Inspiration from Sydney Harbour

Good morning!

Yesterday I decided I needed a little adventure, so I decided a summer's day on Sydney Harbour would be perfect.

I took two ferries to go from Chiswick to Circular Quay (heart of Sydney) and then over to Manly Beach on the ocean. Ohhhhhh it was bliss! Riding ferries always makes me feel like I'm on holidays, the fresh sea air clears out all the cobwebs, and the fantastic views, seagulls, waves and brilliant colours make me think of painting on silk. (What doesn't? I ask myself :-)

I painted a couple of silk bookmarks with the Sydney Opera House on them, and today I'll be sketching and painting more Sydney-inspired goodies - yay!!!

How has your week been?

Cheers
Teena

Silk - habotai 8mm
Dyes - Procion
Gutta - home made Sodium Alginate with black Procion dye


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Handpainted silk Australian designs

One of my newsletter subscribers asked me today if I had done any handpainted silk using indigenous designs, and so I went back through some photos to find some paintings I did in the early 1990's - not really indigenous designs per se, but a sort of theme nonetheless.



At the time I was a Member of ArtistsForLife, a Sydney-based Australian group of artists whose paintings and exhibitions focussed on endangered species and all Australian animals and wildlife - the Exhibition was in November 1992.

Shown here are a couple of those paintings.

This first one is called KANGAROO WAVING, and you're right - the photo isn't very good - but it was a long time before digital cameras and this is as good as I have.

I love the colours here - the rich red brown of the earth, the bright blue sky with red and yellow highlights. I remember painting all those little triangles around the outside which took forever, but I did like the effect when it was finished. :-)

I liked the black kanga painting so much I did another one using a grey kangaroo - I also increased the size of the triangular border for a different effect, which I quite like; I also added some boomerangs across the skyline for a bit of fun:



My favourite though is always my Kevin Koala, in one of his many reposes, always comfortable, always cute and cuddly, nestling in the crook of a gum tree:

I remember this particular Exhibition very well - it was at the Australian Museum in Sydney, and it was very exciting to hang the paintings in the day, then return for the opening ceremony.

Imagine my surprise when I returned that evening to find the tv cameras set up in front of my paintings! Evidently they thought the 'feel' of the paintings was indigenous, and they chose my paintings to be in the background when the special guest, Burnum Burnum opened the Exhibition. Here's a photo of me with Burnum Burnum, and I'm wearing a handpainted silk sleeveless coat I made to match the paintings.

Above: Teena Hughes and Burnum Burnum at the "Artists For Life"
Exhibition on Endangered Species - Opening Ceremony, Nov 1992.

This is a photo of the silk stretched and being painted before it was cut and sewn into the coat shape:

Above: Habotai silk stretched on wooden frame,
design for coat drawn in gutta, French dyes

Oh what wonderful memories these photos bring back!! A wee trip down memory lane, indeed. I hope you enjoyed it too!

Cheers
Teena

Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure in Paris France July - August 2009!
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Photos of the new silk art studio

Welcome to my new Abfab Art Studio!

Above: I'm sharing a large warehouse space with two others. My space is about 20% of the total. The photo above was taken just inside the front door, and another artist has the space up to the curtain, then you can see my space beyond the curtain - at the back.


Above: Looking from my space towards the front door - my space is up to the curtains, which will be used to separate the areas, and allow a modicum of privacy. An artist who uses acrylics on canvas will be in the front space near the front door, which is about 25% of the space.


Above: This is my workbench / trestle table which is a fantastic size. Over the coming months I'll be able to organise shelving for all my plastic boxes of art supplies. On the wall you can see some pieces I've painted - Natalie's finished piece is on the far right. It needs to be steamed and stretched over canvas.


Above: side view of the trestle. You can see a clothing rack with one of the long handpainted silk coats (Coral Sea design).


Above: Natalie's first attempt at painting on silk, getting used to how the dyes flow on the shiny habotai silk.



Abovee: Natalie's first silk painting is almost finished. At the bottom of the photo is silk waiting to be cut into smaller pieces to be made into handpainted silk cards, which will be embellished with coloured outliners in squeeze bottles.

So - the Abfab Art Studio has been christened! Woohoo!

Can't wait to start painting larger pieces :D

Ciao for now
Teena

Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure in Paris France June 2008!
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Handpainted silk coats

As I continued down memory lane today, I came across this 1989 photo of me wearing one of my very first handpainted silk coats - turquoise and purple painted onto silk habotai, with white trim which was a bit dashing :-)


In this photo above I'm visiting with my friend Mel over cocktails.

Above: this is my gorgeous friend Anca who is my trusty model whenever I need one :-)

Anca is wearing my handpainted silk chiffon Haori jacket, painted in my Coral Reef design.

Above: Anca wearing hot pink and orange handpainted silk chiffon.

Click the photos to zoom in for more detail.

Ahhhhhh what fun to spend another couple of hours in my photo folders :-) -- does the heart good!

Teena



Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure in Paris France June 2008!
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I've rented an Artist Studio!

I did it! I rented an Artist Studio!

I visited the Studio in Camperdown and I loved it, so I've rented it. The costume designer I'll be sharing with - Rosemary - is an absolute delight, and I can't wait to hang out with her on Fridays.

The Studio is only 10-12 mins drive from my apartment, and only 2 minutes from my fave cafe Vicini in Annandale - who's a lucky girl?

Now I can teach more classes and won't have to rent spaces just to teach - this is perfect. The space has such an open great vibe, and once I hang some silk on the walls it'll be a home away from home :-)

I'll be teaching my first weekend class there in 2 weeks, Beginners with Silk Painting - can't wait to christen the place. Here's a photo of a silk painting class I held in a local cafe (with the blessing of the very generous cafe owner) - Scottish Jan was here on holidays, and had been visiting my website before she left home:

Habotai silk, Fredrix artist stretcher frame, thumbtacks, Dupont French silk dye, cold wax

I'll post the dates for the upcoming classes before my trip to Paris in June. On my return, I'll be showing new techniques and products I'll bring back from France.

See you soon!
Teena



Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure in Paris France June 2008!
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Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

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