A butterfly themed Christmas table

Here are a couple of pics of the table at my 'staff' Christmas dinner - where we actually planned it all and enjoyed the most delicious salmon meal professionally and lovingly prepared by the amazing Suzanne. I'm finishing the last three bag orders tonight and then that's it! That's all the 'work' that I can do before Christmas. We're off to Sydney on Wednesday til Sunday and Nic and Kym will be opening the studio on Sunday. It'll be Nic's last time before she moves up to Hervey Bay so drop in and say goodbye if you can.

Freaky Colours!

This is where I'll be this Sat afternoon - I'm actually sitting in their display window to paint. I'll be sure to get a photo.
The colours have gone WRONG with this flyer - it's actually much prettier. No idea what happened here...

We're at this stage already

Yep, Sophia realised she could do this last week. Very cute. Hard to change nappies, but very cute.

What a lovely day

Today I painted out the front of Tinkermagic (cakes). Rebecca from Lucy Victoria sold gorgeous bouquets and Vivian had boxes containing "One Perfect Cupcake" for sale too. It was a terrific first event for our little informal group, and we're now planning another event at the Lucy Victoria shop on Sat 24th November. It'll be a Christmas theme and just lovely - stay tuned!

Cakes, flowers and art

This Saturday, weather permitting, I'll be painting out the front of Tinkermagic in Herries Street from 10-12am. I'm really looking forward to it. And tomorrow I'm speaking to art students at TAFE about marketing their art. Off to do my notes for that right now...

One movie NOT to see

Life is too short to waste on movies like "Death at a Funeral". So there, I've just given you an extra hour or so to do something you actually will enjoy. It's not often that I'm this bossy, but honestly, I insist. DO NOT go and see this movie.

Back in the studio

Today was my first day back, manning the studio for the day, since Sophia was born. I really enjoyed it! Reorganised a few things, straightened up, took photos for the SALE section of my site... got plenty done. My daisy lazy susan and a few paintings and bags found new homes today. Sophia joined me for a bit ...

And you can see the great shelves that Darryl built to display the 30 x 30 cm canvases - they're terrific for handbags too.

I just really love this photo!

New Bags on Site

I've just added a stack of new "Freedom Bags" to my site - will add more "All Day Bags" over the next few days. I actually spent a valuable hour while the baby was sleeping trying to set up photo spaces all over the house, in order to get good, no-flash photos of the bags. Alas, it was not to be and these photos are all flash ones. But the colours are pretty close thank goodness. And at least now I have 'a space' to do my bag photography for the site! And then Sophia woke up before I even managed a good shot! All the new shots were taken this afternoon at about 5.30 while she was kicking away in the bassinette on wheels. So now you've got the background, feel free to check out the site.

Kelly has Golden and Lauren has Claudia

Here's some visual evidence that the lovely Kelly Rae uses the lovely Golden products that I stock in my studio for sale. I do enjoy the layers and expression in her work, along with the colour! My shiny happy art website is nearly done, and the Golden products will be easily available there soon. I will also be adding them to my anna bartlett site in their own category in the meantime. I really do enjoy using the fluids and the gesso is like the most divine cream...

Enough of that. My sister gave birth to a baby girl called Claudia this afternoon and I'm really chuffed to be an aunty again. It's exciting to think that her daughter and mine could grow up together. I do like being a girl and I like knowing what these brand new little girls have to look forward to!

Flowers, cakes and Spiderman!

This is one of my poppy paintings that recently sold at our 30 x 30 = $90 exhibition.

This bunch of daisies is cute and available (for $90), so I will add it to my site very soon.

And this cupcake pic is in honour of the fact that I am joining forces with a brilliant local florist, Rebecca of Lucy Victoria, and a talented local cake artist, Viv from Tinker Magic, to paint out the front of the florist shop, on Saturday 10th November. I'm going to paint HUGE flowers and love every minute of it. Then another day soon I'm going to paint HUGE cakes. Can't wait. I'm just as excited about the business networking as I am about the painting. I just love talking marketing!

And this is my wonderful, talented, middle child, Josh. Isn't this an amazing photo!

Dream

I do like the word 'dream' - as seen in this tattoo inspired piece. And I also like the words 'nostril' and 'singlet' and 'sausage'... always have. Those might look a little stranger in a painting though. So for now, I'll stick with 'dream'.

I'd also like to draw your attention to a blog of an artist who's work I love. Her name is Tiel and you can see her blog here. Tiel's sister was in my senior year and I have watched her develop her style over the years - from afar. I've tried to upload an image - but I keep getting an error message, so please go and check out her site for yourself!

And these gorgeous baby shoes from New Zealand (available on etsy) and with a lovely blog link to tiny happy (so similar to 'shiny happy art' - might be why I like them so much).

The $90 wall

This was the 30x30=$90 wall after the big rush on Carnival Sunday. We actually forgot to take a pic of the wall before the onslaught, so over 11 had sold before the whole thing was rearranged and I actually took a photo. You can also see the mural inside the door of the studio, my banner outside and some other art and jewellery displayed inside. Welcome virtual visitors!

And here's the lovely Kym!

Poppies are finished

Here is the finished pic of the poppies I started earlier. I'm really happy with the way the black gesso base gave an elegant tone to the whole piece.
The two canvases measure 30cm x 120cm, (so together they're 60cm x 120cm) and could be hung either side of a window or door, or hung together.
They're priced at $750 for the pair and are currently on display in my home studio. Just let me know if you're interested in these pieces or similar!

Our Latest Show is Open - Hooray!

Our 30 x 30 = $90 Art Sale opened on Saturday just passed - and we had a terrific little event, and the art's been walking out the door ever since! We're open again this Fri, Sat and Sun, 10-3, so hopefully more exciting pieces will be waltzing away to lovely new homes! See www.crea8.info for more info!

More poppies on the way...

I'm in the middle of a poppy painting frenzy!

Both of my paintings that were in the Carnival exhibition have sold, and our sale in the Shiny Happy Art Studio is also proving very successful (it continues Fri, Sat, Sun this weekend). And I'm in the mood so I have to keep going!

I've also just bought a new camera which I will learn more about whilst at the beach next week. Can't wait!

My, how she's grown!

I am so in love with this baby girl!

Poppies for the Carnival

This is my other painting for the Carnival of Flowers exhibition - delivery is this Wednesday. It still needs to be selected by the committee but I think my odds are pretty good. I really enjoyed painting it, and my Dad said he didn't see the butterfly at first, and then he noticed another, then another... I think a painting is successful if you don't see everything at first glance, so I'm happy with his comment. Looking forward to painting more poppies also!

Before and After

Here are a couple of images of my work in my temporary studio. I'm still working on this floral - will create a point of interest - perhaps a dragonfly. And am desperate to paint poppies next, but must get some sleep first!

A little bit about me

I've been looking at other blogs lately and trying to figure out what I like to read about most. Honestly, I really love to see other artist's studios - there's something that really draws me to know about how other artists work - the tools they use and the space they create in.

Here is a pic of my current work space - I've set up an easel in the house, in front of my amazing Janine Daddo painting (inspirational! - I will feature it in a different post) and the giant fish tank (hmmm, a bit mucky, not too inspiring). It's just been too cold to take the bub up to the big studio, so this is where things are created right now (usually v late at night). This pic shows a couple of the 30x30's I'm working on for the show on 22 Sept. I'm enjoying going to town and trying out a whole lot of ideas that I've had in my head for a while - definitely no theme going on, just lots and lots of ideas. I'm about to do poppies - can't wait to post about a bag I painted last night. I'll put up a photo when it's sewn.

And because the hat stand is next to the fish tank, and it's covered in bags, I thought I'd post this pic of my very first ever bag - you can see it's actually painted on canvas and folded over. The background is a metallic rose colour. I did two at the same time, both from paintings of girls that I didn't think had "it" (ie. deserved to be hung on a wall - but still had 'something'), and Mum has (and still uses) the other one. Both were sewn on my mother's 37 year old Elna Lotus sewing machine (it wasn't easy) and I was really feeling my way, totally trial and error. Now the bags are so much better made, the PVC, thread, industrial sewing machine, paintings... so this is pretty much the "acorn" for the business that has become "Shiny Happy Art".

Back to work now! Bub's asleep!

I'm loving Golden!

If you haven't yet tried the Golden Fluid Acrylic Colours - you're going to love them! I sell them at my studio and they will soon be available online through my http://www.shinyhappyart.com/ site (being constructed as we speak!). They're QUALITY QUALITY QUALITY. Nic Hohn is also loving using them in her collages and journalling.

Check them out at http://www.goldenpaints.com/ - but here's some info to whet your appetite!

Fluid Colors

Fluid paints contain near the same pigment strength as Golden Heavy Body colors in a pourable, low viscosity formula.

I love these fluids. A little bit goes a long way. Intro pack of colours available from the studio.

Fluid Iridescent / Fluid Interference

Familiar for their radiance, GOLDEN Iridescent Colors produce a luster by themselves, with other colors, or mixed with mediums. GOLDEN Interference Colors offer a unique "flip" when viewed from different perspectives.

I'm really loving the golds available in this range. And they're in little bottles with a small spout and a flip lid so they don't dry up or spill easily and I DON'T DROP THE LID WHEN I OPEN THEM (I really hate that!).

New art bags on website

These are some of the new bags I've just uploaded to my website shop - there are more to come, but it's a good start! I'm just loving my new black vinyl shoulder straps. Very professional looking! And each large bag sewn from now will have a triple pocket inside, two sensible sized ones and another for a pen. Now I have to update the front page and everything will be on track again.

Have you red bubbled yet?

I've just put some of my paintings up on www.redbubble.com.au so they're available as cards and some can be prints also. I need to get some better photos taken so they can be reproduced at the larger sizes, but it's a start. Please check it out! As soon as I got 2 images up I started getting comments and then lo and behold I was featured on the homepage. So please go and have a look and let me know what you think!

The Reason

This little lady is why I haven't got new art to show here. But I am working on some dancer paintings for a wine label project, and will photograph some new bags in the next few days. Please stay tuned.

Getting back on track

Well, the baby's just lovely, the guests are thinning out and we're getting back on track.
Watch this space for more artwork very soon!

Welcome Sophia

Introducing Sophia Diana Bartlett

born friday 6th july 2007
12:43pm
weighing 8 lbs 11 oz
53cm long
plenty of dark hair
lovely long wrinkly fingers
fills out a 0000 wondersuit quite fashionably
bit of a night time party girl

asleep in front of me on the desk as i type this one handed

we are really happy to see her

It'll be a little while til the art flows again. Thanks for understanding!

For baby

This is another butterfly painting, but this one's for the baby's room. I will resin it, and each butterfly represents a member of our little family.
The other butterfly paintings will all be for sale at the Downlands Art Show at the end of July.
One week to go til baby now. Visited a friend with a new bub today, so it seems a little more real.

Colour mixing info

This info is taken from the HUGE amount of info on www.goldenpaints.com

Reality #2: Pigments

There are two types of pigments that paints are made with: Inorganic and Organic. Each type of pigment has a loading capacity in regards to the binder. To put it simply...

Inorganic pigments are derived from natural mineral or ores, commonly referred to as earth colors: Siennas, Umbers, Oxides, Cadmiums, Cobalts and Titaniums. These pigments are like minute rocks: dense, heavy, matte and opaque (light does not penetrate through these materials). The inorganic pigments will mix fairly easily into the acrylic binder and at a higher "load". The paint that is formulated will have more matte opaque pigment in ratio to the glossy binder. Once dry, inorganics have a matte surface.

Organic pigments have been synthetically manufactured in labs within the last fifty years. Organic pigments are formed from complex carbon chemistry and have chemical sounding names: Quinacridone, Naphthamide, Phthalo, Hansa and Anthraquinone. Generally, these pigments are translucent in nature and when viewed through a microscope often look like pieces of stained glass. Light does transmit through these pigments. They are difficult and quite finicky to mix in the acrylic binder. Too much and the paint turns into a thick gummy mess. When the paint is finally formulated it has a high gloss (more binder) and less pigment. This formulation of transparent binder and translucent pigment is a perfect vehicle for the rich glazing quality of GOLDEN Quinacridone Gold.

These matte and gloss characteristics have a lot to do with color, because they affect the way light waves are reflected back. Gloss mediums tend to "punch up" color and matte mediums "soften, or lower the intensity of color. This is discussed in more detail later in the article.
So, what does an inorganic and organic pigment have to do with color mixing? And who should care? You should.

Forget color theory for a moment and let's focus on the reality of pigments. A few simple facts: When Mineral pigments are mixed together, they create a "muddy" or low chroma mixture. When Organic pigments are mixed together, they maintain their brightness and yield clean, high chroma mixtures. Let's mix some examples.Mix a Cadmium Red Medium and Cobalt Blue (inorganics) to create violet. Now use Quinacridone Red and Phthalo Blue (organics) to make another violet. One is not "better" than the other is, but one is certainly of a higher chroma (brighter).

Take a look at the different versions of the Matisse painting below. One is painted with a limited palette of organics and the other inorganics. One is not a better palette than the other, but by understanding the "rules" of pigment mixing, you have solved many color mixing dilemmas and maybe even hours of mixing muddy color.

Inorganic pigments, left -- Organic pigments, right

The GOLDEN has arrived!!!!

It'll take a few days to unpack, but I'm delighted to announce the range of GOLDEN acrylics, gessos and grounds and mediums has arrived. There's so much to learn about these terrific products - I'm going to post some info to this blog as I discover things that are particularly interesting... and I'll let you know when the range is available for purchase at www.shinyhappyart.com !

Love this idea

I've taken to trolling a few artsy/designery blogs of late (because I can't sleep) and I love this idea from here altho I'm not sure how you'd get a portable photobooth to a function ... can't be impossible ...