Progress

I though I would share the progress I've made on my latest piece. It's still not where I want it to be and although the trees are looking better they don't feel or look quite right yet... I went on a walk this morning around Risdon Brook Dam and I found myself really looking at the trees, their colours and how those colours changed depending on the degree of light. I'm hoping that from studying nature in life it will help me find its beauty on canvas.

Anyway here it is... I hope you can see and like my progress. 

Something Different

I decided to challenge myself and try something a little different to the beach and flower themes I usally follow with my latest piece. I started scouring Pinterest photos to see if something could inspire and unlock an original idea for me. 

I already knew that I wanted to use different colours to the blues I normally use and was thinking about a tree but it wasn't until I came across a photo/ picture of a path surrounded by trees seen through a keyhole that an idea really started to form. 

My painting is by no means finished but I thought I would put up a progress shot so you can see where I am going and how different it really is to my other work. 

(And yes I know the trees need a LOT of work.... Not my specialty so I'm working on it!)

Crashing Waves

I recently went to my favourite spot in southern Tasmania, Southport. It's a small beachside town known for great fishing spots and it's beautiful beaches. I stayed here for three nights with my family over Easter and in that time went for a few walks to try and get some inspiration for another painting. I remember sitting by myself on the sand on one beach and just looking out and watching each wave roll in. I tried to watch for colour changes and where the light would come through the top of the wave right before it broke.

I took these thoughts and images and used them as an idea for this piece that I finished today.

I hope you like it.

Then it happens.....

Sometimes I don't feel inspired to paint or even sketch for months. I can try and force it but nothing ever eventuates if I'm not feeling creative or seeing images in my mind that I want to paint or draw.

These past 3 months have been like that. At one point I was house sitting for my Uncle at his place which is right on the beach and I still wasn't feeling my creativity spark. It didn't make sense because I was in this beautiful place and yet, nothing. I did try to sketch just see if it would come with some coaxing but it was to no avail. 

It's frustrating because sometimes all I want to do in the world is paint and when I can't because of no reason other than lack of inspiration it truly tests my patience.

As quickly as the block is there, it disappears without warning and suddenly the floodgates open and magic truly occurs.

This happened yesterday. After months of nothing after a visit to a beautiful beach with boats in the water it hit me. 

I hope you like how it came out.

I'm running a competition through my facebook page as a thankyou for all the support I have received lately since going more public with sharing my Art.

Make sure you have a look and enter in for a chance to win one of the two canvas prints below.


https://www.facebook.com/ErinDockingART

Work in progress........

I thought I would show you the picture progress of my latest completed piece. With these pictures you can see how I move from one step to the next, and that although at the beginning it really doesn't look like much, the concept is there. Then through a little patience and time, it comes to be close to what I had pictured in my mind. 

You can see with this first picture that it really isn't all that much apart from a bit of colour blocking. I remember thinking at this point, would this even turn out how I want it, need it to be? It certainly here, looked nothing how I had imagined this wave to be. The basic shape was kind of there but the colour was all wrong.

The next week when I sat down to paint things took a turn for the better and I could feel it when I was bringing the brush to the canvas that I was starting to get the concept and that maybe it would turn out to something I could be proud of. The colour still wasn't right but it was getting closer.

Here with the finished picture the colour is almost how I wanted it to be... I thought maybe I could keep going to try and get it perfect but then would it ever really be perfect to me? I'm someone who will keep going and going and going, and before I know it, I've gone too far and I'm beginning to lose the essence of the idea. So I decided it was pretty close to how I had imagined it in my mind and that was good enough today. 

I guess what I wanted to do with this post is show my thought process and give a little understanding into what goes on with me when I start a piece. Sometimes after I have spent a few hours starting a piece I feel a little despondent that it doesn't start out looking like a finished product. I find that I really have to remind myself at times to take each piece step by step and not give up on it, because by persevering through something amazing can happen.

Colours Of The Ocean

I recently just finished probably what is now probably my favourite piece, a beautiful blue wave. 

Ever since I was little the ocean has always intrigued, frightened and excited me. 

Intrigued me because I could never fully comprehend the magnitude of life under the sea, frightened for the very same reason (and the idea of being eaten by a shark never helped..) and it has always excited me because of the incredible ever changing beauty. The way a wave crashes into shore, the beautiful array of colours on the fish and the way a sunset reflects on the water creating a small moment of perfection. 

I called it "Colours Of The Ocean"

I was so happy with this piece, which believe me doesn't happen often, so I entered it into my first art competition. I would love it if you like the piece if you could click on the link below and like the picture on the website.

http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/73147