Hi! I’m Anna Battle, the original shiny happy artist, founder of the Shiny Happy Art Club and author of ‘Painting Party: Acrylic Painting for Beginners’.

And I don’t mind a bit of colour!

I’m a mum with two kids still at home and we live in a quirky pole house in beautiful Toowoomba, Queensland.

I love helping beginners draw and paint so you realise you can draw more than a stick figure, and make it a fun part of your life.

My friend, Mary-Kate Thomson and I are in our fourth year as Creative Advisors for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Floral Parade and I have a big exhibition called ‘The Shiny Happy Ideas Show’ coming up this September.

You can join my mailing list for a free class, “The Glass” right here – https://mailchi.mp/shinyhappyart/join-the-mailing-list

You are also bound to find something you like in my catalogue of Online Paint Alongs (acrylic and/or watercolours) and workshops.

My signature courses are Shiny Happy Drawing, Shiny Happy Colour and of course, to paint regularly I recommend the Shiny Happy Art Club.

You’ll find them all here – https://shinyhappyart.podia.com/

And my original art page is Anna Battle Artist!

Thank you for taking the time to be interested in this Shiny Happy world of mine and ours! I hope I can make your life more fun and colourful!

Anna xxx

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Are you a messy painter? Or a neat-ster?

You know what? The only art supplies wasted are the ones left in the tube… or the pan… or perhaps the shop!

And it doesn’t actually matter if you’re naturally neat or naturally messy. That’s a by product of the activity and the process is really the most important thing.

If you’re making something, or painting, or drawing, or singing or writing (you get the idea)… you’re tapping into that creative side of you that LONGS to get out.

Creativity is effectively problem solving, and that is useful in all areas of your life.

So mess up the paints! Put some colour on paper or a canvas and see what comes out. Notice how it FEELS when you’re painting or drawing or whatever you choose to do. Play. Experiment. Enjoy yourself.

You can do it!

Anna. xxx

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Check out how good this looks! You’ve made my day, Jenny! Thank you so much!

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There’s never been a better time to join the

The refreshed version of Flora, in both acrylic and watercolour, will be released next Thursday 1 February as we mark the FIFTH BIRTHDAY of the Club!

I’ve also recorded a brand new Introduction to Watercolours, exclusively for Shiny Happy Art Club members, which will be released on the same day.

You’ll learn about how paint, paper, brushes, water and TIME are so important when it comes to watercolours. And because they’re so portable and perfect for sketching, it’s a skill worth your learning.

And it’s all included in a $25pm subscription with no lock-in contract. Well worth a look really!

Take a look at the Shiny Happy Art Club right here.

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How good is radio? And being interviewed!?! I spend so much time videoing and talking to myself on camera, it was a delight to be properly interviewed by the lovely Rosemary Peterswald.

Rosemary has known my parents since the 60’s and invited me to speak on her show  on Reading Radio. We covered so many topics and it was especially lovely to talk about why art is good for you even if you’re not ‘good at art’.

When 29 minutes rolled around she had to motion energetically at the clock so that we wrapped up our conversation in time!

It’s an audio file, but I’ve loaded it to the Shiny Happy Art YouTube channel. Take a listen while you’re on a walk or washing up (or even sketching!) and don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there! I’d really appreciate it.

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Years ago I lived next door to a lady who sold Bessemer cookware by party plan. I remember her telling me that sometimes giving short notice for an event is good, because people genuinely knew if they were going to be able to come or not…

So….

Because it’s SPRING in Australia tomorrow, and because I haven’t spent time in my studio lately, and because I’m home on a Friday night I have decided we should paint some BRIGHT, WONDERFUL FLOWERS, live, in my Drink and Draw Facebook Group, from 8-9pm on Friday 1 September 2023. 

I’ll be painting with acrylics on paper, kraft and white, and you can paint along with me if you wish, or you can grab a drink and some snacks and enjoy some arty ‘edutainment’ (that’s education disguised as entertainment!).

Here’s what you need to know:

• You’ll need to join my FREE Facebook Group – Drink and Draw with Anna. This is the one I created during lockdown so you might already be in there! If, not, you do need to request to join and Linda will welcome you in when she’s at her computer – so best to do that sooner rather than later if you’re not already in.
• The live session is free to watch and join in. You can comment and ask questions… it’ll be a floral arty party.
• We’ll start at 8pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST, or ‘Brisbane Time’). You can check your timezone here.
• But once it’s done, the recording will be taken down and added to the Shiny Happy Art Club – so my lovely SHA Clubbers can watch it at any time.
• To access the recording you’re welcome to join the SHA Club – it’s only $25 per month, and you’ll have access to 24 Paint Alongs straight away and lots of other special bonuses too. Well worth a look.
• This session will only be run in the Drink and Draw Group on Facebook, with the recording only available in the SHA Club. So if you’re not on Facebook, the Club is your best option.

OK! I think that’s all you need to know! Any questions, drop me a line. 

See you on Friday the first!

Anna

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Have you ever been awed by a landscape, snapped a photo to capture the memory, and then when you get home that same photo just doesn’t do your memory justice – it hasn’t captured what you remember seeing?

That’s because photos tend to flatten the image – and in my experience, they ‘squash’ it vertically too.

Try it for yourself.

Look at a view, then take a photo of it with your phone, and notice how much more you can see in person.

The photos below are of a view I pass almost daily, and last May I finally had some time to stop and sketch it.

And I’m so glad I did.

You can see it took four photos to ‘see’ the view I wanted to sketch, and none of them are particularly remarkable.

But the sketch can capture it all.

It’s a pleasant sketch. It captures what I see. And I’ve had a bit of practice, so my lines are confident and varied.

But you know what? When you look at my sketch YOU’RE only seeing my memory on my page.

The real value of this sketch is my memory IN MY HEAD.

Because I got to sit and study this view. Study the shapes of the cattle and their shadows. The round trees and the city behind. The undulations of the paddock. The fencelines and crops.

Look at how much more space I have given the paddock in my sketch, compared to the photos. That space is truly what my eyes saw. The proportions felt different to what you see in the photos.

And every time I drive past it now, I know this view so much more intimately. And appreciate it more deeply.

But sketching on location is something very special.

I encourage you to practice at home, and then go out into the world and see what you can see… and sketch!

___________________________________________________________

For the next two weekends I’ll be sketching the views at Pechey Distillery as part of the InStudio Art Trail.

Pechey is 30 mins north of Toowoomba and I’ll have a display of my precious sketchbooks and some paintings.

I’ll have my beanies, brand new Birthday Calendars and maybe some 2024 Wall Calendars too.

There are two ticketed Sketching Workshops and the Sunday one is almost full:

Session 1 – Sunday 6 August, noon til 2pm

Session 2 – Saturday 12 August, noon til 2pm

Tickets: $50pp

Ages 14+

Limited Numbers

Book here.

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One thing that helps me mark time, and acknowledge I am achieving something each month, and in turn this year, is doing my Shiny Happy Art Club paintings.

I know I have to do them – for my members and because of my committment to the Club. It’s my little business, and it is my job after all. I schedule them in.

But here we are. It’s month 53 and my collection of Club paintings continues to grow, marking productive time, learning and improving art skills. It feels GOOD. I have my favourites, and you know what? I learned something from every single one.

I hope you’ll grow from this latest Paint Along, ‘The Flower Hat’.

What’s it all about?

• the feeling of mapping out the shapes in preparation,
• smudging your brush around with the background colours,
• adding the curves that give the hat dimension,
• layering tones to give the hair depth,
• adding wonky but rhythmic lines to the shirt, and
• adding your signature with pride – pride in the learning you’ve just enjoyed because you have given yourself that gift.

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