Mary Sue the Beekeeper Doll

As this is the last week of 2011, I thought I'd wish you all a wonderful holiday season with a picture of my latest  acquisition. I should say, adoption, although I think this little lady adopted me. The moment I saw her, I knew I wanted her living in my house.

Rachel, of My Country Kind on eBay.com, is the doll maker. Exceptional dolls. The link to her site is here for you to save for the future, as she has no dolls for sale right now, but wait until after the holidays.

Her black dolls are wonderful, too, very large and beautifully dressed. As Rachel is in the States, ordering one that size would have been a bit prohibitive postage-wise for me. In any case, I love my more diminutive Mary Sue, and she likes being in Australia.

Here's a few others I found on her site. Hope she doesn't mind.

Oh, and don't be afraid to contact Rachel. Along with being so talented, she's super friendly. She might even consider a custom order or two.

Enjoy your holidays. I'll talk to you in the New Year.

New Art - My Take On Equiano - Colonial-style Portrait

This is my latest Colonial portrait. Change of  pace for me because I've based it loosely on a real man - Equiano, who was enslaved as a child in Virginia (or was it South Carolina? - some dispute over that) in the 18th Century.  He went on to travel the world with a later master,  educated himself, finally purchased his own freedom, and took up residence in England, where he became a member of the abolitionist movement. He made his fortune by writing his autobiography, which had considerable influence on public thinking in 1789 England, and remains for sale today.

I've seen only two pictures of Equiano and they don't appear to be of the same man, but this is how I imagine him. Artistic licence. He would have been a magnetic and imposing figure, I'm sure. Certainly he would have turned heads when he delivered his anti-slavery petition at the British Parliament.

"Gentleman of the World - Equiano"
12 x 18

Toronto Maple Leafs Vs Montreal Canadiens

I know it's an odd title for an art blog, but I just watched a great hockey game.  (I am a dedicated Leafs supporter.) It reminded me of three paintings I did as an homage to these two teams a couple of years back. Those paintings were sold, but prints are available. Click on the titles for more information.

The Buds Were Winning

but Malcolm suppressed his joy.

regretting his decision to attend an away-game alone.

Brother Alfonso was New to the Order

and having some difficulty adjusting.



 Brother Alfonso was Perturbed

to discover that Brother Domenic, a sturdy fellow,

was from Montreal

Okay, so this is blatant self-promotion, but if I don't do it, who will? And I so love my Leafs...

More of my Work - a little bit of Americana...or is it Australiana?

I'm on something of a roll. I decided to paint something a little different. Although I've done Colonial pictures before, these are my first in many years, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing them. The fashions were such fun researching!

And, just as I was getting a little frustrated (what else is new?), I sold my "Private Pool" painting, which delights me. When I finished it, I considered keeping it for myself, but I have a number of pictures I've never offered for sale and it's just silly to keep adding to the collection. I will never have enough wall space for all of them, let alone other artists' work that I've collected over the years. So she's sold. Perhaps I'll do a similar one some time.

Anyway, here are my Colonial pictures. I love the woman, but men back then tended to have rather foppish (old, old word, but fitting) hair-dos. It was the era of the male peacock. How times change.



I think I'll do a couple more of these. Stay close by.

More Personal Offerings

Here are two more of my paintings. Nothing has sold on eBay, which is a pity. It's either because the pictures are complete rubbish or because of the economic climate. This is how I feel about my novels too. It's a sad indictment on my claim to creative confidence when I think this way. But the truth is, all of  us who produce art - in whatever form - require positive feedback, preferably in the form of sales.

"Window Seat"

"Gran in New Orleans"

I don't need to sell, but I need the love. Sally Field would understand this.

Latest Painting - A Little Naive Australiana

Had a problem finding the right light to photograph this one. So many different greens, and not one of them emerald! I've added enlargements so you can see the detail.

I have always loved this kind of folk art. There are one or two famous artists out there that make me drool with their detail. Alas, my work is not as refined, but the essence of a simpler time comes through, I think.

"Village Life"

And guess what took the longest time to paint? Those darned chooks! (Forget the ducks. From here they could be geese.) Those chickens were a challenge. And no, they weren't just a blob of white paint, and a touch of orange for the beaks. I really thought it out as I applied the paint in the direction of the feathers. Not that you'll believe me. Only I know how long they took.

See you soon.  I'm on a roll now.

My Latest Paintings. Mostly a Little Funky-Looking.

I've finished another five paintings since last week. Two of them were almost done anyway, but needed tweaking and varnishing. You have to acknowledge I have rather weird taste in subject matter. From city life to beach reveries, from sketchy, folky people to pretty, more realistic city girls, from Great-grandma's kitchen, to cappuccinos al fresco. And I've done another of my Gran,  but haven't quite finished her yet. Is the world really ready for yet another Gran?

"Downtown"

"Reunion"

"Sunday Morning"

"Nostalgia"

"Private Pool"

Guess I'll keep these coming, as long as my canvas supply holds out. I have no idea what else I'll do, but it's just like writing. It always comes out of the blue, and is usually a delightful surprise.

My New Artwork - It's Been Three Years!

Three years since I last painted, and it took almost three months of fussing around to finally produce something. I've now finished five pictures, with another in progress. The subject matter is varied because I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to paint, and I had so many favorites from the past that I wanted to play with again. Two are now listed on eBay Australia, and I'll put just a couple up each week to see what the reaction is.

This first one is based on my little girl character, Becky, who has now grown up, but still loves the sea:

"Dawn Watch"

(Above is a painting of the young Becky.)

The second is another folk-style quilt sale painting. You know I enjoy doing these, even if they are very fussy to work on.

"Country Quilt Sale"

Of course, no work on the new novel. I'd love to say I can manage both, but the painting urge is quite different from the need to pour out words on a page. 

Hope you enjoy these. It's certainly been refreshing for me, not being hunched over the laptop all the time. (Although setting up the eBay page, using an EBSQ template, took me hours. I'd quite forgotten how to do it.)

See you soon. Comments, please,  if you have time.

Preparing to Paint Again. Thanks, Squeakie.

I'm thinking of getting back to my painting. It's been a long, long time, as I've been writing almost nonstop for the last few years. In fact, I've completed three more novels since that last picture in 2008. But it's time to get back to it. The new novel (my fifth) is resisting me, and my agent has yet to find a publisher for the first book, so I'll take this down time to do something more immediate.

I have yet to buy canvases, and I doubt my paint supply is still viable, but I've started sketching out some ideas, and hope to have something to show you soon.

Just for interest's sake, I thought I would post pictures of my work as I go. Perhaps not with every painting, but with the first couple, at least. Perhaps my regeneration will spur you on, too. We should use all the gifts we have, I know. I must try to remember this in future.

My old friend, Squeakie Stone, has produced dozens and dozens of paintings during the time I've been writing. He's constantly adding to the list of galleries who lovingly display his work. Each time he emails, he asks if I'm painting yet. He's responsible, in part, for my decision to get back to my brushes.

As they say, I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, Squeakie.