A very floral adventure

 I have always been totally fascinated by Claude Monet as an artist not just his magnificent waterlilies but his commitment to his craft . He actually himself planted his garden and carved out his pond all before they were ever painted and immortalised on canvas.  He's such an inspiration !!!!!! I guess thats how my journey into the floral world begun . I recall in my childhood my grandparent love of flowers they were always out in the garden growing them . My grandfather would pick flowers for my grandmother daily and she would arrange them in a lovely vase . My earliest memories of flowers were always snap dragons and roses and english style gardens .

 Moving to my country studio has had a big effect of me with inspiration . I am surrounded by green which has certainly entered into my colour pallet . I have been painting still life paintings for decades but all i could ever do was plonk flowers in a vase so i set out to change that recently . The delightfully talented Rose and Heart florists at Redhill do amazing classes for budding florists . So with their help i am learning lots about flowers and their shape and form . Also prepping the flowers for the arrangements , its much harder than it looks and quiet challenging .

I love learning new skills that can help with my practice but also understanding it . Below is some of the prepping and yes it takes a while when your a beginner . I am always attracted to brightly coloured flowers of course but learning the importance of greenery is fantastic . Green is a big trend at the moment in both art and the home not to mention the floral world .

Creating a still life from scratch is such a joy and having that kinda control and conviction powers me on to new frontiers . I always start with a quick sketch of course . Loving some watercolour effects to at the moment with acrylic inks . Love the inks brightness .

One tip is to make sure you take a photo of your floral arrangement before you paint it . You may have all the best intensions to paint it right now but life can get in the way and flowers have a small life span. Change the water everyday helps extend the flowers lives so you can get a sketch or a painting done in time .

Here is a quick watercolour sketch from life of my posy in a round vase with liquidtex inks . I adore the cute small arrangements and the challenge of getting them just right .

I have a very quirky vase collection that i have been amassing for decades now . Some are vintage from my grandmother and others that are coloured 60'S collectable glass . My faves are my latest edition from waterford as i adore chunky crystal . Flowers bloom for such a short time so they need to be painted then they can live forever . I am building a new body of work thats inspired by my floral journey and look forward to seeing where it takes me in the future . x

LONDON CALLING

It's all getting far more exciting now as my exhibtion is hung at the www.redhillgallery.com.au . Opening is on Saturday arvo from 2 till 4 I can't wait too see you all . This exhibition has taken two years to paint and the detailed nature of a city such as London its incredible when finally captured on canvas .My LONDON telephone box is also sitting front and center in the gallery and I do have a few more tricks up my sleeve to make this an opening you won't forget . Check out my offical blurb / artist statement and I just love Vivienne Westwoods quote she says it all . 

‘There’s nothing else like London. Nothing at all, anywhere.’

 Vivienne Westwood

 

 My latest exhibition ‘ London Calling’ is the culmination of the sights and sounds I experienced as I seek to interpret the magic I experience, as I satiate my lust for travel; my wanderlust. 

Whether it’s London, Paris or even my own hometown of Brisbane, I am continually amazed to find new undiscovered aspects of the cityscapes and people to fall in love with.

My latest trip to London had me aghast at the stunning vibrancy of colour; the contrast old against the new. As a visual artist my inspiration comes from first hand experience and the need to satisfy my abundant curiosity along with my overwhelming desire to share the beauty of this planet.

‘London Calling’ evokes the all the innocence of Alice as I seek to interpret my own experiences on canvas, capturing my freedom and passion as an artist in the brightest and boldest colours imaginable.

 Starr

Ps do pop in and check out my show and take a selfie with my telephone box ........here is mine lol not my best selfie but you get the idea . #starr #starrartist #starrart #starrfineart #londoncalling #redhillgallery 

Just PAINT !!!!!!

I always get asked why I paint my certain subject matter . The answer is I paint what I adore , obsess over and can't look away from . My idea of beauty is different to others . Living in my own world and quiet frankly not having much outside interference means I just don't care what's hot or not . Every artist journey is unique to them as mine is to me . I see my little birdy more than humans these days lol . It's a good thing as it's taken me two years to paint my current exhibtion . 

Colour is always inspiring as is the light in different countries . London was a huge hit with me and quiet unexpected too , with all its blue and it big red things I was in heaven . It's not enough to paint a scean from a picture it's about being in the picture and living in it for as long as you can . I broke into tears quiet a few times while in London as it was just so pretty and fairytale like . I do love a fairytale even just an artistic one . There were many places I have visited in my life and not loved and many places others would just wanna leave and not care to take a closer look . 

I have been collecting things on my travels and I am in general a bit of a bower bird . Lots of these things you can see reacuring in my paintings . If it's in a painting chances are it's mine and I covert and adore it . My Still lifes and the imagination series are the best examples of my collection/ hoarding being put to great use . As I grow I change of course and new things excite me but also I have an ability to love some things forever . In the end I JUST PAINT in my studio and am very excited for you all to see what I have been working on . 

Ps you cant paint the TOWER BRIDGE in London until you see it and are so in awe of the history and architecture of this magnifent structure . 

London calling via the red telephone box

One must see these in person to really get just how iconically magnificent and red they are . While in London I did lots of studies and sketches of them and took many photos of the red telephone boxes . I was quiet frankly obsessed with them , they are a perfect pop of colour after all .There were several different versions some in London were different from the ones in country England . They are from slightly different eras apparently . Only to the artistict eye would you pick up this kind of detail . 

Sketch away I did in my little make shift Paddington studio . Very dim lighting but I did truly love the light in London very different from sunny Queensland Australia for sure . I actually felt right at home in England and somewhere on my family tree is a bit of English heritage . I loved the cold as I intensly hate the heat . 

Here I am braving the cold and suffering for my art trying to get the right night shot of this scean that is my latest Alice painting ' LONDON CALLING ' . Oddly I remember after this going to church at Westminster Abby and thanking God for my gift of painting . All the while completely side tracked by the architecture of this magnificent church  . I am a big fan of travel and experiencing life also painting what I love and what I can't look away from . 

Here is one of my London telephone boxes with a galaxy night sky inside it . My name is starr I have at thing for stars lol . In this instance I think it works beautifully . It's painted on Belgium linen with acrylic , ink ,spray paint and watercolour effects . It's oddly quiet detailed when you see it in the flesh . It's avaible via the redhill gallery for LONDON CALLING solo show opening 8th of October . 

What's better than one red telephone box you may ask !!!!!! I say lots of them . I somehow don't think my adventures in London are quiet over yet . My red telephone box replica is actually going to be very soon moving into my studio after its debut at the gallery . Yes I knew when I saw them ' I had to get me one of these ' 

ALICE through the looking glass

 

As u might imagine ' ALICE through the looking glass ' is quiet a big event in my world . So big I decided to unveil my latest painting in my ALICE series at the same time . LONDON CALLING is my latest and I admit it's not quiet finished but very very close , I am ever the perfectionist . Lol Seeing Tim burtons latest master peice was fantastic and if you have not seen it yet what are you waiting for its amazing . 

So my day firstly started out with a private tea party , I am well known to be tea party ready at a moments notice . Being and Alice in wonderland tragic , Infact the tea party scean is my all time fav bit in the films . Might be my English/Irish tea drinking background . 

Then it was off to the movie we go , I brought a few girls from the redhill gallery , some clients and few friends . More the merrier I say . With a glass of bubbles I showed off my new painting and had a delightful catch up and even met some of my Facebook friends . ALICE also came along and loved the movie or was it just loving putting her feet up in gold class. 

All this is in preparation for my SOLO exhibtion at the redhill gallery Brisbane  that I am madly painting for currently . LONDON CALLING will be finished soon and featured in this exhibtion . 

I currently have for a limited time actually another week, a special of 20% off my prints via www.starrfineart.com or via the www.redhillgallery.com.au . They are high quality limited edition normally selling at 395.00 now for 320.00 . Get in quick this will not be repeated and is just for the launch of this magnificent movie . 

I would like to thank everyone who came to my movie / unveiling event it was wonderful sharing my deep love of all things Alice with you . ⭐️

Thank you Adelaide !!!!

Wow so what a wonderful weekend I had in Adelaide , was fantastic catching up with lots of my arty friends  and making a few more . Was just so awesome to be hanging out with my own kind ie the arty folk . Such an amazing bunch of talented individuals. 

  

Started out with Australian artist Stewart Macfarlane's wedding. Congrads Stewart and your beautiful bride and all the best for the very arty future that is yours . The wedding reception was at senator Cory Bernardi's place and it was wall to wall Stewart's paintings that were in his private collection . Really let's face it and artist dream come true reception . Ohhhhh and yes lots of dancing and a fantastic live band. 

Of course being a selfie addict I had to do the selfie at a wedding thing . A picture speaks a thousand words . 

My partner in crime for the weekend was BLAIR macnamara who's a very talented painter based on the Sunshine Coast . I have a very loved painting of his in my private collection his sense of colour is extrodinary . We are now planing lots more arty adventure in the future . 

I encountered the marvellous Australian gallereis director Stuart Purves , what a fanatastic moment for me I was more excited and nervous meeting him than I was Mötley Crüe . How life changes lol . 

I can assure you I did drink lots of the best wine I have ever drunk in Adelaide . Here is me at a vineyard at the botanical gardens , now let's me just say what a fantastic botanical gardens it was . One can judge a city by their gardens then Adelaide you got 5 stars . ⭐️

I loved the art gallery of south Australia it's had the 2016 biennial of Australian art on . Wonderful art and a fantastic collection an arty tourists must see . 

This contemporary art installation was just incredible with its vivid colours was by Melbourne based artist Kate Rohde . It's was in the entry and it's a sea of hyper colour patterning I think made with Candle wax . Stunning would be an understatement . I do love colour . 

While walking the streets of Adelaide it was amazing to see lots of sculpture on the streets . This little piggy as super cute and had lots of company but he stood out as having massive bronze personality . 

What a beautiful beach it's about 20 minutes out of Adelaide called 'semaphore' ......the colour was just beautiful and a perfection shade of blue . So thanks Adelaide I had a fantastic art weekend and will be back for more adventure in the future . 

A wonderous adventure

I am currently having a wonderous painting adventure at the moment . Strange things happen when you let caution go and just let your creativity run wild  . I am currently working on three large new Alice paintings in my well known series they are intensely detailed and demand all my skills . While clearly knee deep in wonderland I have done a few Alice portraits with her famous friends in sketch form and smaller works . I have had visions/dreams for many years of a white series and it looks like it's finally becoming a reality . It's will work in conjunction with my Alice series nicely and will let my technological vision be far more up close and personal . 

This is my new Alice cover for my ROSEGOLD iPhone , of course it just had to be featured . I have had a love affair with apple and all their devices and it's still going strong . I also recalled a twisted sci-fi movie from decades ago called donny Darko which has inspired in some new works to incorporate a rabbit head on a human for my white rabbit . This has been a great thing as I can't own a rabbit for my series due to laws of rabbit ownership in Queensland :( 

White rabbit aside he's looks magnificent with my Alice and has added a modern quirky twist to ever evolving series . ⭐️