the blissful brush

ghostly designs

2012-02-25T21:52:00.002+11:00

i have seen the most beautiful simple dismantled lamps shades over the past year or so and loved and coveted them, but have never taken too much notice of how they were made. then a week ago i decided that i just had to have couple of them for my market stall. the hunt was on to try and locate one so i could see how i could create my own. google to the rescue with a weird combination of words and surprise surprise i came up with some beautiful photos in a wonderful blog that i read very (far too often) regularly ... dotti angel ...

apparently they are called ghost lamps ... who would have guessed that?

so here are my attempts at a couple of small lamps for decorating my market stall. lets see how they go on the stall. will post photos of the stall soooon.

the photos are not good ... my apologies ... but you get the idea.

2012-01-30T11:21:00.002+11:00

recycled furniture obsession update

2012-01-27T19:14:00.000+11:00

Yay, have finished my latest recycled furniture project and am quite thrilled with the outcome. i had a bit of an obsession with it for awhile (it being painting furniture). here's a few of the pieces i've painted in the past.

now, i can't take credit for this idea even though i would REALLY like to. the idea came from this wonderful woman/artist's blog that I follow, you can see it here. and I think her's looks better than mine. i think it is the paler coloured papers that she has used, and i kinda wished i'd used paler colours. anyway am still very happy with my unique piece of furniture.

this is the ugliness of how the cupboard started out ...

then I used ESP on it and then painted it a cream colour ....

cut up a heap of scrapbooking paper and glued them on using Mod Podge Hard Coat ...

... and here it is again in all its gloriousness

and a bit of a close up ...

it really is an easy project, and surprising quick to do. give it a go. you'll enjoy the process and the blissful outcome. really.

reversed canvas

2012-01-20T08:31:00.000+11:00

look at these .... just look at them. i can't believe how simple yet amazingly fantastic they are. they are just a reversed canvas. think of all the possibilities and all the sizes ... and all the colours! wowee my brain is in overdrive. and how easy would they be to make????

I found them, along with lots of other goodness, over here.

recycled love

2012-01-15T14:14:00.000+11:00

before my latest obsession for painting began, i had a mad obsession with painting old pieces of furniture (that was just around the time of my mosaicing obsession of which i still have boxes and boxes of plates and tiles under the house). my main objective was to shabby chic them and make them look all old, worn and (hopefully) french looking and save myself a ton of money by having furniture i wanted without the huge cost.

why i am talking about this is that this week after years of ignoring my furniture painting obession, i have started another project using vintage style papers to cover the draws of a chest of draws, (but more about that in another post) and i am surprised about how much i am enjoying it. such a sense of fulfilment.

i thought i'd post the recycled love of previous years and upload a few photos of some furniture that i've painted. there is a before and after photo of one piece, but i forgot to take a before shot of the large dresser type piece on legs .... it was painted white and had been sponged with a chocolate colour. just lovely. anyway .. here they are. by the way, its VERY easy to do.

From this ......

... to this - and I have two of them

i just love this monster and doubt if I will ever part with it ...

so there are just a few of my blissful furniture painting adventures ... with more to come.

2011-12-31T16:17:00.000+11:00

more more and more paper

2011-12-03T11:39:00.000+11:00

as i constantly mention, i love colour and i love paper.
i recently acquired some wallpaper samples in the most amazing colours and designs.

they are the most fabulous papers that, although i want to use them in artwork, i can't bear to cut them up as they are so special and delicious. is anyone else like that?

a little aside story .......

before i started selling my own cards i always had a huge stash of cards in an attractive box so i always had an appropriate card to hand for whenever i needed one. my challenge with having this stash of cards was that when i needed to choose one i would question whether the recipient was worthy of the card. seriously. mostly i would say - no - i don't think they are worthy and that divine card would be sent back to the stash. so, now that i am selling my cards and prints of my designs i get a lot of comments from people saying that they like to keep a stash of special cards so, like me, they always have cards to hand. well i told a customer one day of my feelings that my recipients were often not worthy, and this person said they were exactly the same in parting with their card stash. yay. i now mention it alot and guess what ......there are lots of card crazies out there that hate parting with their fantastic cards. lots. love it. although not good for business if you sell cards like me is it.

anyway, back to wallpaper ....... here is a selection of some of the samples i obtained from this most fantastic wallpaper outlet.

paper paper and more more paper

2011-11-21T21:11:00.000+11:00

this may seem a bit odd to those that love art, craft and colour (as I do), but my first visit to a scrapbooking shop was just a year ago.

when i entered i had such an overwhelming feeling of bliss that i thought was going to hyperventilate. it was the papers. the designs on the papers. the colours on the papers. the papers. all i could think of was how long have these shops been around and why didn't i know about them sooner (still don't know the answers) it was a revelation to me. i had been into paper shops that sold A4 sheets for invitations and those beautiful japanese papers, but never anything with such an array of colour and design. I now am obsessed and have a stash of hundreds of sheets.

having such beautiful papers also causes a challenge when I go to use some in my art. i worry that if i use up the sheet and can't replace it then what will i do as i so love every (well almost every) sheet. i am the same with cards. i go through my stash of cards in search of the right one for the right person, then ponder as to whether the intended recipient is worthy of the card. Usually the answer is no, so the card is replaced and my stash of exceptional cards remains intact. honestly, i can't believe i do that. i really must get over myself.

here are some that i bought recently. the papers in the last photo below were from a stall at The Olive Tree Market , the lovely stallholder imports beautiful wrapping papers from india. i don't think she had a card so i can't tell you who she is, but i will ask her for one at the next market and update this post with her details.

just remembered that i also recently bought a heap of wallpaper samples. amazing. i will get them out and photograph them. they are too stunning for words, and will cause a huge dilema for me when i go to use them. if i ever use them.

i won a floor rug .. a glorious floor rug ........ yippeee

2011-10-24T20:55:00.000+11:00

i am very very very excited.

i received an email today telling me that I won a floor rug in a facebook competition from The Rug Collection. the most beautiful stylish rugs you have ever seen. the best part is that i can choose which one i want. it's the best part, but also the hardest part as they are all so magnificent. but i thing i have narrowed it down to the ones below - photos of which I have taken from their website.

Do you have a favourite??

I think I am leaning towards the last one as it would hide the red wine spills better.

"knitting with dog hair" ... yes, yes, you did read correctly

2011-10-08T17:40:00.001+11:00

i found this book in a second-hand store and had to grab it before some other pathetic dog obsessed person did. it is just too funny isn't it? it is a serious book though - with actual patterns and advice. really.

don't you just love those tag lines .... 'stop vacuuming and start knitting'.

i have a small problem though. she has descriptions of the hair/fur of each dog breed and apparently my cross Ridgeback does not have a suitable coat for 'spinning'. heart broken. all is not lost though - perhaps i could pass my pooch's fur to other dog fur knitters, her advice to me is '....not suitable for spinning, but it would add a sprinkle of distinction to less courageous fibers'. that's my girl - distinctive.

gosh, it gets better. i just read the introduction - it starts .... 'when we began "knitting with dog hair" most people thought we were a few puppies short of a litter'. hee hee.

wouldn't you love to meet Kendal Crolius and Anne Black Montgomery the two kooky people that thought this would be a great idea for a book? i certainly would - i think they'd be my kind of people.

please feel free to contact me for information on the suitability of your dogs coat for spinning and knitting and i will consult the book for you. bliss.

introducing ....... WILLOW

2011-08-13T21:19:00.000+10:00

for so long i have wanted to give my glorious girls names, but other more pressing items delayed that from happening. finally i realised that i owe it to the gorgeous creatures to name them properly so i have asked my facebook friends for suggestions.

so, without further ado i would like to introduce WILLOW .......

i'm back ..... bet you didn't even know I was gone ... hee he.

2011-08-07T16:03:00.000+10:00

back from a wonderful holiday and finally over the jet lag.

our travels took us to .......

amsterdam

ireland

malaysia

.... and a great time was had by all!

new glorious frames for my girls

2011-07-08T14:39:00.000+10:00

last month i finally managed to track down some glorious frames to put my girls in. the previous frames not only weren't gorgeous enough, i also could no longer access them. so here are my new frames in all their glorious-ness at my last market.

.... love love love them.

when did needlepoint get so funky and fabulous??

2011-06-25T15:29:00.002+10:00

can anyone tell me??

just look at these cushions. i first saw these on the always fabulous Cafe Cartolina blog. the very talented designer is Emily Peacock. but it gets better .... she sells kits on etsy.

aren't they divine .... almost makes me want to attempt to try needlepoint again. well, maybe not. my first and last attempt was quite a disaster. plus it would be a big time commitment to complete one of these beauties. but i do do do love them. Oh oh oh, just a thought, maybe she could design one that says BLISS... that would be - well, bliss!

inspiration - weekly??

2011-06-20T21:55:00.000+10:00

my first attempt at doing a weekly post dedicated to something (inspiring short sharp quotes) has almost fallen by the way-side ... quick save tonight might just fix it ... hmm.

one of my favourite ever saying is below. an oldie, and definitely a greatie. i think it is one of my favourite ever saying because i neglected the whispers in my head for far too long, then when i decided to finally listen to them i realised that life will give you what you want when you really want something. i had a card with this saying on it on the wall in front of me for years, reminding me that it is never too late .... never.

i actually made this for a card to send to my nephew. he ignored the whispers in his head for too long also. he finally acted on them without initial success. he knew what he wanted so persevered and pestered and fought and believed, until the door was opened for him, and now he is blooming and blossoming and just lovin every minute of his life. i told him that he is my absolute role model for perseverance. it is no coincidence that he is doing so well in his chosen field because it is his passion and he was meant to be what he is becoming. isn't life amazing?

quick & quirky quote

2011-06-06T17:02:00.000+10:00

don't know about you, but i love an inspiring quote. preferably quick and quirky. something punchy and to the point. a little lift for the spirit. something to change the way you think.

so i thought i would do a weekly spot of inspiration on my blog.... and here's the first one :

isn't that great???? i just love it. Masahide was a 17th century Buddhist, which makes me love it even more.

want to share your favourite quote?

the most exciting news

2011-05-20T16:02:00.001+10:00

a gorgeous customer that visited my stall at a recent market, has commissioned me to do two of my whimsical girly paintings of her very very pretty cherubic daughters.

i am thrilled thrilled thrilled ..... !

interestingly, the market i met her at was the worst for sales (and cold weather), that i have ever participated in and i was quite disappointed on the day. yet it has turned out to be a great market for me financially; plus i have also now met this great girl and her gorgeous children and have been given this great opportunity.

isn't life great that you just never know what is going to happen tomorrow .... let's expect the best and who knows, it may just be delivered.

What's the best thing that's happened to you this week?

boo hoo ... Lilly has left the building

2011-05-10T18:46:00.001+10:00

throw the ball ... throw the ball .... come on... throw.the.ball ..... come onnnnnn ....

we have been minding our doggy friend Lilly for awhile ....she's the black pooch - the brown one is our Finn Macool.

Lil is a true multiple personality dog. at the park - full-on, leader of the pack, don't mess with me. she walks in the door at home and is a submissive, please-please-please-cuddle-me kinda dog. hilarious.

i love dogs!

The Divine Miss Emily

2011-04-28T13:01:00.001+10:00

i have the most dee-vine wee niece ever made. glorious she is. anyway she recently turned one so i made her a personalised bunting painting. here it is. i quite like it.

its layer upon layer upon layer (remember those sara lea ads, or is it only me that is so old??) of vintage and new papers, and paint that has been painted on, rolled on, stamped on and dripped on.

layer 'pon layer 'pon layer ....

i thought it turned out so well i'd put the design up in my Blissful Bunting shop in case someone else would like one for their wee one. you can see it here.

Bliss.

2011-04-22T16:20:00.000+10:00

bouncing off the walls with cupcakes

2011-04-20T13:29:00.001+10:00

yesterday i minded my friend's two young daughters for a few hours. so we made cupcakes and easter cards and generally had a heap of fun whilst making lots and lots of mess. it was great. along with the mess were three dogs (mine and her two), trying to get a part of the action. hilarious.

i think the girls ate more icing than went onto the cupcakes and i thought for sure that by the time their mum arrived home, they would certainly be bouncing off the walls from the food colouring and far far far too much sugar. but they managed to keep it together. i did suggest to them that when their mum walks through the door that they should start bouncing off the walls for a laugh, but we forgot to do it. drat.

below is the outcome of far too much food colouring, but lots of fun and sprinkles!

they certainly don't match up to the bliss that is contained within Couture Cupcake Creations, but they were dee-licious! you really should look at the lovely Laura's creations, they are too amazing for words ..... and she won an award at the Royal Easter Show. big yay to Laura.

woo hoo :: very very excited

2011-04-18T15:39:00.000+10:00

i had a very very very exciting weekend, yes i did.

i sold my first print on-line.

woo-hoo.

it was a print of this gorgeous creature on made it.

totally chuffed with myself as i've only really just started selling on-line. i know it is a very small step, but lots of small steps will eventually turn into giant ones - won't they? and you've got to start somewhere don't you now? bliss

i also spent the weekend obsessing about leon russell, you know that sexy rock god from the late seventies (i know, i know i'm really old)? he's touring australia next week for the byron bay blues festival and i have tickets to see him in sydney. he no longer looks the rock god (believe me on that one), but i'm hoping he still sounds great. he just released a cd with elton john called 'the union'. love love love that album, think i played it about 20 times over the weekend and every listen it just got better. am even listening to it now. obsessed. my husband is a little over it.

Leon Live album. www.leonrussellrecords.com

the drop in .....

2011-04-14T14:20:00.000+10:00

yesterday an old work colleague drop in unannounced. she isn't old. perhaps i should have said ex-work colleague. she has just left the same company this week after ten years there. i was there 7 years until last september.

as a little side story here .... my husband grew up in ireland where people just walk in the door unannounced at any time of the day or night (they still do this to this day, i have witnessed it many many many times). he thinks its great and he can't understand why i won't let him ever do that to people here unless they are irish. not sure that i could cope living where people just called in unannounced on a daily basis, as i am just a tad vain and really don't want people to see me in my daggy clothes with my hair standing on end. but that's just me. i suppose i don't want to feel the pressure to have to always look presentable in my own home, when i might feel like crap and just want to hang out in my old tracky daks. although i am really glad that my friend dropped in, it was great to see her and i really enjoyed our chat.

anyway she asked me what i had been doing and so i told her about my new found love affair with art and showed her some prints of 'my girls'. if only i'd have known her reaction would have been priceless, i'd have filmed her. she loved my girls and kept asking me if i'd 'really really painted these' - so i had to show her the originals. too funny! then she berated me for spending so many years in my marketing job, when i should have been painting. so wonderful for my confidence. bliss.

you know, it is little moments like that that propel you to the next part of your journey. that confirm to you that what you are doing is right for you. that boost your self esteem and confidence and make you go yay to me - I CAN DO THIS!! am really really pleased she dropped by, even if i did look like a mess and she looked really cool and had newly 'done' hair.

you know what i say ........

Is it Christmas in April??? My ABCD Meetup Stash...

2011-04-01T16:42:00.000+11:00

last night at the ABCD Meetup was just great. i met so many wonderful and talented and fearless girls, i was in awe of so many of them. makes me realise that i can make a living from my art.

and i got such great and needed information that will save me hours and hours of research. thank you so much.

..... and the stash from the goodie bags. wowee. such beautiful and creative things, check out the photo .....

bliss.

ABCD Meetup .... very excited

2011-03-30T09:26:00.000+11:00

tomorrow night i'm heading to Rozelle for my first social outing with some unknown, like-minded, creative, fabulous girls. very excited.

two great girls - Steph from Bondville and Lisa from The Red Thread have organised a MeetUp. and it's a meetup with a great name - ABCD : artists, bloggers, crafters, designers. Perfect. A big thank you to them for giving people (mainly girls I suppose) an opportunity to meet like-minded people in a great social environment.

this is not the first ABCD Meetup, just mine. and there are goodie bags. and wine.

very exited.

bliss

Phew ... panic over and totally unnecessary

2011-03-28T15:33:00.002+11:00

why oh why do i panic and stress. had a great day at my first market. the weather was overcast and a bit blowy (my stock was flying around at times) and there was rain in the afternoon. but it was great. i received so much encouragement and so many oohs and ahhs to fill me up with confidence and make it worthwhile.

i was really happy with my sales for my very first market. and a quiet market, as it is a very new market. my friend in the stall next to me had the worst market in TEN years, so i figure in a busier market i will do really well.

the setting is just beautiful. and there were sheep in a field just behind me. yay. love sheep. it is in an old heritage listed farm, so there are beautiful old farm outbuildings with rusted roofs and falling down fences. just great.

here are some photos of my stall and the farm.....

my next market is sunday 3rd april (yes next weekend) at Heritage Craft Fair at St Ives. really excited about this one.

bliss.

Planning ::Painting::Printing::Panicking - not necessarily in that order

2011-03-16T16:25:00.001+11:00

... ten days until my first market and trying not to panic. trying not to let anxiety take over. it won't. i can do it. its no big deal. for once in my life i want everything to be perfect. i know it wont be as i will leave so much until the last minute and not get it all done. no i won't.

i am going now to write a schedule of stuff to do. there will be no panic. hooray!

it will be bliss.

to market .... to market

2011-03-09T08:37:00.001+11:00

very very very excited. i have booked into the Bella Vista Artisans Market! yay to me!!! i know it's not that big a deal, its just that I have been thinking, talking, dwelling on it for so long I can't believe that I have actually gotten off my fat behind and done something about it.

so now, apart from panicking, i am madly painting away. have decided to sell some canvas paintings that I am surprisingly loving in every way. i am loving making them. i am loving the end result. really loving. and they are so different from anything i have ever done before as they are not my usual girls of varying descriptions. i think it is the colour i enjoy the most. as well as the two in the colour scheme below, i have also done a couple of pink-ish ones, but the canvas is larger and they won't fit on my home scanner so can't upload them.

as i am not working at the moment and want some extra money, i wanted to produce some paintings that i believe will sell that are aimed at the target market of the market, which i think would be women with small children. i have come to that conclusion as that is the prominent demographic in the area where the market is. hope i am right as i think these paintings would look great in a kids room .... gee i really hope i'm right! think i need to test them with some friends with small children ... great idea Jenn.

i decided on bunting as a theme as when i was researching how to make bunting in a non-laborius way (as i wanted to make about ten metres of it to string up around my market stall) I thought - hey, what about painting some as well. and i quite like the result. and they are relatively quick to make unlike my girls that seem to take days to get their eyes and skin right.

wish me luck ..... bliss

leap and the net will appear .....

2011-02-28T10:10:00.002+11:00

... it is one of my most favourite sayings and I have decided to finally take it's advice.

i have wanted for so long to try and sell my art somehow other than online - not that i have been online for that long. so i have decided to try a couple of art and craft markets. i have visited two in the past two weekends - the first not so great as it was full of hand made children's clothes. then i visited one today that was wonderful - Bella Vista Artisans Market.

today was only the second time it has operated and there were alot of stalls, although several sellers told me that it was very quite day. i remember reading an article years ago about establishing a market, and it said that it takes about 12 months for a market to be well know and establish, so there is alot of promise for this one as it is in a beautiful setting.

i did speak with a very talented stallholder there called genevieve who is an artist and sells online through redbubble.com. her artwork was wonderful and i really enjoyed talking to her. she was selling prints of her work in varying sizes as I want to do. she seems dedicated to the market and has been there for the first two and plans to be there next month.

so i am busy investigating the most cost effective and professional outcome for printing, designing the look of my stall (the fun part), getting insurance, oh and I must remember to book in to the market. Bliss

Hippy Hippy Shake

2011-02-23T11:00:00.001+11:00

what was that song from the 60s about wearing flowers in your hair? all I can remember is "are you going to San-Fran-sisco ......." anyway I have a new girl and she has flowers in her hair. I quite like her I do!

the scan is not so great though, it didn't totally fit on the glass so is a little blurred unfortunately. will have to go get it professionally done in the next day or so. but you get the picture (pun intended) hee hee.

a flower is a flower is a felt flower

2011-02-16T10:40:00.009+11:00

a few weekends ago we had a blissful time down the coast and stayed at the beautiful beach side village of mollymook - or the mook as the locals call it. hee hee - love it. anyway, i bought these glorious felt flower curtain tie backs (yes that is what they are supposed to be, but i am thinking of so many more uses for them) from a funky shop in the nearby town of Milton.

aren't the colours just glorious? i bought four of them. i felt (hee hee) it was one of those situations that if i don't grab them now i will never see them again. and ... the best bit .... they were only $7.50 each. i had to ask her the price twice as i couldn't believe it.

another of the best bits about them is that the shop selling them is operated solely to support an orphanage in nepal. love that! only wished i could remember the name of the shop. i had a look on line but couldn't track it down.

if you ever get to milton you MUST have a meal at Pilgrims - it is an a-m-a-z-i-n-g vegetarian cafe that serves the most abundant and healthy meals. it is always packed, so don't expect to leave there in a hurry in peak times. definitely well worth the visit. even the carnivore irishman loved it. (embarrassed and appalled with myself that i can remember the name of a food establishment but not a beautiful shop doing such kind and generous work. i'll ask the irishman - he'll remember).

:: bliss ::

the newest girl in my life

2011-02-08T16:47:00.002+11:00

thought i'd try and bring a bit of art into my art blog for a change.

so got my act together last night and finished the painting i was working on. well i think i have finished it. my original plan was to put a heap of bright flowers on her gorgeous green hat, but now i think her melancholiness wouldn't match a bright flowery hat. or would it?

man, it took me forever to get her eyes right. i changed them about four times. kept layering the gesso over the top and starting again. drove me crazy.

Bliss. xx

lift your game Jenn ... seriously

2011-02-07T22:57:00.003+11:00

talk about absolute and thorough bliss ..... i just received my first issue of Artful Blogging in the mail today. how divine is that mag? deeee-vine!!

there are blogs in there less than a year old that are absolute masterpieces. I am alternating between depression and delight every time i think about that magazine.

lift your game Jenn. lift your game. seriously.

but how? how? how?

i think i need a more interesting life to write about. perhaps as this blog is supposed to be mainly about art, i should concentrate a little more on that and less on dogs, magazines and other distractions. yes that is it. must now go and finish my current painting so i can put it up here. also, must remember that i have an aRT blog.

tags tags tags - first of many. perhaps

2011-01-24T17:05:00.004+11:00

i became a little obsessed about the tags and just had to drop everything and make some. immediately.

so here they are. not great. but not bad for my first attempt. will keep going and see what i come up with.

tickets on myself

2011-01-21T10:44:00.004+11:00

i was recently swooning over some beautifully hand made tags on a website, and now i can't find the website. drat and double drat!! anyway, i decided that i wanted to try and make some beautifully hand made tags, but do you think i can find any plain attractive blank tags in this city - N.O.! I saw these and these but they are in the US and I don't particularly want to pay a fortune in postage - plus I can't believe that I can't purchase some here.

i visited the local scrapbooking store and they said they would make me some on one of those die cutting machine, so that is a last resort option. although not suitable if i want to become a millionaire from selling divine hand made tags (dream away Jenn).

anyway, I decided to buy these very dull manila shipping tags (below). Lets see what I can do with them hey!

you know, the great thing about me not being able to find those blissful handmade tags, is that I won't be able to compare mine to them. Bliss.

who's that girl in the (really) big hat??

2011-01-12T21:37:00.003+11:00

have spent the last two days - or was it three - obsessed with this painting below. i don't mean i have spent all my time working on it (truly i didn't). but here it is. i think it still needs a bit of work - the face i think, the colour and shading and detail isn't quite right. need to walk away from it for a few days and then face it again and see what i see. anyway ..... shes a beautiful girl and i like her style. cool chick maybe?

whilst selfishly indulging myself with the hatted girl, i have been also obsessed with the the floods up in queensland. they are just so unbelievable and horrific. i can not imagine what it would be like to be in the middle of something so catastrophic. especially up in toowomba where a river appeared down the main street without warning. Climate change eh??!!! Really ??!

the art of silliness

2011-01-02T14:37:00.002+11:00

i have just signed up for another art course - The Art of Silliness. can't wait. and it's just what i need at the moment - a daily dose of fun (and it's wonderfully silly).

and where else do you get 30 lessons for US$25 ??!!!

bring on 5th january and the first lesson.

bliss

:: 2011 - the BLISSFUL year

2011-01-02T12:28:00.002+11:00

not sure what to make of 2011, or should i say - what i will make of it.

i've never been good with new year resolutions as they put too much pressure on you. they're great if you keep them to yourself and don't blab to the world. it is always better to not succeed privately don't you think, as most new year resolutions are so not achievable or are forgotten about by feb? very negative sounding of me i know, so i am not making any this year. there will just be my regular daily resolutions that i try to keep front of mind (so much to think about isn't there?) -

make more art, eat healthily, be thankful for my honey-pie, don't drink too much wine, be a positive happy girl that is grateful for her life, love everyone regardless. there that works for me. happy girl.

there are some goals i want to achieve the first quarter of this year though, but i need to work on them a bit more - think, develop and finalise them. there, that could be my first goal for the year - work out my goals.

Bliss will fully blossom in 2011.

we wish you a merry christmas .....

2010-12-26T16:52:00.000+11:00

eat, drink and be merry ..... so i did what i was told. prawns, salad and sauvignon blanc ....m.mmm

thankyou Miss Blu ...

2010-12-19T23:24:00.005+11:00

today i was just sitting here thinking about how much my life has changed this year in so many ways. the most positive is that i am now totally absorbed in art and so so loving it.

earlier this year i decided that i could no longer not do art, so i decided to start from the basics again and do a drawing class at the local community college. mistake. big mistake. the teacher was woeful. woeful. i won't bore you with the details, but basically she didn't teach, just put an object in front of us and said draw it, whenever a student asked for guidance she seemed quite taken aback. odd.

i wasn't giving up. so I turned to the good ole internet in search of instruction and found the divine miss Suzi Blu. what an inspiration. what a teacher. what a wonderfully kooky girl. what an artist!! her art is unique and magnificent.

i have learnt so much from her classes apart from art that I can't begin to tell you. mostly though i learnt that yes, i am an artist (suzi says so). suzi has also given me the confidence to open an etsy shop (no one has bought anything, but that doesn't matter, i opened an etsy shop!!!! yay to me!).

suzi taught me to paint backgrounds and beautiful girls. how to blend to make their skin look divine, how to make their eyes pop and their lips luscious.

not long after i started my first suzi class one of my friends had just been diagnosed with cancer and was looking to do some art, i sent her suzi's website and she too enrolled in suzi classes. we spent many an hour talking about how much we enjoy suzi and how much we love painting the girls! also how much we felt encourage by suzi and how much confidence she instills, and i think that is the key to suzi, she is genuine and authentic and truly wants you to succeed in your pursuit of blissful art. i know i might sound like some crazy groupy nutcase, but she really is wonderful.

i really thank suzi for re-igniting my creative spirit and i hope that one day i can meet her and give her a big squeezy hug and say 'thanks suzi blu - you're great!'.

so if you want to be an artist, a suzi blu class is the place to be!

here is one of my first girls, just love her ....if i can do this after a few weeks, so can you. Bliss.

trees heart hearts

2010-12-12T22:06:00.006+11:00

beautiful sunday morning and took my new camera down at the park with miss macool and we found some tree love ... quite amazed as I had not noticed them before, surprising what you see when you are looking!!

... and the biggest heart of all :: this is the one. the only. the magnificent and divine Finn Macool II and her favourite stick of the morning. true finny bliss.

garage sale bliss bliss and more bliss

2010-12-07T17:19:00.003+11:00

i love a garage sale. absolutely. no denying it.

it is quite difficult to find a really great garage sale where you want to buy everything they have. my theory ...having been to many many many many .... is that every 5th one is GREAT!!! that doesn't mean you get through 4 horrid ones and the next is vintage bliss. it means that if you suffer through the greasy old bbq's and disgusting plastic garden pots for long enough you will hit heaven like i did on saturday (see below photos for evidence).

there was so much great stuff that i didn't buy (no room, have enough already). the best bit is that this wonderful woman that was having the sale has just moved into the area and does this as a hobby. collects vintage goodies from charity shops and garage sales then every few months off loads what she doesn't really want in a garage sale. Love that woman! Bliss.

The white table is in great condition and most likely from the 50s or 60s. the brass trolley's top shelf is a removable tray - love it. Not too sure about the oil paintings, but i loved the colours, may take the frames off and take another look at them. the mirror is deliciously dilapidated and i thought it needed a happy home for its final days. Happy girl! And it was my birthday on Saturday, so doubly happy girl.

just remembered .... a few weeks ago at a garage sale i found a 5 arm vintage crystal chandelier for $3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes THREE dollars. I grabbed it and didn't let go of it until I got to the car. What a beauty!

Bliss to all.

musical trees and curly trees :: loving trees

2010-12-02T15:02:00.005+11:00

i am still trying to find MY style of painting and collage. i do love my Wilhelmina, Millicent and the gorgeous Prudence, i really do .... but i am finding great bliss in trees also.

here are a couple of my latest tree paintings. think i'll keep going on the tree collage theme for awhile and see where it takes me. what do you think??

i will get prints into my etsy shop soon and hopefully someone will love one enough to purchase. Bliss to all!

my leonard, yummy pinot and how I got the irishman to tassie

2010-11-22T16:24:00.006+11:00

we are just back from a four night trip to tasmania. i have wanted to visit tassie for as long as i can remember but have never been successful in getting the irishman down there. then it came to me .....

we both love leonard cohen ...well, i didn't until last year when the irishman dragged me kicking and screaming to a concert (his sister was visiting from ireland at the time and an hour before the concert i was pleading with her to take my ticket). i left the concert madly in love with the seventy-something year old leonard and don't know why a hadn't been lovin him for years! i now refer to my leonard as, you guessed it, my leonard. the most magical and spiritual and blissful concert I have been to in my life (and i've been to too many to remember).

anyway, this year he was playing in a massive arena as sydney had realised how fabulous he is, and we didn't want to experience the magic of my leonard in that environment, so i thought - lets see him in little ole tassie where there wont be a huge arena. genius, yes i know!

so that is how i got the irishman to tassie. here are some photos from the adventure.

the really really old and magnificent bridge in new norfolk ... i think it may be the oldest in Australia even.

a wine dog ... pooley wines

had to stop to let an echidna cross the road ....aww

another divine wine dog that autographed my 'wine dogs' book

we had a magnificent time. visited wineries and tasted far too many divine pinot noirs (is that possible?), experienced the divine mr cohen, walked through forests, drove around valleys and generally had a blissful time.

the best thing ... the irishman wants to go back!!! Yay to me!!

Tidy ?? Untidy?? Hmm

2010-11-10T10:47:00.002+11:00

is it possible to keep a tidy art room if you are a perpetually untidy person? My husband says no.

i am an untidy person! i can't (naturally) keep anywhere tidy. i always have papers, paints, canvases, finished paintings all sitting on the floor. My desk is always a hodge-podge of stuff just dumped onto it (please refer to evidence in below photo) it gets so bad that sometimes it even annoys me! but somehow i manage to get stuff done. and believe it or not a tidy it up weekly and put stuff away.

my honey-pie's theory (and i believe he read an article about this that got him mentioning it) is that if you are a naturally untidy person, no matter how frequently you tidy up, you will be back in a big untidy mess before you can say "blissful brush", because that is how your brain is wired.

you know, I think he might be right. just take a look at the desk in my art room in the photo below. i know i tidied this up on friday. really, i did. honest.

maybe i need to make a concerted effort to keep things tidy? prove my honey-pie wrong. nah, why would i want to do that? let him be right.

Yellow Beetroot & Purple Carrots ... are you serious???

2010-10-18T22:39:00.002+11:00

I was at the growers market on Sunday morning and one of the suppliers had the most amazing veges. I bought some yellow beetroot and purple carrot. Such amazing colours, especially when they were cooked.

The carrots were purple on the outside and yellow on the inside. Seriously - they were. I roasted the carrots and both coloured beets. The taste of the yellow was out of this world. It didn't have the earthy taste that the red usually does. And it was so golden yellow.

This same supplier also had really fresh garlic, still attached to the stems. It was the really really really fresh stuff that when cut is snow white in colour and totally drips in juice everywhere. Mmmmmmmm, love my garlic.

Ah - fresh live food. You can't beat it can you??!!

Prudence, Wilhelmina and Millicent

2010-10-11T21:40:00.005+11:00

Yes, the girls all have names. I thought it is the least they deserved as they have given me so much pleasure and happiness creating them. They are lovely girls. Very friendly, amiable and would bring great joy to any household. So I know they won't last long in the shop window before they are snapped up.

I have listed prints of the gorgeous girls on Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBlissfulBrush and also on Made It - www.madeit.com.au/TheBlissfulBrush

This is a really big thing for me, I can't tell you how thrilled I am with myself. Yes, alot of patting myself on the back. It is a small step I know, but a big one on my journey to living the creative life that I dream of. Yay to me!!!

Now get back to work Jennifer and bring some more crazy haired girls to life!!

Etsy here I come ....

2010-10-07T22:00:00.004+11:00

Am finallly finishing some paintings ready for Etsy and my new life with an Etsy shop - woo hoo, very excited. I am not even contemplating that they will sit in the shop gathering dust. I am expecting success!! Huge success!

So here they are - two of my gorgeous girlies!

I am getting quite attached to these unusual creatures, having spent so much time with them recently, and have only just this minute realised that I should name them. They deserve unique and unusual names to match their appearance don't you think? What about Methusla, or Gwendolyn? Hortense... Constance ... Lucretia? ... Wilhelmina? ... Prudence?

Really need to give that some proper thought.

Spring has sprung .... sprouted .... surprised me.... ?

2010-09-29T19:41:00.002+10:00

Sydney has just been through the coldest winter in 13 years. That isn't really saying alot, it just means that I wasn't imagining how cold it was.

Then last week I look around there are flowers everywhere. Yay -SPRING!!!! My garden went from drab to fab in a few weeks. Wonderful. Colourful. Weedful! (I think if I spent 8 hours a day for the next month weeding my garden, I wouldn't be finished. Well maybe, but you get my point - too many weeds for one girl to cope with).

So I thought I would take some photos of the first flush of flowers and brighten my life and my blog.

Incomplete Art

2010-09-10T22:46:00.001+10:00

One of my many unfinished art pieces. I just get so excited about starting a new project, work away at it blissfully and then cannot add those final touches to complete it. I then usually put it aside. Start another project. Find the old one after a few days. Do some work on it. Look at it lovingly wondering how to finish it.

Here is one of the latest that is waiting for it's final bits to send it off to completed art heaven. Any ideas? I think I need some inspirational words cut out and pasted on? Or maybe I just need a holiday in France to think about it. Bliss.

Woo hoo - my first blog post!!

2010-09-10T17:02:00.001+10:00

Hi, it's me .... Jennifer with my first blog - woo hoooooooooo!!!!

Finally have taken the first step and started a blog. I've only talked about it for more than a year (can't believe how fast the past year has gone by the way). I am expecting REALLY big things to happen. No clue what - but BIG BIG BIG things!!! But really ....anything would be great.

I have far too many questions in relation to my blog though:

Will anyone ever read it?
Will anyone ever leave a comment?
Does it matter if no one ever does?
Will I totally freak out if someone does?
Can I really be authentic and say what I want in my blog without caring what others think? (now that's a hard one).
Will I love writing in my blog?
Will I hate writing in my blog?

Who knows .... but here goes hey!

Welcome to Blog World Jennifer - scary and exciting as it is, I am sure you will love it!! Woo hoooooo!