Finally I started relaxing and having some fun! Thanks to the Easter and Anzac public holidays this was my second week of having a break from teaching. Next week I am back and classes are starting on Wednesday with a Life Drawing session in the evening, followed by normal classes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

And I do have some surprises for you! I think you are going to like what I have done so much so that we will need another workshop or 4 week course (still thinking what format will work best for it!). Daniela kept a close eye on me for the whole week, keeping me company in the studio almost every day and she has done some good art to prove it. Her palette knife skills are improving every day.

Of course I kept busy as well and also finished two small palette knife landscapes from the Kimberley. Yes, Daniela has done the same image in a different palette, but as you can see the same inspiration can produce two very different results in the hands of different artists.

Below I am showing the progress of this same image, painted by me. As you have heard me say many a time – choose your idea, select and draw the composition, lock in your darkest darks to serve you as a road map across the canvas, continue building your painting with the mid-tones and finally work with the lights – they are the ones that will make your paining come alive but leave them for last.

George Gorge: Image and my interpretation;

So, here is the surprise and something very different. I can’t believe I did not discover this decorative furniture finish years back when decorative art was my primary business. This technique is quite old and many of you would perhaps recall seeing such painted furniture in your grandparents living rooms!

“VINEGAR PAINT” is what I will call this technique and look below at the magical transformations after it is applied!

The first example is the old shaving cabinet. The years had beaten up this little gem so much that it took me almost a whole day to pull out all the nails and fill up the holes and nicks in it. Unfortunately I forgot to take the “before” photo so the first photo you will see is after I’ve sanded it all down and applied a white sealer throughout. The next step was two coats of base coat colours and finally here it is with a vinegar glaze and a total beauty when I’ve varnished it!

I loved the process and the result it so much that I decided to transform two vases that have been hiding in my studio for years. I bought them as ceramic bisque, which essentially means pottery that has been fired once but not yet glazed.

The first and a very important part of this process is the preparation after which comes the vinegar glaze, then the initial coat of varnish to fix it in and then there are further choices and mine was to do a gold painted decoration before I finished it with a second coat of varnish.

I am looking forward to see you all again and hopefully some of this will inspire you to be even more creative.

Finally I would like to encourage you to enter your beautiful art into The 2019 Canning Art Awards. Entries are now open and close Sunday 7 July 2019 at 5pm. You may enter and pay online here OR print the Canning Art Awards Entry Form and submit in person at 1317 Albany Highway, Cannington between 8:15am and 5pm Monday through Friday.

Stay safe, stay inspired and see you all in class!

Having Fun