the year of the (completed) art journal

I've decided it's going to be 'The Year of the (completed) Art Journal'.

It's been a long long time since I regularly used a journal to capture seeds of ideas. I can't help but be one of those people who wants a page to look "good" (whatever that may mean), so when I get something down that's way too scribbly, I find myself incredibly disappointed. I have a number of journals that I've started over the years, only to be abandoned for a new one. The whole premise is of course exasperated when I spy incredible examples on the internet that look like accomplished finished artworks.

So... here's to consolidation ...and scratchings and mistakes and messy delights!

procrastination - be my bunny

Look what evolves when one is suppose to be working on some more Xmas card designs! I kinda like them. I think an A-Z of fun but dodgy animal characters is an imminent project!

Then of course, if I need to procrastinate just that little bit more, why not put together another Etsy treasury! This one is 'dinner party for sixteen' - an intriguing bunch of personalities brought together for an evening of shenanigans!

sketchbook project

It's official. I'm dumping the sketchbook project. There's a number of reasons:
1. I've fluffed around too much.
2. I don't know how to come up with that many new ideas for each spread.
3. I'm beginning to question whether I want to put that much energy into something that will essentially be lost amongst thousands of submissions (it is pretty crazy - 28833 artists are participating - phoof). I so love the premise, but I think it's got a bit too big. Goodbye entry fee.
4. I feel like what I've done sucks a boogie. Yes... I want it to be perfect!
Feeling pretty disappointed with myself, but a lovely entree at home of smoked salmon, blue cheese and quince paste - a pomegranate lime & orange cocktail - duck breast (yet to be cooked, I'm hoping it will be accompanied with a cranberry jus, but M thinks he'll experiment a bit) - a good New Zealand white wine - animation submissions playing in the background - makes it all ok.

dingo study

... and the weird ghost image of the odd ink drawing on the other side of the page!

baroness elise raymonde deroche

With an addiction for the skies, this remarkable aviation pioneer made the (natural!!) progression from ballooning to become the first woman to hold a pilot's license in 1910. Sensational stuff.

homage to omo

My sister bought the book 'Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa' by Hans Silvester, which is a stunning photographic portrayal of the Surma and Mursi tribes who live in the lower valley of the Omo, at the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. The youths in particular, extravagantly adorn themselves with body paint, vegetation, horns and other found matter, and their sense of colour and form is truly exquisite. While visiting her one day a couple of months ago, I made these funny little drawings after flicking through the book - nothing at all like the real thing, but kinda fun!

hanging rock

On Saturday I took my partner to Hanging Rock in Victoria for a birthday picnic. This unique volcanic area is chocoblock full of extraordinary history, and is geographically stunning - it was the first time we had headed out there, which is kinda crazy since it's only about an hour from our place. We climbed almost all the way to the summit (not rock climbing, well formed paths guided our way, but I was certainly a bit out of breath at the end!) and found a fantastic little precarious rocky spot to lay out my bag of goodies - an assortment of yummy food and wine. We just sat there for ages, watching: a mob of kangaroos play in a paddock far below and then move across the racecourse (neither of us had seen so many kangaroos at once) - a flock of sheep being herded into another paddock, their bleeting remarkably clear - and delighting in a sole hawk that hovered and soared and dived throughout our stay. All in all, a very perfect day. Here are a few little studies from one area, not sure how I feel about them.

... a not so secret obsession!

circadian rhythm

I'm afraid my circadian rhythm is all out of whack. Getting to sleep at 5am-ish is all good and fine at the moment, but I'll have to return to paid work very soon, so that means it's time to somehow regulate "normal" slumber patterns.

sketchbook

Sometimes the oddest things make it onto the sketchbook page...