Studio Vii

15/07/2026

Furthermore to my Du Rietz painting these are my entries in this year's Mary Valley Art Festival. I certainly do not expect a repeat of last years results, once again I am just happy to have my work displayed and seen by more than a rare few.
Looking forward to seeing all the outstanding entries again this year. The local talents are in abundance and on show.
Hope you enjoy my efforts this year.
Thank you for your support & encouragement

Cheers 💜

15/07/2026

This is my entry for the Du Reitz Art Awards. I will show it now as a finalist.
120 x 90 cm Acrylic on Stretched Canvas Gallery frame.
I call her JOY - Find Yours 💜

15/07/2026

A bit of a wow again with my entry in the 2026 Du Reitz Art Awards has made it into the finals. An honour and a privilege to be included in this Australia wide Art Exhibition. Just getting my art selected from the outstanding works submitted is winning as far as I'm concerned. Thanks to all for your support and encouragement.

06/07/2026

It's that time of the year again - Art Exhibitions in my local area.
A bit of a surprise to see this pop up on my feed today 😳
I have already submitted my 2 entries for this year and looking forward to see more of the outstanding talents that will be on show again this year.
A bit much to expect to match my amazing results of 2025 but having a go anyway 😁

but if you are still sitting on your paperwork … we have good news!We have extended the deadline for entry forms until midnight on 13 July!

25/03/2026

Hi All.

After the paint job I did on Paddy's helmet a couple months ago I was feeling somewhat inspired and confident to have a go a Portrait painting - one of my favourite artistic things to do but I thought had been relegated to history.

Sean Connery. Oh how I fell deeply into those eyes while drawing his portrait in 1994. In my opinion he never looked more handsome and of course loved him as an actor too. He still hangs on my wall 🥰

The fawn Great Dane was done using colour pencils in Derwent Colour Pencils. This is actually a colour photocopy of the original as that was sent to Appollo's owner. At that time I couldn't own a Dane myself so this was the next best thing for me. 1995

Jump forward 30 years and in another life in many ways. As per this Year of the Fire Horse, I have latched the gate wide open and charged in with high hopes that perhaps I could try painting portraits as I had never tried let alone on canvas at this scale - life sized. As I have such stunning models to use I have painted 2 of my boys and have to say I am quite happy with results (always room for improvement) as I was aiming for them to look realistic and reflect their personalities. Biggest choice was which photo to use.

Maverick was quite the definition of grace and elegance and a pure gentleman. A stunning sight to see his always glossy gleaming black coat that look like he was in formal wear of a Tuxedo (one of his puppies was named such). Toss in his 95cms at the shoulder impressive stature and he would often stop traffic as a sight to take a photo of. A second glance always required to ensure it wasn't a horse.... But thanks for asking 😆 But forever my cherished Sir Maverick. A true gentleman to his last breath. Painted: 2026

And then there's Rodney. His background and expression on his face says it all. Golden Child / Class Clown. Happy to share his love and 85kgs of fur and flying slobbers. Painted: 2026

30 years between Pencils and Paint. Rediscovery for me on levels I never knew but excited to keep pushing forward to see just how far I can push, going all out in every way I can. I got nothing else to do and absolutely nothing to loose so why not? Best therapy I ever had and that one thing that I could always turn to when times were at their worst. That one staple that I could count on - my coping mechanism. While it may have evaded me for years after TBI, I cannot put into words the elation and sense of self I feel each time I work. Because I am doing this for myself, I put all of myself into each piece and sometimes get amazing reward for effort when you're happy with the results.
I'M BACK BABY 😁

The Pencil drawings are on A4 Paper.
Canvases are 40cms x 50cms - Maverick & Rodney are literally life sized.

Hope you like my work. Please leave a comment if you like it and I will endevour to respond. Things get away from me when I get in that "zone" and that gets full focus as time falls away.

Next project - A Human painted on a large canvas and another bike helmet for Paddy coming my way. Excited Much.

Thanks for listening.
Cheers

29/01/2026

So I thought I would kick of 2026 in the way I hope the rest of this year will follow. Being the Year of the Horse I have just thrown the gate WIDE OPEN.
Of course I have quality control always on patrol - Rodney said all good.
A massive THANK YOU to Paddy Ireland for allowing me to 'Have a go' at putting a paint job on one of his helmets with the understanding that I had never tried it before. A first for me on so many levels. Quite pleased with the results but I will only get better as most of this was hand painted (topic as per request) and my air brushing is only getting better. An emotional piece for sure. A privilege and an honor to immortalize these images.

29/01/2026

A quick check in from Rodney. Guess who has a new play buddy.

29/01/2026

Just a few others bits'n'bobs from '25. Gotta keep myself busy and I like trying new things and expanding my skill set.
Got a new toy last week and just busting to get a play with it.

29/01/2026

Hi. My name is Vanessa and I am a PORPHYOPHILE :

A person who has an intense, passionate love for the color purple is often called a porphyrophile, a term derived from the Greek word porphyra. These individuals are frequently drawn to purple's association with royalty, mystery, creativity, and spirituality. They tend to be artistic, unconventional, and may use the color to express their unique, sensitive, or introverted personality. 🤩💜

29/01/2026

2025 Du Reitz Art Awards.
How overwhelmed and beyond excited was I when I was notified that my entry made it through to be a Finalist. That was nothing compared to the Opening Night and winner announcement. What an absolute privilege and an honour to not only have one of my Paintings hanging in an actual Gallery but a Finalist in a Prestigious National Competition.
What a small world it is. Imagine my surprise to be in the same category as long time friend and Photographer/Artist Chamaine Lyons.
While I didn't manage to take a lot in on the night I did return for a better look a few weeks later when I was invited back for an informal Artists talk. I enjoyed that immensely and learned even more.
No I did not win nor did I expect to. The calibre of works has to been seen. I certainly don't envy the judges. Just getting through to this level has more than exceeded my expectations - Kinda of like a big ☑️off my bucket list 😁. The experience was invaluable.
Not sure how to top off this on top of results from the Mary Valley Art Festival but of course I owe it to myself to try.
No Pressure 🤨😂