The Finders Keepers Market is an amazing event which brings together emerging and contemporary independent artists and designers of original and high creative standards across 80 stalls. And I am thrilled that I’m going to be part of it!
I will be sharing one big art-tastic stall with fellow artists Emma of Benconservato and Penny of Pocket Carnival. Come say “hi” if you can make it. We will be next to the Frankie stall, opposite the bar.
The Finders Keepers:
Friday 7th May from 6pm – 10pm
Saturday 8th May from 10am – 6pm
CarriageWorks – 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh*, Sydney, NSW, Australia
(*that’s Newtown / Macdonald Town)
I recently finished painting a mural for a new European style artisan bakery in town. The brief was to paint bread in a non-cliched way, to include a local element without making it touristy, and to encourage customers to look down into the shop to see all the yummy things being handmade fresh in the store.
We decided to focus on one of the islands just off-shore; the one with the old lighthouse. I wove in the history of how the supplies used to be delivered to the island via boat, then hoisted in up the cliff in baskets. My concept employed a little “artistic/poetic license” with a loopy rope leading from the preparation bench in the kitchen, across the mural, all the way to the lighthouse, with baskets of bread seeming as though they’ve been freshly packed by the bakers, and sent sliding on their way along the rope.
The bakery owners also like my whales with hands, so we popped some of them in there too. It seemed only right since so many of them visit this area each year.
The final result being that your eye tends to land on the whales, swirl around the water, and follow the rope all the way into the kitchen!
Visit the bakery at: k’pane, Artisan Bakery
Jetty Village Shopping Centre
Coffs Harbour, NSW.
(P.S. The movie above is a stop motion capture, created by animating a series of still photos, taken once every five minutes during the painting process. If you enjoy it, please do share it around!)
Here’s a freebie for you; a desktop wallpaper of my “Adrift” illustration for you to download and enjoy (for your personal use only though, please don’t reproduce it).
PC: To set this image as your Desktop Wallpaper, right-click on the image and choose from the menus “Set as Wallpaper” or “Set as Background” (depending on your browser’s options);
Mac: Save the image then right click on it and “Set Desktop Picture”
During September I worked on a commissioned portrait for a lady that I didn’t get to meet. Luckily I was sent some great photos that showed the close bond between herself and her daughter.
They have matching tattoos, and the strength of their relationship was very clear. I’m hoping that even though I didn’t get to know them, I still managed to capture their connection.
I got to paddle in cool mountain streams, and bask beneath big trees in July… well on paper at least!
I delved deep into two commissions… each for couples celebrating their anniversaries, each couple enjoys the outdoors and has a love of nature, and kayaking down creeks, each are yet to have children, but are devoted and in love with their pets.
The difference was that one couple lives in Sydney, Australia, the other in Minnesota, USA.
Once again I wove lots of symbolism and metaphor into these works, and had a lovely time doing it too.