Paris

I am thrilled to announce that I have been invited to exhibit my works in a group show of Taranaki artists in Paris in November! In honor of this event I am making a group of special paintings which celebrate the fascinating life of Jeanne d'Arc. 

Picaflor

I am so happy to be able to unveil this collaborative work for the cover of Jessica Talbot's new creation 'Picaflor' ~ Finding Home In South America. 

Jessica had the gorgeous idea of incorporating many symbols which are important representations of her life's path woven into a nest to symbolize her  journey through the world and the need for a nest of her own. 

If you would like to know more about Jessica, her book and the symbolism behind this cover design please click here or go to www.jessicatalbot.net. 

Crests

My avid trawling on Etsy has rendered yet another delight. I just found these charming Parisian Victorian crests designed as picture hook covers. There are five and only yesterday I began work on my fifth Jeanne d'Arc painting depicting the dream of Catherine de La Rochelle. I will use these in the upcoming exhibition at Linton & Kay, hanging my Jeanne d'Arc Cycle by chains attached to these.

I feel that these five paintings are by far my finest creations to date; detailed to the point of obsession expressing the wonder I feel at this fascinating woman's life. They show Jeanne under the fairy tree, the discovery of her sword at the church of Saint Catherine de Fierbois, the march to Orleans, the dream of Catherine de La Rochelle and Jeanne's spirit holding the banner she loved so dearly.

Vanity

Right now I am redesigning our bathroom. It's pretty basic. It looks like the vanity was bought on Trade Me many years ago, has cupboard doors that are too small and is basically one of the most ugly things I've ever seen. So where would I look for a new one? Well it would have to be Trade Me of course but I had something very different in mind! 

The other day I won this incredible old gramophone case in an intense bidding war. The seller said the top is damaged so I will fix that up and put a counter top basin on it. I discovered there is a varnish you can get which will do a brilliant job of waterproofing the wood so along with a good ventilation system it should be just fine.

First Snow Of The Year

This morning I was greeted by a snow covered Mt Taranaki. Nothing could be more magical.

Study at Banksia House

When deciding on the theme of Nik's study I wanted to create something which talked about our life in Perth as well as evoking memories of the colonial studies at Highwic and Alberton which I loved so much as a child.

HOME WORK: Taranaki Art Now

My recent work 'The Butterfly Gate' has been chosen to be displayed as part of the exhibition 'HOME WORK: Taranaki Art Now' held at Puke Ariki from 7 June - 24 August 2014!

Peking Glass

My newest acquisition is this beautiful Peking Glass sautoir necklace from a seller on ebay called bluebird of happiness. I love the painting I made of the same name from my last exhibition 'Flights of Fancy' and it did make me happy that this stunning piece will forever be connected in my mind to that painting that gave me so much joy.

Book of Hours

I am painting the Lady of Shalott right now and while looking at medieval images I came across these from www.damienkempf.tumblr.com, three 14th century book of hours created in the shape of hearts. How stunning and spectacular are these little tributes to faith and love.

L'Eglise de St Remy

The website L'Eglise de St Remy is a must for anyone interested in Joan of Arc. It gives wonderful high resolution photographs of Domremy at the turn of the century as well as some very interesting engravings. Right now I am at the beginning of my new painting of Joan under the famous fairy tree. I wanted to find an image of Joan's house with the church in the background and this site has an abundance of treasures which are very helpful when re-imagining the setting of her early life.

Engraving from the website http://tellthe.net/Eglise/index.html