We're at that time of year again - time to start thinking about Christmas! The Royal Academy are well prepared with their lovely gifts and cards on their website:
Gillian Ayres RA - round plate from the Royal Academy as part of their limited edition gifts
Gillian Ayres RA - oval plate from the Royal Academy as part of their limited edition gifts
A Garden in Winter - John Nash RA (Christmas card)
Blackbird in the Snow - Mary Fedden RA (Christmas card)
I've been so busy lately I haven't had much time to search the internet for beautiful interiors, let alone blog about them! I finally caught up today with some great rooms from Rue magazine. issue no.6.
Somehow, buildings and houses drawn as designs are so addictive - I can't get enough of them! I was planning to create an 'all-over' design from the many windows from my own 'house' designs but then found these (below) - someone's already done it!!
I was saddened over the weekend to hear from my mum that my favourite artist, Margaret Olley passed away on 26th July at the age of 88. Apparently she was working on about 40 paintings for a show in September - her first in many years. My work is massively influenced by her, particularly still life and interiors, or views of the back garden out the window. She just painted whatever she liked, not trying to be fashionable or popular or being of a particular style - she made her own style.
This is a small excerpt from The Sydney Morning Herald article on her death: "Olley was a free-spirited and independent woman who never married or had children. It was not a role she was cut out for, she said.
She once described herself as "a one-woman band, too independent to be subservient to anyone".
But she had a number of enduring friendships, including with Friend who once described her as "sensible and sensitive and tender, stubborn and intelligent, proud, simple and complicated".
Olley grew up on sugar-cane farms in northern NSW and Queensland. At 19 she began studying art at East Sydney Technical College where "my life began, I was like a flower suddenly pollinated".
She held her first solo show in 1948 and more than 90 others have followed.
She battled alcohol in her early years and depression in later but defeated both.
She continued to paint most days.
Asked to describe her body of work once she replied: "I never see myself fitting in anywhere. I just like to lose myself in the work, let the painting take over."
AAP reports: In 2006, Olley was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour, the Companion of the Order, for service as one of Australia's most distinguished artists, for philanthropy to the arts, and for encouragement of young and emerging artists.
"It's such a great award. I'm overawed," Olley said at the time.
"I thought just judges and just very important people got it.
"I'm not important. I just do what I want to do."
This year's Archibald Prize was won by Ben Quilty with his portrait of Margaret Olley. I found this lovely interview on You Tube by Margaret Throsby with both Margaret Olley and Ben Quilty (above video).
Artist Ben Quilty with his kids and an Archibald-winning portrait of Margaret Olley, and the subject herself, at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney. Picture: Alan Pryke Source:The Courier-Mail
In the midst of opening our shop and getting cards, posters and other items ready to sell, I have been trying to work through a couple of ongoing projects at home. I repainted our downstairs cloakroom white (it was red, which I really miss!) as an undercoat for a complex stencil design, which I have only just finished cutting out by hand. I printed it on acetate so it can be used all over the walls without going soggy. The design is copied from a Sydney terrace house balcony railing design in wrought iron. I am going to stencil it black and white!
After reading about Thea's fantastic upholstery experience I got hold of these old chairs from a charity shop near our shop. I have some lovely striped fabric to recover the red velvet one (above) with, but it needs a lot of work. I intend to start pulling the fabric off it this weekend if I can. I can't wait to start sanding the other 2 (below) and deciding which colour to repaint them.
Many thanks to Bowie from print and pattern blog for the lovely post on my new etsy posters last week!
