Home , Sweet Home

Here we are, back in St Arnaud after almost 10 weeks away. I’m still trying to adjust both to the temperature (!) but most of all to the colours. For weeks in the outback we were surrounded by orange, red and purple. New Zealand is definitely a blue and green country.My brain is still trying to adjust to that! I used my Australian watercolours there, made from Australian pigments , way different from my usual NZ palette.
Colour has such an effect on how we feel.When you’re surrounded by warm colours you feel warm, surrounded by cooler colours makes you feel a bit more wintery .
So to help my colour discombobulation (love that word) and to reboot my painting brain , I’ve decided to commit a few days to playing with colour. Beginning this weekend I’ll work with a different palette of three colours each day. Some palettes will be familiar and comfortable to me, others not so much. It’s easy to fall back into old habits and it’s always fun to try something new, even if you decide it’s not for you.
If you’d like to see what happens when I try the different combos please check out my Facebook page , or if you’re not on Facebook but would still like to see what’s on my easel just let me know and I’ll happily email you each post.
Other news?
Now that we’re home, Korimako is open again most days 10am – 4pm.I suggest if you’re coming up specially that you check that I’m going to be here ( I do have to go to town sometimes !).
I’m working away on the images for my 2025 calendars – delighted to say that CopyArt in Richmond who do all of my printing have confirmed that the price will be the same as last year – how many things have stayed the same price for 12 months!? As soon as I have a proof ready I’ll be taking pre orders, so will keep you in the loop. We plan to have them ready for delivery at the beginning of November.
I very much enjoyed the workshop which I taught in NSW – Australian birds were a challenge 🙂 I’m beginning to think about workshops for the rest of the year here …some of you missed out on the workshop that I had to cancel in May. I’d like to offer a two day beginners watercolour , plus a two day landscape – just trying to think when I can fit those in, so please let me know if you’re interested and I’ll sort some dates out.
Wai Knot – plein air watercolour group meets very casually once a month around and about Nelson/Tasman. Anyone who enjoys watercolour is very welcome to come and join in for a mornings sketching, just let me know if you’re interested.
The WCNZ annual Splash exhibition is coming up soon – check out their website for details . They’re also publishing a book to celebrate 50 years together as a NZ watercolour group, and I’m honoured to have one of my paintings included.
That’s about it from me this month, feedback is always welcome (it’s nice to know if you read and enjoy my blog).
Happy painting , Jan