Tag Archives: drawing

Botanical Gardens

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Botanical gardens

 

It’s before dawn and I’m up doing admin stuff so when I get Kidelt off to her day of school I can just draw. There is always a lot to do, and it’s tricky trying to do many things well. I’ve really been trying to step out of my bubble and be part of things but I’m also aware that outside of family and art I have little to no time left. It won’t always be like this, but it is how it is at this point.

Recenely I recieved a phone call from an artist I connected with over instagram many years ago. It blew me away as I didn’t relaize how much I needed that chat. She sparked the fire in my belly – in regards to making art and you know having to do things a little differently because we are both mothers but hey, we can make it happen. She was full of ideas and sounded so enthusiastic – it caught on.

Thank you Jasmine, you are a true treasure!

I’ve been working in my studio on a project I can’t write about or share with you at the moment, but that’s ok. It’s nice to have focus and to do things a little differently. So you’ll just have to put up with the drawings I do of my daughter for now. There’s quite a collection. She’s turning nine this year. We’re about to head off on a family holiday so this space will be quite until mid June.

Thanks for reading and all of your support.

 

Inky Dinks

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Again I have been overthinking social media and worrying about what I post and trying to only put up finished works etc. But that’s not true to an artists practice, for every decent drawing there’s a heck of a lot of sketches or smaller drawings that may not be as refined. Look it’s school holidays and that means I get to be playful with things rather than doing the same thing everyday.

Shadow Poppet 

 

Me: “Kiddo you can’t leave that there, please take it off..” Kiddo: “But it’s a kitty, and I made it” Me: “It’s slime and it’s on the coffee table. Clean it up. Now.” Kiddo : “OK then, but can you draw it?” Me:

 

 

Splotch Kitty 

 

Sir Boots

 

Ink Splotch Swans

 

Self

 

Daughter

 

Currawong / Magpie 

 

Weekend drawing that failed 

 

Monstera Deliciosa that was my father in laws.

 

So that’s a lot but not all. 🙂

More soon!

Baker

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Sometimes baking with children can be infuriating. I have ideas about how things should be – especially things like how the cookie should be shaped, and Kidlet has her own ideas. We butt heads – she sometimes refuses to read things from the ingredients list or pretend she can’t find something because she can’t be bothered. I’m probably a bit yelling and militant in the kitchen.

We are forever arguing about tying her hair up because long, loose hair is a hazard.

But we make some bloody good cakes and cookies and pies together and I am sure she is getting something from all this, yes? Apart from Mummy can be yelly and won’t let me lick everything, all the time.

 

Sketches – strange garden, fearless girl and an Escher pie

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G’Day!

I’ve still been slack updating but have been very happily making. Can you believe summer has ended ( but has it really ) and now we are plowing our way through March. Such a productive summer holidays, I like to keep activities – the schedule – open for some nice relaxed times together. Life is to be enjoyed, creating together the most heart filling things I have ever done with my time. Though, Daughter still gets cross at me because I don’t draw from my imagination ( and I don’t use colour and why does everyone have to be naked in your art all the time? )

Look, kids will always highlight the flaws, right?

Here’s some sketches mostly from drawing with my daughter but also one time with a drawing group here..

Daughter and I went to Melbourne to see the Escher exhibition.. I saw that the Fearless Girl by Kristen Visbal sculpture had been installed at Fed Square so I took her to see it and draw.

I made an Escher pie to celebrate!

 

 

This is a couple of the many sketches I made of the Brett Whiteley and George Baldessin exhibition a number of months back. I was approached by security and told off for using a pen and when I was polite he let me off of the hook but also said had of I not been so nice he would have thrown me out. Very odd. I left and went to the front desk to borrow a pencil because when I am at exhibitions alone, I want to be left alone.

 

Here’s the one from the drawing group – at the Eureka memorial gardens, it really was a lovely time. ( Gene scanned this one in, look at the wonderful job he did. Jeez he’s good 🙂 )

 

Here are some quick ones from a few art days at the Art Gallery of Ballarat with daughter. We both drew and crafted HEAPS. It was when Eliza Jane Gilchrist’s Strange Garden exhibition was on.

Then cafe snacks and tea time, of course, at Kittelty’s

 

I look forward to more drawing with my daughter days, but for now – school pick up calls..

BYE

News!

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I keeping meaning to update and have not, apologies. Getting back into the new year routine has been harder than I thought. Ya know? Husband works in the unpredictable film industry and though it is interesting it’s definitely keeping me on my toes. Last minute changes are the new normal. There are other things too, but they are not my story so I’ll shuddup.

Life, hey?

NEWS –

Two things, I have a drawing shortlisted in the DOBELL DRAWING PRIZE

I am thrilled to be in it, this was the only prize I was applying for this year as prizes cost MONEY and heartache 😛 . This one really matters to me as it is one of the most important art prizes in drawing in this country. Many thanks to the judges Ben Quilty, Michelle Belgiorno and Simon Cooper.

The exhibition will be showing at the NAS Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney. 28th of March to the 25th of May. Let me know what you think if you visit the exhibition!

AND

I have a solo exhibition this year!!!!!! All details yet to come but the key dates are:

Opening Saturday July the 27th at Scott Livesey Galleries in Armadale, Melbourne. Exhibition will run from July 27th to August 17th.

I have been working really hard on this one and am really, really excited about it.

Ok so I’ll leave you with the image that will be in the Dobell and next post I will show you some quick, smaller drawings I did through the summer holidays.

Inexorable, 105x75cm by Lily Mae Martin, ink on cotton paper- 2018
Drawing photographed by Gene Hammond-Lewis .

Whee

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It’s amazing how powerful the story we tell ourselves is.

I’ve always thought myself to be limited in terms of juggling family and art, and in someways I am; the structure of  Australian arts is not family friendlly .. That’s a whole other post I could write, I don’t really want to today, I want to focus on the positive 🙂

Over this last month I have pushed myself to get up very early and begin work. 5/ 5:30AM. I go to my studio and am scratching away with the inks or pushing paint around a board until the sun comes up and the birds are awake. I have completed three of my large drawings in under one month and finished four small paintings. I’ve still had some great times with Kidlet and friends. The house is a little messier than usual but hey – that’s summer holidays and life with a kid who is endlessly creating.

I am really proud of a lot of the work I have created. It’s dark, a little wild, silly, technically challenging. I am really proud of myself.

So hopefully I’ll have some news soon.

Whee