BRUMBIES FIND NEW HOME

I know I’m not the only one in disbelief that it’s mid-May already. It seems that no sooner do the summer holidays come to an end here in Sydney than it’s almost the end of the financial year (and therefore tax time) again!

The Easter Show has been and gone, and I couldn’t have been happier when I learned that all five of the paintings I’d submitted had been sold. One of these was a miniature I’d called ‘Visiting Brumbies’ (pictured above). The brumbies in it – mother and child I assumed – were at our campsite with others from their mob on a trip to Central Australia. I know they’re controversial creatures, but there was something quite magnificent about seeing them so close, as curious about us as we were about them. My thanks to the person who bought this little one, and those who bought the other four.

Group show ‘Tender’ is currently on for just a few more days at the White Rhino Artspace in St Leonards, and my own show ‘Local Gems’ is also now showing at Marie-France in West Pymble. As well, I’m putting the final touches on my submissions for the National Awards Exhibition of the Australian Society of Miniature Art (ASMA), the Lane Cove Art Society’s artXtra! exhibition, ‘Art in the Mountains’ (CASS), and the Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Annual Awards Exhibition. It really does feel like everything is happening again after the past couple of disrupted years.

Most of my painting time at the moment, however, is being spent on the collection of works I’m putting together for my show at The Village Kitchen later in the year. While I’m still a little undecided on what this collection might ultimately consist of, I’m working with the title ‘From Parkes to Paris’, so my brushes and I are travelling east, departing from the Central West of NSW, up and off the coast of Queensland, across to Hawaii, through mainland USA and perhaps Canada, and then landing in the French capital. It’s proving to be a fun journey, one I’m taking from the comfort of my studio and therefore avoiding all the dramas that so often go hand-in-hand with air travel (particularly post-Covid time in airports)!

Details of exhibitions mentioned above, and more:

‘Local Gems’ at Marie-France, Philip Mall, Kendall Street, West Pymble, NSW, until Tuesday 31 May

‘Tender’ at White Rhino Artspace, 61 Atchison Street (Level 1), St Leonards, NSW, until Saturday 14 May

Incognito Art Show, exact dates and venue to be confirmed, but will be mid-June

Lane Cove Art Society’s ‘artXtra!’, at Gallery Lane Cove (upper level), 164 Longueville Rd, Lane Cove, NSW, Thursday 16 June - Saturday 2 July

ASMA Annual Awards Exhibition at the Ewart Gallery in Willoughby Arts Centre, 33 Laurel Street, Willoughby, NSW, Saturday 18 June – Sunday 3 July

CASS ‘Art in the Mountains’ at Gallery One88, 188 Katoomba Street, Katoomba, NSW, Thursday 7 July – Monday 25 July

KAS Awards Exhibition, The Gallery, St Ives Shopping Village, NSW, Monday 18 – Sunday 31 July

Solo show at The Village Kitchen, 83 Old Bells Line of Road, Kurrajong, NSW, Friday 23 September – Friday 28 October

 Until next month. 

SHE’S AN ARTIST

It’s going on for three years since I put my working life in publishing behind me to focus solely on painting, but I still have trouble referring to myself as an ‘artist’. Yet others don’t. Last weekend I was out to dinner and twice heard my friends telling others (people I didn’t know) that ‘She’s an artist’. It wasn’t the first time. It’s interesting because I don’t recall once, in the 30+ years I was in publishing, hearing anyone voluntarily offer the detail that ‘She’s a proofreader’, or ‘She’s an editor’. On the one hand, there’s definitely a perception that the arts are that little bit exotic; on the other, I know that to refer to myself as an artist may be seen as pretentious. (How do I know that? Someone told me!) Perhaps that’s why I have a problem calling myself an artist – because I know people are likely to make assumptions – good or bad (it’s something we all do in our day-to-day lives) – and yet I know I’m the same person I was back when I worked in a different field, no more or less exotic (or pretentious!) than I am now. And I can assure you I’m very ordinary!

That aside, I’ve been busy painting in preparation for various art events that are coming up, first of which is ‘Local Gems’, a series of watercolour miniatures I’ve painted for my exhibition at Marie-France. This exhibition came about as a result of two things – an invitation to return to Marie-France where my series ‘Postcards from Paris’ was on show last December, as well as the need to come up with something to exhibit! For someone who is (generally speaking) very indecisive, that decision was easy, because not long before then I’d won the 2021 Member for Bradfield Art Prize with my painting ‘Mist over Bobbin Head’, and I knew I wanted to continue on that theme. This new series of little paintings from within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park can be previewed on the ‘Gallery’ page of this website.

As well, I have some pieces exhibited and for sale at the Easter Show; I’ve submitted works for this year’s Incognito Art Show; and I will be taking part in ‘Tender’, a group exhibition at White Rhino Artspace, timed to coincide with Mothers’ Day. Most exciting, however, will come a little later in the year when I’ll be returning to The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong with a show all of my own; and I’ll also be taking part in ‘Art in the Mountains’ at Gallery One88 in Katoomba, which should finally be going ahead after plans were repeatedly thwarted in 2021. ‘Art in the Mountains’ is a CASS event, CASS being the Combined Art Societies of Sydney.

Details for now …

Sydney Royal Easter Show, Arts & Crafts Pavilion at Sydney Olympic Park, on now until Tuesday 19 April

‘Local Gems’ at Marie-France, Philip Mall, Kendall Street, West Pymble, NSW, from Tuesday 26 April - Tuesday 31 May

‘Tender’ at White Rhino Artspace, 61 Atchison Street (Level 1), St Leonards, NSW, Wednesday 4 – Saturday 14 May

Incognito Art Show, sometime mid-June, with exact dates and venue to be confirmed; keep an eye on their website (www.incognitoartshow.com)

Until next month.

WET THINGS

Following on from last month’s poetry theme, and given the relentless rain that has fallen (is still falling) in both NSW and Queensland these past couple of weeks, I’ve been thinking about a Dire Straits song that was always one of my favourites – Why Worry? The chorus goes like this:

Why worry?
There should be laughter after pain
There should be sunshine after rain
These things have always been the same
So why worry now?

When I was much younger, often reflecting on the unfairness of life, I would switch those lyrics around (and change ‘should’ to ‘will’): There will be pain after laughter; there will be rain after sunshine.

But all I’ve been singing to myself during this big wet has been that third line of the chorus: ‘There should [will] be sunshine after rain.’ Because there will be sunshine, sure as night follows day, and floods follow drought in this beautiful, often harsh country we call home.

Summer is over again for another year, and it was one that I’m sure saw as many wet days as clear and dry ones. If it wasn’t wet, it was humid – often both. But on some of those lovely days I was able to spend a little time in various parts of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, taking lots of photos to use as references for the series of paintings I’m currently working on – Local Gems. They’re going well, but the watercolour paper I’ve been using has remained damp with each painting I’ve finished, because all the rain has created so much dampness, in everything.

The painting above (Blue Doors) is one I had hanging above my piano for a few years. It’s always been a favourite (because apart from the five doors being such lovely subjects, the blues I was able to mix are just gorgeous). A while ago, however, I decided I could part with a few pieces I’ve held onto, and this was one of them. It was sold in the recent Northern Beaches Rotary Auction and Exhibition, and as a result, I had a surprise email from someone I’d been at teachers’ college with in the early 1980s! Linda had bought my painting, not realising it was me and mine, but wondering if it might have been. It was lovely hearing from her, and knowing that she now has my Blue Doors!

As well, a number of my paintings are still hanging at Savills in Lindfield, and will be there for another week or so before coming home again. I’ve also been getting entries organised for the Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Autumn Exhibition, the Epping Arts Fair and Sydney’s Royal Easter Show (this year celebrating its 200th anniversary!). ASMA’s ‘It’s all in the detail’ exhibition is on in Armidale until the end of the month, and I’ll have work at Marie-France again from the end of April.

So on now, or coming up soon:

‘Chattels’ at Savills, 9 Lindfield Ave, Lindfield, NSW (opposite Lindfield Station)

KAS Autumn exhibition, at the Gallery in the St Ives Village Shopping Centre from Monday 14 to Sunday 27 March

ASMA ‘It’s all in the detail’, at the New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW until Sunday 27 March

Epping Arts Fair, Edmund Barton Centre at Epping Boys High School, 213 Vimiera Rd, Eastwood, NSW, on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 April.

Sydney Royal Easter Show, Homebush, NSW, from Friday 8 to Tuesday 19 April

‘Local Gems’ at Marie-France, Philip Mall, Kendall Street, West Pymble, NSW from Tuesday 26 April - Tuesday 31 May

Until next month.

WILD THINGS

The Peace of Wild Things (Wendell Berry)

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

A friend sent me that poem, many years ago. I loved it then and that love has survived the years, so much so that last year, when those who were to be attending a show at the Ensemble Theatre were invited to submit a favourite short poem, this was my submission.

The show was ‘John Bell: And Another Thing’, and in it John was going to read a selection of his own favourite poems and prose. In addition, he was going to select and read a few of those that had been submitted.

The show didn’t eventuate last year – Covid put a stop to that – but I was at the Ensemble last weekend and was so moved when John Bell started talking about the poem I’d sent him. Finding me in the audience, he then read ‘The Peace of Wild Things’, so beautifully. When I didn’t think it could get any better, he read it a second time. I emailed him afterwards to thank him, to which he replied: ‘It was such a joy to discover and share this lovely poem……Thank YOU!’

Now, I know this has nothing to do with my painting, but on the home page of my website is a quote – another one I love and one that serves me as a reminder to look for something special in every day. That’s not always easy because most days are pretty ordinary – that’s just life. Some days are worse. But some days are really special and the day I was at the Ensemble, listening to the legendary John Bell reading ‘The Peace of Wild Things’, was one of them, and I thank him for that.  

Back to my art! I was at Savills in Lindfield last week, hanging a number of my paintings in their office space, so if you’re in the area, please stop in and have a look. (Details on my ‘Coming up’ page.) They’ll be up all February, maybe a little longer. The picture above shows their reception area with one of my paintings - one my mum always loved. It’s called ‘Summer in the Snowys’.

In addition, the Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Autumn exhibition is coming up next month, so I’m getting a few pieces ready for that. ‘It’s all in the detail’, an exhibition of miniature artworks by members of the Australian Society of Miniature Art (of which I am one), will be opening in Armidale in a few days (before it moves to Taree later in the year). I’ve also submitted some work for the Northern Beaches’ Rotary Art Exhibition and Auction, also later this month. So …

Coming up

‘Chattels’, at Savills Real Estate, 9 Lindfield Ave, Lindfield, NSW (opposite Lindfield Station), throughout February

ASMA ‘It’s all in the detail’, at the New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW from Friday 11 February to Sunday 27 March

Rotary Art Exhibition and Auction, at the Mona Vale Memorial Hall, 1 Park St, Mona Vale, NSW from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 February

KAS Autumn exhibition, at the Gallery in the St Ives Village Shopping Centre from Monday 14 to Sunday 27 March

Sydney Royal Easter Show, Homebush, NSW, from Friday 8 to Tuesday 19 April

Until next month.

LOCAL GEMS

My thanks to Paula and Dominique at Marie-France for hanging my exhibition, ‘Postcards from Paris’, in their salon in the lead-up to Christmas, and to all those who bought paintings in that time. I don’t think I’ll ever lose that feeling of wonder when I learn that someone has liked something I’ve created enough to spend their money on it!

And so of course when Paula asked if I’d exhibit there again in 2022, I didn’t hesitate to say ‘Yes’! My thoughts immediately turned to what I might paint for this next series, but it didn’t take me long to decide on ‘local gems’ (like Akuna Bay, above), having won last year’s ‘Member for Bradfield Art Prize’ with my painting, ‘Mist over Bobbin Head’.

Speaking of which, just before Christmas I accepted an invitation to attend an event (Community drinks) at the office of the Member for Bradfield and Minister for the Arts, Paul Fletcher – a direct result of having won that prize. It was a really interesting evening with speakers from StreetWorks as well as the Sikh community – both organisations run by teams of volunteers who provide wonderful and much-needed support to so many during difficult times, never more evident than during lock-down this past year.

Something I didn’t accept was an invitation to teach! While at Marie-France just before Christmas, the head teacher of Creative and Performing Arts at Mackellar Girls on Sydney’s Northern Beaches emailed with the following …

Hi Nina,

I’m currently admiring your watercolours at Marie-France Group in West Pymble and wondering if you might be interested in running a watercolour workshop for some of our Visual Arts students on Friday 18th February at Mackellar Girls Campus, Manly Vale.

We offer a Visual Arts enrichment program for students in years 7-10 and I am looking at an architecture focus for 2022. We are booked for a guided tour of Chippendale/Ultimo on Thursday 17th with the view to collecting photographic material from which to create work back at school on the Friday. Depending on the total number of students (usually around 50) I would divide them up into smaller groups.

Please let me know if this sounds like something you might be interested in.

Not only surprised but enormously flattered, I explained to Katie that while I’d love to be a student for their day out around Ultimo and Chippendale, having not done any teaching before I would feel completely out of my depth were I to accept her offer and teach her girls. They deserve someone who knows what they’re doing!

Since I last wrote, however, I have been able to reschedule my exhibition at Savills, and am pleased to say it will be happening next month. I hope you might stop in for a look if you’re in the area. Savills is right across the road from Lindfield Station on Sydney’s north shore, and just along from the very popular Goodfields Eatery, so if you’re at one of these venues, why not go to both!

It’s been an interesting few weeks for me in one way and another, and I’d have to say a lovely end to a year that was one most of us would rather forget.

Until next month.

WINDING DOWN

Another year almost over, and perhaps the less said about 2021 the better! Let’s just hope for a smoother road in 2022.

Our Open Studio last month went really well for us all, despite the less than ideal weather (again!). To be expected, I guess, as November is typically stormy and grey. (The upside to that is that the jacaranda trees are at their best in November here in Sydney, and I’ve always thought they look especially striking against dark and threatening skies.) Thanks to everyone who came along and made it the success (and fun) it was.

My exhibition ‘Postcards from Paris’ is currently hanging in Marie-France, in West Pymble, and the Combined Art Societies of Sydney’s (CASS) Online Christmas Sale is also on now, until 9 January 2022. I’ve just submitted a few miniatures for the Australian Society of Miniature Art’s ‘It’s all in the detail’ exhibition, which will be visiting the New England Regional Art Museum (in Armidale, NSW) in February and March, and hot on the heels of that will be the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

So there will, as always, be plenty to work towards. Everything crossed we won’t have the large number of postponements and cancellations next year that we’ve endured in 2021.

Happy Christmas, stay well and ho ho ho!!

Until next month.

DOORS OPEN

All is looking good for our Open Studio to proceed in just a few weeks. I hope you’ll be able to come along, as there will be a really lovely range of work here for you to see and buy, and by then Christmas will be only four weeks away!

Apart from my watercolour paintings and greeting cards (and copies of my book, Sophie’s Sister), there will be beautiful ceramic pieces by Romanda Newman, lovely decorative and wearable glass art by Karina Vallins, and a gorgeous little children’s book written and illustrated by contemporary artist Dong-Shin Starzacher. See my ‘Coming up’ page, or email me for any additional information.

Also on my ‘Coming up’ page you’ll see new dates for my ‘Postcards from Paris’ exhibition, at Marie-France in West Pymble - yay! It’s finally happening - opening on Tuesday 30 November and closing on Christmas Eve.

As well as the open studio and ‘Postcards from Paris’, I will be contributing to a couple of Christmas sales, happening soon …

• The Combined Art Societies of Sydney’s (CASS) Online Christmas Sale, from 6 December 2021 to 9 January 2022  ( https://combinedartsocieties.com/ ) and

• Hornsby Art Society’s Christmas Exhibition/Sale, 10am–4pm from Tuesday 14 to Saturday 18 December 2021 ( https://hornsbyartsociety.com.au/event/christmas-exhibition/ )

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes, one I’ve been reminded of several times this year (which is another story entirely): ‘The more people I meet, the more I love my dog.’ My little girl is growing, but as you can see, she’s as gorgeous as she was the day she came to live with me.

Until next month.

POSTCARD FROM SYDNEY

{Note: the date above should be October 4, 2021]

When I wrote last month there were two events I’d thought would proceed – Art in the Mountains and the KAS Spring Exhibition – but despite every effort from those behind the scenes, and a postponement or two (or three), both have now been cancelled. Uncertainty makes planning anything difficult, and this time the difficulties have proven insurmountable.

So there isn’t too much news this month. We’re all counting down the days until we’re allowed out again, hoping lockdown will be lifted for most of us here in Sydney next week.

I do, however, have some positive news. I’ve added a new page to my gallery – Postcards from Lock-down. So far I’ve travelled around Australia and to the US. Keep an eye out for more as my travels continue, even beyond lockdown!

And plans are well underway for this year’s Open Studio. Yep, all going well I’ll be opening up my studio on the last weekend in November for what has now become an annual event. This year I’ll be joined by three others – glass artist Karina Vallins, ceramic artist Romanda Newman and contemporary artist Dong-Shin Starzacher. We had a great turnout and fabulous weekend last year, despite the weather, so hope you might come along and help make it another fun weekend. It will be a great opportunity not only to get out and see some art, but you might even like to start your Christmas shopping!

Until next month.

MIST OVER BOBBIN HEAD

It’s day 75 of lock-down here in Sydney, but there is an end in sight, and we’ve been enjoying some really beautiful weather. I’ve met a lovely lady at one of the dog parks I go to with Izzi, and lost count of the number of days we’ve looked up at the cloudless blue sky, felt the sun on our backs and said how lucky we are to be where we are, with lock-down allowing us these opportunities. Sadly it’s not such a positive picture for many people, but we both consider ourselves very fortunate.

On top of that, I’ve had some exciting news. My painting (‘Mist over Bobbin Head’, pictured above) has won this year’s Member for Bradfield Art Prize. This prize has a few parts, one of which will be the reproduction of my painting on Paul Fletcher’s 2021 Christmas card. As well as being the Member for Bradfield, Paul is the Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts. After all the postponed and cancelled shows in recent months, this was unexpected and uplifting news.

As for all those postponements and cancellations, my show, ‘Chattels’, hasn’t been able to proceed this month but, like ‘Postcards from Paris’ at Marie-France, I hope we’ll be rescheduling once lock-down is over and life returns to some revised version of normal.

I’ve also postponed the weekend for my Open Studio – it was too much of an uncertainty to proceed with it on that weekend early in October, so it’s now planned for late November, with all fingers crossed.

In the meantime, there are a few online shows I have work in, if you’d like to take a look …

‘Small Packages’ – an exhibition held by Sherbrooke Art Gallery in Victoria (until 24 September)

‘Feathers and Dreams’ – hosted by Diversarty Studio and Gallery in Sydney to raise funds for ‘Dreams2Live4’, supporting adults with metastatic cancer across Australia (until 30 September)

Hornsby Art Society’s Members’ Exhibition (12–26 September)

Other shows coming soon (all going well) …

Combined Art Societies of Sydney’s ‘Art in the Mountains’, Thursday 30th September to Tuesday 12th October, Gallery One88, 188 Katoomba Street, Katoomba

Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Annual Awards Exhibition – now to be combined with the society’s annual Spring exhibition, Monday 11th October to Sunday 24th October, St Ives Shopping Village

I’ve been working on a new series – a series of cityscapes I’m calling ‘Postcards from Lockdown’. They’re very different to anything I’ve done before in that they’re not realistic at all. Instead, they’re whimsical. Light-hearted and fun. So far there are eight of them – one for each of Australia’s capital cities – but I plan to continue around the world, with not only cityscapes but landscapes as well. Coming to my Gallery page soon!

Until next month.

THE LITTLE THINGS ...

… Like reflections in a puddle! And a hot shower. At the moment, in the midst of lock-down and with these cold winter months seeming to have been with us for much longer than they should have been, one part of every day that I really love is stepping into the shower and feeling that piping hot water work its magic through every part of my body. It’s bliss!

Today is Day 42 of Sydney’s lock-down and I know the end can’t come soon enough for everyone, but at the same time I continue to feel very fortunate that its impact on me has been minimal. Being able to lose myself in my painting is wonderful, as is having a puppy in my life! We head out each morning to a park where she’s able to run around and play with other dogs, and in the afternoons I take her out on her lead. Both of us are very content. Add to that the new growth I’m starting to see on some of the plants in my garden, and the promise of spring around the corner is incredibly uplifting.

Izzi and I bumped into an old friend at the dog park a few weeks ago. Sam and I met through our dogs – she’d started up a dog-walking business many years ago and we used to see each other a lot at the dog park. Sam has since bought a property and established an airbnb at Narrawallee, on the beautiful south coast of New South Wales, and was telling me a little about it the other day. ‘Toastie Toes’ is a gorgeous seaside (and dog-friendly) escape that has been the perfect getaway for so many people who have left glowing reviews about the place itself as well as their host, Sam. So if you’re looking for a break once lock-down is over (and who won’t be?!), this might be the perfect place for you, your family and friends – both two-legged and four.

On a more art-related note, many of those events I was to be taking part in (the ones I wrote about a couple of months ago) look as though they will be emerging in some form or another post-lock-down. The fantastic people who work behind the scenes have been doing all they can to make them happen just as soon as it’s possible, and so I have some new dates (see below). Of course these could well change again if lock-down is extended beyond the end of this month, so if you have any questions about anything, just drop me an email ( manina@bigpond.com ).

One that should be going ahead as planned (as long as lock-down doesn’t extend into September) is ‘Chattels’ – a collection of my work that will be hanging in the rooms at Savills Real Estate in Lindfield for the month, so pop in and have a look if you’re in the area. You don’t have to be buying or selling property to go in!

Coming up (all going well) …

‘Chattels’, Wednesday 1st to Thursday 30th September, Savills Real Estate, 9 Lindfield Avenue, Lindfield (right across the road from Lindfield Station)

‘Small Packages’, Saturday 21st August to Friday 24th September, Sherbrooke Art Gallery in Belgrave, Victoria

Hornsby Art Society’s Members’ Exhibition, Sunday 12th September to Sunday 26th September, Wallarobba Arts and Cultural Centre, Edgeworth David Avenue, Hornsby

Combined Art Societies of Sydney’s ‘Art in the Mountains’, Thursday 30th September to Tuesday 12th October, Gallery One88, 188 Katoomba Street, Katoomba

Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Annual Awards Exhibition – now to be combined with the society’s annual Spring exhibition, Monday 11th October to Sunday 24th October, St Ives Shopping Village

‘Postcards from Paris’ – new dates are still to be confirmed

Until next month.

ALL PACKED UP WITH NOWHERE TO GO

This month’s photo shows several bundles of paintings sitting patiently here at home, waiting to go on their travels. They, like us, however, aren’t going anywhere. When I spoke of hibernation last month, lock-down wasn’t quite what I had in mind. Yep, here we are again. Two weeks became three, three weeks are about to become who knows how many more. At this stage it isn’t sounding very promising …

Clockwise from lower left are my pieces for the following:

Hornsby Art Society’s Members’ Exhibition – this has been postponed until September. In the meantime, they have an online exhibition ( https://hornsbyartsociety.com.au/galleries/virtual-exhibition/ )

Ku-ring-gai Art Society’s Annual Awards Exhibition – this was cancelled yesterday, but perhaps will go ahead later in the year

‘Postcards from Paris’ – this has been postponed, with new dates to be confirmed

Yancoal Singleton Art Prize – no word yet, but paintings are due to be delivered towards the end of this month, so it’s not looking likely

Combined Art Societies of Sydney’s ‘Art in the Mountains’ – as for Yancoal, the delivery of our artworks is intended to be later in July, and my guess is that this will be the next to be cancelled/postponed

And not in this picture are the miniatures I submitted to the Australian Society of Miniature Art’s National Awards Exhibition, because at least that one started, but unfortunately had to close after the first week. My pieces, along with everyone else’s, are hanging quietly in the gallery until we’re allowed out again to bring them home.

Disappointing? Of course, but that’s just the way it is, and things could be a whole lot worse. Again, I consider myself one of the lucky ones to have had a generally smooth ride throughout these past almost 18 months we’ve been living with Covid. Despite all these postponements and cancellations, there continues to be much to work towards and so I’m still happily painting by day, in between walks with Izzi and our visits to the dog park.

I have registered for the Biblio Art Prize again this year. Blarney Books and Art, down in Port Fairy (Victoria), runs this annual competition where entrants pay a small registration fee and are then allocated a book, one written by an Australian author and published in the last year or two. The idea is to create a piece of art inspired by your allocated book, and this year mine is ‘The Truth About Her’ by Jacqueline Maley. I’m looking forward to reading it and seeing what I can come up with.

I’ve also been working on my entry for the Gosford Art Show and, having joined the Lane Cove Art Society recently, I’m also working on an entry for their next exhibition.

I hope to have better news next time!

Until next month.

POSTCARDS FROM PARIS

I love adding new pages to my website gallery. Doing so means looking back at another body of work completed, and with that comes a real sense of achievement. My latest - ‘Postcards from Paris’.

When the opportunity arose to exhibit at Marie-France, in West Pymble, I knew immediately I wanted to revisit a really wonderful European holiday I had back in 2007. More specifically, given the venue, I knew I would expand my ‘Postcards from …’ series  by revisiting Paris. So I hope you’ll take a look, and perhaps relive a time you might have spent in this beautiful city (or decide you really must get there when international travel is possible again). Details for this exhibition can be found on my ‘Coming up’ page.

I’ve also been preparing for another couple of exhibitions – the Australian Society of Miniature Art’s National Awards Exhibition, and the Yancoal Singleton Art Prize – both coming up over winter.

Ugh, winter! If the mornings and nights are anything to go by, it seems we’ve been rugging up against the cold of this year’s winter for weeks already, but it’s really only just begun. I tend to hibernate throughout these colder months, although if I’m out walking during the late afternoons, the smell of home fires burning is one thing about this time of year that I just love. Seems there are others who are perhaps hibernating when it gets so chilly; it’s definitely a time when there’s no place like home.

Speaking of which, I have a piece hanging in Link Wentworth Housing’s ‘No Place Like Home’ exhibition, which has begun in Chatswood and will be moving across to Penrith after that. Link Wentworth is a not-for-profit community housing provider, and this exhibition aims to raise awareness about the need for safe, affordable and secure housing.

So as is always the case, if you need an art fix, there’s plenty to see!

One exhibition I’m looking forward to getting along to see is Archie 100 – a celebration of a century of the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW. Might see you there!

A few details:

‘Postcards from Paris’, Marie-France, West Pymble, Tuesday 29 June - Tuesday 27 July

Link Wentworth Housing’s ‘No Place Like Home’ Community Art Exhibition: Dougherty Community Centre and Willoughby Council Chambers, Chatswood, Monday 31 May – Friday 9 July; then Penrith City Library, Monday 19 July – Tuesday 31 August

ASMA (NSW) National Awards Exhibition: Ewart Gallery, Willoughby, Friday 18 June – Sunday 4 July

Yancoal Singleton Art Prize: Singleton Civic Centre, Saturday 31 July – Tuesday 3 August

Until next month.

ROAD TRIPS

I love a road trip, and I’ve had a couple since I last wrote – neither was long, but both of them were great. The first was to Orange in the Central West of NSW; it’s where my mum was born and spent her formative years so I always love going there. It’s not the same without her, but this visit ended up linking the past (my mum) with the present (Izzi, pictured above) in a way I would never have imagined.

The other trip was art-related. Last week I returned to The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong to take down my exhibition, ‘Gone West’. My huge thanks to Shane, who made my five weeks there so easy and enjoyable (all the sales were a bonus!).

One really lovely outcome of those sales from Kurrajong was connecting with the buyers. I wasn’t there, but Shane very kindly took their phone numbers so I was able to text them to pass on my thanks. In the responses came a few really lovely stories about why those people selected the paintings they did. I know when people buy artworks, they often like to know a little about them, but it’s every bit as rewarding to hear the story from the buyer’s end as well. So thanks again to those who bought my work and then shared a little of the ‘why’ with me afterwards. It means a lot.

Tomorrow I will be heading down to Bowral in the Southern Highlands, to deliver my painting for the Bowral & District Art Society’s Wingecarribee Landscape Prize. Fingers crossed for that one.

The Incognito Art Show required no driving (except to the Post Office), but a few weeks back I sent off my three pieces for that one. This is a wonderful concept – artists were able to submit up to three A5-sized works for display at the Verona Studio in Paddington (Sydney), on 5 June. Every piece will be for sale for $100, and with no labels to identify the artists, buyers will be buying simply because they like a piece, not because of the name they might see on it. Only once a piece is bought do details of the artist become available. All moneys raised will be donated to Studio A, a Sydney-based arts company that provides professional development for artists with intellectual disabilities.

So, lots happening!

Wingecarribee Prize for Landscape Art, Bowral Art Gallery, Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 May

30th International Miniature Art Show at the Seaside Art Gallery in Nags Head, North Carolina, USA, from Saturday 1 to Monday 31 May.

Incognito Art Show, Verona Studio 1, 17 Oxford St, Paddington, Saturday 5 June.

Until next month.

WHY THE DOTS?

A requirement of being an exhibiting member of the Ku-ring-gai Art Society is being rostered on for two shifts at The Gallery in the St Ives Shopping Village while each exhibition is on.

At last month’s Autumn Exhibition, as I was on duty and wandering up and down the ramps of The Gallery, I made a slow approach towards four people as they’d stopped in front of my work, curious to hear what they were saying.

‘Why would she have put those dots there? Is she trying to achieve something? Do you think it’s some sort of gimmick?’

Then they saw me – clearly a KAS member as I was wearing a KAS badge, but our names are not on those badges so they didn’t know the paintings they were discussing were mine. This lady asked me, ‘Do you know why she would’ve painted those dots?’, to which I replied, ‘Yes, I do, because they’re mine.’

So I got to thinking about that, because a lot of people have asked me about those dots (and I don’t think it’s because they like them!) – I’ve seen so many far stranger things in the art world.

It beats me why a lot of people do so many things, but only recently I did just what that lady did – I stood in front of an artwork and wondered why the artist had done something. Most of us do things because we want to – because we like whatever it is we’re doing, or it makes us feel good, but that doesn’t always cut it when we’re talking about art.

So, why the dots? They’re intended to be a link – a tiny tribute – to the indigenous artists whose work I saw so much of while I was on that trip to Central Australia. I was – yes – looking to achieve something a bit different. When I tried the dots I liked them, so they stayed. Simple as that.

Dots aside, I’ve had good news since my last entry. First, I made it into the ‘Artists of Mosman: 2088’ exhibition. Second, two of my paintings sold at last month’s KAS Exhibition (the two without dots!). Third, I heard yesterday that one of the paintings I submitted to the Easter Show had already sold, on only Day 2.

And fourth, most exciting of all, a few weeks back I received an email from the owner of a gallery in the US, inviting me to take part in their 30th International Miniature Art Show. It was the first time I’ve sent any work to be exhibited internationally. Two of my little paintings have just arrived at the Seaside Art Gallery in North Carolina and can be viewed with the rest of the show online at … https://seasideart.com/collections/international-miniature-art-show .

Closer to home, my ‘Gone West’ show is on now at The Village Kitchen, in Kurrajong, NSW. Thanks to my beautiful friend Nita Lewis for coming with me to set it all up a couple of days ago. I couldn’t have done it without her.

Dates and links:

Artists of Mosman: 2088 at the Mosman Art Gallery from Saturday 20 March to Saturday 24 April     

Sydney Royal Easter Show from Thursday 1 to Monday 12 April

ASMA (Tas) National Awards Exhibition ‘Inspiration in Miniature’ from Thursday 1 to Sunday 25 April

‘Gone West’ at The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong, Saturday 3 April to Thursday 6 May (see my ‘Coming Up’ page for details)

30th International Miniature Art Show at the Seaside Art Gallery in Nags Head, North Carolina, USA, from Saturday 1 to Monday 31 May.

Until next month.

GOING WEST

There seems to be so much going on at the moment – a couple of my miniatures have arrived safely in Tasmania for ASMA (Tas)’s ‘Inspiration in Miniature’ exhibition. Today I’ve delivered my entry for ‘Artists of Mosman: 2088’ (but it will be next week before I find out whether or not I’m in); and in the next week or two I’ll also be delivering four pieces for KAS’s Autumn exhibition and another five for Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. It’s good to be involved in real exhibitions again – those Covid online exhibitions last year were less than ideal.

But most exciting has been finalising all the pieces I’ll soon be delivering to Kurrajong for my own exhibition at The Village Kitchen (running from 2 April to 7 May). I’ve loved creating this collection, probably because while I was painting I was also reliving the many wonderful trips I’ve had out west over the years …

With my mum, who was born in Orange and spent her formative years there. She and I had some really special trips to Orange over many years and I treasured being able to see and learn about so many places that helped shape her early years, and my own family history, with her.

With friends who moved to Bathurst in the late 1970s, and who I visited whenever I could during school and then college holidays. They drove me all over the central west back then, exploring so many country towns by day and by night, introducing me to some really interesting and fun people. They were good times.

And with other friends on day trips and overnighters – to wineries and gardens, restaurants and galleries, driving and walking, enjoying the scenery and capturing it in photos (not knowing at the time that those photos might one day be references for paintings). The striking colours of autumn, the stark beauty of chilly mid-winter, the freshness of spring and the devastation after summer bushfires – every season is unique.

‘Gone West’ is a collection of memories for me, and I hope it might also stir a good memory or two in those who get along to see it.

Dates and links:

‘Gone West’ at The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong (see my ‘Coming Up’ page for details)

KAS Autumn Exhibition at the St Ives Shopping Village from Monday 15 to Sunday 28 March

Artists of Mosman: 2088 at the Mosman Art Gallery from Saturday 20 March to Saturday 24 April     

Sydney Royal Easter Show from Thursday 1 to Monday 12 April

ASMA (Tas) National Awards Exhibition ‘Inspiration in Miniature’ from Thursday 1 to Sunday 25 April

Until next month.

HAPPY FEBRUARY!

Life in Sydney is looking significantly brighter now than it was at the start of the year, so the word I deliberately omitted from January’s header is making an appearance this month!

One piece of good news is that (at least at the time of writing) the Easter Show is going ahead. Entering the Easter Show is something new for me this year, and the picture above is one of five paintings I’m submitting – it’s called ‘Up the Rhododendron Path’, and was inspired by a visit to the beautiful Rhododendron Gardens in Blackheath, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, last spring.

And the paintings I’m working on at the moment will be heading for another lovely part of the Blue Mountains – Kurrajong – in early April. ‘Gone West’ is a series of work inspired by not only the Blue Mountains, but also west of the mountains (in some cases, way west!). It started as a series of postcard-sized pieces, which I was calling ‘Postcards from the Blue Mountains and beyond’, because I’ve always loved sending and receiving postcards. Sadly, and even without the travel bans caused by Covid, postcards are few and far between these days and I have to admit, I lament their gradual disappearance, along with handwritten letters, and manuscripts (both literary and musical). There’s something very special, and personal, about receiving something someone has taken the time, and made the effort, to write and then post themselves, with pen and paper, and seeing their unique handwriting. (It’s fair to say that the increase in postage and the unreliable postal service we now have has not helped in this regard.)

But back to this current series! Although my work is never large, there will be a few larger than postcard-sized pieces at The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong during April and into May, hence the series’ name change! I hope you might head to see ‘Gone West’ while it’s out there, and enjoy a bite to eat or a coffee while you’re there. For more details, see my ‘Coming Up’ page.

Also happening …

Biblio Art Prize, which has been extended to 28 February (online)

CASS ‘Art of Sydney’ Awards, also on until 28 February (online)

KAS Autumn Exhibition at the St Ives Shopping Village from Monday 15 to Sunday 28 March

Sydney Royal Easter Show from Thursday 1 to Monday 12 April

ASMA (Tas) National Awards Exhibition ‘Inspiration in Miniature’, Thursday 1 to Sunday 25 April

Until next month.

NEW YEAR

You might notice the absence of the word ‘Happy’ in my heading. That’s because it’s been anything but a happy new year for so many. There was little celebration here in Sydney as 2020 ended and 2021 began – once again Covid is calling the shots.

And I don’t have much news. My work is still in a couple of online exhibitions (both there until 31 January): the Linden Postcard Show and the Biblio Art Prize (Blarney Books & Art).

Also online, from 15 January through to 28 February, is the Combined Art Societies of Sydney (CASS) ‘Art of Sydney’ Awards. I’ve submitted four pieces for that one. And for the first time, I have entered a few paintings in Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, but it’s quite possible that won’t be going ahead this year – everything is such an uncertainty again.

As I mentioned last month, I’m working towards a couple of exhibitions later in the year. The first will be at The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, and the other at Marie-France in West Pymble, on Sydney’s north side. The painting above will be appearing in the latter. It’s from the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. More details for both these exhibitions are on my ‘Coming Up’ page.

Until next month.

SOPHIE’S SEND-OFF

When I think of November, I think of jacarandas under thunderous skies. It wasn’t the threat of storms, however, that forced the cancellation of my ‘Sunday in the Garden’ at Eryldene last month but the extreme heat and intense wind. Disappointing, yes, but who knows what 2021 might bring.

One thing that did happen last month was the long-awaited send-off of my book, Sophie’s Sister. Having postponed the intended launch in May (thanks Covid), I came to see this event as more of a coming of age for Sophie as, having done all I could this year to push her ‘out there’, I felt the time had come for her to start fending for herself! It was also intended as a thank you to all the people who have supported me throughout what has, at times, been a trying year.

There were 50 of us gathered this Sunday afternoon at one of my favourite places – The Sandstone Café in Terrey Hills. Zoe Walton from Penguin Random House introduced award-winning author Pamela Hart (pictured above, with me), who spoke very warmly about my debut novel and even read a couple of extracts, which was both lovely and unexpected. And then, after I’d said just a few words, I introduced my co-driver from the trip I made across the Nullarbor back in 2007. (Those of you who have read my book will know that this iconic drive across Australia is central to the story.) Kelvyn told a few stories of our trip and then pulled a name from a hat (well, a zip-lock bag) – the winner of a painting I’d done of the Great Australian Bight. And then we ate! Thanks to Vinnie and his team for putting on such a fantastic afternoon tea, and thanks to all those who joined me that day. It was fabulous.

In a year that has had many ups and downs, one of the biggest surprises came recently when I received an email from our local member, Jonathan O’Dea, telling me of the Community Recognition Statement he had just delivered in parliament. He attached his statement to his email and I have copied it here: 

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY HANSARD – 17 NOVEMBER 2020

NINA PAINE – AWARD WINNING LOCAL AUTHOR AND ARTIST

Mr JONATHAN O'DEA (Davidson)— My electorate of Davidson is home to many talented people, including Nina Paine of St Ives. With a background in teaching, graphic design and book editing, Nina's career changed direction a decade ago when she decided to become an artist. A number of art lessons proved her decision to be the right one. A recent trip to the outback produced many evocative watercolour paintings of Australia's desert country and her wildlife, still life and city life paintings reflect her artistic talents beautifully. Nina also turned her hand to fiction writing. Her first novel Sophie's Sister, which draws on Nina's experiences of travelling across the Nullarbor, recently won silver in the Popular Fiction category of the 2020 Global eBook Awards. Nina writes and paints in a home studio which was once her father's medical surgery. It is easy to see how the serenity of a quiet suburban setting surrounded by the St Ives bushland might provide Nina with inspiration for her prodigious creativity. I commend Nina on both her artistic and writing skills.

So I’m now in Hansard! Who would’ve thunk!!!

And now it’s almost 2021, and already I have a couple of exhibitions to work towards – one at The Village Kitchen in Kurrajong at the foot of the Blue Mountains, and the other at Marie-France in West Pymble, on Sydney’s north side.

But for now, as 2020 draws to a close, I have works in the following:

‘I Am Woman’ at Be Brave Artspace, Avalon, NSW (to 20 December)

Carlingford Community Art Show (online until 18 December)

Linden Postcard Show (online until 31 January)

Biblio Art Prize, at Blarney Books & Art (online until 31 January)

And coming up:

CASS ‘Art of Sydney’ Awards, 15 January to 28 February 2021 (online)

Until next month.

UNDER THE JACARANDAS

Our open studio last month went really well. A huge thanks to my friends – artists Grace Bates and Glenys Ferguson – for helping make it the success that it was, and to all the lovely people who came to visit on what was a miserable weekend here in Sydney. It had started out overcast and gloomy and just got progressively worse (colder, wetter and windier) over the couple of days, so it would have been a perfect weekend to stay home, but they came to see and support us. Our thanks go to every one of them.

Plans are already underway for October 2021 - yes, I will be making this an annual event, inviting one or two other artists to again join me, therefore creating a broader range of available works than I could present on my own.

Next on my 2020 calendar is Sophie’s send-off. I’m a little hesitant to call it a launch now – it seems a bit of a stretch given the months that have passed since the finished product (my novel Sophie’s Sister) first saw the light of day – but I am looking forward to a bit of indulgent celebrating next weekend!

On the news front, I was very excited to learn that one of my miniature paintings (submitted to the Australian Society of Miniature Art (Tas)’s Annual Awards Online Exhibition, ‘Small and Precious’) has won Gold! My painting, ‘Norah Head Lighthouse, NSW’, won in the Landscapes/Buildings/Seascapes category. And that painting, as well as another (‘Palm Cove Jetty, Qld’), have been bought by a collector in the USA. This year has certainly had many highlights, and that is definitely one of them.

But the exciting news doesn’t end there. I’ve been invited to take part in a very special event at one of Sydney’s beautiful historic homes and gardens – Eryldene in Gordon. For four Sundays this month, Eryldene is hosting ‘Sundays in the Garden’. Visitors will be able to enjoy a program of pop-up music while a guest artist (on November 29 – me!) will be painting under the jacaranda trees. Sounds lovely, huh! Come along if you can, and relax with the weekend paper, a good book or perhaps even bring your own sketchbook with you! 

Also coming up:

I have submitted some pieces from my Central Australia series, ‘From the Heart’, in the following.

• Carlingford Community Art Show, 24 November to 18 December (online)

• Linden Postcard Show, 5 December to 31 January (online)

• ‘I Am Woman’, 10 to 20 December, Be Brave Artspace, Avalon, NSW

• CASS ‘Art of Sydney’ Awards, 15 January to 28 February 2021 (online)

Until next month.

OPEN STUDIO

On the weekend of 24 and 25 October, I’ll be opening my studio with friends and artists Glenys Ferguson and Grace Bates. Come along to see the intricacy and beauty of Glenys’ Japanese-inspired work in fabric and paper, and the semi-abstract works Grace has done – her four seasons are delightfully whimsical and have been likened to the work of Paul Klee.

My latest body of work, From the Heart, was completed after a trip to Central Australia last year, and reflects the beauty of the outback as I see it – in two distinct colour palettes: the beautifully soft, almost faded-looking colours captured so perfectly by artists like Hans Heysen and Albert Namatjira, and the strikingly intense colours that really blow your mind when you see them for the first time.

Over the weekend I will also have many older works for sale at greatly reduced prices, the aim being to clear as much as I can to start 2021 with as little clutter as possible! I read a wonderful quote some years ago: ‘Art isn’t art until it’s sold. Until then it’s an obsession and a storage problem.’ Fortunately watercolours don’t create the storage problem that many art forms do, but even so, I’m ready for a new beginning!

If you’d like to come along, drop me an email (manina@bigpond.com) and I’ll send you further details.

Following a few weeks later will be the long-awaited launch of my debut novel, Sophie’s Sister! Again, please email (manina@bigpond.com) me for details.

In addition, the Australian Society of Miniature Art (Tas)’s Annual Awards Online Exhibition, ‘Small and Precious’, will be going live on Saturday 24 October, running through until Sunday 8 November. I hope you’ll take a look – there are so many talented artists doing really beautiful little works!

Until next month.