Charcoal Painting

Yay! Here is a pic of the finished Charcoal Based painting. I am really really happy with it and I am going to do a matching painting of a certain young man to go with this one. I am going to try a few different techniques on the next one and will post images of it in the making too here on my blog.

In other news, I have begun creating my piece for this years' "Give me 5 For Kids" and am very excited to post updates... I am hoping to raise lots of money through my painting again this year at the Annual Art Auction, so be sure to spread the pics around to people who might be interested in bidding on this painting as it is created and finally auctioned... more awareness = more money raised, so get those tongues wagging and be sure to spread these posts around :-)

Warm Regards,
Tara Spicer

Sketching passions!

Thankyou so much to Yanni Floros, who held a workshop through Lethbridge Gallery, that I was able to attend on the weekend. Yanni guided a number of us step by step through working with charcoal... here is as far as I got (obviously there is much to go!).

So I came home afterwards and just had to try out what I had learned on canvas from one of my own images:

Part 1, my sketch with graphite.

Part 2, incorporating new skills and charcoal as learnt with Yanni.

I am now testing out the success of painting on over this beautiful sketch (nerve wracking!) Waiting for the clear gesso to dry... will post the results. The gesso still dragged the charcoal a little in areas and the spray fixative bunched up in places, might have to try diluting the gesso with water and see how that goes?

Tara Spicer.

Portrait of Magic framed!

Oh wow, I am so excited, I finally got the call to go in and pick up "A Little Bit of mischief and a little Bit of Magic" from Highly Strung, our framers at Eumundi!

I can't tell you how amazing this 1m x 1m painting looks in person... it is simply looks breathtaking!

Having entered this painting, along with two other recent works, into the Sunshine Coast Art Prize, I am still waiting to hear if it has been accepted or not. Finalists are announced at the end of April, so i will keep you posted.

This painting is available for investment at $3200.

Work on this years donation piece to Give Me 5 For Kids has begun and I will be posting its' progress here in due time :-)

For queries, please contact me here.

Tara Spicer
Nirvana Visions.

Fine Tuning

Ok, so a little more tweaking occured before the final varnishing... I wonder if you can see the difference?

She will soon be on display at Gallery Beneath at Mooloolaba. I welcome you to take a peak in this beautiful gallery if you are nearby and of course you can invest in this beautiful piece through my website if you are currently far far far away from the Sunshine Coast.

I am celebrating today with an empty workspace and I will be getting started on the next piece after teaching a class of fabulous budding artists tonight.

Warm Regards,
Tara Spicer.

A little bit of mischief...

Oh my gosh!... I have finally finished. My eyes are spinning and I am not entirely sure if I ate at all today, but I have finished my latest piece after around 3 months of work:

A little bit of mischief and a little bit of magic!
100cm x 100cm x 3.5cm
Acrylic on Gallery Cotton

I have titled this work "A little bit of mischief and a little bit of magic" as this pretty much sums up my beautiful daughter and muse featured in this piece. I truly love this painting and am in two minds about whether to put it up for sale or not, even though I do already have a potential buyer!

Jump right in and contact me if you are keen as this one is going to go pretty fast if I decide to sell. I am also considering framing it in a beautiful silver frame that matches the one in the centre back of the painting, I think it would look incredible.

So, what now? I am going to pull my head back out of the palette, curl up on the lounge and indulge in some relaxing TV for the evening, do a bit of crochet and breathe a deep sigh of relief!

Next painting... well you will just have to wait and see...

Tara Spicer
Nirvana Visions

Rain Rain...

Rain rain, go away... my varnish will not dry today! Or this whole week!!! No, the Sunshine Coast is not particularly sunny this week and it is setting me back a little... all my beautiful layers of paint are smudgy and smoodgy and my varnish is not setting! It must be time for a break. At least I finished 1 order in time, although I am still waiting for its' varnish to cure properly before shipping:

Surfer Girl. Commissioned re-paint.

I have also recently quit sugar... I am only at the end of week 2 using a program by Sarah Wilson and it is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be! But all for a great cause... you know, a healthy body, a clear mind and no mid-afternoon energy slump, wish me luck to get to the end of week 8.

For now, I will return to the easel and give my hairdryer a workout (it dries more paintings than hair in this house!).

Warm Regards,
Tara Spicer
Nirvana Visions

New Magic works!

Welcometo Nirvana Visions... my studio has been a buzz of activity with 3 paintings on the go and two more in the line up waiting to happen! First off the block is;

Always Take Your Magic With You
1002 x 760 x 35mm

I am really thrilled with this painting and the warmth that it captures in contrast with the cold hard road! As you can see, i am still well andtruly taken with the world of magic, gypsy and circus and this painting is just another reminder to pack all your essential for your journey... a good sense of humour, a dash of magic and a bottle of luck. Never underestimate the power of being able to pull a rabbit from your hat when your journey takes an unexected turn!

Still in the making is another magical moment and here is a small glimpse of a portion of that painting:

Where would I be without top hats, beautiful people and luxurious silk fabrics to paint?  I hope that these thing bring as much delight to your senses as they do mine.

Please contact me if you would like more info on any of these paintings...
tara@nirvanavisions.org

Warm regards,
Tara Spicer