Artist, Wife, Mother - Life At The End Of A Paintbrush.

I’m extremely happy to report that the inaugural Perth Art Upmarket on August 25th, was hugely successful! Thank you one and all who came along and made it into such a joyful event on so many levels. After nearly losing my voice from all the wonderful conversations I had over the course of the day, I was once again reminded, that it’s these events and the connections beyond my quiet studio, that are so fulfilling and add the colour to my art world. So, with a big number of new readers to my blog and newsletter, I thought I had better introduce myself to all of you following along on my art journey. Firstly, thank you. Seriously. A studio is a very lonely place without the interaction of family, friends and the tribe we find along the way, either in real life or online. As artists we need to spend a lot of time in solitude and introspection, away from the daily socialising that comes with most ‘normal’ jobs. Our families can only offer so many words of encouragement before tuning out and so cheering from the sidelines and from our online community, is immensely needed. I am an Artist, wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, fur child devotee, living life at the end of a paintbrush. I’ve been making art for as long as I have been holding a pencil...or crayon. A full-time artist for the last 6 years, I arrived at oil painting after many years of watercolour and gouche Children's Illustration. I am multi genre artist and have successfully created many paintings across many genre, including Still-life... Animals... Landscape... Whimsy... People I've done it all, and though I’m not an abstract painter, I’m intrigued by certain elements of its craft and one day, maybe, abstract shall call my name! Each and every genre fills me with delight, challenges my skills and pushes me to learn something new, each and every time I lay brush to canvas. (Stay tuned, I’ll be writing about my thoughts on the pros and cons of this multi genre creativity one day...I’m a multipotentialite. Believe me, it's a thing!) I live on the coast of Western Australia. Though born overseas, Perth is in my heritage and heart, and I will always, always, be inspired by its beauty, it’s turquoise waters and the intense colours of our Northwest. Give me a choice and I would buy a block of land in our stunning South West, a true picture of the song ‘gimme a home among the gum trees, with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, a kangaroo’...nah, scrap that, it would have to be 'a dog or two and a big shed studio'. Ha! Meanwhile, My husband loves the coast. I’ve taken his love of boats and turned it into a positive for my art. Underwater paintings have become a regular on my easel. They are absolutely one of my favourite paint times, and luckily I’ve got hundreds of photos from various holidays still to paint! This year has been the year of wacky whimsy. I’ve wanted to attempt my quirky animals for quite a while and with my youngest daughter in year 12 this year, I thought I would have a quiet year, playing with animals. QUIET? Oh my. It seems whimsical animals are needed in many people's lives, making it a super busy year. Super for sure and Busy beyond any year I’ve ever had! I’ve painted 27 animal paintings so far this year... two underwater paintings...and a landscape...a whole heap of little paintings...a violin for the 70 violins project (stay tuned Haha!)...and a ‘Pup Art’ statue for Guide Dogs WA. Voting is open for the favourite pup here. Just to remind you, we are just moving into September and I’ve exceeded my painting record with 4 months still to go! My whimsical animals were the perfect display (being smaller than my average paintings) for the Perth Upmarket Art Market. For those of you that I met at the Upmarket, thank you, they were so positively received and it looks like my commissions list is getting busy. I’m not sure where I’m going with these animals yet...I’ve had them all professionally photographed and so licensing or collaboration would be a perfect next step. Any agents out there?? Meanwhile, my print shop is a great place to do some Christmas shopping BTW! Prices start at just $80. So now it’s time to do some serious work again (in between commissions) and I’m spending some time planning new projects...and pretending to be a domestic goddess whilst we get our daughter through her last 2 months of school. No school and no school fees next year are certainly influencing art ideas and what I may be able to achieve. Thank you for following along with my blog and if you haven't yet, please subscribe to my once a month newsletter, which gives all the happenings for the month in one convenient letter. I've just had a print giveaway for my newsletter subscribers, which has been very happily received. I will do these giveaways sporadically throughout the year. Please get in touch via email on my blog, Facebook or Instagram if you have any queries about my art practise or paintings. I love sharing my oil painting knowledge, so fire away any questions. My art is available to buy directly via me or via my online gallery with Bluethumb Art. Select works are also available in Claremont at Xavier Furniture and Art Framers; in Nedlands at the Dalkeith Vetrinary Clinic, in Subiaco at Repeat Offender Cafe Gallery and in Kojunup at Gallery Aura. I am open for Gallery representation, collaboration and licensing. Mia x