Here are some photos of a painting I started the other day:

Both these photos are details, the actual painting is much larger but I’ve only been working on the face because it is the most important part of the painting. If I ruin the face- then I’ve ruined the whole thing.

This is part of a new series which is a bit more lighter and optimistic than my previous paintings. I haven’t got a title for it and I haven’t quite articulated it in my head, but I’ll find the words as the paintings take shape and develop.

-L

Claudia & Daniel from Front Row Society came to my studio a couple of weeks ago and interviewed me as well as took some nice footage to make this video:

It’s part of their Creative Diary series which I think is awesome and am very honored to be part of- they also took the photos that I am using on this post too.

Thanks Claudia & Daniel!

There are more photos on my artist facebook page: LINK

Thank you to everyone who made it through the wet and the cold. Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word and promoted it on their websites- and thank you to the people who helped me hang it- Ali, Ray, Claudia, Christian and Gene. Also thank you to the gallery and the staff for all of their support!

Lily Mae
x

Above are a few photos from a painting I am working on. I did the undercoat many months ago and then put it away and forgot about it. I am happy I did this as I feel I have come a long way as a painter- and as a Mother.

The textures and colours overwhelmed me a little while back, whereas now I am excited about them and enjoying watching it transform. This painting is 80 x 60cm in size- it’s not the biggest painting I have worked on, but not the smallest. I plan to actually paint this a few meters by a few meters- that would be amazing.

My idea behind this painting took a while to form in my head but it is clearer to me now. Birth is arbitrary. Birth is a death. Birth is painful and life changing experience and I feel it is very much taken for granted by our society. We scoff at
teenage mothers or women who aspire to be JUST mothers. We scoff at housewives, domestic ‘woman’s work’- it’s so taken advantage of that most of what mum’s do and go through- is wordless.
I wanted to pay homage to this ‘everyday miracle’- to the agony that is birth. I wanted to congratulate my friends- Natasha and Jarron, with more than just a store bought card. I wanted to congratulate them for making this baby girl and for loving and caring for her.
Raising and shaping a human being is one of the most important jobs in the world- regardless of what our current societal structure tells us.
One day there will be words.

L
x

Means that before lunch time my finger and hands have cramped.

So far 35 drawings are now mounted with only 40 more to go.

We’re getting there!

L

Warm weather, please hurry the f**k up.

Lily
x

This painting was a tricky one- I don’t usually paint backgrounds.

Also because this is from a tiny, blurry photo a friend took back in 2009, so the detail wasn’t to clear. I didn’t take any photos at the beginning because I didn’t think it would work out – but it did.

This photo is of the second and
third layers. I was really struggling with the angles of our faces and trying to get Gene’s laugh right.

This is the fourth layers- mostly working on the back ground- the blurs, lights and shapes. I’ve started work on the clock again because the face wasn’t white enough. I’m mostly working on all of these to avoid painting the polka dots on my dress.

But one Sunday afternoon I sat down, put on some music and just painted the damn polka dots! Took me two hours.

This is the final result- it’s undefined and unrefined in a lot of places, but I think that fits with the overall mood of the painting.

A self portrait.

Which was yesterday..