What's On In My Art Studio - JULY 2018

Oh my. July is going to take some focus, imagination and some very strong coffee. A few major projects are making my studio a place of creative chaos and I’m loving every minute of it. I’m thrilled to be involved with a new project on the Perth art scene...PerthUpmarket Art Market on the 25th August. I’ve been madly painting towards this day for months and have my own stall for my traditional and quirky wildlife and pet portraits. Along with 50 of Perth’s Leading professional artists, I will have originals and prints on display and for sale. I know many of my fellow exhibitors and I can tell you, it’s going to be a really fantastic one day art fair. Follow along on my Facebook page where I’ve created an album of works that will be at Upmarket. My favourite being my life-sized Peacock 'Cascade'. I have Credit card facilities available and I will be taking pre-sales and lay-bys prior to the exhibition. Get in quick if you like something, my 'Secret Life' series has already sold 7 straight off the easel. Also launching at Upmarket is Pup Art, a wonderful fund-raiser for Guide Dogs WA. I’ve been selected to paint a Guide Dogs WA coin donation statue. It’s life sized and I can paint it however I feel inspired to...they most perfect project for a crazy dog lady like me, but can I tell you just how hard it has been to make a decision on what to paint with such an open theme? The guideline being to ‘think beyond the bounds of the Dog when creating your masterpiece. Think fine art, graffiti, mixed media, mosaics or even pop art - it’s up to you.’ Do you know how many sleepless nights this has given me? Oh the possibilities. I’ve flitted between crazy or beautiful, realistic or abstract for the last few weeks and it’s left me t.i.r.e.d. Have I ever told you I'm a perfectionist? Oh, you guessed did you? 😜 Anyway, I’ve finally made a decision, it’s going to be a ‘secret life of pets’ dressed up character dog, with detail and symbolism...all to be revealed in the next few weeks. After a false start trying to get my paint to stick to the plastic form, I got on my way with this paint project this weekend. Follow along on my Instagram page for regular updates. Hope I can do this wonderful institution justice. The exhibition launches on 25th August, which happens to be National Dog Day. ❤❤ The dogs will then migrate to Central Park, 152-158 St George’s Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, on Monday 10th September until Friday 21st September. There is a People’s Choice being announced on the 24th September, so if you visit, please remember to do a vote for your favourite...wink, wink, I hope you like mine! Following the exhibition, the Pups will be auctioned online, with 100% funds going to the Guide Dogs WA. I’m also painting a violin for another fundraiser ‘70 violins for 70 years’ for a local school in Perth...another awesome open themed project with 70 professional artists selected to reinvent a child’s violin. It’s opening in October by the esteemed Professor Ted Snell of the University of Western Australia’s , Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. I will post more details when I know them. I’ve seen what a couple of sculptors have done with their violins and they are seriously creative. So good! I’m going traditional and realistic and hopefully making mine very beautiful. Gosh, it’s so fun to think outside the square (and rectangle) of a stretched canvas! This month also sees me as a finalist in the Cossack Art Awards in Karratha, Western Australia. I’ve entered ‘Shall we take tea Mary Poppins’ in the Flora and Fauna section of these awards...quirky native wildlife! I’ve also been selected for the online component of the Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art prize, with ‘The Emulator’. I didn't quite make it through to the finalists exhibition, but Im happy to still be part of their online group. You can see more about this prize via their facebook page. It’s my first time in both these prizes, exciting and fun to enter paintings from my new animal series. Paintbrushes crossed. Did you know I’ve now got prints available on my web shop from my ‘Secret Life of Animals’ series? I will be adding new ones as I paint them. Any queries about my originals, email me! If Im a little quiet on my Facebook and Instagram pages, it’s because I’m having a freakin awesome time in the studio, ignoring my family, feeding them way too many nights of soup or eggs on toast and allowing my house to wallow in a layer of dust. Oh well. Care factor...zero. My paintbrushes are having fun. School holidays are here, my big girl has flown the coop for Europe for a month and routine will be a little more relaxed for the next few weeks, thank goodness! Remember to sign up for my monthly newsletter to be the first in the know of art news and paintings. Mia x