Yesterday I spent most of the day hanging the exhibition at the Nelson Suter Art Society room. Seven of us are sharing the space. It is intriguing to see where the title has led each of us. I feel it looks very cohesive, although the work varies immensley in style. We open tonight, so it will be interesting to see the public reaction. I was too busy to take photos but will remedy this. I am really pleased with the look of my work.A slightly new direction but I am loving it.Watch this space.
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I have been playing with layering different elements to create a cohesive piece. Postcard sized, so not overthinking or taking too much time. Allowing the design to become what it will....
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My joint exhibition opens in the McKee room at the Nelson Suter Art gallery next Tuesday (oct 2nd). I am frantically trying to complete pieces ready for this. My work is referencing old journeys and cartography so the titles reflect this...Marco Polo's Visions, the Mystic's Dream and similar names to capture the essence of the ancient. Colours are muted, romantic and have the feeling of fragile parchments, the edge of awareness...soft greens, rusts, the colours of earth and sand...come travel with me...
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The new studio is progressing well, although always slower than hoped for... This lovely big window looks out to sea across the boulder bank towards the Abel Tasman National Park. I continue to dream of the work I will create there, the feeling I will hold to my heart as I allow the space to be the place where I can be the best of myself, to nourish my soul and allow the magic to arrive. How blessed am I ?
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Last night I attended the opening of the Spring exhibition at the Suter Gallery , Nelson. I have had two small paintings accepted. They looked good on the wall. One is a snowy farm scene (not my usual style of work) and the other is an abstract impression of a chapel door I saw in Spain. It uses various mixed media to give the look of crumbling walls and old gardens. I received lots of lovely comments.There was a huge range of styles of work submitted, and apparently quite a lot of 'non-selected' work. 
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Yes, the title of the previous post should have read 'Flax Flowers" Well done to observant people. As my mother often said..".less haste, more speed. "Ok , so mother was right again.Sorry for any confusion. A gorgeous Nelson sunset by way of apology to you all.
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Arts Council Nelson has been tasked with organising the creation of the 2500 flax flowers needed to create this installation on Armistice Day 11th November. We have worksheets available and can help to source flax for anyone in the Nelson area who is interested in helping us.We would love to hear from you.
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I am developing a new class based on the wonderful paintings of Cezanne.We will hand paint fabrics and draw back into them, and then use both hand and machine stitching to enhance the piece and bring it to 'life'. This is an image of the early stage.
I love Cezanne's work and feel that his brush strokes and colour palette will work well for this class.
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