Witchetty

I have moved

I have finally set up home on a new blog.

I suppose you are wondering where I have been for a year. *sigh* I will explain here as I want my new blog to be a new and fresh start.

The truth of the matter is that I have been here all along but somewhere in the past year I lost myself. I guess I just got caught up with trying to stay afloat as a working Mum and art and blogging just wasn't a priority. My father in law was diagnosed with cancer in May and lost his fight for life in August. I needed some time out for my family and myself and to be honest, I just didn't know what I wanted to say anymore.

We made the decision to go to Paris and Rome over the Christmas break and I have let go of some of my responsibilities to make way for more art. So, I am back but with a new and clearer direction, hence the new blog.

http://beejoynes.blogspot.com/

Hope to see you there.

xx Bee

Oh, the fun to be had!

Please excuse my absence this week but I have just had the most wonderfully busy weekend and I simply cannot believe that it is already Wednesday!

 

My weekend kicked off on Friday night with Tim Burton's Alice!!! OMG, the anticipation and excitement, we have been counting down for this for months and it was simply WONDERFUL. I just adored every moment, the dark, the light, the colours and costumes, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and Johnny Depp WAS the Mad Hatter.

I then spent most of Saturday morning painting in my studio, as I had a deadline to complete my entry for the Manjar Art Awards submissions on Monday. We then traveled up to Perth and stayed in a hotel on Saturday night so that we could attend the AC/DC concert. Are you jealous yet? It was brilliant and I almost lost my voice with all of the shouting I did on the night.

So, after a leasurely breakfast Sunday morning, it was back into the studio to put the finishing touches to my painting for Manjar. I managed to get it submitted in time and the opening night is this Saturday night. I have a really busy couple of days ahead of me but I will be back on Sunday to show you a photo's of the opening.

Have a great week and if you haven't yet made it to the cinema to see Alice, GO!!

Where have I been? Where am I going?

Work in progress

So where have I been? Well to be perfectly honest I have just been super busy and don't seem to have the time to commit to my art at the moment. Well, that is partially true. The truth is that I HAVE been really busy and I am struggling to find time to be creative. I started my new position at the beginning of the school year in January and I am still finding my feet in juggling a full time job, motherhood, family life and leisure time. I am excited, busy, stimulated, and exhausted all at the same time but I am definitely loving the new changes that are happening in my life. I made the decision just over 2 years to create the life of my dreams and to just go for it. I have worked hard to get to where I am and it still amazes me everyday that all of these wonderful things are happening for me. The future is looking bright.

Which leads me to where I am going? I had a revolution the other that I have had a mental block in regards to my art. Somewhere in the past few years I have decided that all of my art needs to be of the highest standard. I hear you say "What is wrong with demanding more of yourself". Well nothing, I definitely have been working to perfect my art and refine my style. However, with such limited time to create I have found that I am censoring myself and I have forgotten how fun art is. I have forgotten how fun it is to grab some pens and pencils and just doodle little characters or just play with paint and other mediums. I have forgotten about sharing my mistakes here, my dreams, my moments of play and fun. In a quest to become a more 'professional' artist I have forgotten what it means to really BE an artist. About living each day with the passion to create and to find inspiration in the little moments that life throws at us.

So, I have been trying to think how I can challenge myself, be inspired and excited to create, and still be able to find the time to get messy and continue to share my journey here. So I have decided to start an art journal where I can just play and reacquaint myself with my internal artist. I will still continue to have paintings in progress but it is taking me so long to finish anything at the moment and I want to get back to blogging 2-3 times a week.

I hope I will be back in a few days with a completed painting to share with you.

Tea anyone?

Just a quick post tonight. This is a fun little mixed media I created on board. I am needing to create very relaxed and free art at the moment so you will probably see a lot of mixed media over the next week. Once I get this out of my system, I will be ready to jump back through the looking glass into Wonderland and paint Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Take Flight

I needed to paint something completely different today. I haven't painted an angel for so long and being close to Christmas it seemed fitting. It also represents the journey I have been on over the past year.

Last New Years I made a decision to make some serious changes to my life. I decided to go back to study and commit myself 100%, which has resulted in my gaining a full time appointment for the 2010 school year and so many other possibilities in my future. If I hadn't taken that leap of faith, none of these wonderful things would have come into my life.

Take Flight is available on Etsy.

The Cheshire Cat

Here is my interpretation of the Cheshire Cat, number 3 in my Through the Looking Glass series. She is available on Etsy , along with prints and cards.

Now, I have been busy for the past week getting ready for the Manjar Markets which are held every Sunday over summer in my city. Very nervous as I have never shown my art in person but also very excited about the prospect. I am currently getting some cute pieces of furniture ready to use as displays and I will post some photos of my preparation next week.

I am now on summer vacation for the next two months so I am hoping I will have lots of art to share with you. So until next time..

Queen of Hearts

I like to think the Queen of Hearts could have a softer side when she is alone in the rose garden. This is the second painting from my 'Through the Looking Glass' series.

Available on Etsy: Queen of Hearts.

Artwork starting at $5.00

As I mentioned, I am having a huge clean out of my studio to make way for more art. I have listed all of my originals on paper starting at $5.00 AU with FREE POSTAGE.

Grab a bargain for xmas: Witchetty Auctions.

Queen of Hearts - WIP

I spent the morning in my studio and made a good solid start to the Queen of Hearts.

Ebay Auctions

I have been having a clean out of my studio and I have listed a few of my older works on Ebay. They have been listed for about what they would cost to ship internationally and have free shipping. If you want to pick up an original for a bargain, you can visit my auctions:

Ebay Auctions