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Archive for the ‘Flax flowers’ Category

Step up

Posted in Available work, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Illustration, In progress, Inspiration station, Orchids, Paper works, Photography on August 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Trying out a new layout style with a mashup of native New Zealand plants and birds

Step up – Gouache, ink and resin on Stonehenge 245gsm print paper – Available (Framed) AU$240.00 from Sketch and Tulip, North Melbourne

Love love love how it turned out. Its led me to a new series of works in this layout style, featuring a mashup of that oh so lovely plant the orchid – With an emphasis on my most beloved : The Slipper. I’m slowly pulling in other features to the work, so that the series grows ever more lush and bizarre the further along track it gets.

Its the first series of work I’ve been excited about enough to want to publicly show in a while now – And I’ve found myself the perfect little venue at Sketch and Tulip close by to my place in North Melbourne!

Note : This work is currently for sale framed, directly from Sketch and Tulip in North Melbourne. Please contact Huda Sleiman in regards to the purchase of paintings. Prices are in AU Dollars.

Sketch & Tulip
364 Victoria Street, North Melbourne
(03) 9329 9665

Hours
Tues & Wed 7am–4pm
Thurs to Fri 7am–late
Sat 8am–4pm
Sun 8am-4pm

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Relief print : Vinyl cut

Posted in Available work, Birds, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Paper works, Photography, Printing, Vinyl and Linocut on June 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

I’ve just completed a short relief print class at Australian Print Workshop on Gertrude street in Fitzroy, running every Tuesday evening over the last four weeks.

It was a really fun little workshop, giving me the opportunity to make Vinyl, Linocut and Woodblock prints using the various printing presses they have on site.

These are a few pics from the first print I made using a vinyl block to create a single colour image. Printed using their beautiful Columbian printing press. (Below)

I need to wait until next week, when the ink on the rest of my prints will be dry before I can go pick them up – And post up pics of course… So can’t wait!

Tui in Wgtn Wind - Edition of 3 onto Stonehenge 245gsm Printmaking paper 255 x 278mm. I have decided to sell one print only – Check it out on Felt.

UPDATE : So I managed to press another two of this print the following week – This time on a handmade flax paper I’ve been hoarding since my mother sent me over a stack for my birthday. I love seeing the Tui on a handmade paper derived from the plant its perched on in the print. Also how the paper colour works with the black ink.

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Editions

Posted in And they're sold!, Birds, Commission work, Flax flowers, Friday brightness, Illustration, Paper works, Photography, Printing, Woodblock on June 1, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Just finished an edition of four New Zealand Tui perched on a red flowering flax branch, commissioned by the Auckland council Environmental services team.

I don’t usually do a lot of edition work, so it was a bit of a challenge to paint up four pieces to look the same. Pretty stoked with how they’ve turned out though.

Now that these are complete and ready to send off to te courier I can finally spend some time planning the two colour wood block I need to make for the relief printing workshop I’ve enrolled in at Australian Print Workshop on Gertrude street in Fitzroy!

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Saddleback pair

Posted in Available work, Birds, Commission work, Felt, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Illustration, In progress, Paper works, Photography on May 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Apparently my Native New Zealand bird series have been a bit of a hit. …I currently have six different requests for Fantails, Tui, Huia and Saddleback birds. I think this is fantastic – These wee birds are going to help fund my winter boot addiction.

I’m trying to make it a habit to paint up a couple of test birds first – To get my hand used to the fine detail on the feathers if I’ve had a few weeks away from painting. And its a good way to try out positions so the birds look natural too.

This is my Saddleback bird perched on a yellow Flax branch – Its A4, and is the first of two I’m painting up to see how they look. I reckon it works… What do you think?

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Tui in A4 landscape

Posted in Available work, Birds, Felt, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Illustration, Paper works on April 3, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Here are the finished pair of A4 Tui paintings that I tried out on a landscape positioned paper, after seeing how well my fantail turned out :

They’ve been good practice for the commission piece I’ve been working on, which is a bush scene with a couple of native New Zealand birds. I’m just up to pouring its resin topcoat now – So will post it up in the next few days once the resin has dried.

In the meantime, I’ve added these two up to my shop page on Felt.

Hmmm… I wonder which little birds I should have a go at painting next?

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Finishing off

Posted in Available work, Birds, Commission work, Felt, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Illustration, In progress, Paper works, Photography on March 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Finally got around to finishing off the detail and line work of the second little Tui that I originally painted up as part of my A5 paired native birds I was working on before I got that last big commission painting which steamrolled everything else.

Well the first Tui sold, along with my little fantail pair, but it was good to get this one finished off with the top detailing all the same – My current commission piece is all about native birds, so practicing a couple more Tui before hand is all good.

Anyways – I loved how these little ones turned out so much colour wise, and also what my bigger A4 fantail looked like in landscape form, that I thought I’d try another couple of Tui at this bigger size too. Will post an update in the next few days when they’re all done and dusted… But I think they’re gonna look good!

Have popped it up on my Felt page for sale here.

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Friday Brightness

Posted in And they're sold!, Birds, Commission work, Felt, Flax flowers, Friday brightness, Harakeke, Illustration, In progress, Paper works, Photography on January 27, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I was going to save posting this Tui for when I had the second complete too… However yesterday I picked up a commission piece for an anniversary present, that needs to be completed and sent off to the courier in less than three weeks.

Its a good challenge to make things interesting at the moment, especially as its of a subject matter I wouldn’t usually choose to paint. But it also means putting my personal projects on hold, so I’ll just post the first Tui in the mean time… Which I’ve actually already had the pleasure of selling, along with the previous Fantail pair in the set, just this morning!

Have to say, I’m going to miss this little one thats temporarily sat in my hallway this past week – When this commission paintings done and dusted I’m definitely going to start a new one to fill its empty place in the frame… That is, if I can squeeze it in before the April one is due!

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Fantail pair… Missing home a bit?

Posted in Available work, Birds, Felt, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Illustration, Orchids, Paper works, Photography on January 19, 2012 | 4 Comments »

I probably coulda put this up a few days ago, only I was waiting to get the second little fantail finished too before I did so. Now that they are both complete I feel happier about posting them up, rather than as two separate but similar ones. Yawn.

What started as an add on to the little run of orchid pics, which I then introduced birds to, has mutated into a new little series – Still on tea stained Khadi paper, but these ones are Nz natives. Again they are in pairs, but also perched on native plants.

I think I may be missing home *read : friends and family* Though it could just be that our apartment seems to be surrounded only by massive black crows. Much as I like these fierce looking beasties – I actually saw one flying past with an entire stolen muffin in it beak a few months back – They just dont cut it in the song department.

Anyways. I was really pleased with how these were turning out after finishing the first fantail (top). That is, until I started painting up the next bird pair while working on the second Fantail – Tui perched on flax flowers, and really striking. Now these two seem a bit overcrowded in comparison… I think I’ll stick to less busy plants, And let the stained Khadi paper show through more after this.

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Twenty Eight for Twenty Eight

Posted in Birds, Book covers, Brunswick Street Gallery, Cartoons, Cupcakes, DC Skate comp, Exhibition work, Flax flowers, Harakeke, Illustration, Japanese Carp, Loaded street store, Narwhal, Orchids, Paper works, Putiputi, Skatedecks, Stencils, Taniwhas, Vintage wallpaper, Wedding presents, Work for Pop Up Gallery on February 10, 2011 | 3 Comments »

Today I am 28. So I’ve picked 28 images from over the past few years.

I’ve started with earlier images that you would normally have to look up in the archives, or scroll pages and pages back to get to; More recent ones are down the bottom of the post. I’ve tried to pick a range of different work, plus some of my favorites – It actually took a bit of effort to weed it down to just 28…. Hmmm, where has all this work come from, I don’t think I realised how much has accumulated over the past few years! Enjoy.

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Flax flowers with more bang

Posted in Flax flowers, Harakeke, Ironlak, Make, Putiputi on January 31, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Ironlak spray paint can add a whole new level to your usual flax flowers…

I’ve made the most of trimming back the flax bushes growing behind the house – They really needed a bit of seeing to, to stop them taking over the steps and tripping up everyone who goes past.

And I decided to try something different this time… It’s a bit of an experiment, as I’m not quite sure what will happen to the surface as the flax fully dries at this stage. After weaving the fresh cut flax into these rose-type Putiputi flowers, I left them to sit for a couple of days for the stems to curl and shrink. Then I sprayed them with Ironlak acrylic spray paint. It’s given them a good, solid coat of glossy, even colour – A fully different result to the traditional method of colouring, which involves leaving the flowers to dry out before hand dyeing.

I love the resulting pop of colour Ironlak paint gives, with its candy colours of Linz Iceberg (Turquoise), Potion (Pink) and Granny (Fusty purple-ish pink)

I’m actually surprised it’s taken so long into my visit back to Nz to make some of these, Because it’s been absolutely frustrating me back in Melbz that I can’t just walk outside and find some flax whenever I please. …Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we don’t have flax growing; But its always in the City botanical or private gardens, as opposed to growing on street verges and banks where cutting a few outside stems actually helps keep it controlled.

I actually found some at the Prahran fresh markets a wee while ago… Most of the florists in our area don’t stock it – So was mega excited by this, until I found out they were charging $20 for five stems. Not exactly enough to make a decent bunch of flowers!

Don’t suppose anyone in Melbourne has a supply of this in their garden that they’re willing to trade for some funky bright, or more traditional everlast flowers?