Queensland artist: Donald James Waters

Donald James Waters lives at Jacobs Well, on the northern end of the Gold Coast.


I love the layers of pretty colours which Don Waters uses:


- & the way he blends/segues:

Nigerian artist: Ifeyinwa Umeike (aka Ify Ojo)

Ifeyinwa Umeike is an Igbo economics graduate, with no formal art training, who paints in gouache and Nigerian fabric cutouts:

Ifeyinwa currently resides in Canada, & her work can be seen at Galeria Quetzal in Cleveland, Ohio, and Nicole Gallery in McCormickville, Chicago. Click here for an article about Nicole Gallery.

"A Red Canoe" is my favourite: - I love the stark clarity of it, due to the white lines/outlines, & the colour combination.

You can see more of Ifeyinwa's art here.

Queensland artist: Kendall

Born in Toowoomba, Kendall travels internationally, exhibiting & painting on location, live!



You can find some of Kendall's vividly coloured, lively art at Bella Art Gallery in Springfield Lakes, and you can see Kendall's own website here.

I'm a fan of her "Drinks Anyone?", in Gallery 1. Check it out!

Queensland artist: Susanna Bertolacci

I think Susanna Bertolacci lives on the Gold Coast of Queensland?

I love her butterfly wings!

Here is her website.

Queensland artist: Megan Lane

Megan Lane is a visual artist living in Mackay, Queensland:

These are two of my favourites of her paintings. I especially like the one on the right. I wonder who it is? I love her face.

Megan sells her art at the Sarina Markets, the Mackay City Markets, and the Airlie Beach Markets, in Queensland, Australia.

Read about Megan, and become a fan, here on Facebook.

Queensland artist: Katherine May

Check out Queensland artist Katherine May's Australian themed Christmas cards!

Her Christmas 2009 range should be online soon.

Molas: folk art of the Cuna/Kuna (Tule) Indians (South America)

Molas are the folk art of the Cunan Indian women, in South America. Vividly colored panels are used to adorn blouses and are made from pieces of multicoloured material, cut and sewn into narrative and fantasy scenes:

See here for a closer look.

Here's a great article about Molas, at Fashion-Incubator - which even shows a Mola bikini!

You can even buy a "Mola mug" here - & here - at cafepress - take a look!

Because I love Etsy (international handcrafted marketplace) here is what is offered on Etsy as molas.

There's a great article about the Kuna people of Panama, along with some very colourful Mola photos, here.

Textile Artist, Yinka Shonibare

Yinka Shonibare MBE, contemporary artist, has transformed paintings (from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) into (Dutch wax African print) fabrics. See more & learn more here.

Nail art

Just for fun: here are my birthday nails:



These were hand painted, using a wooden toothpick with a blunted tip.

Take a look at this Nail Art Gallery. One of my favourite's is Keiko's 4th.

Here's a tutorial for some easy dotted nail art.

Lastly, another easy tutorial for flowers (the white flowers look the best, imo).

A layering technique from Gary Reef

I love the effect of this layering technique from Gary Reef:


I notice though that he just knows which colours to choose to spray, & how & where, to achieve the desired effect.

I was surprised at a couple of the comments on this video: imo this layering technique improved the look of the painting.

How to sell your art - & break into galleries!

I received an email tonight, from Tony Moffitt.

Tony teaches other artists how to create realistic paintings, how to sell their work, & how to get represented by galleries!

Click here to visit his informative blog!

Arts 'ignored' in national curriculum

Arts 'ignored' in national curriculum

"The Federal Government's new national curriculum for schools is focused on the basics of education: English, maths, science, history, geography and languages.

But a new lobby group says the visual arts, drama, dance and music should also be included."

Read more here. Some interesting comments follow this news story.