GETTING OUT THERE

My mum used to say that once September’s here, the rest of the year slips by so fast, and she was right. But I’d also say that the entire year seems to have been passing by incredibly quickly. Again.

I’m just back from a few days in Central Australia. Those who have ventured to Australia’s heart know that the colours have to be seen to be believed; that the landscapes are so old and majestic it’s impossible not to feel small. Very, very small. The small group I travelled with was allowed a glimpse into the lives and creations (visual, edible and musical) of our Indigenous peoples, and we enjoyed meals and laughter by a mesmerising campfire on the dry Ellery Creek, in Finke Gorge. All that and our own little fireside exhibition! (The less said about the thunder bucket the better.)

So, my photos have already been printed and sorted, but there’s a lot of thinking time ahead before I’m ready to put paint to paper for those works.

It’s not long now until I’ll be picking up my paintings from the framer for ‘Shared Spaces’ (at Be Brave Artspace from 25 October). That’s a bit like Christmas – a really exciting moment when you see your work framed for the first time! At the moment I’m working towards another exhibition (‘A Little Brave’) at the same venue with a large group of artists, as 2019 fast becomes 2020.

In the meantime, and if you’re interested, I’ll also have works hanging at the following:

·         John Copes Watercolour Prize, Bowral Art Gallery, opening 28 September

·         Hornsby Art Society’s 9” x 5” exhibition, Wallarobba, opening 3 October

·         Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Spring exhibition, St Ives Shopping Village, opening 14 October

·         ASMA Tasmania’s Annual Awards exhibition, The School House Gallery, Rosny Farm, opening 28 November

Until next month.

BACKING MYSELF

If anyone had told me I’d have my own website one day I wouldn’t have believed it, but here it is, and here I am. 

Earlier this year I attended a short professional development course called ‘Backing Yourself as an Artist’, at Eramboo in Terrey Hills (pictured). It came at the perfect time for me, as I’d decided this was going to be the year – the year I redirected my focus from words to pictures. The course was fabulous, and naturally we were given a lot of sound advice; advice that included, you guessed it, getting a website. 

As there didn’t seem a lot of point in seeking advice and then ignoring it, I enlisted the help of the wonderfully talented Samantha Mackie and, ta da! A website I can call my own.

For those of you not familiar with Eramboo, it’s a special place (with a very special gate), located in the bush off McCarrs Creek Road. What I like most about it is that it’s non-threatening! Eramboo has such a lovely feel about it, thanks largely to the people who meet there. People much like me. Backing themselves is something a lot of creative people find difficult, and in that regard I’m no different to anyone else, but things like that seem to become a lot easier as we get older. I suspect it’s because we learn life really is short – too short to be doing things we don’t want to be doing, or letting the opinions of others matter to us all that much; certainly not as much as they did when we were younger.

So I’ll leave it there for now, and turn my chair from my computer back to my painting bench! It’s literally right behind me but it opens up a different world!

Until next month.