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Recently I was contacted by a couple who are decking out their new Sydney apartment as their main residence. They had been introduced to my work via a mutual friend and wanted me to create a couple of pieces for their living and dining spaces. Over a coffee we discussed what they were looking for to ensure I was the one to be able to provide it, however by the end of the conversation I discovered that I was in a position of receiving an 'open commission'. Basically, do what I want to do within the cost, size and decor colour constraints.

Ok, this may sound like an artists dream job but in a way it's a very scary prospect. My clients are trusting that I will read them well enough to create something that will resonate with them and their home and as far as I'm concerned it is an honor and privilege but much harder than going into the studio and creating for creating sake!

For the dinning space we agreed on a charcoal. A 'talking piece'. Looking at the other art on their walls for clues as to their tastes I discovered they were seasoned travellers with a penchant for exotic places and people. What else? From our conversation I learned that they were abreast of current affairs both domestically and abroad and were generally fairly content in their skins. So where did this leave me? Happy! 'The Gift' is my interperetation of a conversation starter for these particular clients. An old, weathered, joyful Afgan who beams with a joy we perhaps don't expect of one living in Afganistan in this day and age. Has he received a gift? Or given one? Is his gift to us the joy of his smile or the reminder of people and places seemingly worlds away? 

Whilst I strive to capture the depth and enormity of a range of emotion in my works, there is somthing very satisfying in knowing that a joyful work will quite possibly uplift and inspire onlookers to feel a similar emotion within themselves even while reminding them to think beyond their own daily experiences.

This open commission was a 'gift' to me too!

I almost can't express how excited I am about 2014! 

Having made the New Year's Resolution that 2014 would be the year I became a full-time artist, I now find myself in a new studio surrounded by professional artists, painting and charcoaling furiously to fulfill commissions gained during my December show, and getting ready for a late February group show for the official opening of the Co-op.

I am so at home in my studio space that after the mezzanine storage space went up I spent 3 days straight working away from early until dinnertime. My family is being very understanding - it's new after all and the excitment will fade... Or will it? Personally I know I am finally doing what I love and can't get enough time doing it. So what happens when my 2 part-time day jobs and TAFE kick back in? Well, then I am down to Saturdays and half day Friday in the studio. Or am I? What is the point of making grand new year resolutions, proclaiming my heart's desire to the universe and having the opportunities thrown my way if I am not going to have the balls to meet them half way?

Well this year I will. One of the jobs is going, freeing up 2 days, and by the time I complete my Fine Art Diploma at the end of 2014, I will have fulfilled my goal of full-time artist.

Wish me luck!

In December last year I held my second solo exhibition. For me it was a resounding success in sales and commissions but more importantly (I later realised) in the accomplishment of fulfilling the brief that I set myself. This brief was for the exhibition to feel cohesive, work as a story, and elicit emotion from my patrons. My excitment and joy at moving through my own exhibition never faded and THAT to me is success!

The image shown is an oil on canvas, 20 x 20 cm, from the solo show. It is of my mother back in the 60's and is an ode to the parts of the woman that I never knew and never understood. My mother died when I was 16 years old. We shared and uncomfortable relationship at best and it took me many years to dig past the years of sickness and my own teenage angst to discover that there once existed this beautiful, fun-loving young woman with hopes and dreams of her own. Painting this snapshot moment of my mother before she was my mother as a part of an exhibition dedicated to beautiful moments from my past was an incredibly healing event. This painting will forever grace my walls.

In late 2013 I signed up to become one of 9 foundation artists at a new studio cooperative. It was a leap of faith and I now have a studio space for the next 12 months, teaching space (but that's another story) and we have our own art gallery. I am sharing this experience with 8 artists of varying mediums but the one thing that we all share in common is the drive to create and succeed. It is a very professional venture and I feel very honoured to have been selected to be a part of it!

2013 was a year of hard work, creating and taking opportunities and laying more of the past to rest. I completed my fourth year of Fine Art study; completed a portrait that was later accepted by the NSW Police Commissioner for permanent display at HQ; and moved my studio from my dining room to a professional space. It feels like it was the beginning of some very exciting times and I am so up for the challenge I am practically champing at the bit!