I recall some quote ... action has boldness in it ... or something like that ... Well, goodness, gracious, me! I have surprised even myself today... I have had a desire to make a vlog for sometime... or at least give it a whirl... when I watch other favourite artists of mine chat into their camera and share their thoughts and feelings about life I JUST LOVE IT! So... I wanted to dip my toes into that wwworld. (you'll see below.. I did it!!) I will show you a couple of art exercises that I have done ... in the last few days actually!! I'm taking an online class called Lifebook . The first exercise we were asked to draw/paint our Fairy Art Mother, we were to write down whatever our inner critic was coming up with and have our Fairy Art Mother speak KINDLY to us ... the teacher Tam did an example and this is my version of that very first lesson: What did my inner critic say to me you might ask? "Returning to childlike art is stupid, you're making a fool of yourself". Yup... so my Muse (superior Voice who I am enlisting for her ongoing assistance, clarity and all round kick ass fabulousness), had me do this: Yes, I swear. Sorry about that, as a wise friend of mine said to me, if we didn't need that word then it wouldn't exist. Next, ... we were given another lesson by Tam depicting our journey in 2013 ... we were to give ourselves a 'vehicle'.. write our current blessings on the clouds, and our goals on the flowers. I realise this is totally out of all proportion, my head doesn't seem to fit that body quite right... but WHO CARES... I am making this adventure in Lifebook about giving it a go, a red hot go and not getting all precious about perfection... read above for fairy art mothers advice! Then... we had a delightful example of using stamps and pictures and words to make a 'doll' .. depicting us and the words it would take to 'give us wings' this year. I am certain my Muse came to the fore for this exercise.. I almost heard her shouting the word WILD at me ... and so... I dived in to some magazines (didn't have enough cool stamps) and whala... this happened. And YA KNOW WHAT???? only a few days after that .... today... I created my very first vlog ... it kindof got more serious than I intended but it is a beginning... so I'm happy with that. With love
Denise xo Dear friends who have bought calenders & prints, and paintings. I am so grateful! I've made a decision to apply for a very special course next year, and each sale of my calendar (about $5) is going into savings... and all the new artwork that I've been doing, a percentage if not all of the proceeds, and print sales will be going back into my learning. I'll share more along the way, once I've been accepted and know it's a sure thing... but for now.. this is a little snap shot of some of my newest paintings, in varying stages of completion. The little ones above are on small boards, they're a totally new thing for me to try and I am LOVING them... they start off in all kinds of chaos... and I leave them to dry many times, turn them 90 degrees, add some colour or marks... and come back and add some more... and then I look into them like a 'crystal ball' and see what image is beckoning... or hint of a shape is catching my eye... I'm looking into new print options for some of these petite pretties. This beautiful lady in red tones is on my easel at the moment, not much more will be changed, I love the depth and sensuality she presents with this rich colour. The small one is a soft and gentle piece inspired by the gorgeous Jacaranda trees that are in bloom here in South East Queensland at the moment, they are so very beautiful. I stood beneath a tree in Buderim a few weeks ago and actually asked 'what gift do you bring, blooming with such extraordinary colour and covering the ground with your purple flowers?' Much like the idea of eating the fruit that is in season is most beneficial and healthful for our system... what gifts do the flowers bring. I wondered to myself.
2013 Calendar with 12 little prints of my artwork insideMy three arrived today Denise...they're beautiful. I ordered mine on the 21st Nov. and they arrived from the US today!I (26th November) only paid $9.99 for postage!! Fantastic xx RJ - Melbourne That's about it for now love Denise xo I was gifted a very special surprise from Artistcellar a couple of weeks ago... these gorgeous stencils... they were a huge hit with my recent Creativitea time, and this post shows the Cathedral Series a little bit closer, with some really quick spray inks that I made! yup.. made... I'll talk more about those in a moment ... I am SO excited about the cathedral ones... after visiting amazing real life ones in Paris and Italy (sorry, but yes BIG love for those places) I have been longing for a way to paint some stained glass pieces somehow or other... and 'wallah' these appeared ... so I'll have to give that a try. ink sprays ... well I bought a box of liquitex acrylic inks and mixed them with water (did a few google searches about this and found some other folks who have tried it) ... so far I'd say they are great for pastel or lighter shades, I have some Adirondack sprays from Artistcellar and those colours are a lot stronger. Although... I think the homemade ones are permanent, because of the acrylic inks. If I learn any more about them I'll post it here. x
bye fow now, love Denise xo I had a beautiful group of women come for Creativitea time on Friday, and the stencils from Artistcellar were a HIT!!! The favourite of the day turned out to me the water & coral series... I'll make another little post showing all four sets... and some spray experimenting I did with the 'Cathedral Series' *high pitched soprano voice* You can visit the online store & see the stencils here. Creativitea is a very playful, free time, anything goes, the idea is to have as much fun as possible while experimenting and trying new things, mixed media makes this very doable. I love it when I hear back from people they haven't had that much fun in a long time... or they have found their inner artist again... or for the first time!! I am so thrilled with the stencils I received from Artistcellar... lovely Lisa, owner of Artistcellar sent me them as a gift to share at my workshops! How wonderful was that, I am happy tell you about her online art supply store, a friend and I made an online order a short while ago and the 'stash' arrived in a really short time, under 10 days from the USA is fabulous!! bye for now,
love Denise x I hope you enjoy it... just a little trial of making a movie with stills,... of a piece of art I made. Denise xo
I've just received this beautiful review. Monet for a Moment. – October 2012 Mary V T. Christchurch, New Zealand. When did you last paint for fun? I'm not talking about your feature wall of the nineties or your neighbour's fence at the last working bee, but creating a picture on canvas reflecting your inner 'Angelo'. Denise Daffara, a gifted and talented local artist, guided me on a journey back to a time when life was less complicated. Expressing yourself artistically is like looking in a mirror and transferring that into tangibility. Sounds easy... it isn't. Denise gently prompts with props, coupled with soothing tones designed to assuage your rising panic. The 'unlocking' process begins and ideas start to beat their way through like hopeful sperm to the ova. Colour palettes selected, a theme chosen from inspirational art books, and we are now ready to commence. The 'Aladdin's Cave'/studio Denise operates is where 'Virgo meets Vesuvius'. Attempted order reigns amongst the plethora of products at hand. The magpie's nest brims with a miscellany of material easily alongside the iconic branded furniture and technology. The music playlist, personalised tea set and homemade cake assist in the aligning of planets required for creative awakening. Denise is committed to your success. A generous quality from a stereotypically concentric role. She flutters about the room between students, finding audible delight in things she rediscovers from her IKEA drawers gathered long ago, to assist in your creation. The process boggles. Basic steps are discussed and then innovation takes over. Like a wedding cake, layers are good. A barren multicoloured canvas steadily morphs into the buzz from within your brain. Rapid drying tools assist in layering. Anything goes, at your pace (within the 3 hour timeframe). Denise sets her alarm, lest we forget to eat and drink, so frenetic is the action. Our inner 'Muse' battles with our 'Critic' and reluctantly concedes. Pleasantly surprised at our prowess, we depart with our masterpieces. We have grown today, but we feel lighter. Denise Daffara is an expatriate New Zealander residing in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast who paints full time. Her works are for sale at the Tiffany Jones Fine Art Galley, 138 Burnett Street, Buderim, Queensland. Customised art classes cater for up to four participants. She can be contacted for bookings at www.denisedaffara.com.au Thank you so much Mary, it was my absolute pleasure to see the beautiful artwork you created.
love Denise. note : although Mary is my cousin.. I would mention she is also a Virgo (like me) so her attention to detail and easy honesty allows me to take this as a genuine and huge heart felt compliment. I do a lot on my computer as part of my creative business, not least of all facebook... and sometimes it takes way too much time and energy away from me painting. I'm learning it's not only about 'producing a piece to sell' ... it's about playing around with new techniques and trying something I haven't before... and learning all over again... I started painting over a decade ago because it made me happy... I'm so relieved to be re-finding that feeling. A bit of light and dark... light and shadow here... - My Muse, painting following on from Shiloh Sophia McLeod's teaching method 'Color of Woman' that I am being deeply thrilled by. She's not finished yet... it's been such a joy spending time with this painting, and my Muse ... I've named her 'The Tea Lady'. She may have other names but for now... this is perfect... and I get it. I started with a bit of water spray on some golden paints ... y i k e s ... Flora Bowley and the like make it look sooo easy... I'll show you more of that when I've done some more layers and it's resembling or starting to go somewhere I like.
bye for now, love Denise xo I've been learning some wonderful art journaling lessons from Effy Wild, in fact... I've been meaning to share with you all the A M A Z I N G news of a GIVEAWAY prize package we all have the chance to enter. O M G I have never been so excited about an online prize pack such as this before. Click the link below to find out all about it. GIVEAWAY FROM WILD SOUL ARTS! FREE SEAT IN LIFE BOOK 2013 and FIVE OTHER PRIZE PACKAGES! http://effywild.com/2012/10/03/huge-mahoosive-giveaway/ I thought I'd share a few fun pics I've been taking of my art journal pages whilst in process/progress . . . a recent page was quite heart wrenching for me, but with some patience, self kindness and understanding friends... I got through the anguish and created a page I feel really proud of. It's deeply personal, but not a new story . . . and the words I've used jumped out from some random pages I took from two different old books... I was in a vulnerable place ... and just had to trust that process, that if I stayed with my feelings I would come through the other side. It was such a gift to allow myself this time, and the peace came eventually too. Having trouble uploading two more pics... :0( dammmmmitttt
I might just share them on my fb page... and see if weebly will let me add them another time. I'm toooo tired for this... I spent 4 hours learning about Golden paints for my second time (there is so much to learn, and so much is new to me, and I'm so freakin excited about them I chose to go to another demo by the amazing art educator Nancy) night night, lovelies Denise xo so today... I thought I was going to pick up all 5 of the unsold pieces I took down recently for the ACT for kids exhibition. Well after driving through the rain and taking much longer than anticipated I was greeted by the wonderful surprise that 2 had sold and I was only picking up 3! I love that ! So I took myself to a little organic cafe in West End to have a hearty lunch before the 2 hour long wet drive home. There were some rather random pictures all over the table I sat at . . . My Mother gains a lot of strength from Mother Mary, I'm heading over to see her (Mum) for the month of July ... who knows... Mary will probably be there too . You know what? . . . I really lOVE randomness... but its something I find very hard to do in my artwork.. and even life in general, perhaps in conversation I've nailed it... but not in art. So at least in blog post... this might be classified as... random. i like that. I especially liked this last one, the little figure standing on top of the cresent moon caught my attention... and made me wonder. I did an art journal page recently, inspired we were by the tutorial.... make a page about WONDER. You might like to try it...
bye for now love Denise xo
with love,
Denise |
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Books I Love“There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.”
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