Diary of a tired artist.

Just a short blog this time - well maybe not so short but not long either. The last fortnight has flown by with the last week being rather busy. I have arrived at 'blog time' tired and unprepared.

Instead of addressing a single topic I will share with you the events of the last fortnight - in diary form.

Sunday 16th September
             The final adjustments were made to the sketching kit (subject of the previous blog post) &  photos were taken. I started to re-work a painting of an old Dodge truck in a paddock at  Winton. Just to be clear, the truck was in a paddock at Winton - not me re-working the truck painting. The painting was originally part of an assignment for my art degree & was not painted in a style that I liked. I chose to revitalise it for display at the Queensland Heritage Park in Biloela, CQ.

Monday 17th
              Blog written & newsletter compiled. I also spent some time planning how to rearrange the entertainment room to become an art classroom.

Tuesday 18th
             The entertainment area was rearranged to become an art classroom. I ducked into Calliope for a few groceries & then in to Gladstone to get an electric kettle for the classroom. I also continued working on the Dodge truck painting.

Wednesday 19th
               I enjoyed a morning with our local craft group. Then I came home & added a glaze layer to the truck in the painting. That evening was art class - still held at the local school as the space at home wasn't quite ready.

Thursday 20th
               I started the big job of cleaning & tidying the house in preparation for holding art classes at home (house tends to get a bit out of hand as art is more important). Another glaze layer was added to the truck. I altered the wording on my advertising posters to let everyone know that the art classes' venue had changed. After printing out a couple of posters, I headed out & pinned them onto local noticeboards. The reworked posters were also uploaded to the community Facebook pages, to my own Facebook pages & to my website. Messages & emails were sent to my students ready for the Saturday art class.

Friday 21st
               I continued cleaning & tidying the house (yes, it was a mess & especially dusty after local roadworks). Gloss medium was added to the truck & satin medium to the grassy background & sky - to act as a separation layer before varnishing. The glazing layers and gloss medium on the truck really made it glow.

Saturday 22nd
              Wash day. The setting up of the classroom was finished. The truck painting was varnished. That afternoon the new art classroom space was used for the first time. It was so much better being able leave the room set up. No more ferrying art materials back & forth between my studio & the school - no more set up before class & pack up after it. ​

Sunday 23rd
​            As treasurer of the Boyne Valley Historical Society, I had to update the financial records & prepare financial statements for the meeting to be held later that afternoon. Once that was done, I began freshening some previous paintings to be taken to the Queensland Heritage Park - until time to go to the meeting.

Monday 24th
              I set up a still life with old carpentry tools - including making a wooden cross using the old tools. All of the displayed tools, except the sharpening stone, were used to make the cross. Photos of the set up were taken of several configurations & from various angles until I found a configuration & angle that I was happy with. I started the drawing referring to both the actual scene & the chosen photo. The preferred photo was taken from an angle too awkward to maintain a comfortable position for drawing. The general set up of the drawing was from the photographic reference and the details were drawn from the actual scene. This will be a pen & watercolour drawing to be displayed at the Queensland Heritage Park.

Tuesday 25th
             I continued drawing the carpenter's tools & also did more work on freshening the previous paintings.

Wednesday 26th
            Spent the morning with the craft group. In the afternoon, I started work on a commissioned drawing. Art class was in the evening. A student convinced me to start a pastel painting as a demonstration after I commented that pastel was my favourite medium. This student is very interested in learning pastel techniques. It was so lovely working with pastel after such a long time of painting with oils & acrylics. The cost of framing pastels has become a bit scary which is why I have been painting on stretched canvases (no need to frame). After art class I tallied up several batches of banking.

Thursday 27th
           I went into my town studio to spend the day with a friend. While there, I continued to work on the commissioned drawing. I stayed the night as I had stuff to do in town on Friday.

Friday 28th
            Dealt with various business first up plus the banking. I caught up with my grandson for his 28th birthday and finally cuddled my new, great granddaughter (now almost 2 months old). Morning tea was enjoyed at a cafe with my grandson, his partner, bub & my daughter. Then it was time to attend a funeral of an aged identity of the local art scene. Once the funeral was over I headed back home, stopping to do groceries on the way.

Saturday 29th
​            Wash day. Packed my ute ready for a market stall on Sunday. Art class - continued with the pastel painting. Then off to the local Lions BBQ for dinner.

Sunday 30th
             Early start to set up market stall at Boyne Valley Markets held at Kirsten's Cottage at Builyan. Markets run from 9am to noon. It was a successful market but with a quick pack up come noon. A storm that had been looming from about 11am decided to come across & a light shower of rain started just after we commenced packing up our stalls. Thankfully, all the stock was packed & safely in our vehicles - just our tables & marquees were rained on. The rain was desperately needed but it could have waited another 15 minutes. After leaving the markets I headed off to the Historic Cottage at Ubobo to give a hand until 2 pm - then home. By then, the storm was starting in earnest at our place in Nagoorin so there was no unpacking of the ute.  I worked on the commissioned drawing (finished the pen work) before dinner & early to bed.

​Monday 1st October
             And now it is blog writing day - after unpacking the ute.

Until next time
​Anne

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