Showing posts with label paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paris. Show all posts

Monday, October 4, 2010

If I lived in Paris...


My Photograph - Pont Neuf at Night - taken in Paris in 2006




If I lived in Paris...I would go to Ladurée Champs Elysées tonight for dessert!

I would have peppermint tea and macarrons...

http://www.laduree.fr/



Then I would stroll down to the Grand Palais and across Pont Alexander III and watch the monuments light up one by one across Paris.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

What Have YOU Done?

This is pretty fun. TAG if you are reading this!
(Thanks for the fun ideathe Jensens Blog)

To participate, just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (no, but I was adopted!)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (no, but I walked to the 2nd stage of the Eiffel Tower!!
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (my child was, so I guess it doesn't count!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (in Japan and Thailand!)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (does Egypt count?)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (been on TV though!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. been snow skiing
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (written but not yet published!)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (waiting for the movie to come out;)
86. Visited Canberra (parliament house)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (got my child to the hospital in time so someone else could!)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Been to the Great Barrier Reef
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument (then promptly forgot again once I passed the exam!)

so there it is! I changed a couple of things to be more Aussie:)

Friday, October 1, 2010




Check out this amazing book and the wonderful website that accompanies it. Whenever I am feeling a little lost as an artist, I read James' book. He manages to say so many things that light up parts of my brain, the arty parts, but also the philosophy of why we are driven to paint.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

my new studio is my old studio is my garage...

recent work - Ultra-Close-Up Kombi!
- prints available on Redbubble.com

There might just be some Arts jobs going on the Gold Coast in a few years.
Sahba Abedian of Sunland Group http://www.sunlandgroup.com.au/ is a huge advocate of the arts and art plays a vital role in all his marvellous projects, (in fact some of my own artwork graces the walls of his projects!) and he has been quoted in the paper discussing the importance for the Gold Coast to develop a more cultural side. Shannon Willoughby followed up on Mr Abedian's Saturday story in the paper (I have NEVER bought the GC Bulletin on a weekday...that must tell you how passionate I am about the subject) today and I wholeheartedly agree, naturally. It starts this way - with intelligent people discussing it..., then next comes the fabulous building (just take a look at the GoMA in BrisVegas!! WOW!)and then down the track, art follows. It might take a few generations but at least the people that are in a position to do something regard art as being a worthwhile pursuit. I will be watching for any developments!

I've moved my painting studio into the garage. it was a move that had to happen as my house was just a mess all the time. The boys didn't mind, but I did. I have erected an elaborate plastic sheeting arrangement to hopefully keep the dust and debris off my work...shall remain to be seen how much dust gets in. I left my newest work (another reflection on the water) done in oil, out in the sun today. What a wonderful thing that was...very dry glaze but quite a number of insects met their demise. I'll upload a photo tomorrow.





God, I want more confidence in my work. I can't even fake it til I make it! I know the better my work gets, the more confidence I'll have, so I just keep on plugging away at it. More painting tomorrow...





I start my B.A. Visual Arts/Art History on the 15th of May and I am gearing up for my exhibition next year. It will coincide with my 40th birthday and will keep me working towards something. Holy Shit...and I am going to Italy and Paris next September so the exhibition will be the beginning of things for me. Now that's faking it til I make it!! Yay!! Go Me!! now back to the books....
see you tomorrow:)

Monday, October 5, 2009


A recent Oil on canvas done of the Currumbin Alley for my friends, Paul and Louisa. I have recently touched up the clouds but other than that this is the finished product.

below is some info on the Cite des Arts residency programme in Paris that I hope to be eligible for in a couple of years.






I am getting my passion back! I am dreaming about Paris every night (must be the books I am reading!) and my painting is going very well. Not only am I painting at work, but also painting at home. I am completing a few realist paintings (kombis etc) but I am about to embark on a new phase of landscapes and impressionist style work, keeping the super-real stuff for my boats. I am intending on entering the Brisbane Artists Academe scholarship show. I just have to get in and get stuff in shows...


My son is going very well with his cello, so I am sure when the time comes for me to head to Paris for my residency, he will be able to accompany me and attend some classes etc.