New Oil Painting by Artist Mia Laing

January took my New Years resolutions and burnt them to a crisp. So here I am in February already chasing my tail and already behind on every blogging good intention I set in those last few days of 2017. I may not have sorted paperwork, answered emails, wrote my January newsletter or fed my family, but I did paint. Just about everyday, whilst the rest of Western Australia overdosed on vitamin D down at the beach, I bunkered down in my glorified she shed; portable aircon hammering out its white noise, whilst puppy slept in a heat hazed lethargy at my feet. 'The Inheritance', my latest oil painting, was finished and entered into an art prize by mid January. As my first finished painting of the year, it has also been my first rejection of the year...you win some, you lose some and some you don't even get in! If you are new to this art game, I take this opportunity to implore you to not lose heart with these inevitable rejections. They happen...often, but still are an incredible platform for pushing your skill level and as a unique marketing tool for getting more eyes on your work and hopefully sales into your bank account. It's a Bonus if you get into an art prize but this shouldn't be your only reason of entering them. There were 500 entries to this particular prize. 45 finalists. 1 judge. Do the figures....rejoice when you get in, commiserate and congratulate when you don't and then move on. I don't regret for a moment trying out for this art prize. The theme was 'identity' and it finally gave me a chance to paint a portrait I've wanted to do for a very long time. If it hadn't been for this themed prize, I may never have given myself the unrestricted time to devote to this portrait, nor had a deadline making me complete it. As a professional artist, we often get focussed on our 'bread and butter' painting, the painting we do that has a proven selling rate. For me, this is my plate series. I've sold many, many plates and could keep painting these for years due to their popularity. It's hard to consider a project that is purely for pleasure and may never see the outside world, especially when you've got other proven avenues ticking along nicely. But we need to take risks in our art every now and then; to try something new, be it a technique, new materials or even to start a brand new series, such as I have done recently with my #almostfamous pet portrait/wildlife art. You can check that out here. Trying something new can be incredibly revitalising and can bring a wonderful energy back into the studio. Out with the HoHum and in with the HeHe...and I can tell you, there's a whole lot of HeHe, haha and wahahahahaha 😂🤣🤪 happening in the studio with my crazy new pet portraits going on. (Consider having one commissioned of your pet so you too can LOL through your day. They are good for the soul.) 'The Inheritance" is Oil and gold leaf on canvas, with an acrylic and oil background, (76x101cm) This painting allowed me to play with some abstract paint techniques plus my usual detailed realism. Pure Joy. Remember to sign up for my newsletter here , comment to say hi and fire away with any #almostfamous pet portrait faces you would like seen painted! Til next time, Mia x