24 November 2011

CHANGEABLE ART EXHIBITION 10th December 2011

Things in Sydney are pretty hectic, but I will get onto this blog very soon.  I'm looking forward to taking part in a one day exhibition here on Saturday 10th December. I'll have a lot of my smaller new work available, so come along and say hello and check it out. Details  below.....


















10am - 3pm 10th December 2011
North Sydney Community Centre
220 Miller Street, North Sydney
Changeable Art is held in conjunction with the North Sydney market


31 October 2011

A Painting A Week No 96


















For Sale - 31st October 2011
Lunch in Gythio, Greece
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Gythio is a town towards the bottom of the Mani Peninsula in the Peloponnese - the landscape we see across the bay from Koroni when its not covered in cloud!  The Mani is a very mountainous area, with rugged landscape and high peaks. Various ferries to some of the islands leave from Gythio, and its a good lunch spot!

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

05 October 2011

A Painting A Week No 95



















For Sale - 4th October 2011  
[SOLD]
Le Bellevue, L'Isle sur la Sorgue
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Back in the Languedoc region of France again and its lovely to be amongst the never-ending rows of vines and the big blue skies.  I did this painting after a visit to the lovely Luberon town of L'Isle sur la Sorgue on a previous trip. This restaurant always caught my eye when we wandered around - I suspect it was all the red with the deep green of one of the many the canals behind. If you've been there, you'll know what I mean.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

26 September 2011

A Painting A Week No 94


















For Sale - 26th September 2011
Sunflowers under Summer Skies, France
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

The smiling faces of sunflowers all over France are a lovely reminder of summer. With autumn approaching in the northern hemisphere, and spring underway in the southern, I thought it might be a nice theme this week!

As mentioned in my email, we're heading off from Koroni tomorrow - see details in the previous blog underneath.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

Greece to Sydney

Its that time again. We're off on Tuesday on the slow jaunt back to Sydney. It starts with the overnight ferry crossing from Patras to Brindisi, with a a few days en-route in Italy filling our systems with great Italian coffee and pasta. Then to our old stompin' ground in the Languedoc region of France to take care of a few things, enjoy some almond croissants (but not the coffee) before we fly out of Toulouse to Los Angeles. This is the first time Peter and I have flown internationally together - should be fun!  I have a few days in LA to sightsee and do some shopping, then head off to New Zealand for 10 days to spend time with my sisters. I rendezvous with Peter in Sydney on 24th October and we'll be residents of Potts Point for the first month, and then Lane Cove for the following 3 weeks.  Its been over 18 months since I've been back and I'm really looking forward to seeing family and friends in that part of the world.

I'm really hoping to continue with the Art Weekly whilst I'm gone - it may be a bit haphazard, but I'm determined, and I'd like to attempt some Australian and New Zealand themes along with the usuals. I believe there are all sorts of new cafes that need checking out, so perhaps I can try my hand at some of those!

I do have a one day art exhibition planned with Changeable Art in North Sydney on 10th December. There will be plenty of new work lots of small framed and unframed paintings for sale - perfect Christmas presents!

14 September 2011

A Painting A Week No 93


















For Sale - 14th September 2011
The Flamingos of the Languedoc
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

One doesn't really associate flamingos with France, but near Montpellier, on the edge of the Camargue, there are numerous lagoons and canals, and that's where you'll find the flamingos!  Depending upon the time of the year (the majority do migrate south in the winter), you can see groups of them standing in the water, heads down whilst feeding on the salt shrimp which gives them their colour, or heads waving about in the air. Apart from the Camargue, south of Arles, the flamgoes mostly frequent the marshes near Palavas les Flots and on any trip through there, I've had the camera at the ready to photograph them - always tricky to find them in the right spot.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

31 August 2011

A Painting A Week No 92


















For Sale - 31st August 2011  
[SOLD]
NZ Pohutakawa
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Its a sure sign of summer and that Christmas is just around the corner in New Zealand, when these beautiful trees burst into bloom. The pohutukawa (also known as the NZ Christmas Tree) grows in coastal areas, and is commonly found with its gnarly distorted trunks spreading over the sand in every direction. 

The tree is deeply rooted in Maori history and the word 'pohutakawa' translates to 'red feathered headdress'. It was often planted in memory of a chief or the birth of a chief's son.

The crimson flower, which must surely be an emotional icon to those Kiwi's living overseas, is featured strongly in many NZ artworks. I don't think I ever really appreciated the beauty and the uniqueness of the pohutakawa until I'd been living overseas for years!

I've rediscovered some photos of pohutukawas which I took a few years ago when staying in Tinopai, on the Kaipara Harbour in New Zealand. I spent a week there all alone with just my camera and paints to keep me company, hence lots of photos;  pohutukawas plus many of the interesting patterns left by the tides, and also some of the amazing formations and colours of the rocks near the water.  I've included them all on my  Picasaweb photo site .https://picasaweb.google.com/111353970085495585185/NewZealandPohutukawaAndTextures

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

23 August 2011

A Painting A Week No 91


















For Sale - 24th August 2011
San Gimignano, Tuscany
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

We seem to be surrounded by Italian holidaymakers in our apartments right now, so it feels appropriate to have a painting of Italy this week. In fact, we even had porcini fettucine for dinner tonight!

We were driving through Tuscany in April when we spotted San Gimignano in the distance, towering over the lovely Tuscan hillside, so off we went towards it.  San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town near Siena, which began as an early Estruscan settlement.  It's well known for its medieval towers – originally 75 of them, which were built as symbols of power and wealth by the residents.  Only 15 towers now remain, dating back to the 11th and 13th centuries.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

11 August 2011

Kefalonia in June

Time for me to wake up and get blogging I think! June and July seem to have disappeared in a whirlwind of travelling, and now the big trip to the US, NZ and Australia is looming in the not too distant future.

A friend, Jaki G, flew into Athens in June for a visit but due to the demonstrations and strikes there at the time, we stayed in a small hotel on the outskirts, and then made a quick exit and headed north. The first stop was a favourite small town on the northern side of the Gulf of Corinth- heaven after the chaos of Athens!

Antikira just before sunset
Looking at the Delphi Stadium
Antikira is a great overnight stop for visiting Delphi, so we ventured off there in the morning and roamed around before the heat got too intense. Such an amazing place but I do find it a little difficult to get 'the mystical feel' of the place with so many tour groups - all those tour guides hollering in various languages sort of interrupts the flow somehow!
Then it was off to get a ferry over to the other side of the Gulf and on to Kefalonia for a few days.... except the ferry didn't run from  there any more.... ho hum..... so instead we sat in the lonesome taverna, had some wonderful souvlaki and discussed the sad state of Greece with the young owner, who was over for the summer from Philadelphia.  Well fed and watered, we headed off over the beautiful Norman Foster looking Patras Bridge and got onto the ferry, arriving in Poros, Kefolonia in the early evening - perfect!


Welcome to Kefalonia


Looking out Hotel Window in Poros




We virtually fell into a simple comfy hotel  right on the waterfront.














And celebrated our arrival with a mezze plate - to keep us going until dinner, which, as there seemed no reason to move, we also had in the hotel taverna. - one of  the things I love about Greece - everything at your fingertips! 









Next morning we drove across the bottom of the island, past Agostolli, which was badly damaged in the earthquake in the 1950's and has now practically been rebuilt.

We decided a swim was called for so we continued on to the most stunning beach, Myrtos.





The brilliant turquoise water along with the bright white rounded pebbles that made up the beach was a sight to behold, and these days, I'm seeing plenty of amazing beaches!

The pebbles may be not as soft as sand, but most definitely worth putting up with a few stones under your bum just for vision of it! 
The snack bar was a bit disappointing, being early season, but we survived until later in the afternoon, when we dragged ourselves away and arrived in Assos where we forced ourselves into afternoon tea, just to keep us going until dinner of course!


The one on the left was Peter's one of course - supposedly a creme caramel!








We were heading towards Fiscardo for the night, as we'd been told it was the one town on Kefalonia that hadn't been badly affected by the big earthquake in the 1950's and still had some of its Venetian buildings.




A lovely spot - small with brightly coloured buildings around a perfect harbour.
There just happens to be a Roman neocropolis in the foreground here - stop work!

Just what do you call this??



Sadly, it did have a slight feeling of 'rich riveria' with lots of large cruisers, yatchts and restaurants, but whilst dining that night we were nicely entertained by the various crews tootling back and forth in the tenders - money to burn if you can afford a crew 7! I was pleased to note that the only girls who were part of the crew of the two massive cruisers were a Kiwi and Australian - go girls!




Found a lovely family owned hotel in the backstreets, complete with a bouganvilla covered balcony but could only manage the one night as our ferry was taking off at the crack of dawn on the Monday, and we needed to be closer for our last night's stay on the island.









Headed south in the morning, this time down the eastern coast, stopped for lunch in Samos and once again felt in the need for a swim.


 So, off to check out Antisamos beach, just over the hill.


Another stunning beach, the bottom of which dropped away dramatically after 2-3 metres into the water, so that you felt you were swimming in a bottomless sea. There was a very sophisticated cafe on the edge of the beach - the food was stunning - more what you'd expect from a Sydney brassiere.

I must mention here too that both of the beaches we swam at were in the movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Most of the filming took place in Sami, where a huge and stunningly realistic set was built. It was so impressive in fact, that the locals did their best to retain it after the filming was finished, but it didn't happened.  The Italians' campsite was built on the beach at Antisamos where we had out sophisticated lunch and Myrtos is the beach where the bomb explosion took place in the film.

So then it was back down to Poros and our same friendly hotel, and an extra early start in the morning back to mainland Greece and a visit to Ancient Olympia on the way to Koroni. A fantastic few days and a new island explored!
Give an Australian a bottle of beer and a laptop.......

So it was a wonderful trip for the 3 of us, ending up with a stop off in Ancient Olympia and then some time spent in Koroni.  So many photos to share, particularly in this blog (and particularly since Blogger seems to have its own idea where they should end up!)  Lots more on my Picasaweb site.
https://picasaweb.google.com/111353970085495585185/2011KefaloniaAndOtherPartsTripWithJakiG

09 August 2011

A Painting A Week No 90 - Greek Collage #1 (Signs)


















For Sale - 9th August 2011
Greek Collage #1 (Signs)
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

As mentioned in my Art Weekly email, something totally different this week. To give you some background, a friend and I have both been keen to explore collage for some time, and we've set ourselves up to complete a weekly collage painting with varying themes, which we change weekly (depending on how much gets done) - its the silly season here!  Along with my usual painting, I try to create at least one (sometimes two) collages each week, and then we get together for a critique session, along with numerous cups of coffee and lots of 'creative' talking. I then feel spurred on to tackle the next week's subject, which also seems to rub off and helps keep up the momentum of my other painting. To follow my Collage Projects and see what I've done so far take a look at my Art Blog http://jackiesherwood.weebly.com/art-blog.html 

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

03 August 2011

A Painting A Week No 89


















For Sale - 3rd August 2011
Le Marche, Cahors, France
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

From Skiathos, to France this week. No, I lie, sorry.....!  We've just arrived back in Koroni after two weeks way up in Northern Greece, near Kavala. A lovely part of the Greece and surprisingly, much busier than down here in the Peloponnese.

This painting is of the Saturday market in Cahors, the main city of the Lot district of France. Its a lovely city with a bustling tree lined main street. The market is held in a lovely square with its backdrop of the 11th century cathedral, and as with all French markets, its a delight of smells and colours, even on this cold winter's day.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

13 July 2011

A Painting A Week No 88



















For Sale - 13th July 2011
Skiathos, Greece
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

What a lucky one I am – here in Skiathos, I wake up in the morning and jump into the pool, then after my favourite Greek yoghurt and fruit, I take a wander over to the adjacent beach bar for a coffee, and perhaps another dip, then it’s into the studio for a few hours of creativity, followed by more swims, perhaps a siesta.... well it has been extremely hot, and painting is such hard work!  This is a truly beautiful spot – I doubt I’ll ever manage to do it justice in my paintings – you’ll have to come and see it yourself! .........

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

29 June 2011

A Painting A Week No 87


















For Sale - 29th June 2011
Blue Chairs, Koroni
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

As mentioned in my email, these blue chairs are absolutely everywhere in this area, and all over Greece. They sit outside cafes and tavernas in all manner of disarray and are just crying out to be photographed. I took this photo sometime in the spring, but when I walked by recently I was rather flabbergasted to see the peeling white wall had been repainted a resplendid bright orange. Oh well, one can't stop progress, and the blue chairs go rather well with the orange anyway!

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

01 June 2011

A Painting A Week No 86


















For Sale - 1st June 2011
Spring Poppy Fields, France
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

Ahhh, the sight of the fields in France brimming with brilliant red poppies in the springtime. There's nothing quite like it, and as you may have noticed, I am rather addicted to painting them.  Greece also has fields of wild poppies, but somehow I've never quite managed to find the 'right' backdrop here! The Greek poppies too, tend to be a much deeper red than the French ones.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

24 May 2011

A Painting A Week No 85


















For Sale - 24th May 2011
Portovenere, Italy
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

When we were in Italy recently we discovered Portovenere, a lovely village south of Cinque Terre, perched on a promontory in the Gulf of Poets. It has a similar feel to it as the Cinque Terre villages, with narrow colourful buildings squeezed in between the harbour and interesting little alleys leading up to a fort and castle on the hill.  There's also a beautiful grey and white striped 12th century church (San Pietro) standing at the gateway to the peaceful harbour.

Portovenere (Portus Veneris) was built by the Romans as a base enroute from Gaul to Spain, and was used in later years the Byzantines, Lombards, the Genovese and Napoleon. It is also reknown as a former haunt of the poet Byron.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

19 May 2011

A Painting a Week - No 84


















For Sale - 19th May 2011
Daisies and Thistles, Greece
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

During my recent energetic forays into the hills of Greece, I've been stunned by the amazing displays of wildflowers. Just finishing now are the vibrant yellow daisies with the purples of the tall thistles mixed in with them. They look beautiful, but are not so wonderful to walk through!  I'll soon be posting a blog about these walks, along with more photos.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.

11 May 2011

A Painting A Week No 83


















For Sale - 11th May 2011  [SOLD]
La Baie, Nice
Size: 21 x 15cm
Price A$90
(Postage and handling included)

We spent a couple of nights in Nice recently and a friend had given me a brochure from the local tourist office which showed paintings of the area by famous artists. How exciting was that - standing in the actual spot (well, close anyway) where Matisse, Raoul Dufy and Picaso had stood to paint, and seeing that same view that they'd turned into masterpieces. This painting is a modest attempt from me to capture 'la baie des anges, Nice' - the Bay of Angels - the large sweeping bay which was a favourite to paint in the early 19th century.

If you would like to buy this painting, please click on the following link to my Art Weekly Online Shop, or if you'd rather deal with me direct, please email me at either jackiesinfrance@hotmail.com or jackie@jackiesherwood.com.