painting

my painting...

Painting began for me, kind of by accident. My creative focus had always been textiles, and I also loved getting my hands dirty with ceramics.

In 2002, I created a ceramic piece, a teapot and cups called ‘Celebrating Our Dysfunctions’, and entered it in a local sculpture competition. It was a big deal for me; I felt way out of my comfort zone, as I hadn’t really done anything ‘artistic’ since I left Uni, too many years ago. I had 2 young children and I could have found plenty of ‘excuses’ not to do it.

I was so excited about my piece that I thought about the teapot for the whole month it was on exhibition. I wanted to get it home so I could paint it as a still life. To add to the excitement I had won a highly commended for it…. Doing a painting about it was completely foreign. I think I just barely passed Painting at Uni.

Well I surprised myself! I sat for about 2 hours on the night I got the ceramic creation home, and I painted a still life. I was amazed, where did this ability come from? It was so easy.

My second painting was 1 metre by 1 metre (I obviously felt the first was a good experience!) and of a double frangipani. I took it to the local framers and left it there. The framer asked me how much I would sell it for and so I gave him a price, and had a little chuckle to myself. He phoned me a week later to say he wasn’t able to frame it, been a problem with the moulding. I was disappointed. He told me it really didn’t matter because someone from out of town has bought it, and preferred a different frame anyway! I’m sure there was silence on my end of the phone….

That’s how I sold my first painting.Since then I have exhibited in artshows from one end of Australia to the other, taught art classes, facilitated workshops, window dressed, illustrated, painted murals (and anything else I could get my hands on, shoes, mailboxes, fridges)...