Perfumed Flowers

There are some lovely flowers that also have an exquisite perfume. Remember that, just like perfume in a bottle doesn't suit all people, some people don't like the perfume of some flowers whilst others adore it.

One of my favourite plants with lovely flowers and lovely perfume is the Snail creeper.

There is some controversy about its true Latin name. It is either Phaseolus caracalla or Vigna caracalla. According to Wikipedia the latter is the correct one.

Why is it called the snail creeper? Well it doesn't attract snails but it is all curly in a ball and about the same size as a snail. Caracalla is from the Portuguese word caracol meaning snail. It is also called the Corkscrew vine. 

It actually needs ants to fertilize it, so if you see a lot of ants travelling its vines, don't try to get rid of them, leave them to do their job.

Snail Creeper Vine

This plant is rare. Many people cannot get it to go to seed. This beautiful plant and I have had a good rapport and it has provided me with many seeds, though this year there were few of them.

If you are after some seeds, I have only a few left. Try here for more info about the flower and for some seeds.

Free Wallpaper for your Laptop

Recently I made some wallpaper for my laptop, you know, the pretty pictures you see when you turn on your screen. I thought someone might like to share it too.

Its a photo of the beautiful beach at Airey's Inlet a small community along the Great Ocean Road along the southern Victorian coast. We are talking Australia here.

The size is 1920 x 1080, 884Kb, just right for a laptop.

Here's the link in Flickr. Hope you like it.

While you are there you might check out some of my other photos.

Cheers

Printmaking and the Human Form

Art is very important in my life. I have enjoyed many forms of it. Sometimes the different forms of art interact. Here I have used Life drawing and linocut printmaking together.

 

The female form is complemented by a partner. Where one is rounded, the other is angular. Where one is nurturing, the other is protecting. Humans have needed both qualities to protect and develop the human race. One attracts the other for the innate qualities each has.

 

 

All artwork is for sale.



Save the Environment

Our environment is so important to us. It is where we live. We need clean air to breathe. We need to be free from pollution.

Art works help us to focus our mind on different aspects of the world

In my artwork I have depicted my protest at the way our environment is polluted.

I have created a series of art work for display. It features the pollution in out world. I have used acrylic paints and printmaking as a means to express my concern. Please view this thoughtfully.

 

If you are interested in these, please contact me.

Cheers

A Free, Easy Photo Editor

Here is a great photo editing program to manipulate your photos. It's called PicMonkey.

Gather together a few photos you like, whether they are to go in your family photo album, scrapbook, or to put on Facebook or your website.

Go to http://www.picmonkey.com/ and follow the prompts. It won't take you long to work it out.

Here are a few sets of photos I did with snaps from my garden.

 

 

 

 

Painting Bavarian Folk Art Flowers

I have always painted. When I was a little girl, my favourite birthday present was a tin of paints, you know, those tins with the little blocks of hard paint in them?

I used to enter painting competitions for children that were in the newspapers in those days. The quality of the newsprint decades ago left a lot to be desired and I had to learn by myself that to stay in the lines of the picture you had to let one lot of paint dry completely before you could paint the colour that was next to it.

Well, I worked it out quite well because I always won the competitions.

At Teacher's College I was introduced to clay. That took my interest for a long time. I enjoyed making things with it and became interested in the chemistry of making my own glazes.

Those days ran their course and because of a growing number of children and lack of facilities my pottery days were numbered.

And so I returned to my first love, painting. What I love about paint is the colour. I just love colour. Colour is very healing. Have you heard people say 'I just love that colour'? or 'I can't stand that colour.' They are reacting to the vibrations of the colours and how they affect them. Listen to that person comment on the same colour years later and their reaction can be quite different.

My paint brush has brought me much pleasure. For many years I taught people how to paint. They loved coming to class and returned term after term and year after year. Eventually I wrote two book about how to paint in the Bavarian style of floral art. Bavarian with a touch of Australian. These books have been well received and sold around Australia and to some international countries as well.

I have seen no other book that provides worksheets in colour. All you have to do is place a sheet of acetate over the page to paint on again and again. Getting Started in Bavarian Folk Art also has pull out worksheets for you to practise on.

This book provides information for the total beginner to learn. Teachers of Folk Art or Tole Painting as it is sometimes called, use this book as class lessons for their students.

Folk Art, Tole & Decorative painting, Bavarian Style for Beginner Level
  This book includes:
 ·       Beautiful designs
 ·       Full colour worksheets
 ·       Pull out practice sheets
·       12 main projects & patterns
·       Roses
·       Tulips
·       Daisies
·       Commas
·       Chrysanthemums
·       Colour wheel
·       Lots of easy designs

Instructions included for:

• care of brushes
• backgrounds
• design
• new strokes
• plus many more Bavarian folk art tips

This is a great book to explain all the basic skills needed to start painting  

NEW Book **  ** Full Colour

To purchase this book please check it out on my website http://www.allergiesandcfs.com/folk-art-books.html.

Teenagers can be Amazing

Today I heard a teenage girl being interviewed on the radio. She was a remarkable young lady. At 17 years old she already employs eighty people. Her name is Tavi Gevison.

Talk about an inspiring young lady. She had started her website at the tender young age of 11. Six years later it is still going strong. It is, as one might expect, for teenage girls. She has become known in the fashion world and goes to lots of high fashion shows.

Tavi is still a regular girl, still goes to school, still lives with her Mum and Dad. Still has her own room at home, just like a regular girl. But there is something special about her.

Her site? http://rookiemag.com/