+ to wake up early each day, make my bed, eat a good breakfast and sit in the sunshine
+ to make Theo lots of pairs of Summery short overalls
+ to use my film society ticket each week
+ to sit with Jaine on her balcony overlooking the city and drink white wine on late Summer afternoons
+ to stop despairing
+ to keep a daily sketchbook
+ to walk the Overland Track with my sister
+ to give myself permission to put down my work, sit on my couch in the evening and watch shows that I enjoy, with my cat on my lap
+ to write a love letter to my city
+ to do fun, spontaneous, playful activities with Theo
+ to make a zine every six months
+ to take as many Skillshare classes as my bandwidth will allow
+ to drive to the beach on a warm day with my very nice gentleman friend in his Jeep with the top down
+ to make beautiful objects from clay
(A photo from way back when I did a post about my favourite places to sit in Launceston)
+ Toddlers sleeping at cafes
+ Planning exciting future study
+ Making things out of clay
+ Cards Against Humanity
+ Cherry blossoms preempting the arrival of Spring
+ Cooking for friends
+ 'Winter Moments' scented candles
+ Bad Gals Club
+ Quokkas (seriously one of the cutest animals ever)
+ Impromptu Chinese massages (I was on a date and we decided to both go get massages)
+ A cute new outfit from mine and Jaine's Hobart sojourn
+ Sticky date pudding flavoured ice cream
+ Going out dancing
+ Being interviewed by Pip Lincolne for Kidspot
+ Theo in patterned collared shirts, knitted jumpers, corduroy overalls and little boots
+ Jaine and I documenting to each other via text all of the food that we have eaten each day
+ T2 Banana Bake flavoured tea
+ Buying my sister a gorgeous San Francisco city bangle from McKean Studio for her birthday
+ Unearthing old photos of my sister and I, back when we had little white-blonde fringey haircuts
+ Goat's cheese polenta with pesto mushrooms, garlicky wilted spinach and roasted colourful tomatoes with pine nuts
+ Riding my bike through town and feeling the crisp air on my face
+ Theo making friends at the park and me chatting to nice mums and dads
+ Finishing up an EP cover design and sending it off to the manufacturers
+ Coming home to a washing basket of my towels, dried and folded by my neighbours who took them off the clothes line while it was raining
+ Ceasing using foundation, my skin feels so much better
+ Lizzy Stewart's art
Reading | Generation X - Douglas Coupland.
Listening | Tame Impala (I have listened to the new album at least 25 times in the past week) & Lianne La Havas.
Watching | Chef (amazing food porn!), Skeleton Twins (loved it!) & Offspring (hooked!).
Consuming | Jammy buttery toast (feat. incredible jam from my favourite Evandale market stall lady called Just Add Moonshine).
Making | Biscuits (these ones and these ones drizzled with white chocolate) and cakes for pals. Lots of paintings with tiny, colourful shapes.
Looking forward to | Heading down to Hobart to attend the Marriage Equality Rally next weekend with Jaine, staying at the Alabama Hotel and getting some retail therapy on (T2, Lush, Dangerfield, JB Hi-fi, the MAC counter, etc).
This month I spent a lot of time painting for my little Sweetbrew show, had many delightful times with Theo, lovely social times with friends and a smattering of freelance work and sleep-ins. I am so looking forward to being on the other side of Winter. I love so many things about it, but when my house is always cold, morale is low. Scarves, coats and hats though, they can stay for another few months please.
I've decided over the last few weeks that I'm going to take a break from freelance work, for at least a few months. I love that people ask me to make them things and to work with them on excellent projects, but at the moment I'm working my supermarket job, doing a great design course through Tractor Design School online, finishing up my last university unit and hanging out with Theo a couple of days per week and the thing I toss and turn at night about most is the freelance work I'm supposed to be doing, emails I've not yet sent, mock-ups I'm halfway through. One day when I am not so time poor, I hope that I will be able to look at freelance more seriously and with better organisation - because I do really love it. I've always said "Yes" to everything, even when I haven't had the time to dedicate to the projects and that lets the client and myself down. Right now I'd like my spare time to be spent recreating or working on my own artistic projects. I feel exhausted and burnt out. I'd really like to be able to read a book or watch a TV show without feeling guilty about all of the other things I'm not doing. Pip's book has really helped me to get some perspective and let myself make some choices.
I hope that you enjoy whatever you do following this.
Ps. I made a Facebook page for my illustration work recently - you can like it if you want to.
I did some little abstract paintings recently to go on a wall in the back nook of my favourite local cafe, Sweetbrew. I also did a little chalk mural in their front room.
I used wooden boards, did two coats of black gesso and then painted freehand with tiny paintbrushes and gouache. Each board probably took somewhere between 10 - 15 hours each.
I was a very anxious child and up until recently I couldn't remember a time when I wasn't very anxious. Doodling is a bit of a cathartic practice for me. I do it when I'm anxious and when I finish doing it, I feel a lot better. So this suite of paintings is called 'Worry Is A Misuse of the Imagination'. Use your imagination to make art instead.
They'll be hanging in the cafe for a few months. They're $85 each.
I thought I'd share some very lo-fi shots of the little chalk mural that I did in the front room at Sweetbrew too. I did it over about 4 hours on a Sunday afternoon after close, standing on some trestles. I sketched the basic idea first, scanned it, printed it out and then had it blown up and printed at A0 size so that I could scribble chalk all over the back of the print, tape it to the chalkboard wall and then trace over the line work with a pencil to transfer the basic layout and shapes. Then I used chalk and chalk markers to refine the lines. I printed the coffee paraphernalia sketches onto A3 sized paper and used the same method to transfer them. I'd love to work on something like this again!
Ps. Sweetbrew have the best coffee in town - if you're in Launceston, you have to go there. Or, if you're not big on coffee, their Prana Chai and banana bread are my favourite.