So another year is just about to have passed us by and a new one is on it’s way.  How did it all happen so fast, where did the year go?  There never seem to be enough days of the week or hours in a day does it?  So much to do and so little time!

Each day, as a lot of you know, I use a different quote that I find either funny or inspiring and post it on my Facebook page Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison together with an image of a painting or sculpture and a link to my art blog to my artist website.  This week among others, I used this quote;

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” by Janice Maeditere  and one of the comments I got back was “ That should happen every day and not just at Christmas…. too much emphasis is put on being good and kind at this time of year but it only is one or two days out of 365… what about the rest of the year?” from one of my FB friends.   Which I thought was a point well made and a good place to start another art blog about New Year’s Resolutions.

WALL BASED SCULPTURE

This wall based sculpture in handmade ceramic and mosaic called Champagne Charlie was bought from one of my exhibitions at Greenhill Gallery and hangs in the restaurant of a hotel in Adelaide.  The subject matter I thought had a good fit for New Years.

THE ART OF BEING GOOD

I am quite sure that I am not always “good” lol, being a touch naughty at times, however trying to be kind to everyone is something I always strive to be, of course even with the best of intentions that does not always hit the mark but hopefully most of the time perhaps.

The experts say that most of our well intended new year resolutions go out the window after about 14 days and if we want to make sure we stick to them to promise small things – make tiny changes which therefore are not too daunting to stick too and then use them as a base to add some more.  Really New Year’s resolutions are just good habits.

Here are some of mine, most of the things on this list I do already but it never hurts to reinforce them I figure.

AN ARTISTS NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Pay it forward – be kind and do onto others and all that.
2. Eat healthily, and for me that means also sticking to my Vegetarian/gluten free diet, and try to read the labels of food a little more carefully to avoid falling off the band wagon.
3. When out partying make sure I drink one glass of water with every alcoholic drink, to help my liver and my head the next day.  Oh I know what some of you are saying – perhaps cut the wine out – but you got to have some vices right!!  As I have already cut out the Bad Men lol, I still got to have some fun!
4. Keep up the exercise an hour a day come rain or shine and don’t forget the arms Marie – you got to get some upper strength too – remember what the physio said – 127 Use it or Loose it in Art
5. Cut out the sugar, apparently sugar is responsible along with the sun for an increase in wrinkly skin, never mind the body’s overall health– so the sugar has got to go.  (have always had a low sugar diet but need to focus on that some more)
6. Stay close to family and friends, spend time together and tell them they are loved.
7. Try new things, keep up with technology, explore new horizons, keep interested, learn, move forward.
8. Travel and see the world – you only live once and are a long time dead, so do it now whilst you can.
9. Write down your paintings and art blog ideas in one book like you used too – makes things so much easier to find!

So this is my list, I would love to hear what your new year’s resolutions are?

GREAT QUOTES

Here is one I love by Edith Lovejoy Pierce;

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

I love to think that the next year is full of possibilities and opportunities – just there for us to go and find.  Another one is a quote on the topic of New Years Resolutions by a favorite of mine Mark Twain;

“Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath.  Today, we are a pious and exemplary community.  Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.”

However I will leave you this time with a quote that has been attributed to Mark Twain as well (although there is some controversy over that) which is one of my favorites quotes;

“Twenty years from now you will be more

disappointed by the things

that you didn’t do than by the ones you did

do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away

from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and whatever else takes your fancy.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

This story is about my dear friend and fellow artist Catherine Fitz-Gerald and for some reason the above musical has always come to mind when I think of her, so therefore it goes without saying that when Kate decided her next art exhibition was going to be centered around songs, that seemed like a natural fit to me.

As a matter of fact this exhibition called “Inspiration and Memory” is a celebration not only of Kates wonderful paintings, songs and music that she remembers her mother singing and teaching her as a child but also to celebrate; Marjorie her mother’s 80^th birthday.

ARTISTIC FAMILY

I have known the Fitz-Gerald family since I was 17 years old (just yesterday,lol)and somehow they all seem like close relatives to me, like cousins.  I first met Kate’s brother Lewis Fitz-Gerald while we were both appearing in a theater production at the Festival Theater in Adelaide.  If that name sounds familiar to you that is because Lewis went on to find fame and fortune as a sought after actor in such films as Breaker Morant, ABC’s “I can Jump Puddles” and just lately “Crownies” also on the ABC.  Of course Lewis also appeared in many other exciting films, theater and television performances in between.

The rest of my “cousins” in the Fitz-Gerald family are Mark a photographer, Rosemary a lawyer and Leslie works as a teacher for Autism SA.  Their father Brian is now retired but for many years had a business and even employed my mum for a time.

THE ART OF STAYING YOUNG

That something extra that the whole Fitz-Gerald clan has in common is their incredible community spirit and fundraising – the old-fashioned values of pulling your sleeves up and getting stuck in!  If someone is down on their luck and need a helping hand – who you gonna call right?  To cater and make the food for a 200 people soiree would be just another day at the office for them all and particularly so for the matriarch of the family;  Marjorie Fitz-Gerald, O.A.M.,J.P  who really at 80 is still not showing any signs of slowing down.

She is currently raising funds for Adelaide Festival Center Foundation, Independent Arts Foundation, supporting the Arts in S.A. and providing scholarships for young emerging artists.   Marjorie has been the chair for countless organizations such as Festival Fringe, South Australian Country Arts Trust, Adelaide City Ballet and was the Mayor of the Town of St.Peters.   In 2007 she was awarded the S.A. Great South Australian of the Year for the Arts and later the Premier’s Award for lifetime Achievement, the 2010 Ruby Award.

Springing from this family history it is no wonder that Kates career as an artist took off right from her first exhibition in 2004.

So when Kates new exhibition opened  at Greenhill’s Gallery  with the band Take 5, playing the music and Kates beautiful paintings hung on the walls.  Kate in her own right is a celebrated artist and collected Australia wide, well known for her fruit paintings particularly which hang in at some of the best addresses around the country.  Her Artist Statement read;

ARTIST INSPIRATION

“Nature as inspiration is not a new concept to artists, but somehow it always feels new, fresh with something urging you to create.  To explore the tension between light and shadow, lost and found edges, texture, glaze, memory and the emerging expression of it.

We speak of memory being ‘green’ and my memories of gardens and the songs I learned from my mother as a child are forever intertwined.  So each of these paintings link to a word of inspiration and a song from my childhood.  Even now as I walk through the many gardens I have been privileged to share, melodies spring to mind as each vista or detail emerges.”

Each painting have names like; Renew, Inspiration, Home, Courage, Care, Promise, Serenity, Wonder and Joy.

For instance there is Enthusiasm with the lyrics from “Young at heart” by Carolyn Leigh – ‘Fairytales can come true…if you’re young at heart. For it’s hard you will find to be narrow of mind, if you’re young at heart…and life gets more exciting with each passing day..’

And I leave you with the words for the painting Resilience (lyrics by Bob Thiele & George Weiss) and made famous by Louis Armstrong “What a wonderful World”;

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom, for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces, of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin’, “How do you do?”
They’re really sayin’, “I love you”

I hear babies cryin’, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more, than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Oh yeah

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and maybe singing to you all,

Love Marie xxxx  (c)

If you enjoyed this art blog you may also like this one 110 Artists Lunch

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

This acrylic painting on canvas called “Teaotalers Club”, is one of two paintings that I have just finished and delivered to Greenhill Galleries here in Adelaide.

TEA POT ART SHOW

The show was called “The great Teapot Show” and the brief to participating artists said the aim was to create a varied collection of all things to do with Tea Pots (& cups, tea paraphernalia and tea customs etc).  Whether practical or whimsical, huge or miniscule, formal or funny – let your imagination run wild in whatever medium takes your fancy – paintings, ceramics, wood, glass, fabric, jewellery metal or whatever.

With a brief like that it was impossible to say no I thought, as I love to let the imagination run free, although I must admit that my husband is also a great source for ideas and I do love to have his input too.

I have mentioned the Gallery in some of my other art blogs and you may want to recap on a funny incident between the Gallery Director and a client here; 14. “ADAM & STEVE” .

RUSSELL STARKE OAM FOR SERVICES TO THE ARTS

This brings me to tell you a bit about Russell Starke and his gallery in Adelaide.    Greenhill Gallery has long been recognized as one of the most important exhibition spaces in South Australia and was established in 1972 by Veda Swain.  Russell Starke became the Director in 1988 and continued the tradition of showing great artists as well as giving promising new emerging artists a go.   The gallery is also well known for holding charitable events; Russell’s philosophy is to give back to the community, as he can identify with how it feels growing up in a family where money was tight.

Not that that is the only feathers in his cap, oh no Russell Starke has been awarded an OAM (the Order of Australia – which is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth ll, and is “for the purpose of according recognition of achievement or for meritorious service”).

I grew up at a time when Russell was a must see on television on a Friday night introducing horror movies for Friday Suspense Theatre and he scared the living daylights out of me then (something that he can actually do now too if he get cross, lol).

There is also a soft and cuddly side to Russell which was very evident when he shared offices with my modeling agent Tanya Powell many years ago and doubled up as the baby sitter for her newborn son and anyone that has ever seen Russell interact with children also echoes that statement.

RUSSELL STARKE AN ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

One of Russell’s other strings to his bow would have to be Bonsai which he actually taught” the art of” and my mother in law was one of his students and she would be full of funny little stories about those classes when she came home.  These days you can find Russell (that is if you can keep up with him) running 3 separate exhibition spaces, Barton Terrace, The HWY, Penny Hill Winery Complex, as well as being a theater critic, and making regular radio appearances on Radio ABC 891 and no doubt a million other things as well!

So I think this quotation by Hsun-tzu (philosopher) fits perfectly here,

“If there is no dull and determined effort, there will be no brilliant achievement.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx         (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.