My heart was stolen in April, by the vividly painted faces of the tribes people in Papua New Guinea, and although I have never travelled there, these folk have taken me to another place as my studio fills with brightly patterned faces.
The commission I mentioned last month has arrived to its patron, and has been given to her best friend as a gift. Now both recipients have seen the painting I can show it without spoiling the surprise. It was a gift from one to another, to mark the pregnancy of her first child. Molly sent me the most beautiful email of thanks explaining her interpretation of all of the elements, and also sent me a photo of the work after she had it framed. It’s so great to get feedback.
See the finished piece in the Gallery section of this site.
A couple of weeks ago I met up with some locals to help paint a series of murals for the upcoming annual fair of this little community. The paintings, that feature flora and fauna native to this area, will be displayed around the streets on the weekend of the fair at the end of May. It was a cool way of meeting some of the locals in my new town, not to mention learn about the native wildlife that I’m now surrounded by.
Also in April I contributed an acrylic painting to a local art exhibition. It’s not my usual style or technique, but it’s good to challenge the rustiness sometimes, and to break the “golden rule” of art teaching to never use outlines. Here’s a little bit of it…
