I’m subbing in for a month while the current artist-in-residence,  Manon Elder, is off to sunny Spain. This will be a fun cameo  and Bubs’s fans will enjoy having her back.  I’ve already had requests for walking duties. If you’re around, please come by and see some new work.

Oil on Canvas 24″ x 30″

Something the parents/grandparents will treasure for years to come. They grow up too fast, don’t they?

oil on canvas 20″ x 16″

I’m back in the kitchen again. The variety of activities surrounding meal preparation offers to my eye a wealth of inspiration. I will be back at the Empress for another brief 3-week period beginning mid-May. Bubbles and I are looking forward to it. More opportunities to gather reference material and meet fascinating people.

oil on canvas 24″ x 18″

It seems that spring has finally sprung and the tulips have replaced the daffodils in the garden. I was struck by this still life as the late afternoon light  streamed into my studio. How lovely to be back to long days – when early morning walks and late evening strolls can be enjoyed with the sun in the sky. The temperatures here have been delightfully warm, requiring all of us gardeners to quicken our pace and get seedlings tucked into beds sooner rather than later.

After almost a month off painting, it was time to throw myself back into it last week. I have a number of portraits to do, more work from the Empress that is waiting for attention and last Monday, the Winsor Park Art Club invited me to  give a demonstration and instruct the group in painting directly from the figure. This was a challenge for some members as most prefer to do detailed drawings before picking up the brush, but they persevered bravely and produced some very interesting work. As I explained to them, drawing with a brush comes more naturally to me than with a pencil. I start off big and bold and slowly refine- the brushes getting progressively smaller. The second installment of the class is next week. My thanks to the group for allowing me this opportunity to talk about the subject I love.

acrylic on board 9″ x 12″

The Menehune, the first immigrants to these islands, who came by boat from the Marquesas, built these ponds to cultivate fish. Everything is rather muddy looking now – including the sea, for the most part, as the rain is driving the red earth down from the mountains into the streams and rivers. You can see the dark clouds threatening this bit of sunshine in the foreground. We had a terrifying lightening storm last night (glad Bubs isn’t with us) and don’t think we’ll be seeing much of the big yellow orb for at least a couple of days.

We ran across two local artists painting this scene so I joined in – this time with acrylics and about 2 tbsp. of water – as we had consumed the rest of it!! Quite a challenge to select the light as it is always changing. You can tell by the clouds – which are moving very fast, that a lot of artistic decision making is needed!

9″ x 12″

Keith caught a bunch of painters out of the corner of his eye as we were driving towards the north end of the island. They very kindly invited me to join in and the rain held off ! Painting in oil on a vacation is probably not the smartest idea! When will it dry? If it doesn’t, how to carry it? And, of course, the mess to deal with as well. I will try to get hold of a basic pallet of acrylics, I think! Fun to get back at it, though.

oil on canvas 20″ x 24″

This painting is now a bit of history as Kipling’s is undergoing a make-over to change it into an elegant ball room – something that has been missing since the ‘recent’ renovation, which occurred in the 1980s.  Nathan Pearce, the Food and Beverage Manager, is meeting with his banquet staff in preparation for a large wedding. Although I have physically left the building -  lots of tears all round – I have not exhausted my subject matter, so you can expect more of the same cropping up every now and then.

For all those who would love to have some of our star Empress chefs supervising kitchens, dining rooms etc., I have had beautiful prints made and they are available. The margin allows for their installation into ready-made 20″ x 24″ frames.

Contact me if you’re interested.