What's the New work All About?

It's an exciting time in the studio. The recent confirmation of 2 solo shows in 2012 has got me working like a demon. The first show will be at Gallery One on the Gold Coast in February 2012, and the following will be in Sydney in September of the same year.

I'm the type of artist that really needs deadlines. It really gets my blood pumping. I work well under pressure, it's when I produce my best work. Otherwise there's far too much time to enjoy life, something the Italians have made an art out of,  but not the best way to get exhibitions done on time.

People keep asking me what the new work is about lately, so it's got me thinking about it too.
My work is almost always about love. My muse has been my lovers, love itself, even the feelings and strength in being alone and cherishing the passion and strength inside of me.

New relationships are like a renaissance, like spring spreading vines, and blooming flowers every where. My relationship with my boyfriend was just 6 months old when we visited Bali earlier this year. I was there to meet his son, so we did things that I never would have done if we had of been alone. One of them was to visit the Bali bird park. It truly blew my mind away.  After doing a few paintings with birds when I returned, it's not until 7 months later that the full impact of that trip has really crept into my work. Stunning golden Macaws, and the lush foliage of the tropics has wound it's way into my paintings, with startling results. The colours are intense and jumping off the canvas.  

I'm also including a new body of portraits in the Gold Coast exhibition, which is very exciting. It's a new direction in my work, which has received a lot of attention, and something that people haven't seen yet in an exhibition.

I have also been thinking about May West. Holly Wood's original bad girl.  Her famous statement " good girls go to heaven and bad girls go every where" is just wonderful. Of course bad girls go every where, because they are not wasting time trying to be good, or please every body.

The women I chose to model for me, through their decision to become artists, and other personal decisions in their life have all had to go their own way.   Not being a good girl is not always easy, that is why I wanted strong women with a unique sense of flair and individuality.
I wanted to choose women who could create more than just good poses, women who embody a sense of freedom, and power, who could represent the  place in my life where I'm at now, and where I'm going........

Monthly Round Up

It's been a while since I've written a blog. Loads of fantastic things have been going on since last time you heard from me, so hears a quick sum up.

The Art without walls was a wonderful success! Alongside of 5 other artists at Ambush gallery I exhibited work. I choose to exhibit my new range of limited edition prints, with just 4 to choose from we had to make up some extra frames to accomodate the 7 prints sold in total!
Almost half of the limited edition tee shirts that were designed by me, and sold through Art Without WAlls have been sold which is excellent!
All in all it was an excellent night, great fun and enjoyed by all who made it along.

I've also got some work down in Sohi Gallery in Bowral. Sohi Gallery is a massive pop up gallery conceived by design duo Thomas Buich and Kylie de Roew. The sheer size and raw industrial feel of the 350msq space is capable of rivaling galleries from our major cities. Standing right in the town center it houses an impressive collection of contemporary art by artists such as John Olsen and Carlos barrios among many others. Sohi Gallery has a great selection of my original mixed media drawings, and limited edition prints ranging  between $1200 $300.  So if your in the Bowral area make an effort to pop in, it's well worth a look.

I'm busy in the studio now too putting some great work together. With one solo exhibition confirmed and another soon to be confirmed it will be a busy year getting high breathing paint fumes and exploring some new work.

Til next time

Mia

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.

GOOD NEWS ALL ROUND

  

This has been a great week. The sale of one of my large painting's, and prints of my work
 from brand new collectors has me excited. There's been a bunch of enthusiastic enquires from
Melbourian collectors wanting to get their hands on my work. I won't have work shown down there
until next may, as I'm concentrating on creating work on a whole bunch of projects up the eastern coast.  However I wouldn't want you guys from Melbourne to Miss out on my work.  Paintings can be freighted to you.

I've been invited by the art without walls crew to exhibit with them at ambush gallery in September, and they will be producing a limited edition tee shirt of a one of my pieces of art. It should be a fun night. I'll post the details a bit closer to the event.

I'm also creating a new body of work for several upcoming exhibitions.........and wanting to keep the element of surprise, I won't be posting them until closer to exhibition time.

Last but not least I want to congratulate my father Steve Oatley for getting into the Mosman Art Prize
He's a wonderful painter, and has a very deserving painting that's been selected. I wasn't selected, but I am overjoyed with all of the other great news, and besides with my father getting in I feel as though I was selected any way. I can just ride his high, and share the happiness.

White Noise

First of all, it's been a few weeks since I've posted so apologies to those who read the blog. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

I've had a shift in gears, a mental rev up. All through art school there were always students who didn't know which teacher to listen too, what direction to go in. That wasn't me. I really had a great time. I trusted my gut, and went with it quickly.

When I started making  money from my art I thought maybe that I should stop and listen to what people had to say, now that I depended on selling art to pay all of my expenses. I should have known better. When you listen to a lot of people's opinion's it's like watching the television without reception.  It's just a whole lot of white noise.

Whenever I trust my gut, create without an end result in mind.... Don't worry about deadlines, or time, I usually paint the quickest.  I get paintings that people are happy to pay $9000 for, and they are worth it.

These last 2 months I have surpassed the sales that I made in my February exhibition........I know it's because I just don't hear that white noise any more, and can hear myself beating to a new drum.