Posts

A quiet beginning...

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There is something meaningful about beginnings. I am beginning something which I hope will grow into a platform for visual artists who want to market their work in a user friendly community based online gallery.  This idea has followed a gradual process and collection of initial events. It is not easy for artists to get the proverbial "feet" past their work without a lot of expense. I decided to create breathofreshart.co.za. My journey so far began with a period of translating ideas into a digital reality, in the hope of leveraging the unique flexibility and global reach of the internet. The creation of Breath o' Fresh Art online art gallery has been scary but exhilarating. I've learned a lot in the process. Once my core purpose was established my next step was selecting my market, securing a domain name and choosing a hosting platform.  The strategic elements I am using during the process: Online stores don't require high overheads, compared to brick and mortar. ...
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INSTALLATION FOR "BE SEATED" ART EXHIBITION

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 There was a call from the Knysna Art Society, inviting members to create a 3D installation with an option of using performance art. The theme being movies and/or poetry and the brief - # think chair!  THE PROCESS First thought -   “Hot Seat!” Original….., probably not. I stuck with it though. When you’re in the hot seat….you’re in the position of carrying the full responsibility for something important. This appealed to me, and also…, I’ve been daunted…, but wanting to tackle painting fire. A little bit of thought on the subject had me thinking about:   how terrifying as well as cathartic fire is. many cultures view fire as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. > ‘Fire’ or ‘On fire’ is a slang term used to describe  something that is exciting, outstanding, or popular. . A bit of googling told me that a movie,   "Hot Seat", was released in 2022. Unfortunately the movie bombed! . . . . .  (See what I did there?)     So all fired-u...
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A Little House Sparrow

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  Time in the bush recharges my batteries like nothing else. This little tyke wanted so badly to share my breakfast. She hopped from the balustrade to my table and back again for ages.  I had taken my watercolour paints with me, and decided to make this little House Sparrow my subject, for a bit of practice.  There were a few partners in crime whom I added to the first draft in my notebook....  Then I did two paintings of our little heroine.
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Spiral design abstract painting

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I love spirals. Their symbolic meaning is also really cool. The cross-section of an ammonite fossil, like the nautilus shell makes a beautiful spiral design.  I drew a pastel picture using more natural colours and played with lines and curves.  Then I used this as a preliminary drawing to do a large acrylic painting, using bright mostly warm colours.                                                           Here is the end result.
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A buff made from an old T-shirt

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It's easy to make a buff with an old T-shirt Use a darning needle to neaten threads. Once the old T-shirt has been cut apart at the seems, you're left with two rectangular-ish pieces. Stitch the sides to make a tube and trim the shoulder bits off. You can leave this edge raw. T-shirt material doesn't fray easily. If you prefer you can overlock or hem the cut off side. The bottom of the T-shirt forms a ready made hem on the other side of the tube.
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MOLDAVITE AND LARIMAR

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I have found some beautiful pieces for the shop. Moldavite and Larimar are not as common as some of the other semi-precious stones used in jewellery. So when I'm curating I always get so excited by unusual finds. The two are very different from one another but each has an allure of it's own. Moldavite is a member of the Tektite group of natural glasses formed by interplanetary collisions. (The Greek word tektos, means "molten,"). Tektites are glassy mixtures of minerals with an amorphous crystal structure. Moldavite is a deep forest green and is the only variety suitable for cutting and faceting as a gem. Found only in the area previously known as Czechoslovakia, Moldavite is named for the Moldau River (called the Vltava in Czech). While scientists differ in theories regarding Moldavite's origin, nearly all agree its formation coincides with the crash of a large meteorite approximately 14.8 million years ago in what is now the Bohemian plateau. Moldavite i...
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Valentine’s Day is coming up soon!. In the spirit of the day, we take a look at the history of the heart symbol and the rather grizly story behind the real St. Valentine. We do   know that February has long been celebrated   as a month of romance, and that St.   Valentine's Day contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The   history   of   Valentine's Day–and the story of its patron saint–is shrouded in mystery.   Most scholars believe that the St. Valentine of the holiday was a priest who attracted the dis-favour of Roman emperor Claudius ll around 270. At this stage, the factual ends and the mythic begins. According to one legend, Claudius II had prohibited marriage for young men, claiming that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine continued to secretly perform marriage ceremonies but was eventually apprehended by the Romans and put to death. There are many symbols that are attached to Valentine's day and with ...
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