One of my favourite people in the Universe flew from her new home in Singapore to visit me in Byron. I think we laughed non-stop for 4 days! Kirst’s hubby has an exciting job that has seen them living in exotic locales for the last 6 years. I am so happy for their success with career and raising the cutest family – BUT! -( a bug selfish BUT! ) man alive, I miss her so much. long distance friendship is certainly not as nourishing as the person live and in , well…person!

As well as Kirst’s visit, I have been super inspired and painting and drawing like craaaaazy…I am working in different mediums, and finding the challenges, experimentation and discovery of new materials quit delightful…a little frustrating too…but I am getting to where I want to be. And that my friends, is a great feeling!

aaaaand, my husband has choofed off on his long awaited, meticulously unplanned surf trip to Uluwatu, Bali. The agonising over which surfboards to take has occupied much of his mind for the last month. I spoke to him last night, and he has rated the surf as the best in his life! He is loving the friendly Balinese people, the fresh seafood, hanging out with a great mate and the amazing waves of course!

Plus! My store and gallery in Byron Bay has never been busier or looked better. All the new art journal supplies are inspiring people to get creative. All pretty great right?

I suppose life has to counter-weight all these highs with a few poops to keep me from floating off on a smile balloon… seeing my friend has doubled the amount I miss her, I am feeling lonely without Angus and I backed a hire car into our vehicle…and yeah, I didn’t take the extra extortionate car insurance…and yes! in the grand scheme of life on earth, these are nothings!  But I was so enjoying the ride on cloud 9 before the free-fall…haha!

Luckily I landed on a ‘good drawing day’…and spent yesterday doing some sketches that I really love.

Anyways…I am finishing  my first watercolors in preparation for my next exhibition…here’s a sneaky peak!

from 'Above it All' - Water colour series by Jane Davenport

Spring in My Step © Jane Davenport - to purchase, click on image

How I wish this were the case. It feels as if spring had arrived! So i can make myself feel warm by looking at sunny summer memories….the ladybirds will be here soon….

Art Journalling is a wonderful way to experiment and it inspires new ideas. It is an active form of thought process for me. I have been transferring my photography in my journals as well, but I use a different process, which will be in future video. This has me considing my artwork in new and exciting ways.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZBPhafUjfk

Ps…my favourite part is the appearance Tinsel makes …that doglette is the cutest little critter…ever!

this is the link to my Facebook profile!

sorry – such a rookie! if you can help me – please do!

This morning At 8am I was able to join in a live event with one of my favourite art teachers as she taught in New Jersey!

The camera was set up at the end of the communal workshop table, as if I was a real life participant. I was surrounded by the art supplies and class chatter and SuzIBlu would come and talk with ‘me’ every so often. We Also had a lively comments chat going on in the sidebar for the virtual participants! We were from all around the world and talking like we all knew each other.

It was cool! The future is looking very connected…I am so going to invite you all on a virtual photo shoot with me! Or how about coming to my next gallery opening? I’m soooo excited by all the possibilities!

Friend me!

Ps I am typing this on my iPhone as I walk along on the beach… Sooo blame any typos on that please…. Oooooh, look! Dolphins!!

oh, how I love a good workshop (read about my 70 plus courses here!). My ideal one would be more Matrix-like with the ‘dentist-chair-plus-spike-in-the-back-of-the-head-instant-download-into-brain-i-know-kungfu’ type deal… but then I would miss out on added bonus info from other participants in the group.

I would love to know of any classes/courses you recommend or are leading!

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1. Blogging Your Way
Summary: Blogging in your authentic voice
Course Leader: Holly Becker  blogging superstar of Decor8 and and Leslie Shewing from Color Me Pretty
Why I liked it: Holly herself is very endearing and likable and she somehow magically manages to translate that through her writing. She started each week with a podcast, and then some fantastic, in depth posts about her experience.

Her co- creator, Leslie Shewing also posted each week with photography information and lots of beautiful,inspirational images as examples. Holly had a stroke of genius by organizing a technical whizz to answer all the uploading/ downloading HTML/ blog questions. The whole look, feel and experience was very stylish, ans completely in keeping with the madly popular Decor8 blog.
The forums were incredibly active and the energy created a real buzz. I couldn’t wait to read the forums each morning. There was a huge amount of homework really, but it all related completely to our own blogs, so each student was making refinements and changes and able to get feedback throughout the course.
Our final assignment was to be split into teams and critique everyone’s blogs in our group. As a prize, for groups that did this ( our group had over 20 blogs – that’s a lot of reading!) we went in a draw to have Holly critique our blogs. My team won!

What I got out of it: excitement for blogging and confidence in putting my voice up here.
Where to find:

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2. Flying Lessons
Summary: Inspiration and insider tips to give your creative business wings!
Course Leader: Kelly Rae Roberts
Why I liked it: Kelly Rae is another blogging superstar. Her book is a best seller for the mixed-media category on Amazon. Her attitude and writing is a real joy to read. Her posts throughout the course were inspirational.

I didn’t get very involved in the comments in this course, I was too busy at the time and I regret that I wasn’t able to fully participate. But I absorbed the information and the very relaxed, down to earth way it was presented.

What I got out of it: Extreeeeeeeme gratitude for having the success I have had so far! The class was a refresher for many of the hard won life lessons i have have had. My experience of a Creative Business is very similar to Kelly Rae’s. How I wish I had a resource like this when I first started my crazy business, sorry creative business.
Where to find: I’m not sure she will be running it again for a while, but her site has an ebook edition of the course materials.

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3. SmArtist
Summary: Business tele summit for artists. “Listen, Learn, Earn”
Course Leader: Ariane
Why I liked it: Ariane invites very knowledgable speakers. It runs as a tele summit and forum. All the materials were downloadable and also sent to us on CD at the conclusion. A very professional class with lots of intense information

Ariane ‘s skill is keeping her guests on track and interesting. She asks pertinent questions and really presses the best information out of people. And it was complete information, not a bunch of speakers flogging their wares. We had a lot of course materials which have been extremely beneficial to me.

What I got out of it: most of the participants were practicing artists with a lot of diverse experience. The forums were full of lurkers ( love that phrase for a non- participant!), but those of us that did get involved, were passionate about creativity. Lots of kindred spirits from all over the world.

This year the emphasis was on Social Media and how artists can use it to share our work, getting in to galleries and ideas for ‘expanding the canvas’. There have literally been dozens of changes, refinements and actions I have made because of this valuable course. And because it was in the USA, I had to get up at 4.30am to tune in to the live sessions, so it must have been good!

Where to find: http://smartist.com/live-telesummit/home-study-edition/

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4. Artist Goal Wheel

Summary: Getting your self motivated, inspired and on target. Ebook self study with 12 months of email tip.
Course Leader:Tara Reed
Why I liked it: Tara Reed has an engaging style and is a natural teacher. her examples and real world experience make this course a pleasure to do. I really enjoyed it and I did find it very helpful…Her whole art licensing site is definitely worth checking out!

Tara Reed :www.artlicensinginfo.com

http://www.thegoalwheelforartists.com/

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Aside from just loving learning, I do keep telling myself that I will eventually have my own ecourses right here one day! Creative Photography with moi. No traveling, study as and when you please….meeting kindred spirits from a round the world…no projector for me to wrangle with to show some washed out examples on a wall. What do you think? Subscribe and I will let you know when it’s live!

P.S. I have no affiliation with any of these courses – just a genuine sharing of the LOVE!

I’d love to hear your favourites and suggestions!

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1. World of Whimsy 2
Summary: Mixed media art classes with an emphasis on whimsical character drawing.
Course Leader: ‘Willowing ‘ aka Tam Lapote
Why I liked it: Tam is incredibly generous with her time. Lessons consist of  videos each week, PDFs, live upstream chat and critiques. This is where Tam really shines as he takes each persons uploaded drawings and gives very specific visual suggestions by manipulating the images in Photoshop. Can you imagine the time this must take?

I am currently doing this class, am super engaged and really enjoying the whole Group experience. There are some wonderful artists involved, lots of beginners and people rediscovering their artistic talents. It is a nurturing experience. The forum around the lessons is very active and Tam is completely involved. Having the course leader putting energy into the discussions makes such a huge difference. I have so much admiration for her. She really has created a happy place for making art.

What I got out of it: I am really having fun just being free and drawing whimsical characters! I have at least one that wants his own book…I have started experimenting with techniques…incorporating my photography – I am having so much FUN!

Where to find it:

Tam has announced that she will be offering a free art ecourse later in the year, and there are other free groups you can join on the Ning site for Mixed Media and Art Journalling. LOVELY STUFF!  If you are QUICK, you can probably join WOW 2 now – highly recommended!

Where to find:willowing.org

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2.Drawing tutorials online
Summary: hard core drawing! Chicken scratching begone!
Course Leader: Matt Archambault
Why I like it:  Matt teaches at the School Of Visual Arts in New York. His site has dozens of fantastic videos. He is a proper Illustrator with a capital I. The drawing tutorials are challenging – he makes it look easy, but drawing a skull is hard work the first time! But the anatomical lessons are JUST SO GOOD FOR YOU.

You can watch some for free before you decide if it suits you – search itunes for his free podcast.  He regularly does iphone videos of his student’s sketchbooks too, which is soooooo interesting. Every time I complete one of the videos I can feel my drawing improve. I believe that confidence and skill in drawing has a huge impact on all creative processes.
This is a subscription based site – aprox $12 per month.

What I got out of it: madly improving drawing skills.
Where to find:drawingtutorialsonline.com

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3 and 4 ‘Petite Dolls‘ And ‘Poet and Goddess‘
Summary: Mixed Media art classes.
Course Leader: Suzi Blu
Why I liked it:  SuziBlu is a bit crazy – but in a very, very good way! She is authentic, swears and doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. And for a drawing class there was a lot of situational comedy.  Do a search on Youtube for suziblu and you will get a feel for her.

The classes are feature packed with video, PDF’s, and weekly critiques. Suzi calls them’Homework Appreciation Days’ now – isn’t that cool? The open semester format allows for students to join anytime. And it is run on Ning which I LOVE.  ( yep, I am a Ning-a-ling!). The way she teaches is encouraging and fun. She takes it from the absolute basics and builds from there.

What I got out of it: the simple joy of drawing and using color pencils again. Suzi included 6 bonus videos from a previous class for woodburning, which i fell in love with and i have the burns on my fingers to prove it! These classes also introduced me to a bunch of art supplies that I didn’t even know existed and I will be forever grateful!

The format of the school is under review with not as many classes being offered, but more variety within the class. So if you are reading this before the end of August 2010, and like drawing whimsical characters, get your caboose over to Suzi’s site before some of the classes are gone forever!
Next up is Mermaids… I am registered already… Splishy splashy!

Where to find: The Petite Academy.

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5   .’Mixed Media and the Girls‘
Summary: mixed media techniques
Course Leader: Wyanne

Why I liked it: I think Wyanne’s youtube videos are the best of their kind. The mixed media techniques were interesting and I love watching Wyanne create her beautiful work. Plus, her voice is very cute!

Look on Youtube for her regular videos to see if you like her style.

Her next class will be the Resin workshop – I am signed up for August – can- wait.

Where to find:www.wyanne.com

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Aside from just loving learning, I do keep telling myself that I will eventually have my own ecourses right here one day! Creative Photography with moi. No traveling, study as and when you please….meeting kindred spirits from a round the world…no projector for me to wrangle with to show some washed out examples on a wall. What do you think? Subscribe and I will let you know when it’s live!

P.S. I have no affiliation with any of these courses – just a genuine sharing of the LOVE!

Blue Suede Mantis © Jane Davenport

I was wandering aimlessly through my photo library as I searched for images, ideas and inspiration, and meandered into my praying mantis file. I have quite a collection! Looking at the images, I had the stories and location associated with each one jump into my mind.

This may be because they are so tricky to find with their perfect camouflage. Also, as the top invertebrate predator in the garden, they are relatively scarce in number and probably quite territorial. But I think the majority of the truth lies in the fact that I just like them. I admire them.  I can relate to a mantid (yes, you heard it here first). I would be hard pressed to bring back such clear recall for every bee I have seen for example, even though I am very fond of them also!

The most recent mantis I worked with was the Jade eyed gargantuan a few months ago (here).  The first mantids I worked with are featured in the featured image . In between are dozens of other individuals. I  just really love photographing them and I think it shows!  I have been asked to put a proposal together for an exhibition, and well, the answer has just presented itself – well, to me anyway!

I would love to see these charasmatic creatures staring from gallery walls en masse. I have had mantids feature in a few of my exhibitions…but I think they deserve more than that! I did have one of my mantis images towering over the entrance to  “What’s the Buzz?” exhibition at the Perth Zoo. The magnificent 2m mantis was a favourite with boys!

Anyway, I will send of my proposal and let you know what happens…

Jane

Kamikaze Bee (c) Jane Davenport - click to purchase

” Kamikaze Bee” holds such a cherished place in my heart and I need to self-celebrate a little today! This image represents the starting point of a monumental journey for me. I  created this image way back in my early bug days, on my first Christmas with my then boyfriend (now husband!).  It was during this trip that my fairly new interest in photographing bugs turned to a serious obsession.  By a quirk of destiny I took it not far from where I live now. But there was a lot of moving around and adventure before arriving back where I started!

This image won a big award in Los Angeles called a ‘Guru’ and was key in securing a scholarship to the Sante Fe Workshops in New Mexico where I had the joy of studying with John Paul Caponigro. It was on the plane coming home from that AMAZING experience and blazing with the passion and confidence to stop dreaming about becoming an artist ‘one day’ and setting about to make my own wishes come true. That I really could do it and that I would follow my bliss.

The little creature is an Australian  blue-banded digger bee. It is swift, solitary and an incredibly hard worker. Head down and bum up she collects treasure from flowers…I feel a kindred spirit there! Thanks little bee.

Choose Happiness,

x Jane

Angus gave me the most DIVINE woolen rug from Las Ninas. It is Bolivian – back loomed, muted colourful yumminess. It is in my new art area and is lovely, lovely lovely. I will go and take a photo now to show you!

I have 5 studios within my studio…they seem to be breeding! So this is my ‘pondering’ studio. It is my favourite space in the world. It contains my lovely old Art Journal desk. My beloved books. A place to think with pencils, paint and paper – and no computer. ( Man alive,  the computer is a time succubus for me. )

My Bolivian wool rug!

I have been up very early, reveling in my survival of another year. I don’t feel ANY different. I still feel about 8 years old. I don’t think I have changed much since then (a bit taller!).

Have a wonderful day!

Jane Davenport art journal ©

x, Jane