From my garden today.
Camellias in winter sunshine
Tag Archives: garden
Macro garden shots from Sony A7ii
Today, with a little welcome sunshine, I took my mirror-less, full frame camera into the garden to try out the macro lens (FE2.8/90). The poor flowers were a little worse for wear from the recent rain, icy weather and winds and some parts of our garden/jungle are so overgrown I did not venture to capture all my gorgeous camellias.
I did not use a tripod…. not really a good idea with macro shots, but being impatient, I wanted first to see what sort of photos lazy play would give. With the use of a tripod and more manual adjustments the results should only get better.
Even with this quick episode I am pretty happy….. those potato vine flowers are 3 cm across the widest part of the biggest one and the tiny forget me nots are 9mm (less than 1 cm) or less across the widest part of the bigger one!!!! (in summer I find they grow larger)
Winter garden, Victoria
I have enjoyed using the Sony A7ii around my sister’s garden today, at Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia.
I have yet to get the macro lens out but the high megapixel, full frame images allow for cropping anyway.Very pleased with this camera so far.
My Tasmanian summer garden
I have been out all weekend but it was lovely to get out into the garden with the camera after dinner….. that is until the mosquitos started feasting on me!!. The summer heat has set in and the ground is dry so I wanted to take a stroll and capture some of the beauty before the garden succumbs to the full impact of summer. …….Although after the summer blooms there will be the seed heads… a variety of shapes that always fascinate me
New from the studio…. encaustic art in pendants
Between entertaining visitors and blogging 101 tasks and visiting other people’s blogs I have been in my studio creating. Here are 6 new pendants each containing an encaustic art original in miniature. The pigmented wax is so vibrant and the resultant image has real depth. My encaustic jewellery is proving to be very popular and I LOVE doing them
Encaustic art
original wax paintings in pendant settings
…. these were scanned in using the printer scanner. I will try to get a better image with the camera… but in daylight.
An Encaustic start to 2015…. Encaustic painting in Jewellery settings
My first artworks for the transition from 2014 to 2015 are these miniature encaustic paintings presented in little “frames” that you can wear. I love doing this with my art. Although I have done murals and enjoy doing works of all sizes I have always had a special love for the little. And as our walls are full, and modern design declares minimalism is the way to go, I am excited to be presenting my paintings as wearable art. No reproductions here. Each is a unique painting….. encaustic (pigmented wax), manipulated in its molten state, to form an interesting composition often suggestive (intentionally) of flowers from my garden….. iris, poppies, tulips….. And they are affordable (bracelets $33 includes postage in Australia, or I will pay half of postage overseas (customer pays the other half. At the rate these have sold they won’t hang around in my studio for long so let me know if you want one.
bangle is lead and nickel free and is adjustable from small to medium/largish. The cover is a glass cabochon attached with E600 adhesive. The image is an original impressionist style painting using artist’s quality pigmented wax. Care instructions…… clean/polish glass with a soft cloth. Do not leave the artwork directly in front of a heater which is on high or on the dashboard of a car in summer unless you want to modify the image! Normal hot temperatures are OK… if your body can stand the heat, the artwork can too.
I just love the vibrant colours, and the 3D effects with various depths of the wax layers. Tuition in encaustic art is available. Look at my TUITION page, or contact me with your request.<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/new/”>New</a>
Latest silk painting… nasturtium
Our nasturtiums have been grown in large pots and an old wheelbarrow this year and they are overflowing their containers. A profusion of greenery speckled with some colourful flowers, they look very healthy, even in our cold winter months. For this reason I have called this painting tenacity as they are truly a tenacious plant.
Technical details…
10 mommie Habutai pure silk stretched onto a wooden frame for working
iron fixed paint for silk (various brands),
gutta resist outline for some flowers, leaves and some squiggles (rich gold gutta applied through a metal tip on an applicator bottle)
watercolour technique in the background
completed and fixed work mounted onto pre glued foamcore then framed behind glass
Material Girl entry …..2014 finalist
I am really pleased that for the third consecutive year my entry in Tasmania’s Material Girl Exhibition has made the finals. This year’s theme is Tall poppies…. late bloomers. I pondered a portrait of “tall poppies’, Mother Moses being a favourite “tall poppy, and very much a “late bloomer”. I love painting poppies, especially on silk, so did contemplate maybe a literal interpretation. Then I thought of doing a very minimalist contemporary style work…. a single (actual) poppy seed glued onto a large canvas (medium: “collage” I suppose). That would be titled simple “Potential”. Acrylic on canvas painted with a palette knife.
After listening to Jane Lamont talk at the launch, where the amazing woman described herself as rather a short, yellow,daisy I started thinking along another line. I love the variety of friends and family in my life, tall poppies or not. I love the variety of flowers in the garden and that they reveal their full glory at different times. So my entry is “Not all tall poppies” the acrylic painted with a palette knife, an image of which I posted about a month ago. 
“Not all Tall Poppies”
Material Girl 2014 Finalist
Accompanying Artist’s Statement
Variety is the “spice of Life”. Genetics, environment, life’s circumstances…. all contribute to what something is and when potential will be maximised.
A world full of only tall poppies would not have the colour, interest and variety of “my” world with all it’s magnificent individuals.
A quick painting each day…. watercolour
It’s only been 4 days but so far I have managed to find 20 minutes a day to enjoy a little art. These quick little works I usually do in watercolour. Watercolour is a quick medium with which to paint, if used in a free, wet manner. To achieve fresh looking paintings watercolour should not be overworked so limiting the time is good practise for the skill required. The one in the circle cut out card is a watercolour on silk.
day 2, yellow rose , watercolour card
painted from life
day 2 watercolour on silk
card
from my imagination
day 4 watercolour card
Dahlia
painted from life
Day 1, watercolour card
Fly fishing
from a photo reference
palette knife painting…. flowers
Thick juicy paint, mixed with some gel medium and applied with a palette knife, creates luscious texture and colour.
Acrylic on canvas painted with a palette knife
