Getting into the Flow!

My dear friend Jola sent me to Ted.com where I found this great little video for all of us wanting to live a happy life in the 'flow'!

Losses in the Art Market!

In these astounding times, auction houses such as Sotheby's (US) are posting losses against guaranteed sales.....what does that mean?

Basically, if you are a seller, Sotheby's guarantees a selling price at auction for you (this is only for some, not all).....

As an artist, to me it still feels like gambling........I have never been privy to the prices that Damien Hirst gets, nor do I think I would get those prices, but nonetheless, my artworks have risen steadily in value over the years, they don't rise and fall like the stock market or auction houses, and sales are always about the same year after year......owners of my paintings can usually get back their money if they do decide to auction, although most choose to keep their work as far as I can tell.

You know, we don't muck about gambling with our work, but just enjoy creating mostly beautiful works that sell to a market.......

It seems to me time to be honest about values and not let things get out of hand as they have as the 'greed principle' of late has led to a lot of speculation in not only houses and shares, but all sorts of 'goods'.......time for a wake-up call has come.......

This last exhibition of mine sold well, and at the right market price.......still I'll never be a millionaire! but I am happy with my lot as are most of my artist friends!

So keep on painting.....I don't think Sotheby's making a loss (or the stockmarket being shaky) is really going to affect us much out here in regional Oz!

Happy painting!

nJoy

Art Class for Forbes

Hi everyone,

Well I've been flat out of late doing this and that so I haven't been back to my blog.....so much has happened and some will necessarily have to miss out.

Last weekend though, we had a lot of laughs and a great day at the Forbes Art Society's rooms learning all about perspective (what blokes know, bt we gals missed out on!) and an overview of some watercolour techniques to finish off each days' work with fun!

We splashed about and the results were pretty good! From the photos, the class seemed to be pretty intrigued with their watercolours....specialty for the day was creating 'hard edges' where you want them to be!


Next workshop will be with Robyn Ross in Orange.....Nov 8 & 9.......Don't forget!

ciao

nJoy

Masked Ball - Orange Regional Gallery

What a Grande event! Orange Gallery's La Grande Masquerade was an wonderful evening full of fun and laughter....much amusement as we all guessed who was behind the mask!?

The evening just got better as it went on......so here's a little show I made from it....forgive the arty shots, can't help myself......lot's of Alan Sisley enjoying himself! and others, can you guess who.......

"Under Autumn Skies" - Exhibition a Success!

Hi everyone

and thank you to all of you that came to the opening on Sunday last! It was a beautiful day out at Molong and we all enjoyed each others company......

For photos of the event, go to Phil, the rampant photographer's site at lookaround.com.au/joy

It's great to have Phil around at these events! Some nice close ups of the techniques in the paintings as well.....

cyu again!

nJoy

"Under Autumn Skies" - all welcome!

Sunday 21 September sees me open my next solo show at Jayes in Molong. The gallery there has changed so much over recent months and now is dedicated to exhibiting the works of career artists.

There is a Smalls Gallery and the Cafe Gallery as well on site, along side a new sculpture garden being developed at the rear of the premises as well. So lots to see and do in this largerand more complex group of buildings and courtyards.......

Join me over lunch at 12.30 or just come along for the opening at 2.30.

I was inspired to paint these works by my travels along the road to Canberra from Orange during March this year. The colours were beautiful....rich wines and deep creams, cloudy skies and grey days........

Mezzanine - a great addition to the town of Forbes!

Further down the street in Forbes, you will find Mezzanine.....a fantastic place! Great coffee, good vibe, excellent art on the walls from Roger Bennie.......

The lively owner, Jane is friendly and looking to the future of art in the town with plans to expand her gallery to include a regular program of solo shows!

The height of the ceilings certainly make the space one of those rare finds; one that displays art really well......and the current show certainly holds it owns in the space.

It's great to see contemporary paintings in the outback.......Roger's work is expressive and full of life!

It certainly has to be on your 'best visit' list....be sure to drop in for lunch, coffee and view the art!

Orange Art Society Annual Competition

It's been so busy these last few weeks and so much to do, be done......well at last it's done!

And it was a great roll up at the Orange Art Society Competition the other week......about 2 or 3 weekends ago. We all gathered round to see a wonderful exhibition of local talent.

I was invited to judge the show, 7 or 8 sections and then formally open the evening's celebrations and hand out the prizes. There were some outstanding works amongst what was an excellent collection. There is no doubt about it, the local artists are good painters.....with some good teachers, past and present.

With four seasons a year in the region, from bright autumn colours, through winter whites and greys and into fresh spring greens and our sunburnt summers, this region really develops the senses. The Central West has always produced excellent artists, Tim Storrier (Parkes boy), Elwynn Lyn (Canowindra boy), Lloyd Rees (Bathurst way) and Brett Whiteley to name a few. There's also Reg Campbell of Sunny Corner, and his protegees, Greg Turner then Tony Mason who kept a line of good basic realism going, and gave a thorough understanding of European traditions to their students.

I travel all around the place, east to west, and visit many art societies and galleries, and really, Orange can hold its own.....

This year saw the CWA exhibit as well......so it was representative of a large group of painters. Well done to all who helped out and supported this venture. I hope to see more of these in the future.

Next great show for Orange!

Go West for Inspiration!

Art is alive and well in Forbes! Yesterday, Wanda and I went wandering along the long road to Forbes, we stopped, took photos, laughed, and gained inspiration from a beautiful landscape.

It was getting ready to snow in Orange so we escaped a gloomy day and headed out in the car, cameras in hand. The mists were hanging over the landscape giving it a soft gentle light, and the blue gums were cerulean with grasses of apricot and creams.......an excellent day for painters to be out and about!

We landed in Forbes and took a peek at the Lachlan St Gallery, the home of the Forbes Art Society. They were all painting furiously and enjoying each other's company. A great little gallery fronts their workshops area and displays a wide range of loval arts plus a few from other areas.

It's a terrific space and one could feel the pleasure that these artists shared in their love of art and painting together. We were made to feel very welcome as we shared a cup of tea with them and talked about their work.

13 Photographers at Borrodell!

Well Wow! What a great night! The gallery was crowded for an interesting night again at Borrodell Cellar Gallery....the wine flowed, the noise, the noise, the noise, ah and yes, it 'was noise' as well.

13 photographers showing off their art which included some gimmicks, some tricks and some really cutting edge images. It demonstrated how photographers now feel the need to break away from classical photos and become more edgey as the market becomes flooded with wannabees. In some ways, the work reflected the break from traditional art forms that artists went through when cameras first came into being and threatened the life blood of artists.

Back then, recording the family and their belongings was the realm of realist painters and of course this shifted as photographers took over. Artists had to find the edge and they did. Now we see this happening as photographers find their domain being impacted by the digital camera.

So an interesting show that demands attention and raises questions about the place of photography in the modern world and the future.........must go if in town........open until end August!

Next Big Event! Mulga Bill Festival!

Hi everyone!

Next weekend sees a great number of festivities happening in the bush! Cumnock will come alive on Friday night with an art show - that is after the sheep are shorn! No! Really the sheep will be shorn at the pub as part of the festivities......bike pedal power drives the shearing plant so the going could be rough!

Followed on by 2 great days of novelty bike races plus the real thing over Yeoval way! So drag out the old penny farthing and fire her up for a great weekend......do come along!

The Army is coming along as well with 1000 ration recipes for you to try....just the thing for when the petrol runs out! You can camp out or hotel/motel it in any nearby town!

See you there!

Romy Tysoe-Taylor Exhibition

Well, last night, yours truly was once again invited to open an excellent exhibition. The cold weather has closed in now and today as I sit here with the temperature dropping, I think back on what was a wonderful evening.


Romy is truly an extraordinary painter. Her favourite subject is nudes, and nude they are; bright, colourful, strong lines and explicit. They draw you into their private worlds as they sit there on the canvas with no shyness or cover. From the first time I saw Romy's work over 10 years ago now, I have always loved her freedom of painting the human body with such abandon.

It certainly was a joyful evening, with many others in attendance...... a good country supper as always and plenty of local wines to help the evening along.

I noticed the red dots appearing as I was leaving and saw Romy beaming at what is a successful first solo show. Romy has 10 years of solid instruction in the arts from Seaforth TAFE (4 years) and a further 4 years at CoFA leaving with a Masters in the early 90's. A seasoned and well developed painter who can hold her own.

You can visit Romy in her studio, Mandagery Art Studio, Broad Street, Eugowra if you have missed the show!

Snow, Snow, Snow in Orange NSW!

I know, I know! It'll be all over the news tonight how we got snow in Orange! But don't rush to your car and head out here just yet!

This morning I looked out the window and oh heaven! There it was! Snow! Thought to myself "Oh Goodie I can paint snow!" So headed out in the car to the mountain.......beautiful rainbow in the Towac Valley.......

However, the snow was a terrible disappointment.....not much of a fall after all!Did find some intrepid souls though trekking up the Pinnacle! and saw Neil, local arts fellow, out with his camera.......hope you did better than me Neil!

Well it's now 3.5 oC...sun is shining.....hopefully more on the way!

Saatchi Gallery Showdown

Well, here's a bit of fun for all artists outback!

Recently I joined the Saatchi Gallery online and this week I have put some artwork in their online Showdown....it's all a bit tongue in cheek and fun to do!

I put in a painting well known to some of you that features my ol' Oz Emu friend.......

I ran into him whilst wandering around the sand dunes of Lake Mungo. He stuck his head up out of a saltbush and stared at me. I could just see him ticking over in his mind what a funny looking bird I was. I titled the painting "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

The government initiative that inspired this work it is the tourism advertisement with the blonde ladette who says "Where the bloody hell are you?" to the supposed toruists coming to visit Oz....and indeed, where are they?

The recent news that certain people are now contemplating Paul Keating (who the bl...y hell is he?) as the next face of Oz Tourism is even funnier than the last failure.......from ladette to old laddie! Can't for the life of me see what a clock collecting lizard has got to do with tourism......I feel another picture coming on....!

But in any case, it's all a good laugh and brings out the larrikin in all of us!

Unfortunately voting is over now but it was all good fun!
Have a great day! Till next time.......

Bush Galleries

Out here in rural Oz, our exhibitions are mainly held in places of mixed business rather than purpose built galleries. But they are very exciting and great places!

Take Borrodell Cellar Gallery for instance - fabulous gallery space which is the cellar door for a heart warming range of boutique cool climate wines! Recent exhibitions which included my own "Living in the Landscape" achieved good sales and opening nights with over 100 guests. Nina, the Director is lively, educated and beautiful and as an artist of note herself, a great advocate for regional arts.

The next exhibition will feature local photographers - an event not to be missed!

If you are visiting Orange or coming this way, let us know and we will make sure your visit is filled with exciting places to visit!

Hello! You've found my blog!

What a difference the web has made to all of our lives...... and continues to make daily as it grows beyond what we all dreamed......

It allows me as an artist to keep abreast of what is happening across the world in the arts. Living in regional Oz, it has been hard to know what is out there.......until the web! Thru this amazing technology, I have found old friends, made many new ones and been invited to places I could only dream of.......

Last year, I was invited to the Florence Biennale, and for me this was the biggest challenge I have ever faced. I realised how far away Italy was from Australia, the cost of getting there and the awesome fright of exhibiting in front of the Italians with their exceptional artistic achievements that span centuries.

It took me 6 months to decide on what I would paint, another 3 months to execute the 3 panelled work, and a tight, tight budget to achieve it.

But the experience taught me so much about myself, the art world, how other artists see their place in society and on the planet that it was well worth the effort. I loved the Biennale! It has been the highlight of my career to date.

Please feel free to comment......