Oil Painting this weekend

Nothing much to say lately.. have had an awful flu all week and thankfully it is on its way out the door..

i finished off my gothic arch pages for a swap today.. they will be in the mail tomorrow. And i painted my first oil painting, not my kind of subject but i have been determined to learn at least one brush skill each weekend and this weekend I learnt out create texture on these urns/vases using a brush... hmm I must say still life doesn't exactly excite me.. yet i guess this would be something i would hang up on a wall.... maybe...

Anyway, here it is.

The Urns

oil on canvas

'Wetlands'

acrylic on canvas

40.6 by 50.8 cm

Collage - Make a Wish

Make a Wish

Mixed media on watercolour paper

11.5 by 8.25 inches (A4 size)

Glass, soldering, fingerpainting and cards

It's been ages since i have made a card... and i made 2 today!!! Background on water colour paper was mostly layers of paint, some very messy finger painting, oil pastels, colour pencils.. stamping.. few bits of torn dictionary pages.. pen.. basically anything that was around my chaotic work space.

And some dodgy soldered pendants with the same painting techniques.. only miniature. The writing "To: Su Lea" in the background was part of an envelope i was using just to put the pendants in front of in case you were wondering... lol

I also learnt how to cut a large sheet of glass... let's just say it kinda did work and kinda didn't work out... i wanted to make a glass house and got as far as what you see below before i dropped the partly soldered house and cracked the glass at the front. Butter fingers. Great huh? LOL well won't be trying to make that again in a hurry. I think i might try something smaller next time. I have cut the glass panels for a smaller house. Just got to find the time. It is extremely time consuming.




And what you see below was going to be one of the roof panels. Oh well..

I wanted to paint a scenery this weekend with ghost gum trees but time just ran out on me. Now the weekend is over... i can't wait for next weekend. :o) Time for bed.............. night!

7 Random Things

I feel like it's been ages since i've actually surfed the net, let alone blogged... a couple of hectic weeks towards end of financial year and i've only just come out for air. I can't tell you what a relief it is! I hope to catch up with everyone soon.. just got to make it till the weekend.. i think i can .. i think i can... lol

okay, my friend Nat has tagged me to list 7 random things about me, so here goes, just whatever is popping into my mind.

1) i do art in my pyjamas and bathrobe which is covered in paint most of the time and i look like a mad scientist. Honest!!! i took a picture once but didn't dare post it... those of you who have seen my neat house.. i only clean before my guests arrive ROFL...

2) Give me sushi paper (nori), rice and avocado and I am as happy as a pig in mud... oh that and bubble tea (a kind of milkshake with sago balls and jelly)... and i love lipton chai lattes.

3) i have a sincere heartfelt wish everyone would feel okay about themselves. If people would just stop comparing, there would be no need for being greater or lesser.

4) i can't stop wearing brown clothes.. must be my safe colour... have a secret desire to wear skirts but i have fat legs haha

5) i have been vegetarian this week.. no i'm not a vegetarian, it just happened that way.

6) i feel like buying soldering supplies right now but i'm broke until pay day, so i am going to pretend shop later and empty the shopping cart LOL

7) I like to contemplate on the nature of being and what it means to be infinitely compassionate.

And............. I'ld like to tag (only if you want to play :) )... Carmel T and Dot C

Popping in to say hi...

Another weekend gone by... I hope everyone else has had a good weekend. I didn't have anything planned and thought i'ld just put some paint onto canvas and ended up painting a portrait. Usually, i draw with a pencil first but i was curious as to what would happen if i didn't draw first. I let water streaking over the background.. leaving a watermark effect.

i don't know... somehow i do like this, maybe because it's an unpretty painting.

Have a great week everyone! I know I will try to... :o)

love

Sulea

Painting - The Nameless and the Name

' The Nameless and the Name'
41 by 50 cm
Acrylic on canvas

I do not want to be

for when I am
a Thing - any thing
all other modes of you
are dormant in me

Not a Thing
Not even a thingless thing.

When I am a Thing, I become
a container of limitation.

When I am not be-coming any Thing
reciding in the silence
uncontrived
what more
to be said

StampCamp 2007

What a week it has been! Such a wonderful time we have had at Stamp camp last weekend. I have met and gotten to know so many new friends.
I sat right next to a very special, warm and down to earth lady called Chris Cairns at camp, whom I really enjoyed talking to. Chris was kind enough to give me a ride to camp and loan me a hot water bottle. It sure got cold at nights in Busselton. Thank you very much Chris :o)

I also got to meet the wonderful Julie H and the vibrant Dotee and also the lovely Jacky for the first time. It was really nice to spend some time chatting and sharing with Jacky and Julie. Throughout the weekend, there was so much Dotee art everywhere and Dotee's vibrant and enthusiastic personality was infectious. I was lucky enough to be spoilt with these wonderful gifts from Dotee. The little house was part of my mystery muse gift from Dotee. Julie was so generous in showing everyone the finer skills of jewellery making and her talent is just amazing and awe inspiring. You can see on her blog some more photos of camp and her gorgeous handmade jewellery.

Jane P totally blew me away by her fabric art. I couldn't believe how gorgeous the felt fabrics she had handmade were. You can see some gorgeous handmade hats on her blog which several people at camp were lucky to receive. Much to my amazement, Jane made me this bag at camp eventhough she was sick from the flu . It is currently one of my favourite items. How lucky am I!

And the gifts kept coming... I received 2 more lovely atcs, 'Goddess' (just love the stamp and background!) from the lovely Peta J who kept me company throughout camp and even drove a bunch of us girls on a spending frenzy at Makro and Bunnings. Ever seen a group of stampers go nuts over very cheap eyelets.. it is not a pretty sight. LOL I also received "Haunting Betrayal' atc from the very talented Kelsey who was giving demos on the soot technique, transfers and transparency atcs. A stunning atc using a transfer and water soluble crayons.

I am thankful for stamp camp 2007 and especially to the caring and kind hearted Dawn who really took the time to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves and sorting out pre-camp stuff.. and thanks to Sally G for making this year's camp so enjoyable for so many.

Am really looking forward to the next camp......... :o)

lots of love,

Sulea

Stamped scene

I did this scene for a scenery swap I'm in. Luckily we only swap copies because i don't think i'ld survive after 15 originals. The scene scanned darker than it actually is.

Painting - Giving up Good and Bad

' Giving up being good or bad'
acrylic on canvas
30.5 by 40.6 cm

I have spent most of my life wanting to be good, but always falling short of expectations. By desiring to be good, i found myself having an attachment to not wanting to be bad. In the quest to do good, was an endless array of things not done that i could have acted out in order to be good in my eyes. So all the time, all i succeeded in doing was proving how bad i was. How awful to be so incapable.

I am not a bad person, i just care too much, judge too harshly, forgive too quickly and see too much, often seeing things that don't exist at all. I have come to learn that even as one may be good, there is still room to be misunderstood. You can be liked and disliked by anyone at all for all kinds of reasons, that has nothing to do with being good or bad. Bad people have friends. But i also learn, that those bad people are not really bad. They too are going through the learning process of what it is, to be a person. So i learn to forgive when i am hurt, forgive them for not understanding. ignore the irrational and i learn not to have expectations.

I want to give up the attachment to being good or bad and live in the freedom of choice without listening to judgement from anyone. Peace of mind, validations good or bad does not exist here.

Kindness

"What you do for yourself any gesture of kindness, any gesture of gentleness, any gesture of honesty and clear seeing toward yourself will affect how you experience your world. In fact, it will transform how you experience the world. What you do for yourself, you're doing for others, and what you do for others you're doing for yourself." ~ Pema Chodron

Painting - The Burden of Thoughts

The Burden of Thoughts

acrylic on canvas
30.5 by 40.6 cm

Perhaps i should say something. .. there always seems like there is something say, and then i get to a point where because the thought had passed and having been the listener of my own thoughts, that it had nulled itself out. So then, something was said , yet nothing really.

And in a strange way, having reconciled my thoughts like some accounting balance sheet, i am at peace with myself. I prefer this to the rollercoaster rides of emotions pulling to and fro. These days despite the emotions, i feel like a very solid unmoveable concrete statue in stormy weather. Ironically, the result of it was because of the lessons of emotional rollercoaster rides.

I heard somewhere that troubles and problems are not what they seem. They are blessings, that's all.... Blessings because they are lessons and the greatest teachers of all. That's all they are. They are not problems, so nothing at all to fear. So many blessings. Perhaps fear is the result of misunderstanding blessings.

I have always wanted to be that unshakeable tree, that incredibly unmoveable rock, that blank canvas which despite all the paint, is still permanently itself. Yet at the same time like flowing water, not caring where i fall, just falling like the nature of water. The true nature of myself devoid of all the trappings of emotional delusion.

Unshakeable peace, reconciled emotions, knowable unknowables. The funny thing is, when you feel safe in yourself and know yourself enough to understand what you are, Everything is alright.

Whatever happens, it's alright. I'm alright... this must be happiness.

Painting - Spirits of the Ghost Gum

'Spirits of the Ghost Gum'

acrylic on canvas

30.5 by 40.6 cm

This is my offering for this easter weekend. If you have noticed that one of the spirits is black... you may wonder why he is a different colour to the other ghost gums. I have thought of 3 reasons, all plausible reasons. So whatever reason you may think of, it is quite likely THE reason :o)

ALtEreD Matchbox Shrines

No new paintings this weekend.. but instead a couple of matchbox people in their matchbox shrines! :oD These will be finding their way to someone's home soon as the gooey stuff dries.. lol

hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend :o)

Painting - 'She saw her Thoughts'

'She saw her Thoughts'

acrylic on canvas
30.5 by 40.6 cm

I had a really enjoyable sunday this weekend when my lovely friend Carmel visited and we had a painting day! We chatted lots about art and we must do this again soon Carmel!!! It was really nice to have real company than just me and my radio painting away lol. Please visit Carmel's blog to see the painting she painted for her friend in Ireland! Love the angel's wings, hearts and moon, Carmel! Oh and I will get you the cake recipe. Give me a day or 2...

:o)

Painting - Judge and Jury (Putting ego away)

Judge and Jury (Putting Ego Away)

acrylic on canvas

30.5 by 40.6 cm

I having having such a fun weekend, just playing with paints. Even got around to creating a new banner for my other blog - My Heart's Song (now updated). However, unsure about how to do it here lol. So for now, this is going to be banner-less :oP

Hope everyone is enjoying their sundays. :o)

Few hours later... okay this is driving me crazy... if anyone knows how to get rid of the space under the banner... please helpppp.... :o)

Some atcs created with paints.......

Some stamping at last

I finally found my way to some green pepper press stamps , purchased months ago. This was such a fun project. The cover and back were coated with textured paste, then stamped with some patterned foam stamps. It was then painted over with verdigris and rust paint, and then an activator which caused the rust reaction.

The insides of the booklet was painted with white and some teal coloured paints, even stamped with those metal alphabet punches. Burnt umber paint was painted over the punched words until it got into the cracks, then wiped out using some scrap paper. The edges were painted with more rust paint and activator.

The back however is my absolute favourite. It is very textural. I am thinking of getting some square canvases and having this effect all over them! maybe i'll get to that next weekend. This weekend is almost over... i'm off work tomorrow though. I have jury duty YAYYY!!! lol

If Only

The Imposter

acrylic on canvas

30.5 by 40.6 cm

After 3 incredibly chaotic weeks, pouring my heart out in paints seemed like the only way to diffuse all sense and senseless-ness. I come to the world where nothing matters and nothing is so important that anyone would have to compromise how they are.

Lately all kinds of ideas/ stories to paint have been appearing. I leave a little notepad by my bedside in case this brain decides to hurl out an idea. For although it can come up with ideas, somehow it fails to remember them.

it's strange that i have never painted in this way before because now it seems like this is the way it has always been and should always be. Burnt colours, silent haunting worlds, frozen people whose function are to tell their secret stories to the seer.

I have a new blog located at http://suleaart.typepad.com/ It has a few cool functions to add that links up to amazon.

If Only

oil pastels on canvas

Painting - (IF- 'Hide' - Going away from here)

' Away from here'

acrylic on canvas

30.5 by 40.6 cm

hmmmm

................................................................

oooh i just had to do this one..
This was on my friend's Natalie's blog... and Ii couldn't resist. The first artwork that popped into my head was this:

What Famous Work of Art Are You?

'Sofala'

by Russell Drysdale

Painting - Inner Space

'Inner Space (siddhas)'

acrylic on canvas

It's amazing what we are able to see and understand today compared to 10 years ago or even 100 years ago.

I don't know why i couldn't see it then. Perhaps life is like a series of join the dots and until it gets to a certain point, you don't really know what picture it is. So until all the little connections are joined, perhaps until then, we will not understand today. Neither will we be capable of seeing or reacting in the same way.

i am connecting paths in me, building freeways and highways, little streets and dead ends. I have made U-turns, 3 point turns and sometimes little accidents, and even big ones. Every connection unfolds a little more, and i may become a closer friend to myself or a worse enemy. Choice to embrace or discard, it all occurs within me. And hopefully i learn - to be unconditional when come face to face with every rise and fall.

The whole universe is a series of connections... This painting is about connections and how all things are connected within the inner space of all beings. It is about compassion and love when the connections are understood.

~

VALENTINE"S day post

Hello.. Happy Valentine's Day!!!!! :o)

sorry this took so long. i had to take pictures with my camera and upload it.. but for some reason Blogger isn't allowing me to add photos today ..... the Done buttons refuses to appear ;oS

Anyway....... My other half Steve did the draw while fixing the engine of his ute earlier this afternoon and.................. the winner of the painting collage "Love's Muse" below is........

Drum Roll..................



Julie H! :oD


I will be posting the painting on friday on friday when i can make it to the post office. Hope you like it. :o)

Hope everyone else had a nice valentine's day. I came home to a new friend in the garden.. a potted meyer lemon tree!!!! no fruits yet but hopefully soon. i love fruit trees and hope to have a few more in the garden... after i start a herb garden.... wish i could show you but i'll have to wait until blogger decides to be nice to me.....

have a great week, everyone!!!


lots of love
Sulea

Valentine's Day GIVEAWAY!!! WOOHOO!!!!

I have been so inspired lately by the art giveaways from my friends Dotee and Dawn that I too decided that it would be nice to create something for someone to celebrate Valentine's Day!!! Dotee is holding another love art doll giveaway, so you may want to visit her blog here!!!

I didn't really know what i was going to paint at first but looks like i painted an angel lol. After several layers of paint on canvas, some transfer attempts (which i learnt from some instructions by a very talented friend Kelsey), encouraged by music from Andrea Bocelli, leaf prints from the garden, 4 hours of attention without having lunch and voila.......... this is the final outcome. hehe.

If you would like to be in the running for this piece of Original art, please put your name down in the comments section and a name will be drawn on ... how about Wednesday 14th of February!!!

'Love's Muse'

mxed media on canvas

16 by 22 cm

With much Love,

Sulea

Reflections ........

Tired of arguing, explaining or defending,

tired of blocking, avoiding or confronting

tired of reacting, trying, or grasping

no more to excuses, confusion or delusion

futile are words

when the heart is elsewhere

residing in silence

~

Painting - The Burning

The Burning

acrylic on canvas

.

february comes

before i am ready

i look to see

what is going on

for i am in my own world
mingling in beingness
waiting for absoluteness
when will mind fall off the brink
of knowingness
into infinite
nothingness

spending the days throwing thoughts
into the furnace of beingness

burning up knowingness
into paintings
and scribbles
watching passion and boredom manifest
from nothing into meaningfulness
and back again to nothingness

like the high and lows of the ocean wave
pushing and pulling
pacing to and fro
not going

anywhere at all

watching

it all turn to dust
memories fade
never existed at all
nothing done in doing

what am i
if i never was

~

Painting - The Sleeper

The Sleeper

acrylic on canvas

60 x 55 cm

I was sleeping when the sun rose, and set

unconscious

in the waking hour

defaulting

to ignorance

- not knowing anymore than that

it took losing myself

in order to find the waking hour

to free the sleeper

from its delusion

It was light

that shattered the delusion

and horrified the sleeper

falling into darkness

before arising

into clear light once more

In sorrow and in joy, the clear light now shines

no longer blind in darkness or in light

the day and night is clear

to that who is

light

Minky the guinea PIG

Munch Munch MUNCH... Minky going spastic over green grass... lol Minky cow... mooo

if you do have a similar pet... maybe a bunny, this cage is just great. it's bottomless, so they can munch on grass and play. Has a shade cloth too to prevent sunburn and over friendly cats.

Plus you will never need to mow your lawn again. it's amazing how much grass they eat.

Not Just Any Ordinary Choc Chip Recipe AWESOME COOKIES

i made these tonight and all i can say is..... you just got to try making these.

i thought it would be a nice idea to make them as a gift for a friend's bday.
They just don't sell cookies like these.... Guaranteed to tame the cookie monster in you.. you got to try it!!! :oD The recipe makes more cookies than is in the jar.

Island Cookies

1 2/3 cups plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
187 g butter/margarine (i mixed half half)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups Nestle milk choc chips
1 cup dessicated coconut
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1) Preheat oven to 190 degrees celcius.

2) Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

3) In a separate bowl, beat butter/margarine, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla essence iin large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

4) Stir in choc chips, coconut and walnuts.

5) Drop slightly rounded tsps of dough onto trays with baking paper on it.

6) Bake in batches for about 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Do not overbake. Cool cookies completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

At Dawn

Hello there.. whoever you are out there...

So is it really 2007.. yes a little late but at least i made it. i'm giggling here at the fact that it's almost the end of January and i've finally come to terms with the fact that we will never see 2006 ever again. Daylight savings however is another matter.... let's not go there lol.

It's been over and around 38 degrees celcius in Perth over the last couple of days. It was still incredibly hot at 9 last night on Australia Day. While everyone else was probably watching the Australia Day fireworks, me and Steve were watching a different kind of fireworks. We sat on the beach at Fremantle and watched an amazing display of lightning over the ocean horizon. No rain ever came.. it felt like we were in the sweltering desert with warm wind blowing sand at our feet. Beautifully surreal .

i've been in my "what's the point of anything" mood lately. Can't seem to get going into anything. Starting but not being able to relax into it, let alone finishing it. Perhaps creativity will come soon.. it's been a good month and half now..

in the meantime, here is something i did a while ago that i haven't shown before. I was thinking about what my dad said to me once.. about the name my grandfather gave me. My name comes in 2 parts, Su and Lea. In chinese, the Lea means the first (inkling) of light at dawn... and Su means delicate or dainty. I'm not too sure i like the dainty bit... and unluckily for all my other female cousins, they too have Su in their names. Unfortunately my brother also started teasing me with Dainty Dawn for a few days after LOL.... but ...... it is really nice to know that in my darkest hour, my grandfather gave me a little torchlight to light me up once again. :o)

Anyway....

'Awakening'