The Grey French Bedroom...

The Grey French bedroom...

with grey and white floral wallpaper...

                           and a shabby white linen shaded bedside lamp...

The ornate chest of drawers has intricate handles...

Arabella thinks it is the perfect spot for a little cat sun worshipping...

Next to the little wooden owl.

And the potted orchid.

Here's a close up of the details on the chest.

This cushion is from Harvey Norman.

I wanted to bring in a pop of citrus and pink...

Which carries through  with the rose quartz rock, and the citrus coloured jar candle.

Loving the neutral jewellery box as contrast...

The throw (also from Harvey Norman) is a bright citrus handknit with knotted tassles...

Though it is very bright...

                                   it looks fabulous with the grey, neutrals and pink.

The bed linen is in crisp white with lace detailing...

                                      A shabby white painted metal heart hangs on a pink ribbon...              

There is a positive quote or two in the room too.    :)

The Grey French Bedroom is a calming pretty space.

The citrus can easily be changed to another colour later on, 

without to much expense when a zizz of new is desired.

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#greybedrooms #frenchcountrybedrooms #Bedroomstylingideas

A Little Personal Art History...

I thought I would share this fabulous and very old painting with you...

It is a fruit study painted in 1922.

 The artist Vera Edridge aged 14, 

won first prize at the Nelson Provincial Apple Show!

 Don't you just ADORE this gorgeous old gilt frame?

 Maybe a little tired just like the painting it frames...

 But gorgeous in it's aged shabbiness.

This painting has pride of place in my art studio...

It was painted by my Grandmother.

She went on to paint the glass advertising slides at a Nelson Cinema.
❀

Isn't it a funny thing...

I previously worked in advertising and I'm an artist!

DIY Crate Side Table...

 Take one old crate and paint it white

(or whatever colour takes your fancy!)

In a previous life this crate was purple and was a storage box for children's story books.

I inserted a new piece of wood to the table top.

Then painted it.

 You'll need a set of four swivel castors...

These quality mini industrial look castors are from Bunnings, 

and unbelievably were cheaper than the cheap looking  plastic model!

 Use a pen to mark the screw holes at each corner of your crate.

 Then hammer a slim nail a way into the marks.

This makes it easier to get the screw started and screwed on.

 Attach each caster this way.

Now your crate has four wheels.

How cool is that?

Use as a portable drinks table, a display table, in the home or on the porch

- you can tuck some magazines in the cubby.

Another idea is to use the crate table as a games table, using the cubby as a games storage shelf.  Perfect for the summer deck!

I've used mine as a lamp table/art book storage table in the art studio.

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#crate #upcycle #diy #sidetable 

Kowhai Flowers....

This sprig of Kowhai flowers was left on the mantel above the last of the winter fires.

Even though the flowers have dried they are still beautiful...

 Beautiful enough to share with you all today.

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#kowhaiflowers #flowersofnewzealand

The latest In The Sia Series of Paintings...

This is painting number four in the Sia series.

Sia's album' '1000 Forms Of Fear' is the inspiration for this painting, 

of whose title has been taken from the lyric line - 'Ache For Love'.

This is painted in oils on canvas.

#art #oilpaintings #abstract #portrait

The Orchid House...

At last I am re-purposing the old unused aviary into an orchid shade house to house some of the orchids in my collection...

 First step - 

Clean it out, remove old bird toys and perches...

 Place planks in position ready to make into a bench for the pots to sit on...

 Isn't the patina of this old wood gorgeous?

 This is actually an old fence that was in a skip at a new build site waiting to be dumped!!

I am quite impressed with my rescue skills...

the tradesmen however thought I was absolutely bonkers!
But I was super excited with my find, 
 and had enough wood for the orchid house as well as for 

  a potting bench in the garden shed...

'Jade' the Indian Ringneck parrot who resides in the next door aviary

 was not too impressed by all the banging in the construction process...

But it turned out FAB...

Now I just need to increase my orchid collection to fill all those empty pots!

Painting sneek peeks and 'Lakeside'...

Here is a little sneek peek of  two paintings I have been working on...

Both in vibrant colours...

Both in oils...

And new in the gallery...

'Lakeside'

                                                  Also in bright funky colours, this is acrylic on canvas.

#art #newzealandartist #contemporaryart

Find Your Wings....

An inspirational photo quote  - 

Have courage to 'Find Your Wings'...

Free to print and share.

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#beequotes #couragequotes 

New to the Gallery...Abstract with Butterfly #1

Spring must be in the air, as butterflies and floral abstract, is happening in the studio.

This painting is done in oils on a Quality primed canvas sheet.

It's a mix of concepts with an abstract flower/leaf background and a realist butterfly.

I really like this painting, so it might be a hard one to let go!

You'll find this image on coffee mugs and other merchandise HERE.

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#butterflyart #butterflygifts