – since I work and pay tax in Greece. And now my junk4joy domain will be suspended till I can reinstate my ABN and upload it to my host again. Which I’m in the process of doing.
BUT… I have none of my information so its a long deep winding tunnel of frustration!
When I left Australia I left a box of documents (old tax returns etc) with my brother who put it in storage as he’s moved a couple of times so he’s unsure where it is. Plus he’s on his way Greece and had no time to go searching for it.
My old laptop corrupted a few years ago and I lost everything on it – including all that information.
So I’m kinda stuck. I’m working on it. But not in time to stop my junk4joy domain from being suspended for 30 days from May 25. I’ll be back once I have the info I need and re-link it all, but till then no more posts.
Not that you’ll miss them as I haven’t posted for over a month even with a working blog!
It’s been a very busy time since I got back from my 2 trips to Athens. Yes, you read it right. Two trips. I got back home and had to go back. Nothing bad… Just stud duties for my little man, Vincent. We wait in hope to hear if he’ll be expecting a new brood of puppies!
Meanwhile since I got back, I put a lot of time and energy into converting my bedroom into an art studio.
I’ve been sleeping on a single bed in the living room since mom was here this summer and I got used to it. I live alone, I don’t really need a QS bed taking up all the space in the only bedroom. My house is always a studio all the time anyway, at least with a dedicated room for it I can see my kitchen table and can usually cook without having to remove art projects from the stove top.
When mom comes back in summer I’ll add a single bed to the bedroom and work around it. At least I’ll still have a space to do stuff and not have to put everything away so mom can cook and we can eat.
I also streamlined my space and mind. Mainly my mind.
I decided that I’m way too scattered (aren’t all artists?) but I’ll never get anywhere if I don’t concentrate my energy on one, or maybe two things. Wishful thinking maybe, but by putting away a lot of my other craft stuff I can concentrate on painting. Acrylics and some mixed media. And maybe some watercolours or pastels.
I’ve kept my felting stuff at home but put it all away into a cupboard (my wardrobe really) and taken all my craft stuff to the container for safe keeping. I believethink hope that by doing this I won’t get sidetracked and I’ll finally be able to have that exhibition I’ve been wanting to have for such a long time.
And it’s not like I have forever. Once mom comes at the end of May, I’ll have to put away all large work and go back to things I can fit on my small desk in the bedroom.
We do what we can with the space we have…
Other than finally being able to paint, and FINALLY getting my mojo back, I’m starting Art from Trash workshops next month and trying very hard to encourage everyone to join in and create their own stuff to enter into our Art from Trash competition to be held in June.
Lots of work. But my main focus right now is my own work, which runs a close parallel to my art from trash interests… the series of paintings I’m working on is all about the trash people leave around the island.
I’ll share images soon. For now I’m just glad to be feeling it again.
And not feeling in the least creative. Or talented.
Sad isn’t it?
I’ve done a little embroidery on my long term ‘work in progress’ jean jacket but not enough to brag about.
I made 3 acrylic backgrounds to paint on but I don’t know what I want to paint cause I’m just not inspired.
sigh.
This is the thing with me, I get into the groove and create like a mouse on speed, or I fall into a slump. They say you have to keep at it, even if what you create is crap… I tend to curl up into a ball and watch Netflix. That and chocolate – the opiates of the masses. Legal too.
I did have a brief glimmer of inspiration I made these two small acrylics…
Then, having seen a pretty amazing sketch at my friend Ada’s framing shop done in oil pastels (the work of an older woman, made years ago on cardboard) I decided to buy some.
Now, bear in mind, I hadn’t really used oil pastels before, since using crayons when I was a kid. And I dislike them. The smell, the feel, the fact that they don’t blend well get all over your hands, and if you end up with a bit on the floor they’re impossible to get off. Ugh.
Anyway, I had a play.
This is what Gumby would look like if he was a donkey and had been painted by a colour blind five year old.
My second attempt was a bit better. But I’m giving up. I’m going back to water colour, acrylic and, my favourite of all time, soft pastels.
Lately it seems like all I want to do is curl up on the couch with my ‘work tray’ and coffee table and stab wool with sharp implements.
Maybe it’s because it’s been really cold and windy and not at all inviting out there…
Maybe its cause needle felting is a more immediate way to create sculptures – for instance, it’s so much quicker than papier mâché which needs to be done in stages with long periods of drying in between.
Plus, working with needle felting gives me the opportunity to make miniature stuff – something I’ve always had a passion for.
Whatever the reason, I’ve been working on these little figures most afternoons and evenings and listing them in my Etsy shop.
Here is baby boy mouse with his bunny and milk bottle.
And the baker mouse with her fresh loaves of bread and her baker’s cap.
A middle aged couple on the way to the beach with towels and soft drinks in hand.
A little gardening mouse in her ladybug boots.
A homeboy mouse with a hoodie, untied sneakers and snacks.
A ladylike mouse whipping up cream to top a pie.
And last but not least, the best Elvis impersonator of the mouse world, Elvis Mousely.
These little guys are so much fun to make. They’re done in a couple of days mostly, depending on the time I have to spend on them and the bits I need to make – like the shoes and any props I can’t buy. Sometimes I make my own clothes (like Elvis’ jacket and the aprons on the cook and gardener), or footwear which means I have to let the air dry clay I use in most cases dry. And any painting I need to do… But they’re quicker to make than the papier mâché dogs I had been making in the past. Not to say I won’t be making more of those!
My needle felting workshops are doing ok as well. Given this is a small island and a lot of people leave over winter and are too busy to do any crafts in summer, I never expected these workshops to take off, but they are great fun for those who do join in.
But I have to get back to painting and not spending all my time stabbing wool. I have 2 commissions and the series I’m working on waiting for me!
I finished the 3rd painting yesterday finally. It had only been sitting on my easel since before Christmas and I’d barely touched it.
Feels good to have it done finally.
Now a new canvas is sitting on my easel, in the living room (ie my studio) starting at me accusingly as I sit and felt, or do nothing.
I have some ideas of what will go on it, but so far all I’ve done is prepared the canvas. Better get my paints out again as I also have a cat commission to finish by next week.
For now the newest painting is hanging in my bedroom and I love it there.
I have no idea where I’ll hang the next paintings I plan on doing will do… I am fast running out of wall space. Not that I had a lot to start with…
I’ll have to think of something.
Meanwhile I continue to work on STUFF.
The felting workshop I did this week went great. We all had fun and got something to show for it at the end. It might only be a needle felted BALL, but hey, its the start of something great! You gotta learn the basic technique first and that’s what the first beginners session was about.
Next week we’ll add colours and attach parts to make the ball into something more interesting.
Then I have to plan my second beginners workshop series and add in an advanced one for those wanting to take it further.
I finished this one quite a while ago, its been on my wall long enough to blend in with the furniture now. Still, I hadn’t managed to share it, so here it is for your enjoyment. 🙂
Its my second in the series I’m working on (sometimes more actively than others) which are mostly on recycled canvases and picturing the beauty of our island and the ugliness of humans with their disrespect of their surroundings.
This is a subject close to my heart cause I really hate what is happening on Paros with its over-tourism and the continual construction, turning a cycladic paradise into another version of every resort island in the world.
In summer its noisy, with loud music on every side, people blocking the small streets, motorbikes, quads, traffic jamson the roads and ferries lining up in the bay spewing out black smoke.
In winter, instead of the welcome quiet, we mostly have the sounds of construction in the countryside.
I grieve for the Paros I knew growing up. But while the government cares more for what it can make from tourism and ‘growth’ and ignores the fact that it’s destroying the very thing that brings in the tourists and money, not to mention that growth without consideration for the future is like cutting off your nose to spite your face, this will continue till Paros loses its character and attraction.
But it is what it is. We can’t do anything about it. Two years ago the residents of Paros rebelled againt the beach bars taking up so much space on beaches that people who didn’t want to (or could afford to) pay for loungers and umbrellas couldn’t find space to set their towels. The media called it ‘the towel movement’. We had protests on beaches and succeeded in the municipality enforcing the limits of beach bar space and allowing space for ‘free’ beaches.
Well that backfired. The government over-rode the local municipality and gave out permits to bars as it pleased, and now keeps the money itself.*
Ah. I love the smell of corruption in the morning.
I have a ton to say about it all, but I better get off my soap box and get back to my little life and creativity. That’s what my blog is about.
So, till next time!
*I am no expert. I try to remain totally uninformed on the subject of politics. My statements are based on what I am told by people who are involved with the municipality and local government and what I can glean from other sources despite myself. Its like a car wreck… I don’t want to know but can’t help looking.
While doing some ‘filing’ on my computer I came across some images of things I never got around to sharing on here.
Both are paintings on larger pieces of marble.
I’m having a blogger crisis.
Sometimes I wonder if I want to continue with the blog as a lot of time I don’t feel like I have much to share or anything to say that anyone would be interested in hearing. I know it’s a great way to share my work, hopefully get people interested in it, hopefully drive sales from my shops, but to be honest, I’m not sure it’s working. At all.
In the past I’ve had success with my CafePress shop, Ebay and my Etsy shop… but it seems to go in cycles. I’ll go through a period where I sell stuff and get commissions, and then for months and months nothing. Its kinda depressing really.
So I just continue to share things now and then, not as often as I used to, cause I’m busy doing stuff which I either don’t want to share or is just too boring for words. I mean, who wants to know what I’m watching on Netflix or hear about me doing the laundry or washing dishes? I certainly don’t want to know about it and I’m the one doing it. Or not. As the case may be.
Life goes on for all of us. Sometimes its creative, and sometimes its socializing, and sometimes its hibernating.
What I’ve been doing lately is mostly needle felting, with a bit of painting on the side – so many paintings unfinished – and organising workshops.
I posted my needle felted critters and some people were interested in learning to needle felt, so I decided to offer a couple of beginner workshops, adding more advanced ones later on as needed.
So far its looking promising. I have booked out the first series with some participants for the second round of beginner’s workshops.
It takes a lot of time to organise things like that cause my brain is not made for logistics… and all the different ways to spread the word and get in touch and communicate means I am posting on FB, Instagram, sending messages in Messenger, Messages, Viber and WhatsApp and then I have to keep track of who wants to do which workshop and WAAAAHHHH.
Makes me wanna sit in a corner rock backwards and forwards.
But I do love doing workshops. I love meeting new people (like I do with my sculpture workshops (you can see those on my website www.zefiart.com * and find them on TripAdvisor and Viator). And I love sharing my knowledge and skills with people who want to learn them.
* For some reason on this computer I keep getting error/unsecure site messages when I visit my website but it seems to work on the mobile and other places. I have no idea why. I’ve tried just about everything… Deleting cookies, emptying the cache, chatting with customer service at my website host. Computers confound me despite the fact that I can do a lot on them… some things are too confusing.
Anyway… I’m looking forward to a few workshops coming up, various social events I’m going to, and I’m enjoying the gorgeous weather we’ve been having on and off between bouts of rain and wind. Today is one of the glorious days it’s hard to believe isn’t spring. Oh, and I’m joining a theatre group here on Paros. I’ve always loved theatre and, although secretly I would love to act, I’m being realistic that I will probably freeze on stage, so I’m limiting my involvement to building sets and painting backdrops! That should be great fun.
Who said there’s nothing to do on Paros in winter? I think it’s very busy! Just quieter on the roads and less places to eat out. And that’s fine with me!
junk4joy 