Drift report

Oh, what a great weekend it was...the Drift festival along Main Street was a huge success!

The sun was shining, the weather was crisp but nice (even for a warm blooded Aussie) and scores of people were out on the streets drifting in and out of stores, cafe's, businesses, and studios enjoying the art and the artists - Main Street was abuzz!

I was having a great time at Balance Acupuncture & Massage, meeting and greeting the 60 or so Drifters who came in pairs or groups to view the work.

It was so exciting to be a part of it and meet so many interested and enthusiastic people. I received a lot of good feedback about my art, and had many people signing up to my mailing list. It was a great feeling to share my art with the community. I had a couple of bites but nothing sold as yet, hopefully, this will happen in the next few weeks as I've seen lots of traffic to my website following the Drift.

And, the best news is that Kirk and lovely Shinobu from Balance Acupuncture were delighted with the weekend and have agreed to keep my artwork up for longer - as long as I like! I'm extremely happy that my work will continue to get exposure to the public and won't be sitting in my studio in storage. I have a feeling something good will come of this :)

Here are some photos from my little corner of the Drift and me enjoying the sunshine with the lovely flower my boyfriend got for me.

Thank-you so much to everyone who came to check out my art! I must say I'm a little bit proud!

Butterflies Explained

On the eve of the very exciting Drift Festival which starts tomorrow, I thought I'd take the opportunity to discuss a series of paintings I will be showcasing - The Butterfly Collection.

In fact, these paintings are not really just paintings, but they are also prints! The inspiration came from these gorgeous colorful creatures that I saw flying around Costa Rica in May. I wanted to capture their vibrant colours and their beauty, but I didn't want to just paint them as I saw them, I wanted to mimic their behaviour - the folding and flapping of their wings.

What resulted was quite an experiment...I used raw (unprimed) 13oz cotton duck canvas, which I measured out and cut into 18 x 30 and 30 x 30 pieces. After making some sketches in a notebook, I mixed my paint and used multiple paint brushes to apply my design on the left side of the canvas - I only painted one half of the butterfly.

It was extremely hot and humid in the middle of the day in Costa Rica, so I had to work quickly in order for the paint to remain wet. Then, I folded the canvas over in half, and pressed down firmly all over the place with my hands - printing the wet half of the butterfly on the other blank side of the canvas. That's how my paint-print came about.

Peeling the canvas apart was the most exciting part! I never knew exactly how it was going to turn out. The more detailed the butterfly was, the longer it took to paint and the faster the paint dried. I was extremely happy with the result - the right side of the butterfly reveals some of the last brushstrokes I made, and is like a slightly distorted mirror image of the left side.

What I like is that on first instance you just see a big butterfly, but your head takes a double take to notice the two similar, but different halves of the insect. The folding of the canvas was like the folding of the butterflies' wings.
Let me know your thoughts? I look forward to the Drift tomorrow and see what the public thinks too.

Please visit my website to view others in the collection.

My Art on Main Street

I'm very excited that in two weeks my art is going to be on display to the public during the amazing Drift Festival on Main Street, Vancouver!!

October 3 & 4th will see over 100 artists, 35 Artists’ Working Studios & 80 Main Street Shops, Cafes & Galleries team up to host this free 2-day art party! The idea is for the public to meet and interact with artists in their studios and purchase unique works.

I'm busy preparing everything for the drift - I just picked up my prints from the studio, I need to see the framer and I'm making sure all my canvases have strings in place so I can hang them on the walls.

I've also created a promotional postcard, as seen above, which features my artwork and a map of where my artwork will be displayed during the festival.

I'm nervous, but very excited!!! So come drift with me on October 3 & 4th - I will be at Balance Acupuncture and Massage, 104 - 4338 Main Street!! Hope to see you all there!

Drift with me...

It’s all happening at my end of town in October! This year, I will be one of the participating artists at the Drift on Main Street Festival.

The Drift is an inclusive community event where local artists and businesses have teamed up to display art in cafes, restaurants, boutiques and galleries to celebrate art in the Main Street community.

I'm really proud to be a part of it and am impressed with the way the City of Vancouver supports local artists and communities.

For now, you can check out http://www.thedrift.ca/ to find out more about the festival and to see some great artwork featured on the profiles pages – I’ve just posted some of my most recent pieces.

So keep October 3 & 4th free and come and drift with me down Main Street!