Monday 27 February 2017

For the daisy-lover!


I don't know about you, but I'm totally mad for daisies! I plant them, I pick them, I eat them and I paint them! For starters, their name has the most charming origin. Daisy comes from the Old English "daes eage," meaning "day's eye." The name refers to the way they close their petals in the evening, and open again at dawn, marking the beginning of a new day!

Daisies are found everywhere on Earth except the Arctics and belong to the family of 'vascular plants' - those which circulate nutrients and water throughout the plant. They make up almost 10% of all flowering plants on Earth.

iPhone and Samsung phone cases

Tote bag

Studio pouch

Contrast tank top

Duvet covers

iPad case

Chiffon top 

Laptop skin

Wall clock

Scarf
Acrylic blocks

Acrylic blocks available in two sizes

Tote bag

I love Daisies.
No doubt about it, they are a happy flower.
And tough as nails.
Some have long elegant petals that gracefully drape.
Some are more fluffy and ruffled than others.
And some are more sedate with just a couple of rows of petals.
Each one seems to be slightly different than the next.

Of Thee, sweet Daisy!
bold lover of the sun,
And cheerful when the day's begun
Thy long-lost praise shall remain
Art Nature's favourite.

So head on over to my portfolio and try some Daisies today! 

Thursday 23 February 2017

When can you call yourself an artist?

The true artist paints for himself.
- A.C. Leighton

Wet-on-wet mountain landscape - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 12" x 8" - Maree©

The other day I was reading the article "When can you call yourself an Artist?" -
- and doing this painting, for the first  time I felt like an artist! Standing in front of the easel, arm outstretched with the Rigger, creating a beautiful masterpiece!

For this wet-on-wet scene, after wetting the paper, I sketched the main outlines of my scene using my Rigger and Cerulean Blue, a "trick" I picked up at my watercolour workshop with Angela Eidelman a few years ago. I'm sure many of you use this technique (I know West Coast artist Marie Theron does), but I always used to be somewhat of a sketchy person, using my pencil, going into great detail with a lot of erasing happening. It's only been the past couple of years since I started practicing painting with no sketching beforehand that I feel confident enough to consider doing this.

I didn't use any reference material either, just my imagination.

By the way, to answer the question above, I think the best reply was as follows :

“You are an artist when you make art. Many artists spend their lives not selling their work … One of the first requirements for an artist is to ignore those who would define whether they are artists. The only real measure is the person making the art or, if need be, posterity.” -- Jon

Framed print in Small, Medium and Large available from my portfolio on RedBubble



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