Owner: Arts & Stuff URL:http://susanborgas.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Sun, 07 Jan 2007 18:12:16 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: As an artist I do enjoy many aspects of the profession. I don't only create artworks with pastel, oils, watercolour etc, I also enjoy photography. My blog will cover different subject matter that I would like to share with my readers and do hope they beco Site statistics:Click here
Garry Conn.com and Dosh Dosh's Technorati Favourite's List 2007-04-24 02:24:00 When Dosh Dosh first posted about “Ultimate Technorati
Favorites Exchange: An Interactive Experiment” I bookmarked it with the intentions of participating. Since that time numerous blogs have started up lists on their blogs to keep the momentum going. One that really caught my attention was Garry
Conn.com. He has made it so easy to subscribe his list "Technorati Most Faved List" to your Technorati Favourite
s that there is no excuses not joining in because of lack of time.Will you?"Is it fair to earn Technorati favourites this way?"Is it fair to earn Technorati favourites this way? Fair or not my thoughts are if you want to get some reward for all the work that is put into a blog, go for it and get a higher ranking with Technorati! I am not going to go into the nitty gritty reasons of the why’s because Dosh Dosh gives all the explanation and it is worth a read and then you can make up your own mind as to participating or not.If you do decide to get involved by adding your name to
Three Column Template 2006-12-12 06:46:00 With the column on this blog so long I wish for Beta Blogger to provide a three column template. Researching on the internet when times allows me hasn’t been all that successful. There are three column templates to be found but found when testing them on beta blogger that I will need to tweak the html code for my blogs; taking time I don’t have to spare.Why do I want one a three column template? It will make my blog more user friendly with less scrolling for my visitors to check out what this site is all about.If you have a blog or considering signing up for one and would like to use a three column template, make a wish at Features and Suggestions. It is very easy and you don’t have to sign up to make your wish. The image below will show you other choices you can make as well. The three column template wish will have to be typed into the box at the bottom. I do encourage you to make a wish for the blogger community because my research has shown me that they are crying out for a t Read more:Three
, Column
Favicon 2006-12-11 10:48:00 A Favicon are something that I have always enjoyed seeing listed in my bookmarks directory as they make it so easy to find a link address that I am looking for. There is plenty of information on the internet telling us how to make Favicons for our website. I only found out recently from Beta Blogger For Dummies how to add a Favicon to Blogger. If you want to do the same go and visit Beta Blogger For Dummies and I would suggest grabbing their blogspot RSS feed or bookmark it for future reference as this blog has a wealth of hints for anyone that works with Blogger.I have made and loaded up two animated Favicons, one for this blog as well as Little Paintings. I really think Favicons are a good idea to use as they are like a trademark for your sites making you more visible for your visitors, especially return visitors who want to bookmark your site or blog. I did find I had to re-save my links in my bookmarks for the Favicon to show up and you may need to do the same.I used Fireworks to
Beta Blogger 2006-08-25 09:42:00 Are you using it?I have been thinking about going away from Blogger
for some time now. The breaks are now on with that thought, as now Blogger is moving forward with some great ideas and now putting them into action. I noticed that I can move my old blogger over to the new system but not quite ready to bite the bullet yet and do it.To test out this beta version I have started up a new blog called Little Paintings to show you what I mean at my new blog.The labels that really are tags will be a very handy way for visitors to be able to find subjects that they are interested in. I have used one called flowers I may make further changes to colour, fonts and general layout but for now I just want to be able to keep an eye on what blogger are doing and can do that by actually having a beta blog.Bet I gave you something to think about now. Technorati tags: blog, blogging, beta blogging, test, testingArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Lightening Strike 2006-11-27 04:43:00 What could have been a nasty situation with fire was a strike out instead when lightening hit a tree on the family farm. I have since heard via the two way radio that the storm had left spot fires from strikes as the storm moved further East. There was also a strike between a house and shed in Booleroo Centre, my closes town to where I live.As I type this the storm is building up again.My husband actually saw the lightening hit the tree and can’t understand why it never started a fire as the tree lit up like a Christmas tree with a fireball exploding up and out. Periodically Malcolm and our son Shaun check the tree and surrounding area to make sure no spot fires start up.The photo above shows the distance where I was still finding timber that had exploded away from the tree.The bare branch that can be seen in this photo shows how it is stripped of bark and limbs. We can only find a fraction of the missing timber that has been ripped apart from that trunk on the tree and of cause that Read more:Lightening
Australian Artist, Sir Hans Heysen 2006-11-24 02:44:00 A few days ago I had the opportunity to travel on a bus to Hahndorf in South Australia to visit one of Australia’s greatest artists, Sir Hans Heysen.I have always been a huge admirer of his landscape paintings and wasn’t really aware of his other works until I made this trip. His oil Still Life paintings just blew me away. He stopped painting these when his daughter Nora took up Still Life painting, presumably for their work not to be compared. Hans’s graphite and charcoal drawings are something that I can only ever hope to aspire too. They are rendered by a true master.The Heysen’s family home was purchased in 1912 where he remained until his death in 1968 at the age of 90. Hans and his wife Sallie had eight children. “The Cedars” as his home was named, had extensions added to it as his family increased.While the tour was being conducted we were told that photos were not allowed to be taken inside the house. The house is like walking back into time. One lady that traveled Read more:Australian
, Artist
The Art Gallery - Wilpena Woolshed 2006-10-24 01:08:00 I have caught up now with many of my chores that needed doing after arriving home so it is now time to concentrate more on my art. There are three commissions to paint of which will not be shown as works in progress as I would rather not have the pressure of show and tell on the internet while working on them. Two are oils and one is a pastel. I also will be working on other things while waiting for paint to dry and of cause these will be shared with you.Somewhere in all this I have to do the farm GST bookwork…… grumble grumble………As many know I hate bookwork!!!Three photos below show the Wilpena Woolshed and my paintings hanging on the wall. The woolshed belongs to National Parks, hence the artist have to make sure that we do not add to the demise of the shed by further damage. The holes in the shed iron are actually sealed with clear filler so that our paintings are safe from the elements. It is truly a wonderful experience working as artist in residence under the roof of th Read more:Gallery
I am home! 2006-10-21 09:59:00 Just a very quick note to let you know that I am home. Yes I know I am late but I have a good excuse; the exhibition ran a few extra days longer and over all it was a great success.May I say the red wine at the end of each day with my fellow artist and their partners and friends that we accumulated along the way is something that I will always value. I can’t wait for next year…wink!Once I catch my breath there will be photos posted over the next few days. See you all then.Arts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Three pastel paintings. 2006-09-10 08:20:00 This will be my last post until I return from Wilpena Pound in October, as tomorrow will be the last day to finalize any jobs that need to be done. Thankfully our son and his partner will be home to run the farm while we are away. Malcolm will have to return to the farm for the last of our shearing and any other jobs that need his expertise but will return to Wilpena once he is finished.I am going to miss the interaction I have with others through my blog so please don’t forget me altogether as I will be back posting when I return. I may even get the odd post done while at Wilpena if the Internet Café isn’t overloaded with tourist. I will have lots of photos to show you on my return.These three paintings have just been put on my website in the Pastel Gallery 1 page. They will be part of two exhibitions that I am involved with in the Central Flinders.Well that is it for now, it is time for me to say goodbye to you all Cheers,SusanI will remember you all when I am having a glass of Read more:Three
Yesterday's workshop 2006-09-03 08:31:00 Today is Sunday and other than some administration work for the Painters of the Flinders Ranges I have done very little else. I feel rather exhausted with many jobs ticked off what was a very long list working towards two up and coming exhibitions in the Central Flinders of South Australia. Maybe it is because I am beginning to finely relax.I don’t have a photo yet of the demo painting that I did yesterday but will take one tomorrow and post it. The workshop went really well with students working hard all day to finish a painting. It was a good learning experience for me to teach and I left all students eager to paint more with pastels when they went home. Admittedly that left me relieved that I had not put anyone one off from giving pastels a go.Well it looks like my Sunday rest has just come to an end. Malcolm has been busy making a frame and slip and I am now going to mount an oil painting into it. technorati tags: art, artist, pastel, workshop, exhibitionsArts & Stuff with Susa Read more:Yesterday
Tutoring a Pastel Workshop 2006-09-01 09:33:00 I think I am all set now! Tomorrow I am tutoring a group of artist in my favourite stomping grounds under Mt Remarkable near Melrose in the Southern Flinders. This will be my first workshop that I have taught and quite excited about it……mmmm….. the nervous tension may kick in now that I have time to think about it.I am only aware of one student using pastels before though they are not new to painting. Rather than the students buying pastels they will be paying a fee to use mine. This allows the students to then decide if they want to become Pastel
ist without spending many dollars on pastels that they may never use again. Of cause I had to buy extra sticks for there to be enough for the students but not concerned really, as I am always in need of more pastels myself. This will not be the last workshop by any means as the pressure is on me to teach. There are three other workshops that are in the pipeline, I only have to say “when” and they will then be put on the calendar.Well Read more:Tutoring
, Workshop
Photography Information 2006-08-28 07:24:00 I have an additional Lens called "Photography Information" at my Squidoo. There are already many links for you to check out with further sites added when I come across them. What I have already posted has been extremely useful for researching into the pros and cons of cameras plus a few hints and tricks.The link Photography Information can be found in the column of this blog or just click on the highlighted words to be taken straight there. You will also see an image of my trusty Nikon camera.Check out my Little Painting Blog; I have posted a new painting. technorati tags: lens, Little Paintings, squidoo, photography, nikon cameraArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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I have switched to Blogger Beta 2006-08-27 07:54:00 Phew and it didn't break!!!After saving my old template to a word document so that I could quickly grab any HTML/JavaScript that did not transfer to the beta version, I am now up and running. Gee it only took seconds to happen with very little to do afterwards. The buttons plus my counter were the only items that did not move to the beta version.I am using a different template to my original one and now all colours are consistent across my blogs. I did tone down the colour of the links as they were very strong on the black background. Also I didn't want the links competing with my images.I have tagged/labeled some of my threads. More will be done with time. I would imagine there is going to be quite a few updated threads showing up in Bloglines from tagging and I apologise for that but will make it so much easier for visitors to browse my blog. Also it gives you a chance to click on a tag in the left column to see what happens.Now I must concentrate on getting some painting done o Read more:Blogger
Ancient Red Gums near Melrose " FINISHED" 2006-08-24 08:51:00 I have now signed this painting and it is ready to be framed.So many artists mentioned to me that the trunk on the large tree to the right looked flat that I knew they had to be right. My eye tended to travel up the left hand side at a rush so a twiggy branch was added to slow things up a bit. I darkened the trunk slightly in from the left to help round it off but left some reflected light still coming in from that same side. Even though the timber under the "skin" of the tree trunk is red, the outer colour is very light after the bark has been discarded. I am a lot happier now than before with the final result.And for those that enjoy a zoomed in section of the image.Technorati tags: art, artist, landscape, blogger, Susan Borgas, work in progress, pastel, treeArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Read more:Ancient
, Melrose
Pastel art Organizations & Societies 2006-08-16 10:17:00 No way could I settle down to painting between preparing food and cleaning up today for shearers. Rather than feel that I haven't achieved anything at all towards my art I searched for Pastel
Art Organizations
& Societies to add to my Lens at Squidoo on my coffee breaks. You can view it now at the following address Pastel Art Organizations & Societies.squidoo, art, pastel, pastel society, pastel organizationArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Rawnsley Bluff "WIP" ten 2006-07-23 07:50:00 Right from the start I do apologies for anyone that is on dial-up as there is four photos for you to have a look at plus I was supposed to post images yesterday. That didn’t happen as I have been spending some quality time with my daughter and her husband who visited for the weekend.The reason that I am posting macro shots of this painting I want to show you that many of the marks applied are not as carefully applied as one might imagine in this painting. I will use everything and anything to get different effects. The sword play is using a long rigger that has plenty of paint on it; dotting dashing and swilling around on the canvas. Using a painting knife with a thin layer of paint on it I scrape across the surface of the canvas; once more leaving dots and dashes behind. Use the point of a knife to pick up two or three colours of paint then apply for larger stones. Use a short haired brush the same way as a knife to make stones. It then avoids the creek having the stones looking all
Elder Range, Central Flinders "FINISHED" 2006-07-06 09:14:00 The light isn’t the best today for taking a photo but did want to post today.I feel that this is now finished though as usual the work will sit for some time before framing it just incase I see something that needs altering.A close up shot will give you more idea of the texture in this painting. One thing I did do that may not be altogether noticeable I faded off the contrasting colours on the right side of the mountain so that it heads off into the distance more.Technorati tags: oil, art, artist, landscapeArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Read more:Elder
, Range
, Central
, Flinders
Window with a View - WIP Completed 2006-06-23 09:45:00 With all the excellent feed back that I have received I did make some adjustments. My heart wasn’t in my mouth while making these changes but my husbands was. Once done he could see that it was the right thing to do.Ok what adjustments have been made!* The base of the branch coming from the peppermint box tree was thickened plus some lights introduced into the foliage and limbs. That tree is what is throwing the shadow across the foreground.* Some blades of grass were added to the foreground.* I darkened the row of trees in the middle ground. Also I scraped some pale lemon across the paddock behind this same strip.* I greyed off the reds in the stonework, especially the right hand side.* The darks in and around the stonework was smudged with a mid value while the bottom lighter areas were scraped with a dark.The full size digital photo I spent quite a bit of time editing the colour and values with a freshly calibrated graphics monitor where I couldn’t say the image looked differen Read more:Window
Flinders Range Wattle WIP (still life) Revisited 2006-06-08 08:40:00 Using Art Spectrum Blue Grey I very gently scraped some colour on the porcelain handle and knob of the lid and now “fits” much better with the rest of scene. I just wish it would show up on the image that I am posting but instead you will have to take my word for it.It was suggested to me that I put some shadow on the table cloth on the right hand side to take away the sharp edge. I did this and promptly brushed it off again. It didn’t do anything for me as I felt that I couldn’t justify why that shadow was there plus I personally liked this area as a restful part of the painting. What I ended up doing was blunt the sharp edge off by lightly blending some of the colour from the table into the wall and vice versa. I also added a gentle rise in the fabric as if the cloth had been disturbed and made untidy at some stage.On the left of the table I did add some shadow against the wall plus a few faint light areas on the wall near the table. I also blurred the edge of the table in th Read more:Range
, Flinders
, Revisited
Do you know about Bloglines? 2006-06-07 08:22:00 I now use Bloglines
to organize my RSS & XML feeds so that I can view them quickly at anytime I am online. I don’t even have to be on my own computer to do so. It is an online service that makes keeping up to a favourite blog so much easier.One neat idea is the Clippings option. If I have left a comment on a blog, I clip that blog for awhile to remind me that I have left a message for the blog owner. I will delete the clipping once a reply has been made or time has passed. It can also be used to bookmark a favourite story.I have a button now in the right hand column that makes it easy to add my blog to your own Bloglines. There are also other tools that are useful at bloglines. I am still exploring them and may make use of them at a later time.Click on Bloglines here and have a look what it is all about.Technorati tags: Bloglines, clippings, RSS, XMLArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Brachina Gorge (WIP) Completed 2006-05-13 07:54:00 Well unless something comes to my notice that I need to make an alteration, this work is now finished.The creek bed was actually a lot of fun to do. I had stained the paper with darker pastels before putting the mid and lighter values over the top. Few flicks of grasses here and there plus a couple of fallen twigs. I could have put more of the fallen timber under the tree but thought it was busy enough already without additional debris. The close up of the creek bed is blown up larger than the actual painting even though I have shrunk the pixels. It will give you a pretty good idea what the pastel marks look likeNow for the completed painting.Arts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Willochra Creek, Melrose (Work in Progress) Completed 2006-04-22 08:40:00 Well the big question has finely arrived, is it finished???Smaller branches and twigs have been placed in the trees as well as the odd sky hole. I spent quite a bit of time completing the water. The bottom left corner was quickly completed as I didn’t want detail in this area though the pastel marks give a good impression of lots of litter on the ground.For now it is more look than put. There maybe a tweak here and there but nothing major with no further posting on the blog with this work. When I get a chance I will organize a pdf file of this painting as a Work in Progress, which then can be downloaded at my website.Thought you might like to see a close up of the stones under the water. Arts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Read more:Melrose
Butterfly Pastel "work in progress" Completed 2006-03-31 08:39:00 I have now reached my “More look than put” stage. I am undecided if I should do anymore work on the foreground or leave it as it is. I really don’t want to draw anymore attention to it so I am thinking the less it is worked the better.I did touch up the two bottom daisies where tone was bugging me between petals. I also added more blue to the shadow on the bottom daisy.The remainder of the butterfly was completed. I concentrated on light showing through the wings to bring them to life. Without the light they tend to be flat in colour.The body of the butterfly I scraped the merest touch of pastel to depict hair. This helped to give the body more contour as well.Mmmmmm….. more look than put!!! Is it finished? The next posting will be on my website, which will show changes that are done, if any at all.Arts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Read more:Pastel
, Butterfly
, progress
Central Flinders in Pastel "part two" 2006-03-21 06:21:00 Well I think this pastel painting is nearly finished. There are usually some adjustments to be made and sure this one will be no different as the days pass. Arts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Read more:Pastel
, Central
, Flinders
Graham W Smith Watercolour Workshop 2006-02-13 09:06:00 I attended a watercolour workshop on the 11 and 12 of this month at the Peterborough Regional Art Centre. The photo is of Graham
W Smith
applying colour in the first stage of his painting.More information can be found at my website at Out & AboutArts & Stuff with Susan Borgas
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Strange Things 2007-04-30 09:14:00 What strange things comes from this head of mine when extremely tired; in fact exhausted. Yesterday I spent at a meeting with a network of artist who promote the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.The day started with a bus load of about forty artists (The Peninsular Art Group) who wanted to meet the 'Painters of the Flinders Ranges' with samples of our work on display. This get together plus the AGM meeting was combined so that distant members of the group I am a member of, could save on time and costs that are involved.Once the visiting artist left it was time for a quick lunch then start the meeting. Proudly I am once more Vice President of the 'Painters of the Flinders Ranges' and thanks must go to those that support me to be able to continue on with this job.Anyway getting back to the 'strange things' that I started rambling on about in the beginning of this post. As much as feeling exhausted my head was still running a mile a minute. For me picking up pencil and pad and st Read more:Strange
Hints for Staying Focused 2007-05-02 03:45:00 Staying focused in your work isn’t always easy, especially if there is a daunting amount of work to do over a period of a year and the next and so on. Time management is so important to stay focused on what needs to be done. This is how I try to stay focused and for the most part it does work.1. List off the main jobs that have to be completed for the year. For artists that would be how many paintings you need to complete as well as exhibitions you are exhibiting in. Be sure to list any other major events, including non work related ones. Once you have a list, pencil each job into the years calendar at a pace that you know you can handle comfortably with room to spare for any hiccups that may arise and trust me they will. You will also be aware if you can handle anymore additional work for that year.2. Write out a daily task list. I started doing this when I read Maggie’s post How to Juggle & Other Parlor Tricks on her blog. It is a great way of staying on track for your day, which Read more:Hints
, Focused
Who we are and Chambers Gorge Rock Pool "WIP" eight 2007-05-06 07:44:00 There is a get to know you thread in the Talk Pastel Forum at WetCanvas. For the artist that read this blog there might be someone there you know or would like to get to know better. Here is a quick link to Who we are at WetCanvas.Below is my own contribution along with this photo in todays post. As you can see there is some glare on the painting, especially so in the sky. The sky actually does recede more than this image shows. I am wary about bringing in vegetation too quickly over the sky because I don't want any cracking of the darker paint to occur. I am constantly checking that mixing mediums into my oil paint is done correctly and once more this is where WetCanvas helps me enormously.Ok enough of the prattle as there is enough to read below.I have been following this thread with great interest and thought it was time that I added my own profile.As a child I lived in the Pastoral Regions of the Gawler Ranges of South Australia. As station life meant creating my own entertainment Read more:Chambers
, Chambers Gorge
, Rock Pool
Training your Brushes to Behave 2007-05-08 08:01:00 Once upon a time there was pure soap to drag your brushes across and flatten or shape into points to help care for the tips after a day of painting. Well let me tell you there is another way that you can pull those wild brushes back into shape and the magic ingredient is….wait for it… Hair Gel!!!Months ago I pinched my sons jar of Hair Gel to try it out. It is an inexpensive supermarket brand and does the job beautifully in controlling my brushes of all types. If we can put it on our hair without it falling out or change to a weird colour I can't see that it will hurt and after months of using Hair Gel on my own brushes, I can recommend it.After each painting session I rinse the brushes out in water or turps (depending on the type of medium used). I then wash my brushes out in warm water and pure soap, no matter what medium I have used. Do this by rubbing the brush onto the soap, rinse and rub onto soap again and rinse until the brush does not soil the soap. One last rinse than Read more:Training
Wendy Prior Original and it's all mine :D 2007-05-07 09:34:00 The Bay - 8 x 10 inches in coloured pencil on drafting film -Copyright WendyPrior
Doesn't this coloured pencil work add some class to my blog? I just wish I could say that I did this work myself because eyeballing the original that turned up by snail mail today just blows me away. I emailed the artist of this work Wendy Prior for permission to post her image to my blog, which she generously said yes.How I came about buying this work, Wendy's decided to have a major clean out with a studio Sale. This post is where I saw "The Bay" and promptly made a purchase.Looking at the image on my graphics monitor and comparing it to the original I can truly recommend purchasing Wendy's work from her website because the reproduction is spot on. I am astonished with the fine pencil work that she uses and know that I am going to learn so much from this piece.Thank you Wendy for the opportunity to buy one of your original works. Quick links:Free Subscription to Arts & Stuff by Email technorati Read more:Original
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