"Diaries of a traveling artist" on show now!

Hi everyone

Well this month and into next (13 April), my artworks are showing at Fairview Artspace in Mudgee. These works have all been inspired by my various trips into and around Australia.

As I explore this colourful and exciting country, I find I just have to return to the studio and express myself in colour and form that reflects the feelings I have felt whilst out there..... yep, out there.... outback as we call it!'

To give you a small idea of some of the places I have seen, here's a couple of photos:

 

On 28th and 29th March, I will be out at Mudgee in the gallery. I'll show a series of slides of places I have been to give you an idea of what inspires me to paint the Australian outback.

For too long, we have all been led astray into believing that this is a dull, dry and dusty country worth nothing else than for raping and pillaging. Well, the Australia I know is far from being boring, flat and dull. It is a wild and wonderful country full of colours, energy and forms beyond anything we can imagine.... but you need to be able to find the places, take the time to let the magic happen.

Join me in Mudgee even if it's only to be inspired to get in your car and travel out into our wilderness!

Painting in the Australian Outback is always a treat!

If ever you wanted to experience the Outback and delight your senses all at once, then going to Arkaroola with 8 fantastic women and 2 men to explore, paint and renew friendships is a great way to do it!

We have just returned from our fifth trip to that great Aussie icon, the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary where our souls were inspired, nourished and delighted all at once. Many people just drive in, stay over one night, then drive out which for me is completely missing this amazing opportunity to reignite one senses with the arid lands of Australia.

The landscape was alive with wildflowers and Sturts Desert Peas didn't fail us with their wonderful show of colour. The days were balmy and the evenings warm.

Sturt's Desert Pea - a wonderful sight to see!

Cassia blooms everywhere in the Spring making the fields golden

We wondered and wandered amongst the hills and plains, across fields of flowers, to Paralana Springs where the air was heavy and hot. We couldn't stay long and returned across the Strzlecki Desert, ablaze with colour. Here's Jan putting together some field notes on the Springs in the hot desert sun! Brave Jan!

 

A pure whit e gum stands proud against the rocks of Paralana Springs! Sure to bring out the best in any artist!

 

Lake Frome also amazed us with the best colours yet as recent rains had semi-filled the salt lake. Pastel colours criss crossed the land awash with salt below us as we circled in the Piper Navaho at 3500 feet. Ah heaven!

Lake Frome at it's most magnificent - an abstract of pastel shades!

When I began to take artists to the desert to paint, I never realised just how rich and rewarding the experience would be especially for myself! But as the adventures have rolled into each other, we have bonded together into a group, the Wild Women of Arkaroola PLUS (PLUS for the occasional brave male that joins us!). I cannot tell you how deeply these field trips have affected me and my artworks, but they have and I am now painting with all the JOY of a long life as an artist!

I wish you all a creative and fulfilling life as you explore Mother Earth! May you have eyes to see the beauty in her as we do.

Arkaroola just continues to delight the senses!

Having just returned from my fourth trip to Arkaroola over 2 years, I am still delighted and inpired by that arid and ancient landscape. The sheer size of the outback continues to astound and overwhelm as it silently stands witness to all we do.

Paintings cannot express the feelings that collide within one's soul as the eyes get reddened and lined with tiredness at trying to take it all in. I realised this time just how many people travel through that country and come home feeling overwhelmed.

Flashes of ochre walls this time in unexpected places were found as now, this time, I am finally able to start to get down to the details. Found, three more ochre wall sites to explore for next time!

The wall glows under the gums, a hidden site, not much visited and not well known, and darned difficult to paint with any conviction. People cannot imagine that this exists but there it is.... it's quiet ethereal presence from over 500 million years ago - a testament to how beautiful the earth must have been at one time.

These colours would have made up the landscape long before they all became melded into one dull brown or grey. They would have shone on beaches and riverbeds, the sides of hills and mountains - a veritable Garden of Eden.

Now, all we have left in the landscape are a few wild arid places, wilderness areas and sanctuaries, looked over by daring and courageous guardians like the Spriggs of Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary. These are indeed sacred places but will we be strong enough and vigilant enough to protect them from the voracious appetites of a consumer culture. I certainly hope so.

The Yin and Yang of the Art World

Do landscapes sell? Are art buyers/lovers really interested in the landscape?

It's amazing every day, no matter where or what I go or do, I find people with differing points of view especially about the art world. I guess, really, everyone's experience is so different, so diverse, that we each have to make up our own mind in the long run.

So just thinking it through today, I realise that in my life I have over 700 paintings of the landscape hanging on people's walls and in their offices all over Australia, the US, China, Japan and various other countries throughout the world. My lifetime has been spent pursuing the essence of landscape through colour, shape, intricacy, abstraction and a variety of techniques and materials. Just this week, I have completed several pieces both large and small, and as I view my studio, there's not much in stock..... so the landscape must still be a winner for many collectors - at least in my experience!

So what do you think? Here's my latest work titled "The Ancient Ones" inspired by the many ancient rocks that continue to erode out into the Australian landscape wherever you go..... they can be found in all sorts of places but it's the remote ones I love the best! In an arid landscape, there's nothing quite like coming across a pile of massive boulders! They provide shade, colour and form, beautiful washes of colour, and they 'talk' to you! They tell the story of our fabulous place - our home - Australia!

When I look, I see maybe a couple of female figures laying in repose, maybe discussing 'life' as time passes by..... what do you see?

More on my website!

It doesn't matter what you paint, just continue to follow your heart, eyes and soul and keep painting - "Let it flow and let it go!" (Joy Warren of Solander Gallery in 2011) Thank you Joy for that timely advice. I needed to hear it then and I keep repeating it to myself each day.....

Have a happy painting day and remember, even when sales are slow, it's time to catch up on all those images that are waiting dormant waiting to be born!

Arkaroola Art Tour a hoot!

Well hi everyone!

We're back from Arkaroola and it was as usual, amazing! The artists found inspiration and healing in this very special part of the Ozzie outback - deep in the heart of South Australia. It has to be one of my own very favourite places to visit......

We started by flying over Lake Frome - less well known than Lake Eyre and a gem..... this time, the lake had a 50-75 cm cover of water making the surface like a mirror. We were so dumbstruck by it that we couldn't speak much to the consternation of the pilot who thought that we might not have been impressed. But I assured him that we just couldn't speak at the sheer beauty and ethereal nature of the lake in flood.....

 

Lake Frome

After having our minds expanded in the observatory that night by Doug Sprigg who showed us the starry night sky through his wonderful telescope, we climbed exhausted into bed our sides aching from laughter.

Next day saw us take a gruelling tour of 4 1/2 hours of back breaking chiropractic abuse in the open back of a 4WD across country to Sillers Lookout! But it was well worth the rough ride with everyone sliding up and down the seats into each other!

View from Sillers Lookout

On Day 3, we took a fair hike of just over a km the guide said (hmmm..... it was definitely a lot longer than that!) down through Mawson Valley and to the riverbed where Sharpie, our aboriginal guide told us some dreamtime stories from the area. I think we were all so tired by this time, that we were just happy to have a seat even if it was in the sand! But it was a gentle way for the tour to wind down.

We headed back into the studio, but I feel we all had so many images fighting to emerge in our heads and hearts, that we all found it quite difficult to focus on just one thing to paint..... so we chatted away the afternoon with some people painting hard!

There are more photos on Panoramio and I will load some more as I find time. But in the meantime, consider Arkaroola as a must see destination for the Australian painter! They are friendly, helpful and ready to welcome artists with open arms..... it's well worth the long (fascinating) drive out there! But take plenty of memory cards as they won't go astray!

Looking forward to being able to take more of you on wild painting adventures!

Joy - oh and, we are having a group show at Aawun Gallery later this year! So don't forget to keep an eye out for details as they come to hand!

Wilderness Painting! Come and 'see' with me!

Hi all

Well on my return from the desert trek that Wanda and I took late last year, the place that stood out the most as a painter's paradise was definitely Arkaroola in the South Australian Outback! What a place! IMy heart yearned to return and so after much chopping and changing, I am on a roll and getting back out there!

But wait! You are invited to come and paint with me! This is NOT a camping trip, oh no no! This is not 'roughing it' in the desert! This is a lovely comfortable week at a wonderful wilderness sanctuary in the heart of the North Flinders Ranges that has a highly regarded reputation in the eco-tourism industry! A gem in the bush!

Owned by brother and sister, Doug and Margaret Sprigg, this amazing place will host our painting tour. There's several 4WD treks to take, an aboriginal elder who will guide you through some of the area's dreamtime, not to mention the most inspiring landscapes to get you painting and 'seeing' like you have never seen before.

It was so inspiring that on my return I painted "Flying High" in a whole new range of colours. My own sense of vision has been heightened by going out there and seeing Australian as if seeing it for the first time!. This is truly a wonderful experience (and comfortable and cosy!)

I would love to see this place through your eyes! And see what you come up with in paint!

 Violet ranges with acid limes and yellows, hourly changes of colour, like driving through a 'living painting'

 Some of the landforms are quite strange, new shapes and hills, a fascinating array of colours in a rugged land.

There's an 'ah!' around every corner.... a place begging you to stop, the contentment you feel in this awesome place...... aaahhhh!

If you would like to come along with me in May, then go to my newsletter for more details!

The Joy and Life of being an Artist!

The Year of the Rabbit has left me quite exhausted! There has been so much change, hopping about and so much to do..... so many little ends to tie up, so many decisions to be made and so many new forces to be considered. This last year has left us all a little dazed and I find myself thinking what will the Year of the Dragon bring.

So I am starting early to consider the year ahead. With a very full month ahead of me and an important solo show next April at Aarwun Galleries, it is time I knuckled down to serious work in the studio.But whew! What a year and still some to come.

This morning I was driving, no....cruising along the highway in my comfortable car, looking out over the hills and valleys of this wonderful landscape I live in; abundant growth everywhere and warm sunshine after a week of non-stop rain. I noted that the rivers were full to the brim and wonderful puffy white clouds building up in the bluest of skies overhead. I am always happiest in my car, free as a bird listening to music and cruising the landscape. My heart sings! Or in my studio, paint everywhere.... love getting all messy and seeing what works with what.

I have just had lunch with my dear friend Karrin, wonder woman artist from Lightening Ridge and a true Ehulii woman spirit. She looked marvelous! You can find her art work on her website. We always enjoy sharing together the various stories of our respective lives. True friends are great treasures to be enjoyed while we can so these are special moments when we connect with our soul sisters.

We both are acutely aware of the damage being done to this sacred land we live in and we worry for the delicate deserts and waterways being disturbed by an ever increasing mining presence. It might be that Australia will be uninhabitable in time as awareness of being in touch with the land is eroding in the face of an increasing greed. It is another invasion happening - perhaps the last! I remarked to Karrin that lately it is the aboriginal people that are buying my artworks and not the European descendants. I feel that is a privilege and shows my connection to the land is being recognised by the original land owners. But with it, comes a responsibility: a responsibility to reach out and make others aware of the 'pain' the land is in.

I hope I am up to it. Still Canberra is the place where my next show will be so maybe, just maybe I can make a small contribution to raising consciousness. I certainly hope so! So look out for "LAND /MARKS" in April!

"LAND /MARKS - abandoned" Mixed Media on Paper 52 cmx 70 cm

This painting depicts an abandoned homestead block in the western desert.Man has tried for over 200 years now to conquer the inland of Australia but marks such as these home sites left long ago show the harshness of a desert that we still have not learned to live with.

Forbes Town - what a hoot!

Well, this last week saw some of my works shown at Forbes Town Hall some 150 kms west of Orange where I live. It's always interesting to take your work into another town, especially the smaller towns and see what the exercise brings! I'm not sure about anyone else, but I had a fabulous time..... the people of our Ozzie country towns are really the 'salt of the earth', super friendly and welcoming!

One very special lady I met called Lee wrote a poem about me and she has given me permission to put it here for you also to laugh at enjoy! Lee also liked my hand painted shoes (grand-daughter's art) so much that she was inspired to paint her own..... now that's my sort of person!

"Limericks de Joy"

To Forbes came this artist extraordinaire,

Environmental from her feet to her hair.

She was surely inspirational,

Her paintings quite sensational,

Yes, Joy, your a lady with flair.

Came this talented artist from Orange,

(which doesn't rhyme with anything)

For her spectacular paintings to bring

All that nature does impart

Painted right from the heart

Glorious colours that make your soul sing.

I have to say, I was wined and dined in style, Pam and Tony made me very very welcome and the last night party! well, what can I say except that 2 days later I am still recovering! Yes Forbes, you are going to be hard to beat!

I had to add a photo of one of the many floral arrangements that the Forbes ladies put around the show....... the colours of our bush flowers are really beautiful aren't they? We all just love those blue gum tips and bright red bottle brushes. I thought this would make a nice painting..... hmmm....

The Town Hall is really quite stunning inside with a colonial architecture that reflects our rather British heritage so the show looked quite good in the space provided. One hopes that the Forbes Council learns to encourage the arts further and support the hard work of their local people. Maybe an Arts Prize or an Aquisition from the regular shows that the people of Forbes voluntarily put on.It would be good to see these country councils participate more fully and engage their arts communities by building local collections of Australian art.

So this week, I'm off to Coffs Harbour, a trek of some 800-900 kms north and to the beach! Yay! My paintings will once again go on display only this time at Opal Cove Resort - so let's see if Coffs can come up to Forbes standard! It'll be a challenge!

Ruminations of a frustrated artist!

You know the saying "Just do it!" Such wise words, so hard to follow but today I did! I did it!

I think finding this website "The Flinty Hard Road" and reading it made so much sense to me and brought me back to the place where I know I'm not alone..... the arts is a hard career choice.... probably the hardest! I really related to the heading "Fabulously successful, penniless and deranged" particularly the 'deranged' bit!

Lately I've been well, let's say "occupied" but today, I bit the bullet and "just did it!" and boy does it feel good. I went to the studio and prepared all those canvases that have been patiently waiting for me. There they are now, all virginal white, covered in that clean clear pure pristine coat of gesso. They wait for me now to pour forth all my energies onto them..... sigh! What a good day's work!

The weekend saw another exhibition of works open to an assembled throng of art lovers, purveyors of fine art and wine, some really decent and genuine people amongst them..... the wallets remained firmly locked and who can blame them for today's economy sees most people worrying about their retirement plans as their super funds vaporise before their disbelieving eyes. Not so for us artists, we don't have the luxury of retirement plans. We'll be painting until we're blind and hanging around hopefully for a sale.

But we do have the luxury of filling our lives and walls with wonderful art that others can only dream about! Not for us, those dreary prints and commercial crappy decorator pieces, don't they make you cringe!

 At least 3 people promised to buy work.... ah that's nice and I remind myself that despite the current downturn this year, I have had some sales and offers that other artists would be glad to have.

So to get into the studio today and back to my virginal white canvases was a joy! My mind started to focus immediately as I imagined the images starting to appear. I could feel the paints calling to me from their tubes to squeeze them and spread them luxuriously across each virgin in turn. Ah what a pleasant day!

It's going to be good year after all! There's so much to do and so much opportunity lying right here at the doorstep.... it reminds me that "everything you need, is right there in front of you!" So watch this space as the year rolls on.....

"Flooding of Twin Lakes" Oil on Canvas

Here's one that I would like to see painted up into a large work...... hmmm.....

So keep painting out there!

Recent ramblings.....

Winter is here and it's so gloomy looking at blue that I decided to do something a bit brighter and warmer for my blog background....makes me want to paint!

Recent days in the studio have seen me exploring hotter and hotter drier landscapes as the cold of an Orange winter sets in! Seems a bit weird calling it an Orange winter but that's what it is......winter in the town of Orange! My desire to travel west into warmer climes always drives me crazy at this time of year and this year, my car broke down delaying the outback trek that I love so much......what to do? I think I'll take a few smaller trips....next week off to Forbes though for a workshop and it's always warmer and drier out there! Maybe I'll just keep driving west.....hmm now that's a thought!

More here

So for a little preview of what I'm painting, here's a sample! I'd love to say it's the finished image but the finished works has a few more marks on it.

And another inspired by Lake Eyre, currently in flood for the second year around.....

 

I've been asked a couple of times lately how I would describe myself as a painter. One person felt I was an impressionist, which is a description I rather like but no sure it fits. The second person told me they had been told by their art teacher that I was a landscape painter which isn't a good description either.

So for the record, I personally describe myself as a contemporary landscape painter. My works are done from 'memory' of landscape, and are not actual places. If they have a place name with them, it is for reference purposes only and to let you know where I was when I gathered the 'feelings of place' that I paint. I prefer to paint 'memories', 'sensations' 'form' 'marks' 'patterns' that come from being in a 'particular place' at a 'particular time' such as sunset and sunrise, my favourite times of day as the gods change over their influence....

My interest lies in the abstract nature of the earth and her patterns, the marks that we all leave behind as we try to change this place and make it bend to our rules, mostly with dire outcomes. I love the terra forming patterns of farmlands especially from above and my works are increasingly becoming aerial landscape patterns.

My palette is drawn from the iron rich soils of Oz, the deep red soils of our outback and the fabulous blue skies above, reflected on the earth and waterways.

I've added a share button so you can share this blog with your friends! Take care through the winter cold months and keep warm! See you out back!

A Country Ramble

Hi everyone!

Well I've finally made it back here to write a few thoughts down and show you a few highlights of the last few days!

Imagine my surprise and delight to see Jessica Watson in her boat coming through the Spit at Southport the other day! I had just taken a walk along the beautiful beach, dreaming all the while, when I noticed how busy it was. I thought "Isn't it great that people use this spot?" But no, they were gathering to see Jessica return home. And here she is!

I said to a couple of nice young men with their surfboards next to me "She's a hero you know!" and they replied "She's definitely our hero!" It brought a tear to my eye to see one so young make such an impact on us all with her bravery! Well done Jessica!

And here's a shot of the beach - amazing shades of blues and greens - so fresh and clean!

The contrast between the Moree Plains and the wide ocean are wonderful to experience within a few days of each other ..... makes you think and feel ...... reminds you of what a wonderful place we all live in! How wide and free, remote and sparse, how diverse!

The colours of Australia make you want to paint, to splash about in the studio and create great big canvasses! Check out this Moree sunset!

and here's a colourful view of the Glasshouse Mountains along the way! It was a lovely journey, 2100 kms by car all on my own with some wonderful friends and dinners along the way! But today, well, I'm back at the desk doing what artists do....surfing the net and writing up their blogs hehe!

Happy painting! nJoy