It’s their new beautiful Easter Box and yes, that’s one of my paintings!

The original oil painting can be found in the Royal Arcade salon. During the Strangely Familiar exhibition I was commissioned to create a work for Koko Black based in one of their salons. I loved the idea of one of my characters wandering upstairs for an indulgent afternoon tea. And as I find that place quite magical – it was fitting that it be a white rabbit. Now, in the Royal Arcade salon you follow her up the stairs to that sumptuous space…

Today we have a snippet from my show at No Vacancy. Ahhhh takes me back, it does. The wrists need to get better soon. I want to paint!

There’s a print exhibition on at No Vacancy in Melbourne’s QV at the moment that I have some work in. A selection of my favourite prints… But the show overall has a huge range of things there – and buying prints has to be one of the most affordable way of getting your hands on great local artwork. I stole a quick peek at the opening on Thursday… Very cool!

Some of the artists are also going to be demonstrating different print techniques in the QV Square on Sunday 12 & Saturday 18 December.

Check out their website for more information.

Prizes will be drawn on Sunday December 12th and posted out the following week. Good luck!

The goodies are: The Hot Chocolate print (valued at $85), a limited edition print from The Night Garden (valued at $165), and the Bad Tidings print (valued at $85).

Of course I’ll also be out and about at a range of gorgeous markets from now until Christmas. There has been a lot of new work this year: a brand new paperback edition of The Night Garden with those endpapers that the kids all love, a sweet hardback My Boots in Season, some new cards including a new range which featured in Liberty of London for fashion week, a limited edition etching and more. Markets are always a wonderful way of finding something a little bit different for the people we love.

Dates and locations of the markets:
November 28    Maker’s Market @ the Abbotsford Convent, 10 – 4pm
December 4      Night Arts Market @ Kingston Arts Centre, Moorabbin 4 -10pm
December 5       Sunday Arts Market @ the Abbotsford Convent, 10 – 4pm
December 11    Sister’s Market @ St. Kilda Town Hall, 10 – 4pm
December 18    Sister’s Market @ the Brunswick Town Hall, 10 – 4pm
December 19    Maker’s Market @ the Abbotsford Convent, 10 – 4pm

And for other news? After the excitement of the solo show earlier this year, I’m beginning to work toward the next one. If you missed it or would like to revisit the paintings or buy one of the few remaining, it’s all on the exhibition website. Next year things will slow down a little as, well, we’re expecting twin boys in January! But Peter will be continuing the markets and just you try to stop me drawing and painting!

There are also a few new things to see. As I have been painting throughout the show there are now two new paintings. And I have hand-coloured some of the etchings of the elephant – with a gorgeous blue in the sea (saturated near the edges and fading to the middle) and some lovely colour on the girl.

The show has sold very well and it is with a little sadness that I will be saying farewell to my paintings. The choices have been so varied… depending on the connections people have made with them. The few remaining are still getting a lot of attention and are some of my favourite works. It’s been wonderful talking to people about them all.

I’ll be painting as usual for my last hurrah and it would be wonderful to see you. I’ve loved my time at No Vacancy and I’d like to thank you all again for your support – especially to those who have made a special effort to come from far and wide, and some locals who have visited me many times. I’ll miss you and my mini studio!

From 3pm onwards, people will be starting to take home their work so come before then, if you can.

I had a quieter day yesterday at the exhibition. Anything would be quieter than the opening and family day! A steady flow of people came through – friends, family and strangers. I found out more stories about my pictures, saw people drawn to them in ways they didn’t expect, saw some children run around looking and another sit with his head buried in a game. You can’t win them all! And at the end of the day I painted a dark winter-blue coat on the hare in my new painting. I painted past 5pm, with the spotlight illuminating the work, the light outside dimming and a little heater warming my legs. Music played nearby and the picture stopped being a picture and started giving me ideas and possibilities – scenarios to weigh and plan. Lovely.

I’m looking forward to getting back in there on Tuesday.

BEAUTIFUL pictures everyone.

It was the most lovely crowd. And what I absolutely loved was looking around at a room full of people all engaging with the stories in the paintings. I heard so many ideas of what was going on – new things I had never thought of, aspects of characters, tensions, emotions, back-stories – there were people who were very emotional about some of the work and people with childhood memories that were suddenly brought back to the surface. Emma, assistant curator of contemporary art at the NGV, opened the show with a wonderful speech. She so obviously understood what I was trying to do and could see how it had come about. Peter was the MC – my most steadfast and needed supporter. I gave a speech about the work and how it came about… But for me, the most important part was the chance to thank everyone who has been so supportive, so engaged and so enthusiastic about this series of paintings. Had I not had that support this would never have happened. It is one thing to discover something I love doing and get incredible joy from – it is quite another to realise that other people love it too. And so many people!

It was an incredible experience. And because I knew I would be in a room of friends I really wasn’t anxious about it at all. And as of tonight… exactly half of the show has sold!

Tomorrow is a big day. We have the family event – which was in The Age’s EG today so I think there will be a great crowd.I’ll do more photos soon but for now I just want to say thank you! To Peter, Emma, Andrew and Tim, Crittenden, Koko Black, Avant cards, my family, my friends and everyone who has been so supportive. I’ve forgotten people, I know!