You’re probably not like me, and can’t bear to part with any of your paintings, but I have actually kept very few of my own folk art / decorative art pieces.

They have either gone off to another home (usually one of my sisters), or I just couldn’t bear to look at it after a while, because I wasn’t happy with the quality of the work.

I know, I know!  That is terrible of me.  I should be gracious enough to accept each stage of the art journey, right where it’s at.

I do that a lot more now – embracing the stages of the journey, and just enjoying the moment for what it is.

But I didn’t then……..

So, which pieces did survive in my own home, from the past? 

In this first post, I am going to start with two pieces that hang on my walls. 

Piece number one

This is my one of my favourite ever pieces that I have designed and painted personally.

Unfortunately, the depth of colour is lacking in the photograph, the colours are richer in real life.  There is also more of a ‘smoking’ type of effect (mottled glazing) around the edges.  It’s painted in Jo Sonja Artist Colours (acrylic).  I used Retarder and Antiquing medium to simulate the feel of oils (the original Zhostovo paintings are done in oils). 

This piece hangs on my hallway wall, between the laundry and the bathroom. It is always a nice surprise as I turn the corner to see it hanging there.  I never tire of it.  As I mentioned earlier, one of the FEW pieces that have reached this status in my collection.

It reminds me of grandmothers, or nostalgia, or cottages, or something I can’t quite express.

I find it reassuring, comforting almost.  I’m an old-fashioned girl at heart, never did catch on to the large vibrant single flower painting stage that the decorative art world experienced recently. (Dont get me wrong – I love to look at them, and I appreciate the work, it’s just not my personal taste for my own home)

Okay, here is piece number two. 

This one was painted around the same time as the green one, but the style is a bit more ‘stroked’.

Again, this was painted in Jo Sonja Artist Colours, using Retarder and Antiquing medium.

This piece hangs in the lounge room, above the television cabinet.

These were painted out of a watercolour instructional book, can’t remember which one.

The colours are so vibrant.  Often when painting in watercolour, the final colour can be a little insipid, if you’re not careful.

I’m discovering very quickly that the key to watercolour painting, is judging if your painting is at the right stage of wetness, before applying more paint.

These are such fun to do. 

Pots are great subjects, coming in all shapes and sizes.

I think the smooth (300gms) is great for this type of sketching, when its more about a light touch, and detail.

We are in the middle of winter here in Australia, I’d love to be out in the garden, planting spring vegetables

Yet another adaptation from a Jo Sonja book.  I think this was from the big book of decorative painting.

I painted this on one of those textured artist boards.  It’s propped up on a plate stand in my daughter’s bedroom.

I love this combination of colours.  After I painted the design, I glazed/shaded using retarder medium to give a bit more depth.

Click on image for larger

This brush sketch is painted on watercolour paper in the same style as the previous post (girl vignette).

The design was from a Jo Sonja Jansen book (one of my favourite artists, she is so inspirational).

On the larger image (click the thumbnail), you can see that I actually wrote on there the colours I used, which were the same colours in the girl vignette.

The background sponging was Jo Sonja artist gouache, Smoked Pearl, then Warm White, then just a touch of Raw Sienna.  You can use several (thin) layers to achieve the effect you’re after.

The design was painted in Ultra Blue Deep plus a touch of Brown Earth and a touch of Warm White (emphasis on ‘touch’).

I painted this design on a tall metal pitcher.  I love it.  It is on a shelf in the spare bedroom, and it’s the sort of design that will never really date.

If I can motivate myself, I’ll take a photo of the pitcher and post it here.

I sponged the background on using a couple of colours on top of each other.  I think the main colour for the background was Smoked Pearl.

Use only small amounts of paint and you can get quite good drybrush type effects.

Keep it simple, let the strokes speak for themselves – no complicated shading or floating.  Just vary the pressure of your strokes, adding more thin layers to give shape.

I also used a spattering (flyspecking) effect at the end.  Water down the paint (do a test spatter first on scrap paper to test the amount) then use another brush, or similar implement to tap the brush with paint in it, releasing spatters over the painting.

Remember, less is more.

Roses are a challenge.

So, why am I trying to combine the two in one go?  Glutton for punishment I suppose.

Since I have the watercolour set sitting here (bought years ago in a moment of mad enthusiasm),  I am prepared to take on the challenge.  If you don’t hear from me for a while – you’ll know where I am.

My sister came to visit from Scotland recently, and she brought some old schoolbooks of mine with her.  They were around 35 years old. (ouch).

Even then, all through the pages, were my doodles.  I had forgotten that I even did that then.

Anyway, when I’m sitting at home in the evenings, Ken is watching telly, and even the dog is ignoring me, I like to sit and doodle on paper – nothing too fancy.  I think that is what drew me to calligraphy.  Don’t get me wrong – I could in no way be classed as a calligrapher.  I just bought some books, and I sit and doodle with the letters. (Just in case you’re thinking that the writing on this piece is really good, and really, I’m only being modest about the calligraphy stuff – the words were done on the computer, I only did the large letter and the artwork around it)

I do.  They are the essence of country life, especially when they are arranged in a rustic pitcher like this one.

I painted these from a photograph in British Edition Country Living magazine (this is my favourite mag).

If you are like me, and if you are reading this, then I’m sure you are, you will have a pile of lifestyle/decorating magazines on a shelf somewhere.  When you are stuck for inspiration, drag them out and have a flick through for some subject matter.

I have even taken to some of my mags and cut out pictures that I like that would make a good painting subject. (Yes, I do realise that this might be a little drastic)

I then paste them into a sketchbook, one of those visual art diaries.  If you were feeling very efficient, you could even organise them into categories.  Maybe even putting in dividers for the sections.  But I’m not that efficient.