IT IS ALL ABOUT THE BOX

It is that time of the year again - CHRISTMAS! 

I am not usually this organised at this time of the year. I usually put the last present under the tree at 11.59pm on Christmas Eve.

This morning I have been wrapping gifts because I actually finished my gift shopping yesterday! I have amazed myself :)

Whilst in this festive mood I got to the gift vouchers that were requested as gifts this year. I hate wrapping vouchers. They are a flat and unappealing in their presentation. I feel a bit stingy handing over a card with a voucher in it even though the value of the voucher is reasonable.

So, I had a light bulb moment and decided to make origami boxes to put them in! On to the trusty you tube I go and search for "origami boxes with lids for beginners". Found an easy to understand tutorial and Bingo! Made my first box.

The voucher wouldn't fit in it.

So I thought about racing off to buy bigger paper.

After some thinking - before the mad dash - I solved the problem. You don't make that fold right to the middle for the lid, so it is slightly larger than the bottom, why don't I just apply that theory to make a bigger box! And it worked. 

Tie a bit of string around the boxes attach the tag and all is done. Except one box is blue blue/violet. The red and neutral toned string does not go. So die the bit of string purple using my ink and hang it out on the clothes airer with the tea bags.

I am very happy with the results - hope the recipients will like them.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy healthy and safe Christmas and New Year. Spare a thought for those who are struggling and less fortunate than ourselves. xx

She's different from the rest: A MUST SEE EXHIBITION!

She's different from the rest: A MUST SEE EXHBITION!: Well, here I am again. Trying to get a little more frequent with the blogging. I probably will when I remember that I actually started one...

A MUST SEE EXHBITION!

Well, here I am again.

Trying to get a little more frequent with the blogging. I probably will when I remember that I actually started one!

I just thought I would "put it out there" - it being an exhibition - that is on this coming weekend. That is Saturday November 29, 12:00 to Wednesday December 3.

It is with Out of the Box Biz Art, to be held at the Wild Twig studio, 10 Captains Lane, Fremantle. The theme of the exhibition is "Frivolous Optimist".

I have two paintings in this exhibition.

One is titled Flowering Abundance. 90 x 60 cm Acrylic $1125

The other is titled Night Lights. 60 x 76 cm Acrylic $950

There will be some amazing paintings on display from the artists who are looked after by the wonderful Fleur.

So if you are in the area at all please find time to call in.

Thanks

Gillian

DREADED TAX TIME

I hate book work!

I have to psych myself up to do my - and my husbands' - book work in preparation for Marvelous Marvin the accountant. He works wonders with my efforts.

It is that time again, so I am preparing myself for the mundane, colourless activity.

I started with an email to Marvelous - it read: Do you think it is really worth my while doing a tax return for my minuscule business? Can you please reply as soon as possible as I would hate to be wasting brain power on numbers when I could be using it for colour.

He rang back straight away!

So anyway, I am now preparing myself for book work. So after writing this, the next thing I need to do is select the music I will listen to. I might even NEED to visit iTunes to purchase some more as what I already own may not be appropriate for today. THEN I will need to sip on my green tea and listen the some music, then it will be lunch time. After lunch I will then sort through all the receipts.

By then it will be dinner time and after that I will be helping people with their paintings.

Well it looks like tomorrow will be the day that I spend at the computer - doing book work!

I would rather be playing with these :)

(Oh, and so sorry for the long time between blogs. Must get more organised)

First blog

Well, here goes! 

I am a virgin blogger!

I have been thinking about doing a blog for quite some time. Mainly because I thought it would be a great way to keep a diary and to share some of the fun that goes on in my art studio while we are learning and experimenting with different paints and mediums.

You may be wondering about the title of my blog. It is a comment that was made about me many many years ago - when I was turning 21. One of my aunties was looking for a 21st birthday present to give me. She was looking at all the fine crystal, thinking that would be appropriate for me. One of her daughters was with her at the time and said to her "Mum, she is different from the rest". "The rest" being my three sisters who love fine crystal. And yes, I am different from the rest - but that is a good thing.

I am an artist. I hold classes or as I refer to them sometimes, painting sessions, in my home studio. It is also a place for people to come and get rid of their life stresses, have a bit of group therapy, laugh, or cry (mostly laughing). We do all this while creating some fantastic masterpieces.

I use mainly acrylic paints and mediums, oils, charcoal, inks - pretty much whatever my mood is at the time. Most of my work is abstract landscapes with a lot of texture. Every now and then I like to "tighten up" and paint a portrait of something very detailed. I don't stick to one style of painting. I also like a lot of colour. 

At the moment I am experimenting with the Derwent XL Charcoal on raw linen. I prepped the linen with Matisse Transparent Gesso which gave me some fabulous tooth.

The colours are very muted and I have had to be strong and not add "colour" to my painting. I am very happy with it and I must say I LOVE the XL Charcoals. The best thing about this medium is the fact that you can apply them to a wet substrate, dry and then blend with a wet brush or just as a dry medium.

Next I will experiment with the XL Graphites - very excited.

Well here goes, about to post this blog. Hopefully I have done it right. I guess I will find out soon enough :)

Happy creating,

Gillian