LIMITED EDITION ART WITHOUT WALLS TEESHIRT

When the Girls from Art without walls approached me to create a limited edition tee-shirt I jumped at the the chance. I first met Cat who runs the business with her twin sister Heather when were in art school. I've been curious to see what my art would look like on clothing, or accesories for some time now, and this was the perfect opportunity.

We've gone through a few different ideas before arriving at printing my image of Yellow Girl, which has already made into a limited edition print, and proving the most popular of the series so far.

I also made another version of yellow girl on a navy blue tee.  they're both really fresh and unique

and I love them!

I want to see my art living and breathing, Turning up on your backs in cafes, bars, busses, ques, banks

wherever. So jump in quick to grab one of the 30 special limited edition tees for $50 

There will also be a very cool exhibition to accompany the tees mini mixed media masterpieces

and limited edition prints priced between $200-$500

So come on down on the night to enjoy complimentary ice cold viking beer and get down to Dj Maceyalan who'll be playing some awesome hip hop and funk tunes....Yeah!!

OPENING SEPTEMBER 8th
AMBUSH GALLERY
 4a James Street
Waterloo 6-9pm

 

Steve The Pirate

After working for the past week I've finally succeeded.  After many incarnations  my entry for this years Portia Geach portrait prize is  finished.  If selected, as I have previously the work will be exhibited at the SHIRVIN GALLERY National trust, If not I've done a fab painting of Steve as a pirate, and he can take a guess at what will be in his Christmas stocking this year!

Quite seriously I'm happy with it, and it also got Steve's nod of approval this morning, so fingers crossed, cause it's always great fun to get in and go to these things...............and there's always the prize money which is so wildly tempting. $18,000...........mmmmm I could mentally spend that in 2 seconds flat, but back to the earthly dimension, and back to why I painted the painting. This is my artists statement about Steve the Pirate

STEVE THE PIRATE

My father Steve Oatley introduced me to art. He took me to East Sydney Tech as it was known then (N.A.S now) when I was 2 to babysit me when my mother was giving birth to my sister in the hospital. I looked up adoringly at him like most of his students. Enthusiastic, fun and passionate about art, it wasn't only his students that were being inspired by him.

He took me to Canberra to see the impressionists, to all of the galleries, and museums, and taught me to draw by copying pictures out of his endless supply of art books.  He brought a great love of art and creation into my life. These early lessons are the reason I became an artist, and this is the reason I wanted to do something I never have before in tribute, paint a portrait of my father.

His own creative practice is so extensive and creative, from sculpture to painting to magnificent water features to one off designer furniture that's been copied in places as far off as London. There's truly nothing that he can't do, and no place of creativity that he won't let him self run away with.

He's the life of the party and in another lifetime I could easily imagine him
as a pirate, out there on the seven seas, swashbuckling around, living it up at the foreign ports.
I just added a wonderful tropical bird on his shoulder for company, and he became Steve the Pirate.

THE CHAOS THEORY

I was out the other night at a friends exhibition, and some of the men had gathered around to discuss the Chaos theory.  I'm interested in people, and what makes people tick, but not really one for standing around and discussing theories. I'd more of a person of action than someone who chooses to discuss action.

The Chaos theory in short is that no two situations are the same, so you can never predict any long term out come of any situation. I felt my eyes crossing over, and it wasn't the red wine. Here's something that I can predict! Men trying to impress a woman, not to mention each other with their very knowledgeable knowledge.

Maths underpins everything we do. I remember the biology teacher trying to explain something similar about biology....The science of nature underpins life itself, but it was clearly lost on me.
The trees and flowers were beautiful enough without further explanation, or dissection, and I preferred to conduct my experiments on my handsome lab partner.

Yes the Chaos theory was in full swing when my boyfriend interjected that "That if anyone knows anything about Chaos it's Mia" Well I'm definitely not a Virgo like my mother and my sister, but the more my art monster expands, I need to be organized in a way that I never have before just to meet the growing demands.

That is any one week involves making prints, mailing them out, working on commissions, working on prizes, and for 2 exhibitions at the same time, paper work, liaising with clients, marketing and on and on. So I've engaged a life coach to sort out my personal Chaos theory, and get this ship, ship shape.

Before I worked like crazy on the painting, but would leave all the paper work to build up and and guitily lurk in the back of my mind. I'd make sporadic inroads, then let it all pile up again!
 Now with the help of a life coach all the days have different tasks, in order of most important to least, and everything is seeming a whole lot more manageable.

The painting shown above THE ESSENCE OF PARADISE was recently sold to a collector.