My art blog has moved!

I'll keep this little blog running for my dog bickies and sharing of non art related goodness..

But for my art blog, you can check me out here

Soul Mates - a Work in Progress

It may seem a little weird

(but that's ok, cause I'm a little

coo coo ka choo sometimes)

... but I like to share

the process of my paintings from

start to finish. 

And also my inspiration

for why I painted a certain

painting.

So here's the story, I was running

along one morning, kind of meditating  on a

commission piece, I had been asked

to paint. 

My friend wanted red birds

in the painting and she didn't mind

where they were or what they 

were doing, she just wanted

red birds. 

AND BAM, This happened ---->

so now I had my inspiration,

I was off on a mission.

Beginnings of the background

More colour to the background

A close up of the finished birdies

and the finished product

"SOUL MATES"

24 x 36 inches

and there you go, sometimes

inspiration happens in the weirdest of places.

Love Tree

Just a quick post to share my latest

painting and a few before photographs.

In an effort to always keep thinking

outside of the box but to keep my

own artistic voice loud and clear,

I tried a new technique for this background

which I just LOVED.

First Layer above

adding the tree

and the finished product

LOVE TREE

10 x 12 inches

and perfect for that

special somebody for 

Valentines Day

as always thank you for popping by

xx

Serena - a DO OVER or RE-WORK

7 months ago, I painted the first version of "Serena"

at the time I loved her so much

and was lucky enough for a lovely

lady who owns a clothing boutique

to reach out to me to ask it would be

ok to hang her in the shop.

7 months on and it was time

to bring Serena home. After

not having seen her for that long 

and my tastes having changed so

much in that time, I felt like 

Serena needed a do-over.

So here's a few progress photo's of 

the re-work in action.

So above is the 'cover up' period ;-)

the beauty of acrylic paint is 

that if you don't like something

you can paint over it. I have ZERO

experience with oils, so cannot 

comment on whether or not it is easy to

paint over a piece you don't like.

Extended her hair

fixed her face

added a head band

changed the background

and most importantly

added a MONO BROW!

and phew I felt like

it was a huge difference

already

A little more work

and the transformation is complete!

I love the Take-Two Version

of 

Serena 

now!!

As always thanks for popping by

xx

Introducing Rosie ----->>

So I have been working on a little side project for a few months now. It has involved making my own dog biscuits/treats and dog food. I have enjoyed this process so much, that I've started sharing a few recipe's on here for my friends/family and anyone else that happens to stumble upon this blog.

I thought it only appropriate, that I share a photo of my beautiful Rosie for anyone that has not met her in real life.

She is a 7 1/2 year old  King Charles Cavalier. She snores very loudly (and I mean rattle the tiles on the roof loud), has big floppy ears, loves the beach, adores my children, but most importantly ---> she loves whatever I cook for her!

Currently I am looking at a natural flea spray (still trialling it), and ways to combat her bothersome bad breath (without me having to brush her teeth twice a day).

So watch this space :-)

Rosie's Seriously Scrummy Dog Treats

by far my Rosie's 

favourite recipe yet!

Rosie's Seriously Scrummy

Dog Treats

160g Rolled Oats 

50 g Olive Oil

1 1/4 Cups of Boiling Water

1 Tablespoon of Vegetable Stock (**See note below**)

185g Peanut Butter 

1 Egg

300g of whole wheat flour (I used Atta Brand)

** I made my own vegetable stock in the Thermomix using the recipe from the Everyday Cookbook - page 23

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

• In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, oil, vegetable stock, and boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. I used the Thermomix to weigh and measure all of the ingredients and let it sit in the bowl.
• Next thoroughly stir in peanut butter, whole wheat flour and egg. If using the Thermomix, blitz together on speed 7 for about 10 seconds.
• Knead with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. I used my Thermomix to do this process which was quicker and kneaded for 2 minutes. 
• Take a rolling pin and flatten out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a biscuit/cookie cutter to cut out fun shapes. If you're feeling lazy, you can just leave the dough as is and bake it like one whole biscuit. You can always break it up after it's cooked. If you want a shinier looking biscuit, you can also brush on a thin coat of egg whites before baking. 
• Place your dough onto a tray with a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) or until golden. 

Let your biscuits cool completely. Store in an air tight container for up to a week (if your furry friend let's them last that long!). Remember these are fresh ingredients with no preservatives, so they will not store as long in a container as a commercially bought brand of biscuits would. 

Alice & The Fawn

My latest painting

"Alice & The Fawn"

20 x 24 inches

Commissioned piece

for a very special 

little girl named Alice

As always

thank you for 

stopping by

xx

Follow No One...

With all of the information out

there on Social Media and 

just readily available

via a quick Google search,

it is really really hard

to find your own voice

and not want to follow 

everyone else. Especially if they

are successful in their own field.

BUT no matter the temptation

there is only one YOU!

So follow your own voice.

xx

Photo taken by me (via Iphone)

Quote created on Canva

Deer Frida - From Start to Finish

I like to share the journey of a 

painting on my blog for two reasons

1) As  a record for me personally to 

go hey, it started looking like a hot mess

and evolved into either a bigger

hot mess, or something I can

be proud of.

and 

2) To maybe serve as inspiration

to other artists out there that

maybe get a little thrown off

by the way a painting first

starts off. My tip is to 

just keep going, until your

gut says it's happy!

First layer of papers

Frida and the baby deer

sketched in.

a little more sketching and development

A close up of the texture

and the deer

Side view

and the end product

Deer Frida

20 x 24 inches

As always

thank you for

popping by

xx 

Carrot, Banana & Apple Dog Biscuits ----->>> shhhhh dogs with hips look away

Round two...

Rosie approves...

But then again

She is a guts on legs

But shhhhh

don't tell her these

are low fat and

better yet

good for her!!

Carrot, Banana & Apple Dog Biscuits

1/4 cup of natural applesauce (**see note below**)

1 cup of shredded carrots (**see note below**)

1 medium rip banana

1/8 cup of water

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour

1 cup of rolled oats (** see note below**)

** I made my own applesauce in the Thermomix using the recipe from the Everyday Cookbook - page 42

** I grated my own carrot in the Thermomix on speed 8 for about 10 seconds

** I blitzed the oats in the Thermomix on speed 8 for about 10 seconds

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees.
• Mash the rip banana in a small bowl.
• Grate the carrots and mix with the banana.
• Pour in applesauce and water.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and oats. I used the Thermomix and blitzed together on speed 6 for about 15 seconds. 
• Knead with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. I used my Thermomix to do this process which was quicker and kneaded for 2 minutes. ***note*** this recipe is very sticky!
• Take a rolling pin and flatten out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a biscuit/cookie cutter to cut out fun shapes. If you're feeling lazy, you can just leave the dough as is and bake it like one whole biscuit. You can always break it up after it's cooked. At this point I also sprinkled on a little extra cinnamon on the top of the biscuits, but that is just an option. If you want a shinier looking biscuit, you can also brush on a thin coat of egg whites before baking. 
• Place your dough onto a tray with a non-stick baking sheet on top because as mentioned above this recipe is very very sticky!
• Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) or until golden. 

Let your biscuits cool completely. Store in an air tight container for up to a week (if your furry friend let's them last that long!). Remember these are fresh ingredients with no preservatives, so they will not store as long in a container as a commercially bought brand of biscuits would. 

Making the right choice

 
photo taken by myself
 

 

Oprah

How beautiful is this photo

taken in Broome Western Australia.

My friends daughter took it

and I didn't apply any filters!

WOW right.

And thank you Oprah Winfrey

for your inspiring quotes.

What a woman!

Frida Kahlo - I Paint Self Portraits

Frida Kahlo

I am obssessed!

Quote by Frida Kahlo

Art by Natalie Briney

As always 

thank you

 for popping by 

xx

Always Remember

The sheer beauty of seeing this family of swans

moving along as one unit, 

stopped me in my tracks this morning

while running along the beach.

I just had to stop and 

take a picture.

The quote just sums it up

beautifully.

FOCUS

FOCUS

Follow

One

 Course

Until

Success

because I'm very much a

 "wow look at that shiney object" 

kind of gal 

and find it hard to stay on track.

This will be my 2015 mantra

2015 is going to be -----> AWESOME

Artwork by Me

Quote also by Me

Thanks for popping by 

xx

Innocence - From Start to Finish & A Quote

My latest art, from start to finish.

Titled "Innocence"

36 x 48 inches

Very loosely based on Klimt's famous painting

Mother & Child 

background on and

sketch drawn in.

mum and bub have some 

skin colour added

background added too and 

hair colour added

and here we are

finished product.

as always

thank you

for popping by

xx

couldn't resist adding this quote over the top xx

Apple Cinnamon Dog Biscuits

I have been experimenting with making my own dog food for a little while now and recently a friend introduced me to a recipe for homemade dog biscuits. 

With that very first batch, I knew I was on to a winner. Our dog's coat has never been shinier, her tail hasn't stopped wagging, she has never once turned her nose up at anything I've made and just listening to her crunching away, assures me they are delicious.

So all of this positive feedback has inspired me to find more recipe's and adapt them to my lifestyle. I also wanted to experiment with different flavours/textures and flours all while knowing that what I was putting into the bickies, was not only safe for my dog, but I had control of it. Ie no preservatives etc.

So want to make your own batch of bickies for that special furry friend in your life? 

Well you can.... here is my latest recipe - Apple Cinnamon Dog Biscuits

Apple Cinnamon Biscuits

1 cup of natural applesauce (**see note below**)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon parsley

1 cup cold water

1/2 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)

5 cups brown rice flour (**see note below**)

1/2 cup powdered milk

2 large organic eggs

** I made my own applesauce in the Thermomix using the recipe from the Everyday Cookbook - page 42

** I made my own rice flour using brown rice and using the Thermomix recipe from the Everyday Cookbook - page 21

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees.
• In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
• In a smaller bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add the rest of the wet ingredients.
• Gently combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
• Knead with your hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. I used my Thermomix to do this process which was quicker. ***note*** this recipe is very sticky!
• Take a rolling pin and flatten out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a biscuit/cookie cutter to cut out fun shapes. If you're feeling lazy, you can just leave the dough as is and bake it like one whole biscuit. You can always break it up after it's cooked. At this point I also sprinkled on a little extra cinnamon on the top of the biscuits, but that is just an option. If you want a shinier looking biscuit, you can also brush on a thin coat of egg whites before baking. 
• Place your dough onto a tray with a non-stick baking sheet on top because as mentioned above this recipe is very very sticky!
• Bake for 15-20 minutes (depending on your oven) or until golden. 

Let your biscuits cool completely. Store in an air tight container for up to a week (if your furry friend let's them last that long!). Remember these are fresh ingredients with no preservatives, so they will not store as long in a container as a commercially bought brand of biscuits would. 

From Start To Finish - Solveig's Song

From the nervous stages

of the blank canvas

to the next layer of adding

papers

close up of some of the texture

on to adding the tree

Then the finished product

"Solveig's Song"
24 x 36 inches

and I couldn't resist adding

part of the actual song

As always

thank you for popping by

2014 - what a fabulous year!

Since 2013, I wanted to start a yearly tradition for myself. 

One where I collate all of my paintings 

together into a single photo.

The reasons for this are not only to

share them with my friends/family/supporters of my
art (who I would also put into the category of friend)

but also for me personally to see:- 

1)  how I've been travelling 

throughout the year artistically

2) make sure my work isn't all

looking the same

3)  which colours/paintings are working for me and
that I did like and those that I wasn't so keen on.

All of these steps help me to move forward into the

new year having a clearer picture in my head.

here's last years review pic (2013)

As always thanks

for taking the time to 

pop by xx