Just a few snaps of what’s happening in the garden right now….lemons, flowers etc. The white and yellow Gordonia tree (related to camellias) is starting to flower…it’s sometimes called the fried egg tree!
Garden snaps
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Two in progress in the studio
I’ve actually made some time to paint in the last week and thought I’d keep you posted with pics showing the works I’m painting at the moment. They are still in progress and I’m not sure how they’ll look finished but nearly there, I think. The blue and white painting is, I feel, quite oceanic in atmosphere…and I’m pursuing the idea of a dancing ocean. The other work which is mainly white and yellow, is about contrast of colours…brighter colours being muted somewhat by the whites and greys. It seems to be indicating the idea of division..perhaps on several levels of understanding. I’ll see how it all travels along over the next week or so. Here’s the pics!
Gardens develop
Our gardens are an on going project. Lots of hard work but I love the results. The cottage garden is often receiving new additions and they seem to enjoy their place in the garden beds. The tomatoes are almost finished now as we move into autumn, but flowers and shrubs are very happy with the heat of summer over. I’ve started a small section of the vegetable bed which will be extended with time and have added some herbs: tarragon, Vietnamese mint, and another sweet tall growing mint who’s name I can’t recall. Some sawtooth coriander will join them in the strawberry area. It’s been mulched now, with compost underneath. Pawpaws and a babaco have been planted in a protected spot, and fruit trees are going crazy!…Limes literally by the bucket load, the lemon tree with heaps of fruit and the single passionfruit vine gives buckets of fruit also. Very yummy! I’ve tried so many lime recipes!..Lime pie, lime butter, lime cordial, lime pickle. All were (and still are) really tasty! We’ve even added a little fairy garden behind some hydrangeas. I’m just popping in a few pics…there will be more coming up in the near future! This is an incredibly abundant place to garden and I feel very blessed.
Cottage garden 1
Cottage garden 2
Fairy garden
Lemon tee and pumpkin
Lime tree
Passionfruit
Pawpaws and babaco
Veggie patch beginning
Flowers from the garden
I’m enjoying the arrival of the autumn flowers at the moment, so I’d like to show you some from our garden…always amazing…the rich purple of the heliotrope, the crazy double flower of the zygocactus, the weird shiny bronze coloured hibiscus, and of course so many different camellias. Love this garden! It surprises me continually!
Camellias in bud vase
Close up white camellia
Fab heliotrope
Zygocactus
Light pink camellia bush
Metallic bronze hibiscus
White camellia bush
Studio work
I haven’t been in the studio much lately…my commitment to my garden has been ongoing (and exciting). But I’ve been working on this painting, which is purely abstract in concept without any references to landscape. It’s about colour…seeing how whites and greys look near a bright yellow and pink. The grey tones mute the presence of the brighter hues but also act as a contrast…it feels almost cloud like. Don’t think it’s finished yet,..we’ll see!
Games Baton Relay
Well, the Commonwealth Games are almost upon us and as we are so close to the Gold Coast, we’ve had a lot to endure (and more to come). Today the Queens Baton Relay came through Tamborine Mountain. I ventured out for this event, and guess (maybe?) it was worth the walk from my house and a wait of about an hour. The day was extremely pleasant, about 23 degrees up here, with few clouds and a gentle breeze, plus not too many people and I was able to stand in the shade of a lovely tree, and took lots of photos without concern! Heaps of police, emergency service people, volunteers for the Games etc…..almost as many as onlookers!…Just kidding, but it wasn’t crowded. The kids had a good time, and there’s lots of activities heading into the night. I don’t think I’ll bother with that though. Here’s some pics of the baton and it’s bearer…everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
Tibochinas in bloom
Our tibochinas in the front yard are crazily blooming, and the hit of purple is always so surprising. I took this pic as apparently more rain is coming and the blooms might be spoilt (although there’s plenty more buds unopened yet). Glorious!
Two new mandalas
Recently I’ve completed two mandalas which are more complex than previous ones. It’s taken me some time to finish these ones, and be happy with the result. The new mandalas seek to represent something larger, more encompassing in our psyches. They seem to be quite mysterious and almost universal symbolically. I wanted to relate and link the earth (and specifically the oceans) with the greater cosmos. Both places are somewhat unexplored and remain unknown to us in many ways and these images perhaps convey that sense of spirit which largely remains undefined.
I’ve used as background, images of space that I purchased from Shutterstock but apart from that, the rest of the mandala has been developed from my own photos (as is the case with all my mandalas). It was a challenging process but a rewarding one. The images are available in 12″ prints. Feel free to contact me regarding making a purchase.
Seahorse Moon
The Signs
Last painting for 2017
Finished this painting just before New Years Eve last week….“Sunrise: mountain” is a collection of ideas/inspirations from nearly mornings on the mountain. Colours can be brilliant, with trees aglow; there is a lovely quality of light. A diversity of painting techniques were employed here: spray paint, dribbles, textured painterly sections. I’ve heightened the hues vibrancy to increase the impact of the work…it’s about memories, what I’ve seen and experienced.
“Sunrise:mountain” 62x62cm $795
More afternoon storms
Crazy weather lately, with summer storms every afternoon. This afternoon the storm passed out to sea, after giving us some very heavy rain(yet again!). Took these pics just after. The hydrangeas look great at the moment, and the passionfruit vine is going crazy with fruit. Luckily no roof leak…the roofing guy replaced a tile just before the storm arrived!
Cockatoos in trees
Storm moving to the coast
Hydrangeas
Looking to garden near the passionfruit
Passionfruit vine
