Semi Abstract

 "Montage of Me"

An abstract selfie.

150 x 90cm

New paintings in my studio

 I'm in the studio nearly every day, painting for an upcoming Art Fair, and a Solo Show.

Here are five finished paintings. These will need professional photography, but the iphone will manage for now. 

Zephyr Rock 70 x 90cm Oil on Canvas

Three Trees Over Water 100 x 100cm Oil on Canvas

Constant Flow 100 x 100cm Oil on Canvas

Bush Abstract 100 x 100cm Oil on Canvas

Blue Rock 100 cm x 100cm Oil on Canvas

Small annoyances

 

Recently I have spent a small fortune on brushes and paints.

And I'm finding that they are rubbish!!

Here are five issues that annoyed me today:

Above: Two small brushes: same brand, same age (new!). The brush on the left is already dog-eared after one painting!

Two medium brushes: left one is clumping, right one is behaving.

Both cleaned the same way. Both new, used for only one painting so far.

Large tube of paint, two paintings. Already cracked, causing leakage. I need to use a bandaid!

Just a personal preference: I dislike wide openings on tubes.

And finally, oil paint that had leaked its linseed oil while in transit or on the shop floor, causing the paint to become dried out and too hard to use.

Blue Creek Down Back

I'm starting a new series based on my favourite muse: the bushland behind my studio. These paintings will be looser than before, and my goal is abstraction, within the landscape genre.

I am referencing Jackson Pollock's Blue Poles with this painting. My alternative title was Black Stump. But I'll save that for another one.

In 2001 this area was burnt in a massive bush fire, and today many of the trees are still blackened. Some are dead stumps, but many have survived, and are re-growing.

This painting is about climate change: we have severe droughts and flooding rains, and fires that are so destructive that regrowth can take decades. 

Blue Creek Down Back

118 x 145cm

(47" x 57")

Room view from Canvy to give an idea of size.

Currently this painting is not framed.

My working space. A fabulous easel made by a friend's husband.

It can handle very large canvases.

Hot weather at last!

 Warm winds from the north have bought 40ºC heat to Sydney this week. So luckily I have finished my latest painting and was happy to head to the beach. It is about an hour's drive to Bronte Beach. Being a Monday we were hoping it would not be crowded but it was! Forgot the flash card for my camera, so only iPhone shots. :-(

The beach was closed due to a dangerous rip, so most of the swimmers were in the pool! This is where we like to go, as Bob is using it for exercise and safe plunging. The surf is too strong for him, even mild waves. 

To sign or not to sign abstract paintings

I recently visited "Blue Poles" by Jackson Pollock. It is hanging in the Australian National Art Gallery. It's purchase almost destroyed the leftist government back in the 70's. Goodness, they paid over one million dollars!! (Now estimated to be priceless!)

Pleasantly surprised to see that he had signed his painting! 

"Blue Poles" Jackson Pollack 1953

I recently have been advised that "you don't sign abstracts on the front, because it interferes with the image."

My response is: signatures have always interfered. They have cut across the soft and sensitive paint of the masters, and sometimes taken a major role in the composition.

Self-Portrait with Fur-Trimmed Robe 

Albrecht Durer 1500

These large elaborate signatures were a form of advertising for the artist, especially on self portraits. This was probably the beginning of the signature tradition, and it evolved into a modest corner position.

The same applies today: it's a form of marketing yourself, as not all visitors to your patron's home will be familiar with your style. It's a chance for networking, and it is respectful to your buyer. They won't have to pull the painting off the wall to remember the artist's name. 

The Travellers, After Cezanne

Shirley Peters 2018

The fun with abstracts is that you can hide your signature somewhere in the surface movement, or just fill a corner. 

Let me know what you think in the comment section. 

Cheers

Shirley

 "Spring Evening at Glen Davis"

35 x 45cm, oil on board.

AU$620

Plein Air painting at Glen Davis

 

"Morning Light at the Confluence"

35 x 45cm Oil on Board

AU$620 plus postage

Plein air with Friends

 

A warm winter afternoon with my painting buddies Donald Talintyre and John Rice. A friendly farm owner let us park on her property. I could have painted John as he was in the middle of my view! But I worked around him. 

45 x 60cm oil on canvas. For Sale. $600 pp

Chickens and hospitals

 

Today I had to re-home these sweet girls. They were being hen-pecked by my five older hens, and I have no ability to keep them separated. So off they went. They are in a new home nearby with 20+ other chickens. (Thanks Bel!)

I'm not sad, just relieved to have one problem solved.

The other thing is that my husband Bob has just had a knee replacement, and faces a long slow rehabilitation. He had a stroke back in 2010, and half of his body does not work. So something as simple as sitting up in the bed is difficult for him, and now walking is impossible. 

A rehabilitation hospital will get things sorted. He'll go to one of these as soon as a bed is available.

Meanwhile, Honey the Cavoodle is missing her daddy! And I'm doing daily visits across town. So painting has been placed on hold for a while.

How I uploaded and 'minted' my first NFT in 2021.

I'm occasionally asked how I created an NFT. Non-fungible token. 

So here is my process. Changes happen all the time, so there is a chance that my instructions will be soon out of date.

I started with a movie that I created myself by animating a waterfall.  (You don't need a moving image. Just a jpeg will do.)

Get the wallet set up first.

1: Open an account with CoinSpot.com (or CoinBase or similar)

2: Deposit about AU$200

3: Buy Ethereum with that $200.

4: Open an account (called a wallet) with Metamask.com

5: Transfer your Ethereum from Coinspot to Metamask.

(Hint: You will have to use Chrome as your browser, then your Metamask Wallet account icon will sit in the top righthand corner as an extension, easy to access,)

Now to mint your NFT. (English: create your non-fungible token)

6: Open an account with Rarible.com

 7: Upload your jpg image or movie to Rarible.com, 

8: Decide if you want to add value by providing an “unlockable” file – eg: a high res version, suitable for printing as a bonus to someone buying your NFT.

Follow the prompts and fill in the fields.

9: Pay the “gas” fees (they vary every day, between $80 and $200!) This is where you need to use your wallet.

Congratulations! 

10: You have now minted an NFT. 

11: Open an account with Opensea.com

 and put your NFT up for sale on their site as well. I did this just to reach a larger audience.

NOTE: Expect to be charged for every transfer of money, and possibly when you buy an NFT. 

There are lots of instructions on YouTube. Just google NFT.

Good luck!

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Beach Painting

 Back to my favourite beach. Lobster Jacks Beach at Ulladulla, NSW Auatralia.

It is close to the campsite, private, allows dogs, almost always empty. Sometimes there is just sand, other times lots of seaweed. Beautiful rocks, some of which have memories of past foliage and sealife. Yes: fossils everywhere. 

These are three plein air paintings, available on my Singulart web site.

https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/shirley-peters-33986

Good News

Morning! 

Yesterday my "Abundant Waters" show was officially launched! It is a real show.  There are 14 large paintings on show (I have already sold two works prior). 

And I have been asked for smaller ones! So Today I'll see what I have in my "plein air" file.