Home Decor - Abstract painting

It was a cold, bleak morning in Brissie yesterday.  Brrrrrrr! 

I love winter so I'm not complaining.

As short as they are, our winters are often up and down 

when it comes to temperatures. 

Never constant like the winter I remember in Wyoming.

Our winter mornings and evenings are cold (for us) 

but our winter days can actually get quite warm, even hot.  

Last week, we had a few summer-like days 

in what is usually our coldest part of the year. 

It seems that our winters like to toy with us. 

Moving on... 

As you may have seen in a recent post, 

I changed the colour scheme in my bedroom 

from blues/greens/whites to blacks/greys/whites. 

As the ensuite is connected to my bedroom 

I changed it over to match the new colours. 

I needed a painting for above the toilet so 

a quick abstract was in order to tie bedroom and ensuite together. 

I realise abstract art isn't everyone's cup of tea but I quite like it. 

This is probably more decorative than true abstract anyways.

I painted over an older painting with black acrylic paint,

then the fun began. 

The initial stage 

The end result 

I had to force myself to stop because it was quite addictive.

I will share a secret on how to get those crazy, squiggly lines.  

ACRYLIC HOUSEHOLD PAINT!

HEADS UP - Artists acrylic paints won't cut it
because they contain more acrylic resins than regular household paint.

I bought a couple of affordable sample pots in grey and white 

To get the desired effect, 

I simply dipped a wooden skewer into the colour pot, 

then working quickly, 

before the paint dropped from the skewer, 

I just flicked it back and forth over the canvas. 

I made some circular movements too 

just going with the flow.

The elasticity of the latex paint holds the paint together 

like a very thick syrup. 

You can get some nice, swirly effects with it. 

I did three layers all up - dark to light 

using grey, light grey, and white. 

I allowed each layer to dry thoroughly 

before going onto the next.

the finished piece hanging in the ensuite 

now everything matches the new decor colours

I LOVE IT!!!

A sketch and some home decorating

It's been three and a half weeks since my carpal tunnel surgery 

and I'm pleased with where the healing progress is at 

despite some recent days of bad pain.  

At first, I thought it was getting infected 

but I think it's more because I'd worked my hand too hard. 

At this stage of recovery, 

I still can't twist lids off, apply pressure...either pushing or pulling, 

nor can I lift anything heavier than 2 kilograms.  

If I do push it too hard,
I suffer for it later.
I found that out the hard way.
According to the specialist, 

it will be at least another 4 to 8 weeks 

before my hand will be fully healed. 

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I missed a couple of weeks of doing Sunday Sketches 

so I managed a quick sketch today.   

Pen and watercolours in Holcroft A6 Travel journal

You can check out the other Sunday Sketches participants HERE. 

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After having a green and turquoise colour scheme in my bedroom 

for over seven years now, I decided it was time for a change.
Of course, finances being as they are
meant a shoestring budget.

So, this Buddha got a new look
with a simple coat of paint.

from this...

to this

I opted for mostly white in my bedroom with grey and black accents 

with some greenery.
The grey cushions and throw were from Kmart.
The floral painting is one I did ages ago
and swapped over from my lounge room.
The black shelf pull-outs also came from my lounge room
which now has even more blue and green accents. 

I love it! 

Cody approves 

Speaking of Cody, 

Rita, I thought you might get a kick out of seeing his DogTV. 

This pic makes me think of Karma. hehe

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful weekend! 

Time to rest my hand...

Painting a chevron pattern

My daughter, Michelle, redecorated their bedroom recently 

and I offered to paint a chevron pattern on a couple of canvasses that she had. 

I found a template which was available for free at this link. 

Thank you, Billie Monster! 

I used the template as a guide only because my chevron strips were different in widths. 

It's not an easy task to mark out a precise pattern 

on canvasses that aren't perfectly squared but, 

after some trial and error, I managed to fit it okay. 

I used blue low-tack artists' tape to mark out the chevron shapes

for each colour application. 

Then I had to lighten the yellow a little so 

I just free-handed the last couple of coats with a flat brush 

because I couldn't be bothered putting the tape back on again. 

The yellow was the last colour applied.

They look pretty good on their bedroom wall if I do say so myself. 

Does my daughter have a talent for interior design or what?!! 

I just LOVE their new bedroom look!

No, I didn't paint the zebra canvas. 

It was a canvas photo print from Kmart.

I very much enjoyed splashing acrylic paint around again.
I didn't realise how much I had missed it.

My dear, neglected blog

Part of me wondered if 

I would ever find my way back to you but...

here I am!

The past few months have been so busy. 

Beau has settled back at home.

Michelle and Alex bought a house!!! 

There was a lot of work involved with 

preparing the house for them to move into,
not to mention all the packing and finishing up
with the rental home. 

The days leading up to their big move were
long and filled with hard work 

and lots of babysitting. 

We were all quite exhausted but 

what a joy it was to see them
move into their first home.
SO exciting!
Michelle already has it looking
like something out of a HOME BEAUTIFUL magazine.

A glimpse of Mikayla's and Maddy's room

Photo copyright - Michelle Hallmond

I sewed curtains for their living room and kitchen
and they look quite pretty if I do say so myself.

Maddy (granddaughter) is nearly 11 months old and 

has taken her first steps. 

She is quite a character and
I love her to bits!

Mikayla (granddaughter) seems to have matured so much 

since Madelyn came along. 

She adores animals just like her Grandma (me).

Photo copyright - Michelle Hallmond


Mikayla loves wearing her sunglasses. 
She's our little celebrity. hehe
She loves soft toy animals as well....

Photo copyright - Michelle Hallmond

Bradley turned 30 in August and a huge
surprise party was planned with an
Elton John (Brad's idol) theme but
it had to be cancelled due to
bouts of sickness hitting both immediate and extended families.
We did manage to make his day special regardless,
just no party.
I had already ordered the huge party cake
which we 'forced' our way through.
OH, the things we must do. lol
Yes, it was delicious!

I battled with asthmatic cough for over a month and,
just like last time,
I was left with severe inflammation of the chest wall.
It was very painful and hard to breathe.
It felt like I had a heavy bowling ball crammed inside my chest cavity.
I had to rest and, thankfully, after another three weeks,
 I'm finally over it.

My two furry bedfellows
modelling my new quilt cover.

Poor Dad ended up back in hospital
with a lung infection in recent weeks.
Parkinson's disease affects the
swallowing reflex and liquids
ended up in Dad's lung.
He is now back home and, from here-on,
only allowed to drink mildly thickened fluids.

Have I been doing much sketching or art?
Unfortunately, no!
This is all I have to show for myself on that score.

We took a day trip out to Burgess Park and I sketched part of a tree
using BIC ballpoint pens and a black PITT pen in my large Moleskine sketchbook.

Life seems to be returning to normal now
although I'm almost afraid to say that out loud
in case I jinx myself. lol

My name is Serena and I am a bookaholic!

Hi everyone!

It's been another busy week with Aaron 

starting back at school for another term. 

I've pottered around at home and, 

since getting my new glasses, 

I've found myself being a bit of a bookworm again
and loving it!

I have missed reading books regularly.

James lives hand-to-mouth by busking 

on the streets of London. 

He is also a recovering drug addict and,

one day, he finds a ginger street cat 

which is injured and in a poor state of health.
James named the cat, Bob,
and the two fast become inseparable. 

James shares their adventures together and 

how it transforms both of their lives.  

This is a true and heart-warming story.
Being the animal lover that I am and, the fact that my heart always goes out

to the underdog, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
It also gave a busker's perspective of how things work on the streets.
It has certainly given me a higher appreciation and respect for buskers
 and I'll no doubt be wondering about their personal struggles too
the next time I see them performing on the streets of Brisbane.
I loved the fact that I was able to track down 'James and Bob' on YouTube.
I wish them all the best.

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Despite the tumour-shrinking miracle drug that bought her a few years, 

Hazel has never been anything but terminal since the time of her diagnosis. 

However, when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears 

at the Cancer Kids Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be rewritten. 

This book was recommended by a  friend on Facebook and
I'm very glad I followed up on the recommendation.
It made me smile, laugh, and cry!

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I've been re-reading a few of my favourite author's earlier novels lately and
I was thrilled to see that Dean Koontz also has a new book 
on the shop shelves which I quickly snapped up! 
I confess to being a little disappointed in his last novel -
Odd Apocalypse - but I'm hoping this one makes up for it.

From the inside book cover -

In a sinister encounter with a rogue truck driver, 
Odd - who has the gift of seeing the dead and the soon-to-be-dead - 
has a disturbing vision of the slaughter of three innocent children. 

Across California, into Nevada and back again, 
Odd embarks on a road chase to prevent the tragedy. 
But he is to discover that he is not up against a single twisted sociopath 
but a mysterious network of evil men and women whose resources 
appear supernatural.

Luckily, in this world that Odd finds so beautiful and full of wonders, 
and deeply odd as well, he meets a collection of like-minded eccentrics 
who will help him to take the next giant step towards his destiny.

Odd is a recurring and likeable character in a few of Dean Koontz's novels.
I'm enjoying it so far.....

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In the images above, you can see my new coasters.
They are the Boathouse series by Australian artist, Sarina Baker.
I love her beach/bayside themes!

Here is the whole set of coasters

This framed picture is on the wall behind my computer desk.
I cut the picture from a calendar I bought featuring Sarina's artwork some years ago.
It was a little hard to get a decent photo with the glare from the glass but
I love that I happened across the matching coasters this week.

Have a beautiful weekend!

~ Love, light and peace ~

This handywoman RULES!!!

We have been replacing some of the hand-me-down, mismatched, falling-apart furniture we've received from family over the past 20 years.  The furniture served us very well over those years and I was very grateful to be given them but the time had come where we decided to spoil ourselves with some new matching stuff. It's budget flat-pack furniture but it has nice, simple lines and it MATCHES!!  That's where the handywoman part came in as I had to assemble numerous flat packs! My back, legs, hands, and wrists screamed with arthritic pain but I persisted until the job was done. 

This bad boy was the biggest conquest with it's gazillion parts and pieces. 

It took me just under THREE hours!!

The BEFORE photo.

The AFTER photo.

I love my new white desk!

More assembled flat-pack furniture below.

While I can admire it in other people's homes, dark wood furniture just isn't for me. 

I LOVE white furniture!!! 

The other part of my handywoman skills came in yesterday. 

Firstly, I had to remove and clean the shower drain when Aaron said the water was very slow to drain away. It's amazing how much hair and grime gets caught up in those things!  An icky job for sure but some poor sucker had to do it, namely me.

Then, later in the morning, I was brushing my ear studs with toothpaste...yes, you heard right.  Did you know that toothpaste and a toothbrush work great to clean, freshen, and add sparkle to your jewellery?!  Well, it does, but the trick is NOT to drop little ear studs down the drain hole in the sink.  Yep, that's exactly what I did.  Normally, I would lay a couple of tissues over the drain to catch any wayward pieces of jewellery but, I'll admit it, I was lazy and skipped that step yesterday.  So, I had the extra job of dismantling the S-bend under the sink to retrieve my ear studs and, while I was at it, I did a little more cleaning there too.  More icky!!!  I can also give a 100% guarantee that no plumber's crack was on show at any stage whilst I was carrying out said tasks.

I'm happy to report that,

water is now running freely again in the shower, 

ear studs were safely retrieved from vanity sink drain, 

bathroom drain interiors are now nice and clean, 

and my ear studs are sparkling!

All in a day's work for this handywoman.

Decorating with turtles and fish...

If you have been following my blog for some time, 

you will already know that I am very big into animal rights and welfare.
I've sponsored bears in the past and I have donated to animal causes worldwide
ever since I was a working teen.
This year, I'm going to adopt a baby orangutan.
No, no....it won't come to live with me in Australia. hehe
The baby orangutan will stay in it's own habitat
 but my annual adoption fee will go towards it's care and support.
More details on that in a later post.

Lately, I've been wondering about ways I can use my art to help
or bring awareness to animal causes 

OR whether it would be better to keep the two separate. 

Well, I think I received my answer the other day.

I was in the studio painting a sea turtle canvas for my kitchen 

when a knock came at the door. 

It turned out to be a guy from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) 

and he was collecting donations for their latest rescue cause...

Green Sea Turtles in Northern Queensland!

How uncanny is that?!

I've NEVER had anyone from WWF knock at my door before
and, there I was, painting a sea turtle....the very thing he was promoting! 

I'm thinking there is definitely a message in there for me 

considering the timing.

Here is the turtle canvas I was working on.

I changed the colour scheme in my kitchen from reds to blues, greens, and purples
which is my favourite colour combo.

 I already had some metal fish tea-light ornaments from Bali
so decided to go with a fishy/sea theme too. 

The blue in the pic below is more true to the actual colour.

And I did not stop there....

Aaron liked my fish art so much he asked if I could do one for his room.
Lucky for him, he caught me while I was on a roll.

So the one below was done very quickly to keep him happy.
It looks great in his bedroom where he also has an aquarium.

IT ARRIVED!!!

My artistic license validating my completion of the 75 day sketch challenge.
I still can't believe I did it.

75 pencil-free sketches using only pen or ink in 75 consecutive days!

Brenda Swenson, the host of the 75 day challenge,
sent me one of her art cards too. Lovely!

I was going to post pics of my kitchen with it's new decor colours
but I'll leave that for another day as this post has become over-long.

I hope you all had a wonderful start to the week.

~ Love, light and peace ~

Day 14 - AEDM & Nablopomo - Triptych revisited

it has been quite a busy day

first, a doctor's appointment and then off to my daughter's house for the rest of the day.

i had painted a triptych for my granddaughter's room back in july but, recently, my daughter decided on a colour change in mikayla's room.

this was the original triptych that i painted

and this is kinda where it's headed - deeper and more vibrant

the colours in these photos were not the final choice.
i will post the end result later in the week when it's finished.

today, i helped mix colours and painted a little bit but my daughter, michelle (pictured below), did most of the painting while i had the pleasure of playing with my beautiful granddaughter, mikayla.

to view the creative posts of other AEDM members for Day 14
click here.

mikayla took her first steps last week and will be turning ONE year old in december!
she brings me so much happiness!

~ love, light and peace ~

Day 6 - AEDM & Nablopomo - messy abstract & inspiration

hi everyone!

for some time now, my 12 year old son has been asking me to paint an abstract for his room. he wanted one like the one i did for my own room a short time ago.

my abstract

aaron's room also has a blue/green colour scheme but i created his with more drama than mine....and minus the purple at his request.

as you can see from the end result below, they are similar but different

i had a pretty bad pain day with my right arm so i think that showed through too

i managed to snap some of the stages to show you

it's 30" x 15" in size on gallery-wrapped canvas

finished and in place on my son's bedroom wall

to view the posts of other AEDM members for Day 6
click here.

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and look what happens when i stand still for too long

my dog, cody, comes over and parks himself right on top of my foot!
he's so cute ~ lol

~ love, light and peace ~