Tag Archives: #acrylicart

fish on an old shutter

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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.

z

wings and dogs

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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.

I just love hedgehogs.

z

the dutch door. finally.

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Well, I have good news and bad news.

First the good news.

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!

z

painting #3 in a series

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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.

Such fun.

z

painting #1

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I’ve begun working on a series of paintings for the exhibition I am planning next summer. I thought I’d share the first one to whet your appetite.

This is the painting which gave me the inspiration for the series. I love old buildings, the falling down, crumbling walls, the rotting wood, the paint chipped doors and windows. The whole abandoned feel of them. It’s something I photograph every time I walk the small streets of the islands (or Athens, to be honest).

I’ve always been drawn to the juxtaposition of the old and the new in its ugly forms – beautiful decaying buildings for instance, with modern day graffiti on them is one of my favourites.

Or, as in this case, the beautiful patina of the old door and cracked walls with the discarded cola can and cigarette butt.

In an experimental mood, I added a little silver foil to the tin can make it stand out a little more. Not the neatest job, but its rubbish anyway, right?

I love this piece and hope others do too. I’m excited about this series of paintings that show the beauty of days gone by against the ugliness of today – the effects of too many people and not enough care about the beautiful places we live in.

And, as usual, this is painted on a recycled canvas.

z

more trays, way late

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Yes, I know. I’ve gone and done another disappearing act. But as usual, I have great excuses.

I’ve been busy grooming dogs in the morning, working 5 hrs every afternoon/evening at a travel agency, and trying to get a swim, a rest and some food in between.

Unfortunately, art has gone by the wayside as is always the case… its always the first thing I sacrifice. Cause its easy to do. Jobs for money get 1st priority, then food, then rest. Even the dishes get more attention than art… as pitiful as that sounds.

This coming feom a woman who didn’t mop the floors for weeks…

So, for now I’m sharing the last 2 small pallet trays I painted. I found the trays and couldn’t resist them cause they seemed cute, and just added a few touches to make them cuter.

The first one got fish, cause, well, everything gets fish pretty much. The second got an octopus… just because.

Other than that, life is pretty much as always. The island is still full of people but its a lot quieter than last month. I yearn for winter and quiet. And time to myself, to be at home for whole days at a time where I don’t have to see anyone at all… or be anywhere.

Oh lockdown, where are you now?

Is it healthy to wish you could just be left alone to do your own thing?

I bought a tiny folding bluetooth keyboard which I’m trying out on the phone. It will take a little getting used to if I’m to use it to do stuff like this, but it sure will be handy for connecting to the TV for searches and other typing needs.

Whatever.

Hopefully I will find/make some time to do some art soon. I miss it.

z

my new pepper mill

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I needed a pepper mill. I have peppercorns and no pepper. No ground pepper… So instead of buying ground pepper I thought it would be better to buy a pepper mill and use the peppercorns.

So I went looking. There were tons to choose from… but in the end I decided to try to personalise a simple wooden one I found in a local shop.

I gave it a quick light sand and began with a bit of leftover creamy white chalk paint. Then I painted circles in a stylized greek ‘evil eye’ design and finished off with some dots. Cause, why not.

Its random in its design but I think its unique and I’m happy with it.

Just one small bit of creativity finished quickly one afternoon. I’m ready to cook now.

z

what would you use it for?

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This is an unwanted wooden sugar container I was given cause it had 2 big cracks in it, therefore it was no longer good for sugar.

I filled the gaps, sanded and repainted it.

Now its decorative as well as useful. I think tea bags would be perfectly fine in it. Something pretty for the benchtop.

Or maybe on the bookshelf to hold odds and ends… spare batteries, rubber bands, loose paper clips… keys of unknown origin…

Or near the front door for dog treats?

Or in the bathroom for cotton balls, ear buds, the millions of loose blister packs of painkillers we all seem to have…

I’m sure it will brighten up someone’s home and hold something useful one day.

For now, its sitting on my bookcase, on display when people visit my studio. Till the right person takes it home with them.

z

getting back on track. or trying to.

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I figure its time to get back to sharing art and creations. This is one I did while I was in Athens last.

Its taken me a while to get back into the mood to post…

The house still feels empty without Lainee next to me and I can’t remember how many nights I slept with the door unlocked cause it was always the last thing I did before bedtime: walk Lainee and lock the door when I came in. Without her to walk, I’d just go to bed and forget the door. So now I try to lock the door as soon as it gets dark.

I’ve been busy. I did what I said I’d do: I made my home into an art studio/gallery. I’ve had a couple of open studio days and they went well. I’m grooming. And when I have free time, I am as creative as I can… Most of the time. I still have lazy days. Thats life.

Now I have to organise myself and decide what days I’ll be ‘open’ and what workshops I want to offer… It seems like an easy decision but I have a mental block. I can’t decide…

Hopefully the fog will clear soon.

Looking forward to sharing more art soon.

z

trash lamp recycled

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You know how I like to collect things… and how hard it is for me to resist picking up stuff people have thrown away when its obvious it can be made beautiful and useful again?

Well, a couple of weeks ago I went past the bins near here and saw this old lamp along with some old framed silk prints. I picked them up. The frames may be fixable, but the silk is beyond repair. I may be able to re-use the frames for something…

The lamp was rusty and the shade was ruined, but I had a shade at home I wasn’t using… providing the lamp worked, it was a great find.

So I brought it home and today, instead of dedicating all my time to preparing for our trip to Athens tomorrow, I spent some time fixing up the lamp. The pic above is after I’d sanded off all the loose rust and sprayed it black.

The pic below, shows it trying out its new shade.

When not sure what to paint on a shade, stick with the familiar… octopus… inspired by the broken lamp I ‘mended’ for a friend a year or so ago. Only this time the octopus is on the shade, not the lamp itself.

The only problem I found was that the paint bled a bit into the shade. Eh. Nothing handmade is perfect! Plus I added colour and re-worked it so the bleed wasn’t so obvious.

Here is the finished product from various angles. I need a ring thingy so the lamp shade sits inside properly, but for now its drying in the corner.

I do love remaking lamps. I’ve done a ton over the years… The rope covered lamp shade which is now on another base in my bedroom. The floor lamp made of old glasses. The Ikea desk lamp that got a rustic makeover. The rag woven lampshade on a retro base. And last but not least, the rusty wire lampshade I’m still using as my main light source when working at my kitchen/studio table… I never could resist old rusty wire.

So, another item added to the plethora of things I have for sale in my home/gallery!

Always adhering to the recycling theme, with a base destined for landfill.

Now to pack my bag for tomorrow.

z