<![CDATA["ValeriesArt Blog: Where Creativity Meets Expression"]]> https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/ EN Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:17:00 +0000 Incomedia WebSite X5 Pro <![CDATA[Getting Back into 'The Zone' - harder than it sounds]]> imblog
It's been a while since I have felt 'in the zone'.  Sometimes you just have to 'do it' and hope that the feeling will return.  It feels like trying to fly without wings.  
So, during the off season of my Gallery being closed, I promised myself that I would be back into my art. Famous last words LOL.  I have been doing everything 'but'.

I had been consumed with the thoughts of how we are surrounded by natural beauty but we sometimes forget that things need to be left 'natural' in order to see the beauty.  ie in order to see/have butterflies in our environment they need a habitat - uncut grasses and  pasture land.

I started remembering all the insects and butterflies from my childhood and soon I had half filled my journal with images and ideas.  I decided to call this 'possible' new series of art, "Where the Wild Things are".

I had it in mind to try a new medium .... acrylics instead of my pastels.  It was a challenging change over but I persisted.  

This painting will be titled, "A Rare and Gentle Thing."





]]> Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:17:00 GMT https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/?getting-back-into--the-zone-----harder-than-it-sounds https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/rss/000000007 <![CDATA[The Season for the Gallery Draws to a Close]]> imblog
Presently I am trying to create more interest in the driveway leading down to the gallery.  I have been thinking not only flowers but something that adds to the creativity outside the gallery.  A large frog wearing a wee crown has turned up guarding a golden ball.  I am just wondering how long he intends to stay.  




Further up the driveway, towards the gallery, I have relocated an old statue of     Venus de Milo which will eventually be standing on a bed of flowers.   Just one more space to fill now but I've no idea, yet, what is to go in there.  In the meantime, I have had much to do de-heading spent flowers , watering, and plucking weeds.


]]> Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:52:00 GMT https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/?new-season-in-the-gallery https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/rss/000000006 <![CDATA[ When I'm Not Painting I'm Here]]> imblog
When I'm not painting you will find me here - doing life that continues with or without me LOL.
At this time of the year, as we enter winter, the light is poor and I find myself drawn away from painting and into my home where I can  create lovely spaces there instead.  
My intent is not to do a complete reno, which is expensive, but do what needs doing to turn the space into something that makes me smile - which in turn 'seduces' me to keep it clean.  As each space is addressed it takes a lot of time and inspiration to turn a messy unworkable place into an area that brings me pleasure and joy.

The bottom of the stairs was becoming a bit of a clutter and it was beginning to bug me.  
I couldn't think how, or where, to have storage boxes for the printer that wouldn't look so .... unattractive.  Then I came up with the idea to cover them but still have them easily accessible as they are used a lot.  
I have used the 'curtain' idea before and I loved it so I sourced a spring loaded curtain rod (wanting to avoid drilling holes incase it didn't work) and bought the soft white, eyelet, semi sheer, curtains.  As you can see I had to remove one of my paintings and then the finishing touch was to put in the double tired plant stand - this I found on Temu.  
I know that I'm pretty happy with the result as I keep smiling everytime I pass it.


I can't believe just how messy and out of control my laundry was.  Admittedly it had a lot of pressure on it, as most laundries do, but mine also houses the 'handyman' - opps - Handywoman'  gear that I am in constant need of.  You know the stuff I mean:- duct tape, (actually all sorts of tape), screws, nails, screwdrivers, hammer, WD40, paint brushes, not to mention my odds and ends box which is so full that it's going to need a sort out soon!  And, that's just the tip of the iceberg, LOL.  
I'm must admit I'm a bit embarrassed to show you the photos of how it used to look but it needs to be shared so that you can appreciate the process.  



Our laundry is off from the kitchen and, as you can see, was beginning to spill into the kitchen.
We didn't want a door between the two rooms as it would make the laundry claustrophobic.  There was no where for the door to push back to so the doorway was just left and put down as being too hard to resolve.  
I don't know how I convinced myself that this mess was okay but after my sister commented about the laundry hanging in the doorway I tried to look at it more objectively.  "What if the laundry wasn't seen?"  "How would that be achieved?"  "How could I improve on it?''  Taking the photo was a game changer and for the first time I could really see it. The laundry hanging in the doorway wasn't the only thing I had to address.  OMG, what a mess - my sister had been kind!  I stood behind the excuse that I needed everything out in easy reach, where I could see it, as I used it all the time.  Although I believed this it turned out that wasn't quite true .  I had convinced myself that I used all those products on the shelf all the time, but as examined each one I realised that there were only two products I used daily.  And, so, the process began.  I tidied, cleaning as I went and then got the idea of installing a curtain across the doorway which really sparked my imagination.  Here's the result and the best part is how it makes me feel every time I see it.

]]> Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:15:00 GMT https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/?when-i-m-not-painting-i-m-here https://www.valeries-art.co.nz/blog/rss/000000000