I have just finished my last market, my last day of work and my last day of big long to do lists for the year...

I am pretty much sorted for Christmas just the day before supermarket shopping.  So I now have time to sit at my kitchen table and do some painting.

I have a bit of thinking to do about this one... the words I am not sure about, her arms are the wrong colour, her wings are not quite right and the bruises on her neck are a scanning issue.  But I do like the flags, the sky, her pretty dress and the bumpy bits at the bottom.

I always feel Arabella is looking at me like she knows something I don't, like she is about to tell me a secret.

New Zealand creative retreats...

I have been asked to teach a self portrait mixed media workshop early next year with two wonderful women... Carol Neilson, Journalling and Leonie Wise, Visual Navagation.

I am really excited and honoured to have been asked to be a part of this wonderful venture.   To be away from everything and surrounded by a group of lovely creative souls will be so inspiring.  If anyone is interested in joining us or more information please click here.

Olive's Uncle...

I am really liking Olive on this deep royal kind of red background.  Which actually suits her as Olive comes from a royal line (her Uncle is a King of a small coastal land).  Olive has been thinking of creating him a new crown for his birthday. 

dream me...

Well... Olive has been busy creating a new look for herself.  And  I am not really sure what else to say as she has kind of caught me by surprise.

I think Olive is probably everything I am not... everything I am scared of being and everything I want to be.  Olive might be my dream me.

stitches...

I had one of those wonderful happy little accidents with Olive... I ripped the bottom of her dress and was about to throw it out and do another one when I thought maybe I should just sew it together (Olive would like that and it is something she would do).  So then it got me thinking about stitches and sewing parts together.  This is something I used to do years ago when I painted houses and stitched the silk tissue around the edges of the painting.  I actually won a Norsewood Art Award  for a piece of work that had a whole lot of little squares threaded together.

I am not sure whether this piece is finished yet or not and I am not really happy with her tool belt, so I am going to sit with her for a while and see if anything more comes.

In the mean time I had another idea for Olive, completely different to the above picture and my original idea of who Olive is... I guess it wont hurt to try.

world famous in Canada...

A while ago I got an email from Eddie Douglas (a children's singer-songwriter from Guelph, Ontario, Canada) asking if he could use an image of my 'Hope floats' print for the cover of his CD. There was a bit of emailing back and forward as we sorted things out and then the finished CD arrived in the mail the other day!!! I am very excited to share it with you today.


It looks amazing to see one of my little girls on the front of a CD!!! Eddie's songs are really lovely and I think my favourites are Luna and Night-time song.

I have also been doing a bit of work on Olive and I think she is nearly finished, so I will share her in my next post (which wont be a month later like my last post... I promise)

I also made the front page on Etsy this morning (while I was sleeping) in this beautiful treasury...

say hello to, Olive...

(image by Mayu colour swatch by Rachel Follett)

Olive is a very crafty girl, she is always making things... sewing, designing, cutting, inventing, creating, drawing, planning, attaching, imagining, gluing, devising, constructing, altering, thinking... 

She makes all of her sisters lovely dresses, although some of her hat designs have never seen the light of day as they are far too extravagant and not particularly practical.  She has even designed a few outfits for the dark beast, much to the horror of her sisters.  But Olive's thinking is that even baddies need to feel good in what they wear (Olive is very kind like that).

I am thinking of adding some soft blue/green tones in the background and a few essential crafty tools to her tool belt. 

I am very very silly...

I spent all week struggling with these colours for the new sister and then it hit me, these are Ariadne's colours... no wonder I fell in love with this colour swatch when I saw it, they were already so familiar!!!

Soooo... last night I had a rethink about the new sister and I am quite excited about her.  It is funny how these things work themselves out.  I should have realised early on why it wasn't coming together so easily.

Anyway, more about that in my next post... this post is about the winner of my giveaway!

The winner is #17 Nancy Melbourn!!!  (Nancy if you can send me your postal address to katherinequinn@xtra.co.nz and your pick of print you want... {this can be from my shop or blog} let me know and I will get it posted out to you asap with a few extra goodies).

birthday giveaway...

(a few things I got on a birthday shopping trip in Wellington)

Today is my birthday, I am 40 ...there is not much more I have to say about that.

So I've decided to have a giveaway to celebrate...  leave a comment on this post and next Tuesday I will pick someone to win a print from my shop or blog and a few other goodies.

(photo by abbytrysagain colour samples by Rachel Follett)

In other news I have decided on a name for my next sister.  I meet a sweet wee girl in the weekend that inspired me, she will be based on these colours above.  I just love this combination, they make me happy... so stay tuned!

Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to enter the giveaway.

can I change my mind...

(Ariadne's knots... unfinished)

I have started writing little info cards to go with my new sister prints (I am getting these ready to list in my shops soon).  I am a little worried though... once I have posted these images and my ideas about them are out in the world, can I change my mind? can I decide that maybe Ariadne is not so fond of sheep anymore, that in fact she is a little afraid of them? Or that maybe Arabella isn't completely who I thought she was? or that Genevieve doesn't actually like to talk? Can I change my mind... ?

I'm going where the weather suits my clothes...

(my wine box offering for this year...)

 I have found myself today with an empty 'to do list' So I am thinking I might do a whole lot of nothing today... and considering we are due for a big storm to hit it is probably a pretty good idea.  But we probably wont get any interesting weather as it usually peters out before it hits us.

I have finished my wine box for this years auction... I had a few chemical reactions that exploded on the surface which added an interesting dimension. It is titled "I'm going where the weather suits my clothes" will let you know how much it goes for in the auction.

Something else I have been thinking of doing is a big abstract canvas painting for myself, really big like 1m x .5m (that is big for me).  It will be like a big huge experiment.  I am thinking that these chemical reactions I have had on the wine box might be interesting to try on the canvas... although it would be good to see if I can control them a little.

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately... I just hope all these thoughts will come to fruition.

I have been thinking...

I have been thinking about my sisters this past month... just thinking about them as I have been too busy to be working on them (I miss them).  I have been thinking about who they are, what they like to wear and what sort of note book they would like to use if they needed one.  So from there I thought that I might like to design a range of jewellery, stationery etc... for each of them (like the Genevieve range or the Ariadne range).

It's just an idea... 

sweet and kind...

(I really love this image I found somewhere on tumblr)

So, I have nothing to show for the last few weeks.  I have been doing lots, don't get me wrong... but nothing I can show.  I have a market this weekend which I have been making more stuff for and I have also been getting myself sorted for a retreat early next year that I will be involved with (more on this later).  And then there is work... it has been crazy busy there!  

I have some ideas forming for another sister, she will be sweet and kind and love to sew... so stay tuned for that soon.

My daughter turned 18 last week... WOW is all I can say about that.

Arabella and her fish necklace...

Arabella knows stuff, she has a knowledge of things that is different to Genevieve's practical expertise...  Arabella's is more of an intuitive knowledge, a familiarity she gains from contact with life, from rolling in it like the ebb and flow of the waves.

She is a watcher and a thinker and when she talks everyone tends to listen... she is often surrounded by animals and fish leap out of the water when she is near.

I have only been fishing once, it was when I accompanied a neighbour who had done a lot of fishing to the river... I never caught a fish but I did happen to snag a $20 note on my line.  On the way home he said to me "Kate (he called me Kate not Katherine and I let him)... in all my days I have never had a catch quite like that" Oh and there was another time, but that way my brother's story... when he got my Aunt tangled up in his line even before we got to the water, that made me laugh.

Arabella...

Well... I decided to get rid of the swimming cap covered in holes and replace it with this lovely blue one, I also gave her some piggy tail tufts and a flowing cape...

I am still working on who Arabella is, although one thing I do know is that she has a strong affinity with the sea... As kids my brother and I were always in and out of water, (I guess living on an Island at the bottom of the pacific ocean you can't help but always be near the sea) my father had all sorts of diving equipment and I used to love floating on top of the water with a mask and snorkel.  It was always so relaxing and quiet, just the amplified sound of my steady breathing... I couldn't imagine being angry under water.

Simple Pleasures...

One of our video students was the runner for this very sweet love story, set on a braeburn orchard... filmed in Hawke's Bay... I just had to share.

I am in the middle of a few commissions at the moment so the seven sisters have been put on hold, although I have been getting Ariadne and Genevieve ready to list as prints (and maybe pendants)? in my etsy and felt shops... sometimes all that prep stuff can take just as much time as painting them!!!

not all ideas are good ones...

Do you ever get the feeling you are swimming through a thick fog... well that is kind of how I am feeling at the moment.  Ariadne and Genevieve came about quite quickly and I think I was expecting the next one to be the same...  I started with the idea that she would be a seafaring sister, but what I thought were good ideas in my head weren't so good once I tried them, like the picture above... a swimming cap with holes?

I think I have to also keep in mind that the 7 sisters are probably going to be a long term project and that I need to enjoy the creative process and not worry to much about dud ideas, there are bound to be lots of these, they are all part of the process... just relax and don't worry.

ideas wall...

(Genevieve and her ideas wall)

Genevieve has pinned up a few of her thoughts and ideas about the winged contraption that she made last Tuesday.  She is thinking of making a similar contraption for each of her sisters (in case of an emergency).  The other sisters look to Genevieve for guidance, she is very strong willed and knows her own mind and often has really good ideas, just as long as she is wearing her goggles, otherwise... as I said before she doesn't function in quite the same way as she does while wearing them.

I am still a little unclear of Genevieve's background both visually and actually... I am thinking she might live on a hill between the sea and a forest that merges into the outskirts of Ariadne's labyrinth, in a big tall castle like house, or maybe more like a lighthouse?  I might have to draw a map???

Genevieve...

Well... this is Genevieve, she is an inventor of handy machines, especially flying ones. 

You can usually tell when Genevieve is inventing, she will be wearing her special flying goggles (she says it helps her focus).  The other sisters think she should probably wear them all the time as she can be a little absent minded and clumsy when not inventing, but she is very handy to have around in the type of emergency where you need a device (especially a flying one) very handy indeed.


Genevieve scribbles ideas, details and notes to herself on numerous pieces of paper... and leaves these around the place in case others might also find them of interest.


I am not totally sure of Genevieve's surroundings yet? but I think the above image is on the right track... she is a steampunk kind of girl.

strength and purpose...

(every now and then Ariadne likes to collect up all her wool and loose herself in the labyrinth)

I have got Ariadne's story pretty much sorted in my head, it is now just a matter of getting it out of my head and onto paper, although I am sure it will evolve and change as time goes on.  I have also been thinking about how the 7 characters will interact with each other, the movie '9' comes to mind, how each character has strength, spirit and a purpose and together they form a strong alliance against baddies... I like that.  

A few people at work have been calling them the '7 sisters'

Next post I am going to introduce a new sister... 

I have one or two names in mind for the next sisters but if anyone has other suggestions I would really appreciate hearing them  (thanks to all who left suggestions on facebook).  

this much I know...

(I have not finished this one yet, there are a few other things I might add yet...)

I think the biggest test will be whether I can keep each girls features and characteristics the same so they are recognisable as being themselves (I think the shading on this ones face is a little darker than the first one).  So to aid this I am thinking I will keep some similar features, elements or themes for each of them...

Ariadne is always going to have a red scarf, green eyes, a viking type hat and more often than not a red dress. There will also be any one or more of the following around her, a strand of red wool, flying birds, a maze wall, sheep, signs and arrows. Ariadne is quiet and thoughtful and a little bit shy, she is very quick on her feet and is ever so clever, as she would need to be to navigate herself and others through the endless labyrinth and away from the dark beast... who lives in a dark fort on a hill in the middle of the labyrinth.

Say hello to Ariadne...

So this is Ariadne... she spends most of her days tending her sheep and wandering around the labyrinth, she carries a ball of red wool in her pocket which her mother spun for her so she can find her way out again.  Although she is quite shy she does like to help people who have found themselves lost in the labyrinth.  She would hate for them to accidentally find their way to the dark beast who lives in the middle of the labyrinth.

my first character...

Last night I started developing the story behind my first character... her name will be Ariadne and she likes mazes.  Which is what the image above is, does it look like a maze wall?  I think I might need to do a bit more shading behind the wall to show depth...and then tonight I will start on Ariadne herself.

un... un... un...

(untitled, unfinished and undecided)

I have bugs, I think they are the little blue and green spotted chest bugs... most annoying!  

I did this little painting over easter, I really like the girls face on this one and I think she will become one of the notebook girls.  Speaking of the notebooks I have decided which ones I will use (very important decision)  Hahnemuehle's little travel booklets... high quality sketch paper 140gsm, 2 x 20 sheets, 9 x 14cm portrait size, they are very unassuming and I am just hoping I don't freak out about ruining the clean, fresh, lovely, newness of them! 

I am not sure whether it is best to concentrate on one at a time or to have them all open and on the go at the same time?  Hmmmm, maybe I will do one at a time to start off with.

the plan...

(the one on the right has clear tar gel, which I am really liking, it makes the white paint underneath glow a little... They both have interesting qualities that I would like to try again, but I guess I just can't see my girls in these)?

Ok... so I have realised that I can't schedule creativity... I was so looking forward to my two days of painting, I could hardly wait. But when Friday morning came I didn't feel like rushing into it, so I did stuff around the house. I pretty much did anything I could to give me an excuse not to pick up my paint brush. I was so mad with myself... but it is silly as I know this happens, I know this is how I can be. So next time I tell everyone I am going to schedule a painting session just whisper in my ear "that's a silly idea Katherine".

But as you can see above I did do a bit of mucking around... a few paper collages. They are not quite what I was wanting, but then again I don't really think I am sure I had a true idea of what I wanted to come out of this play date? I think I am jumping too far ahead of myself and too quickly. I still want people to know it is my work they are looking at. I guess it is like when you hear a song on the radio and you really like it and want more... but then you hear the rest of the album and if it is totally different it can be quite disappointing (especially if you have forked out some money on one of those old fashioned CD things at a record store).

I guess what I am saying is I don't want to change so much that people wont recognise me in my work but I do feel like it is time to develop my work a bit further. Which is where the characters come in... I think in having 5 - 7 different personalities I can work with the soft pastel colour for one character and then bright demanding colours for another instead of trying to get all that I love into one piece. Does that make sense?  I am going to start with a little notebook for each character and then develop a name, personality and life around the notes and drawings in each book... yeah so that's the plan.

my own bunch of super heroes...

(one of three pieces I have just finished for a gallery down south)

I am so hanging out to do some painting for myself... I feel I haven't done any for so so long, and that is because I haven't!  I have been catching up with work for galleries and getting ready for a few markets that I have coming up.  So I have decided to set aside some time over Easter to paint, draw and create. I think I am worried about things not working out and then it all being a waste of time. Because at the moment time seems to be so precious, I know I will frown at myself if I have nothing to show for my two days of play except a great big bloody mess to clean up!!!

So... I have been telling myself that this will be time for developing and exploring new ideas. I really want to develop a few new background techniques and create 5 - 7 characters (I know I want one of them to a viking descendant).   I am not expecting to get all of this done in the two days, but I want to make a damn good start on it. I also want to document it in my work book, something I used to do on a regular basis, but I don't think I have done an entry so far this year, in fact probably not since my exhibition in October last year?

I have also been having an internal battle lately with what I think people want to see and what I want to do... I am not sure these are the same thing, or maybe they are? (I do worry what other people think, which can be quite exhausting). This is the reason why I want to create a series of characters that are all different but belong together, maybe represent a small part of myself that the viewer will find they can also relate to?   I see them as being my own bunch of super heroes.

Oh and by the way... I have a print up for grabs at New Zealand Handmade if anyone is interested...

whoflungdung...

I have been working like a machine this week getting work done for a few galleries and I am pleased to say I am just about finished.  Then next week I am looking forward to playing around with a few more backgrounds.  I am really looking forward to playing without the fear of deadlines, without the feeling that I should be doing something else.  I am also missing blogging on a regular basis, without new work I feel I can't do a post.

I finished this one above in between getting work done for galleries and although it is still a work in progress I am happy with it so far.   I am changing the faces a little, I really want to create some regular characters...  So when people see them they can say 'oh that's whoflungdung or whoseewhatsit'

I am also in the middle of doing some pendants for my etsy shop... and will hopefully take pictures and list them this weekend if it isn't raining!.. apparently there is a cold front heading up the country with heavy rain... good weather for watching DVDs I am thinking. 

not quite white...

I have decided to pay a bit more attention to my backgrounds... I tend to do the girls first and then the backgrounds feel as though they are an afterthought.

So above is my first attempt at thoughtful backgrounds... I am quite proud of the amount of colour I have achieved here.  I was sitting at my table ready to start this piece, I had white paint and an off white colour called cloud and that was it... I thought to myself 'Katherine how are you supposed to achieve any sort of colour with white and not quite white'!!!  So I got out some chalk pastel pencils and started working intuitively, just going with the flow, adding colour here and there... and using my not quite white paint to get rid of anything I didn't like.

There are parts that I really love and parts that need a bit more attention... and I am not really sure what the taller house is saying yet but I think it is a good start and am looking forward to spending more time on this process.

For those that were interested in some of the pendants from a few posts ago, I will add some to my Etsy shop soon when I can get some good pictures of them... stay tuned.

Love Love Love...

A really cool Kiwi band... Am totally loving this local cleverness and the video is so super cute too! (and and and the drummer is the son of a guy I work with).

Next post will me some new work!!!

being kind to each other...

I have been busy making pendants this last week... I was supposed to be making some new works for a few galleries, but that didn't really seem to happen and they have now been added to this coming weeks to do list.  I am hoping to use some of the skills and ideas I learnt in my 'get your paint on' class in this new set of paintings... (will see what happens).

I am thinking the colours of these pendants above might be the inspiration I need to get on with the paintings I need to get done.  These rich reds, pinks, pale blues, dusky grays and peachy colours are really inspiring me at the moment.  I am also wanting to continue the theme of community in my paintings, I think with what is going on in our world at the moment, community is very important... just being kind to each other.

fly...

Dear blog of mine, I am so sorry for the neglect and am really happy that when I signed in you remembered who I was... it has been quite some time.


I have been very busy the last few weeks filling gallery orders, crazy busy!!!  and this coming week I am starting on a new lot of girls beginning with the one above.  And I am so excited and honoured to be featured on Beth's lovely website Do what you love as her latest interview http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/blog/2011/03/10/do-what-you-love-interview-katherine-quinn/.  So if you want to read a bit more about me and my work click on the link and let me know what you think.  If you leave a comment at the end of the interview you can win a print of the above painting and the pendant that this girl is wearing.

little communities...

With the earthquake happing early in the week my mind was completely fixed on the television watching the horror that was unfolding down south and not on the assignment for week 4 of Get your paint on.

After seeing and hearing about all that was happening in Christchurch I started thinking about communities coming together, helping each other, being there for each other.  And not just local community... I am completely amazed at the help that has come from all over the world to help the people of Christchurch.  

So these are my little communities coming together...

six point three...

Please keep the people of Christchurch in your thoughts and hearts as they have been hit by another earthquake, this one 6.3 has caused more devastation than the 7.1 earthquake in September last year.  They suspect 65 plus dead with 200 missing.  I work with a few people who have family down in Christchurch and I really feel for them.  I just can't imagine going through this for a second time....

freaking out seems to suit me...

After reading the assignment for week 3 in my 'Get your paint on' class I started getting very excited at the prospect of using colour {I kind of have a problem with using colour} I then went to bed and completely freaked out...  and freaking out seems to suit me as several people told me the next day, I was looking good.  

So anyway we were to choose 4 colours from objects in your life and try to match the colors as accurately as possible by mixing your paints and incorporate them into your painting.  I chose red,  a lovely pale blue, charcoal and white... I don't think I got the blue quite right in hindsight {might need a tinge of yellow}.  I started with a cerulean blue background and quickly painted over with my pale blue mix leaving a bit of the bright blue peaking through to give my background a little noise.  I then painted the tent mixing a red {that matched my handbag} and the doily printed foreground, added the trees, bunting, the clouds and a few other details.

I am rather shocked, it was not really what I was thinking when I started... the tent was going to be someones neck!!!  I am kind of liking this intuitive was of image making, it is like opening a present.

lucky lucky me...

I don't really think any words are needed here... 

except maybe a little note for those who are interested... at 1:57 in this video clip I am pretty sure they are traveling through the grape vines  behind Te Mata Peak in Hawke's Bay... {where I live}.

get your paint on...

I have enrolled in 'Get your paint on' a five week online painting class with Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough.  We are into week 2 and our second assignment is to find a painting by another artist that we love and take something from that painting and incorporate it into a painting of our own.  Well I chose a Kiwi artist I recently discovered during the Christmas holidays... Mandy Emerson.  I just fell in love with a painting of hers behind the counter in a little art supplies shop in Greytown.  

Mandy Emerson uses the intense colours that I really love and she seems to use a lot of mediums that don't like each other, that produce a chemical reaction.  I like this idea and have done it in the past with oil based printing ink and shellac.   So above is the first part of my play with this assignment... I have used iridescent oil sticks with a light layer of acrylic paint.  The water based acrylic has a very subtle dislike for the oil layer underneath and has produced a nice effect.  I have then lightly brushed areas of the paint off with my fingers so the shiny oil stick colour glows through in places.

I have actually found this quite fun, it was the first time I have had a real play on a stretched canvas... one thing I didn't like though was that I couldn't use my stamps on it as the surface wasn't strong enough to take a print from the stamp... more soon.

#709...

I have been spending the last week making a few new pendants and as you can see from the picture above, it all looks like a bit of a muddle.  Which is actually an accurate picture of how my brain feels at the moment... I have so many things on the go, partly finished, I sit at my kitchen table looking at the mess wondering where to start.  When I do start I flit from one project to the other and don't really get anything done.  Is anyone else feeling this way lately...?

I think I might have to start making a well thought out prioritised list...

• finish off the last works for gallery in Wellington
• finalise pendant designs and finish them off for the gallery in Wellington
• go to an exhibition opening on Friday night and then catch up with a few arty friends afterwards
• decide on designs and make some more pendants to take to two local galleries to pick from
• do a piece of work for the online course I am taking... get your paint on before Sunday
• Ring up and order the wooden panels for the two new galleries that want works ready to hang and not how I would normally do them
• transfer more money onto my credit card to do the above
• readjust the sizes of works to fit the new wooden panels
• do 12 works to fit the new sizes from above... (there will be a whole other list that goes with this wee job)
• decide on designs and make another lot of pendants to send to the two new galleries
• list some of my new mini prints on felt
• list some new pendants on etsy
• find my doily stamp and have a play with it
• get some more #709 chalk pastels
• do some new houses

So that will be my list so far... and hopefully on completing the above I will feel a little less muddled.  I also think starting back at work this week with procedures and practices that are still a little unknown and new is adding to the state of my muddled brain.  But I am remembering one of my words for the year... {brave} and am surging onwards nodding my head saying 'yes I can'.

cheeky Kaka...

We have been back form our little trip to the Wairarapa for a few days now and I am in shock thinking  there are only a few days left before I start back at work for the new year!!!   

On the top of my to do list was to visit Paul Melser a potter in Carterton, I bought some plates and bowls from him about 9 years ago and I was very keen to visit again and replace a few that had broken over the years.  He has a beautiful gallery and a workshop where he showed Ben how to turn a vase and then a plate on Ben's request.

We also went to Mount Bruce and enjoyed the beautiful native bush walks and wildlife... 

I think the highlight for Ben was the cheeky Kaka waiting for us to finish our lunch...

 ...so they could enjoy the leftovers.

 We also watched some native eels having their lunch... a little bit eeeew, but strangely intriguing.

Here is Ben next to a very tall friend.

It was really nice to see my god parents again and have a bit of a catch up.  I also managed to pick up two new galleries along the way that are interested in showing my work. So it was a good end to the holidays and a most enjoyable trip, I look forward to going down that way again, maybe this time I wont wait 9 years.

p.s... new mini house prints are being added today to my etsy shop (Sunday 30th January).