'In the Shallows'

Advice from the Ocean

Be Shore of Yourself

Take Time to Coast

Sea Life's Beauty

Surf Life's Rough Waves

Don't be Shellfish

Avoid Pier Pressure

Make Waves!

                                                     (words seen on a sign in a Decor shop)

'In the Shallows'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

'In the Shallows'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within....Summer '  Series
H122x92cm
H48x36ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

'In the Shallows'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

The Camberwell Art Show 2014

The Camberwell Art Show 

The Camberwell Art Show for 2014

Tomorrow night this fabulous Art Show opens....it's the 49th Show and I'm very excited to have 5 paintings accepted for exhibition.

It runs from Friday 27th June to Sunday 06th July, and you can see the selected work from all over Australia in  the Preview of their web site,
and see my 5 by clicking this link. I've listed them in the Contemporary section... it doesn't appear on the Home page...don't know why....but you can find me  tucked away under 'H'
Pop along if you've got time, it's probably the most popular art show in Victoria.

And a sneak look at what I'm grappling with now.....shadows and ti-tree!

......I'm trying to change my colour palette.....grrrr.....mutter...mutter!!


                                              Jo    :)

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'Follow the Leader'....

'Follow the Leader'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

Have you ever laughed watching a child when they first try to walk

whilst wearing flippers?

the awkwardness on land.

and witnessed the joy and surprise on their face at the propulsion

and speed that flippers give them in the water.

'Follow the Leader'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within....Summer' Series
H122x167cm
H48x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

my kids were taught the butterfly stroke with flippers.

I can barely do two strokes before collapsing ,

and to see pipsqueaks effortlessly propel themselves the length of the pool,

and then to do it without the help of fins.....makes a mum so proud.

......and three cheers for Australian swim instructors!!! how good are they!

these three little guys will soon be on exhibition at The Camberwell Art Show 

.....and don't you love this scene from the movie 'Mamma Mia'.....

.....I think it nails 'frog-walking' !

'Mamma Mia' movie flippers  dance

'Mamma Mia' movie flippers dance...

Update: 'Follow the Leader' Sold on Saturday! And THANKYOU! 

 I'd love to see where those little guys end up. I'm always curious to know the connection between my work and their new owners...email me a photo! :) 

....'the negotiator'.....

'The Negotiator'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

'Diplomacy Negotiating is the art of letting someone else 

have your  way'  

Sir David Frost

(my version of Sir David's famous quote! )

'The Negotiator'
detail
 Jo-Ann Hunt

'The Negotiator'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within  - Summer'  Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2012
 sold

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....which paint?

...a lovely-jubbly stash of new paint ...

I've had a couple of emails recently asking which paint I use and what is my

studio set-up for storing my paint.

I use Professional Artist-quality Acrylic paints....usually Matisse Structure

and also some Atelier brand tubes. I buy the large tubs and buckets for my

'favourite' colours, although I can't resist a good 'sale' price!  ....see above!

I found most of my studio furniture in kerbside clearances, so it's

not terribly flash! (A computer desk was such a good find, that in exchange

I left a surprise gift of a framed drawing of mine of blue-and-white bowls

on the verandah!)

(the plastic bottles are just three  colours I don't like, but am too stingey to toss them out!... tomorrow! )

New tubes of paint and tubes 'not in use' are kept in biscuit tins on the top

of a chest of drawers...warm colours left, cool colours on the right.

The paint tubs I keep in the drawers, organised by colour family...

earth tones, blues-and-greens, reds-and-yellows, neutrals and lastly

background /gesso colours.

I put dabs of colour , sometimes mixed with a little white, on the lids

of these tubs because I'm always looking for the 'right' colour in a hurry

and because I want to make sure  the correct lid is returned to its

rightful owner.

...the colours I'm using
for a painting move onto
a metal-shelfed taboret.....



.....this is how it looks before I get started.....

......and this is how it looks once I get going......

....tubes are kept in containers on top....warm colours left....

...cool colours on the right.....I'm not terribly complicated!

 My water containers sit on top of my glass palette.

I have a smaller bucket inside a large icecream container....the theory being

I can wash first in the large container, then rinse again in the smaller

container.....but usually both get so dirty anyway that I'm regularly

emptying and refilling with clean water...

....a trip to the sink probably every 15 minutes or so!

I'm a pretty messy creature when I paint!

I wipe my hands and brushes on my clothes and apron, I use a lot of rags,

a lot of water and a lot of paint!

But I do clean up my water and brushes every night, so that I can

arrive the next day and jump right in without distractions or excuses.....

.....well that's the theory!

I hope you liked this brief peek at my set-up.....

...everyone is different but this is what works for me     :)


                                             Jo  

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...little girls in dresses...

And a glimpse at a work in progress for a client .....

three boys and a little girl.

 but I'm really not sure about the dress.... methinks it's looking too formal. ...

will have to see how I feel about it tomorrow!

work in progress...looking scary!

in progress...or is it?

I take photos at the end of every days' painting so that I can just look
at them, ponder, work out what I'm going to do next.
...it's amazing how different things look when you put some distance
between yourself and the work... and reduce it in size....
....it can be quite depressing !

Still, tomorrow is a new day and I can always paint over and start again!

                                 ....I'll be back!    :)


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...careful.... koala crossing!

And I couldn't resist posting these photos from a recent trip along the coast.

whilst trying to get some decent shots (I failed) of a dozen koalas in the trees,

I was delighted and horrified to see this little fellow come out of the bush

right near me and head across the road.

Luckily other tourists, further up and down the road, spotted him too

and flagged the traffic to a halt to let the little guy cross safely.

Oblivious to the fuss he was causing, he just loped into the scrub

and started munching away on low-growing leaves just half a metre

from the ground.

So lucky that he made it across the busy Great Ocean Road.

Heart-stopping to think how many times a day this happens :(

But for this little fellow...he was just a baby....he made my day!

isn't this just the cutest little rump ever?

                                                 Jo  :)

...we love a sunburnt country....

The Great Ocean Road...looking towards Apollo Bay

'I love her far horizons....

                                       I love her jewelled sea..'

'We Love a Sunburnt Country'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt©

'We Love a Sunburnt Country'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

......and I love the beautiful Australian blues in the landscape!

 ...words are from  'My Country' by Dorothea Mackellar  (1885-1968)

written when she was just 22.

the young and beautiful miss Dorothea  Mackellar

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