First Camping Trip, acrylic & enamel,70x70cm
I sold this painting over Easter. It was done from a photo taken on our first camping trip . We had bought this orange tent the day before in a rush but it worked out to be an excellent tent. We went to lake Cootharaba with another family and set up under the trees. The two kids are my eldest son and their eldest daughter when they were very young!!!
‘Line between Heaven and Earth’, acrylic and enamel
The original sketch for this painting was done at our first house in Redcliffe where our old fashioned washing line stood in front of a row of frangipani trees. It was a sketch where I concentrated on drawing the negitive spaces rather that the image and I was very happy with the results. Recently I found the sketch and decided to paint it. Hanging out the washing may seem very mundane but for me it was the place were I most often prayed about the concerns of my day and therefore connected with God. I painted in such a way as to emphasise that life is quite messy when our eyes focus on the the things down on earth but when we lift our eyes above this line things become clearer. I was very happy when this painting was a finalist in the Pine Rivers Art Awards and was then purchased for their Collection. This is the first painting in my washing line series
Most artists don’t earn a lot of money and can wonder why it is all worth the effort sometimes. A friend of mine gave me an encouraging article which I have blutacked to my studio wall. It quotes a letter from Pope John Paul ll :
“In order to communicate the message…of Christ, the church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the Spirit,of the invisible, of God. It must therfore translate into meaningful terms that which is in itself ineffable. Art has the unique capacity to take …the message and translate into colours, shapes and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who look and listen…..It is up to you…who have given your lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ the world is redeemed, the human body is redeemed,and the whole creation…is redeemed. Humanity in every age and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and destiny… Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence. It is an invitation to savour life and to dream of the future….Artists of the world, may your many different paths all lead to that infinite Ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe,exhilaration,unspeakable joy.”
I have been wanting for a long time to somehow use my art to support projects that break the cycle of poverty in the developing world. A number of years ago I discovered KIVA .
As stated on their website “Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to people” who need funding to set up a small business that will enable them to support themselves and their families thus lifting them out of a cycle of poverty. We have found that 99% of these loans are repaid in full and we are then able to relend if we wish to others and thus the whole process can begin again for another family. I cannot emphasise how much I am impressed by whoever thought up this brilliant scheme . Each loan is $25 to enable as many as possible to participate.
How does all this relate to my Art. Well if someone wishes to buy a piece of artwork from me and mentions that they wish for the money to go towards KIVA, I will give 100% of the sale price to support KIVA. If you wish you can also ask to be given information about the people and projects I have lend the money to or you can suggest the country you wish to support. Ultimately the loans will be repaid to me and I will be paid for the artwork or I may just feel I want to relend it. If you are interested in supporting the work of KIVA, why not get a free artwork thrown in!! To learn more about KIVA go to http://www.kiva.org/about
“Other people’s art will always astound me, but I can’t do theirs, I have to do mine” San Soucie
“The only people I have ever seen paint successfully, consistently with great authority, unselfishly and without fear of failing were about 4 years old” Brian R. Johnson
“We must accept that this creative pulse within us is Gods creative pulse itself” Joseph Chilton Pearse
“Every artist dips her brush into her soul and paints her own nature into her pictures” Henry Ward Beecher
“The amateur is afraid of boldness, the professional is afraid of timidity” Ed Whitney
“The mission of art is not to copy nature but express it” Honare de Balze
“A painting is like a Monarch, you stand before it and wait until it speaks to you” Goethe
“The most pleasing results are those that convey a lot both visually and emotionally, yet through an economy of means” Donald Wilkinson
“To draw you must close your eyes and sing” Pablo Picasso
“Art is a collaboration between God and the artist, and the less the artist does the better” Andre Gide
Amamoor Creek, acrylic
One of the most exciting things I have discovered this past year has been the wonderful effects of painting a new painting over the top of an old one.You might say what is so exciting about that!! Well, the excitement comes when you allow the old painting to intergrate into the new by allowing parts of it to show through in the new painting. Sometimes I have found that the new painting resolves really quickly with lovely interesting almost abstract marks from the old painting becoming the cliff or the wet sand or whatever in the new painting.
The trick is not to fill it all in and lose all of the underneath painting. Give it a go, you will be surprised how effective it can be .
I have found this checklist invaluable when I get stuck with a painting
Ask: Does my focal point stand out?- if not use some colour, value or temperature contrast to enhance it
Ask: Are there boring passages?-if so add more imagery or try adding interest through colour and texture
Ask: Is there unity?- creat a unifying arrangement of values, colour, shapes or lines that link the painting together giving the viewers eye something to follow
Ask: Is something too dominant?- Balance it out perhaps with a glaze of colour.
Well I’m giving this blogging a go to see how it turns out.I am a landscape artist by preference but am working on a few commisions at the moment .One is a large monet style waterlily and the other is a sculptural piece with a spiritual meaning.
It is school holidays so hard to be inspired with kids around.
Julie Wecker's Blog 