crab and scampi paintings

and here are three of the six latest seafood paintings.

You might be asking yourself - what are those lines on the images? I have sewn a patchwork of paper together to add a bit of texture to the work. At some stage I will also add some collagey bits: stamps, old labels some kanji script etc.

Must get him indoors to scan them...

work in progress - crab paintings

I am going to be exhibiting in NZ in May at the Plunket Art show, Aigantighe Art Gallery, Timaru.

I was invited back after showing there last... oooh around 1994.

Seafood is the order of the day as well as florals. Here are some crabs in progress. The crab smells really bad by the way - it's been frozen and defrosted 4 times and counting. The Hong Kong Choi Sum came from a Vietnamese grocer in Marrickville, Sydney.

I have revisited the sewn paper technique - it adds texture to the paintings.

weekend bracelets

Some pastel coloured quartz point and bead bracelets and coral bead bracelets with a Thai Hill Tribe silver flower charm.

Just the thing for a relaxed weekend.

NZ greenstone pendants

NZ jade is called 'Pounamu', in Maori. It is a sacred stone and is found only in the South Island of New Zealand. The remote river where it is found, is still only reached by trekking into the area and cannot be taken by the general public.

Any visitor to New Zealand will see a huge selection of carved jade pendants in souvenir shops around the country. I suspect most of the carving is not completed by traditional artisans but by workshops in SE Asia. I doubt that the jade used is even from NZ.

As an antidote to this practice I have sourced some rough pieces of pounamu. Some are pebbles, some are offcuts of larger pieces. They are unpolished.

I think these pieces are more beautiful and spiritual than any factory-carved pendants.

For longevity, prosperity and luck. Jade also promotes happiness.

Have a lovely weekend all.

Winter scarves: dyed wool and printed silk and silk batik

So the cooler days of autumn are here in Sydney. It'll never be as cold here as a European winter but there will still be days where a scarf will be useful.

I've been experimenting with wool mix fabrics I've found in charity stores and recycling centres, mixing them with previously dyed/printed fabric and batik silk fabric from Indonesia. If I dip dye the fabric you get a graduated effect which works nicely with textured wool.

Here are two:
The silver screen print was taken from an old natural history print of coral and I printed this in a friend's workshop in London circa 1997. I like to think I'm channelling a bit of Timney Fowler.

These are for sale - they will go to Bundeena markets or you can contact me to buy.

more gallery pictures

This is my friend Sean from Choiceland (NZ), visiting while the exhibition was still on. While he was there, a woman came in and bought 4 paintings.

The top photo is of him with Elizabeth who owns Art at Home.

I have been busy making bags and scarves and jewellery but because it was all done in such a rush I have no photos.

Alas!