The blues

This morning, my art studio had a super-fast mini-makeover, ready for some glamour shots. I thought you might like to see how it's looking nowdays, complete with a couple of blue and white paintings you may recognise. Although I didn't have the time (or the team of stylists) to pull off a re-do anywhere near as fabulous as Martha's, it's nice to change things up once in a while. And while blue is the order of the day now, it will probably sport pinks and oranges next week. Which is half the fun of course.

 hmm, should have ironed that cover - if only I had some minions to do that for me. Note to self - put teenagers to work pronto. 

 these particular prints are approx 11" x 20" , and framed without a mat in a 15mm profile frame. I'll be adding another three to the wall as soon as I can add more hangers - these ones promptly fell off as soon as these photos were taken!

I also want to thank each and every one of you for your lovely messages and emails about my Martha Stewart feature. You're all absolutely fabulous and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

all photos and artwork copyright Kerri Shipp 2011

Into the blue...and jogging my memory

It's no secret that I love me a bit of blue. Indigo, cobalt, azure, turquoise, aqua......love 'em all. So when I saw this month's issue of Veranda magazine, it was enough to whet my appetite.

via kirstenkelli.com

I know I'm not alone here. I saw this pic on the lovely Judy's blog, Verandah House today:

...not only did I fall in love with all the gorgeous blues, it also reminded me of a commission I did some time ago. I thought I'd lost these photos when my old desktop computer died, but after some sleuthing I managed to find them. Thanks Judy!

'Into the Blue I'

'Into the Blue II and III'

Lends a whole new meaning to 'feeling blue', doesn't it?

Back in Blogland again

I must apologize for my absence over the past week or so. Personally, I've found it really hard to post about pretty houses when so many Queenslanders have tragically lost theirs. My heart just hasn't been in it, so instead I've tried to focus on ways to help. Last weekend, my sister, daughter and I spent some time out at Old Dog Farm, an animal refuge that specializes in re-homing dogs, particularly those in their twilight years. The farm is on the northern outskirts of Brisbane, and to see the devastation was truly heartbreaking. Fortunately, most of the dogs were still safely in foster care over the Christmas break, but the rebuilding process will take some time, and quite a bit of money. Best Friends Animal Rescue do an amazing job helping animals in need, so if you'd like to learn more about the fantastic work they do, head on over here.

As I mentioned in my last post, the profits from my Etsy shop for the remainder of January will be donated to charity. So many people will be needing help in the coming months, but my aim is to also help the animals who have suffered so terribly. So, here's my latest painting, which will has just been added to my shop:

Sea Coral III in Denim

Oh, and some very exciting news - my fabulous new printer arrived yesterday! I'll now be able to produce my fine art, archival-quality prints in-house, which makes life much easier. New works will be added to my Etsy shop over the next week, so please check it out - it's for a very good cause. And for those of you who have already purchased artwork - thank you so much. Your generosity will make the world of difference.

Ok, that's it from me today. Thanks for bearing with me over the past couple of weeks, and for your wonderful emails and words of support. I know I've said it before, but this community we have here is truly special. Before I go, I can't help but mention some really exciting things that I'll be sharing with you very soon. You know how it is - I just can't resist a good teaser!

Drumroll please....

And the winner of my giveaway....

'Sea Coral in Turquoise'

 (just thought I'd show you this new one!)

is...

...the lovely Liz, from Shorely Chic!

'Ming in Indigo'

Liz has a gorgeous blog called Shorely Chic, and has just become engaged! Congratulations Liz, drop me a line and I'll organise getting your new painting out to you. 

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, tweeted, posted, side bar mentioned....you're the best. And I had such a great time with this giveaway, I'm planning my next one already!

Have a great day,

I now have a MadeIt shop!

As well as my new Etsy store, I've also just opened a brand-new MadeIt shop.

MadeIt is an online buying and selling destination showcasing Australian artists, craftspeople and designers, and I love the idea of appealing to both international and Australian shoppers alike with a combination of storefronts and websites. Over the coming weeks, I'll be adding more items to both sites, and I'll also be featuring some works exclusively, so keep an eye on my Facebook page for all the updates. And if that's not enough, paintings won't be the only things on offer (yep, another teaser!), there will be insider sales and special offers as well, so stay tuned!

To kick off the new store, I've listed these prints:

 'Dynasty in Ming'

'Ming in Indigo'

'Chinoiserie in Green'

So pop on over, I'd love to see you there!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a little reminder of a project I've been working on - remember this?

I'll reveal all next week - catch you then!

In the picture

I was having a little look through Wisteria's latest catalogue last night, and as always there were so many gorgeous things to see. Btw, if any of the good people of Wisteria are reading this post (which I'm sure they are!) I'd like to suggest that Australia would be the perfect place for your new store :) Anyhoo, amongst the many lovely things to see, I came across this:

Some lovely blue and white paintings that look rather similar to these, that just happen to be available in my Etsy shop:

'Dynasty in Ming'

'Ginger Jar in Indigo'

Now you've indulged my little bit of shameless self-promotion ;) there is another reason for my post. I'm looking for some lovely, unique frames to pair with my new paintings. I quite like the idea of some sort of chinoiserie frame, but they seem to be few and far between. Any thoughts or suggestions? If you know of any that might suit, I'd love to hear from you. 

Ok, back to some more pretty pics courtesy of Wisteria:

Seriously Wisteria, we need you here. Stat.

In my studio this morning

As it's such a glorious day here in Brissie, I thought I might take you on a little tour of my studio. It's where I spend a good part of each day, and it's where I blog, paint, relax, and sometimes escape to. Come on in!

 
I've got a little sitting area in here, where I can arrange works in progress on the wall, play around with colour schemes and textures, and arrange vignettes to my heart's content. It's also a nice, sunny space to relax with a magazine or two, and my family often come for a chat while I paint. Btw, I've shared some rather tragic before pics here if you're interested in all the gory details!

See that little snippet of pretty white overmantle mirror? I blogged about it here, and as you can see, I couldn't part with it! It will be going on the wall eventually, I just need to decide where.

In the opposite corner, are my large canvases. I have lots of works in progress, completed paintings, fresh canvases, my experiments (of which there are many!) and lots of different bits and pieces. There's also a newly-commissioned painting similar to this one, in its inital stages.
 
 

Whe I first started Driftwood Interiors, my gorgeous friend Suzi gave me this. Isn't it stunning? I absolutely love it, and it takes pride of place in this room, as a reminder of great friends and the wonderful support they've given me.
 

These are a few of my tools of trade, and at the moment, I'm loving this Windsor and Newton travel set, which I've been using to paint some of my watercolours. And as you can see, my trusty water tub has been well-used over the years!

Under the pretty white cover in the previous photo, is this. When I'm painting, I like to cover my tabletop with heavy cotton duck, and use it as a drop sheet/doodle pad/colour sampler etc. A friend of mine suggested cutting it and framing it as well, as an abstract!

I've popped a couple of my Sea Fan paintings in simple white frames, and hung them on the wall. I'm also using some different frames and styles, and will post pics as soon as they're finished. It helps me to look at the big picture (pardon the pun!) and how they'll appear in situ.

My rattan settee, which I gave a fresh coat of white paint (you can see the before here) is still with me too! My client went with an old silky oak day bed instead, so I happily kept it here. It's still not finished, as I haven't recovered the seat cushion, but for now it's covered in some summery Ralph Lauren loveliness.

Well that's about it - I hope you enjoyed the tour of my studio. As it's getting a little bit of a makeover shortly, with new storage and a few little extras, I'll keep you up to date with the progress as it evolves.

I must apologise for being a little awol on the blog scene lately. It's been so crazy around here at the moment, with so many painting orders to fill (thanks so much everyone, your support has been amazing!) and the ongoing design projects I'm already working on, that I've been so slack with commenting on all of your wonderful blogs. I have been visiting you all, but haven't had the time to comment, but I'll make sure I do better, I promise. Don't want to be the recipient of the 'Bad Blogger Award' now, do I?

Some weekend painting time

Morning all. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, in spite of this ridiculous weather! Freezing winds, snow in some areas, but then today.....an absolutely beautiful Spring day. Crazy. Anyway, I had a great day yesterday, and managed to finish a couple of paintings. I've added another to my chinoiserie series..

 'chinoisere in green II'

...and I also finished a commission for a lovely blog friend, whose favourite colour just happens to be hot pink! After a little research, I found many species of pink sea fans, but I think I might name this one myself:

'Euthora Magenta Martinus'

Wonder if you can figure out who this piece belongs to?

Btw, you can see more of my artwork on my Facebook page; here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Original-art-by-Kerri-Shipp

Have a great week everyone,

all artwork copyright Kerri Shipp 2010 

Chinoiserie watercolours - and a huge thank you!

Firstly, let me thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful support of my mirror makover at Design Refuge.  I know I've said it before, but I consider myself so lucky to have met such wonderful people since starting my blog earlier this year. I've found the blogging community to be so warm and friendly, and I'm so glad I bit the bullet and started my own blog after reading and enjoying so many others.Thanks to you all for taking the time out of your busy lives to vote for me - you guys really are the best!

Ok, just a quick update on this not-so-sunny Brissie morning. Instead of our planned surfing safari with Gidget to the beach, the weather has given me the perfect opportunity to finish a painting in a new Chinoiserie series I'm working on. After my lovely artist friend Mariska (from I used to be Snow White but I Drifted) suggested I add some blues and greens to my next painting, I took her advice and this is the result:

 Chinoiserie in Green

The new series will feature chinoiserie of every description, in lots of different colourways. Oh, and I've just started a new Facebook page specifically for my paintings - here's the link if you'd like to pop on over and say hi:

Original art by Kerri Shipp

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend,

images by Driftwood Interiors

artwork copyright 2010

linking up to Remodelaholics's For Sale by Owner link party

New artwork...a prototype

I've just finished a prototype to add to my range of artwork, and would love to know what you think? I'm adding some more colourful and detailed works to the range, which I hope will appeal to a wider audience, not to mention letting me play around a little!

 original watercolour and pattern galore

Btw, I will be adding some without the background detail too.

Thoughts? Suggestions? All welcome!