Pictures 11-20 of my 100 Pictures Project

How was your April, dearheart? I’m travelling nicely along with my 100 Pictures Project – gradually seeing the body of work adding up! And some have gone to wonderful loving homes already! #honoured

[Scroll right to the bottom for a $50 off coupon code in my Studio Clearance art sale – this week only!]

Header for 100 Pictures Project work in progress blog post. An e-collage of Sunny dog, Barbara Kingsolver quote colouring page, and Arcs and Iridescence nasturtium painting with hand lettered looking header text.

Click the images below, bold soul, to check out the full picture and story in my gallery shop if you want to learn more or own one freshly created. Here are the pictures from:

11 to 20 in my 100 Pictures Project

Two hand-lettered quotes from my 100 Pictures Project, with a blue background. Imagery is by Tangerine Meg; quotes are from Barbara Kingsolver

11 and 12 are Barbara Kingsolver quotes. After fan girling at Adelaide Writers Week, getting one of my Kingsolver books signed [Prodigal Summer if you’re playing along :) ] I looked up Twitter to see and she’s spoken on this theme previously and articulately. I found her talk inspiring, optimistic and galvanising.

“If you love your biodiversity, you can save it.”

“So much is still alive. You still, we still, have so much to love. Please don’t give up on this world.”

~ Barbara Kingsolver

black and white dog art on left, and handcoloured lino print of a young magpie on the right

13 Sunny Dog – best.dog.ever. no question – and I’ve met her! #lucky I loved figuring out how to try to make her black and white fur markings with lino, and had fun making her a stand-alone image (no background), which is a change for me…

14 Young Magpie. I took a gazillion photos, before I had a decent one for reference… birds move fast, don’t they?

2 pictures. The left vibrant with orange blue and green, a still life with china object and nasturtium background. The right a black and white line drawing and lettering with a Madeleine L’Engle quotation.

15 Arcs and Iridescence. Arcs of butterfly flight and arcs of china. Iridescence of china and butterfly wing scales. Tangerine Man picked up those similarities and formed this picture title :D

16 Madeleine L’Engle quote lettering/drawing. Gosh, have you seen the movie *A Wrinkle in Time*? I loved it so much that I got the book from the library to re-read :) Turns out Oprah is featuring this quote in many of her interviews, too.

“Find your own frequency.
Yours.
And have faith in who you are.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle

2 artist pictures. The left a tabby cat with patterned background; the right a blue and white vase holding zinnia flowers.

17 Kedi the temple tabby. A Bold Soul sent me a cat picture to paint and I was inspired by turkish patterns for the background.

18 Zinnias from Lucy. Lucy is a young farmer who offers flowers along with greens and other edibles… I think she grows them near the food crops to help keep good insects around.

Header image with butterfly lino prints on left half, and a hand drawn mandala on the right half.

19 Delicate. Delicate but strong. This butterfly saved itself from the wild wind. Click the picture to see in my gallery shop and read the whole story.

20 Mandala with 4 circles. Listening to a holistic kind of doctor on a podcast – I’d just listened to the start – and I was inspired to make a circle with four segments kind of round drawing.

See them all – maybe even get one for yourself! – at the 100 Pictures Project in my online gallery shop. In fact if you go there, you’ll see all the way to 22 ‘cos I’m scrambling to keep my blog up with art progress!

Thanks for being here!

I appreciate you. Mwah! Have a lovely week!

Talk soon,
Love Meg x o

 

PS Print of the Month for May is *Thea (Rainbow Goddess)* a rainbow kitty for love and light.

PS2 I’m having a Studio Clearance Art Sale this week! Use code “AutBP*SC50” for $50 off every piece of art in the Studio Clearance collection pages of my gallery shop! Sale runs until 11.59pm Adelaide time, on Star Wars Day (May the 4th (be with you)).
Note: Sale does not include these recent #100PictureProject pieces!

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Bold Soul celebration & calendar giveaway

[Update: this giveaway is now over and I’m going to contact the winners by email. Thanks for being here! There will likely be another giveaway soon! Woot!]

Who will you acknowledge as a Bold Soul?

Who do you want to celebrate and encourage?

Who will you compliment?

Who would you go in a draw to win a 2018 bold art calendar for? Read on… :D

tall format meme, with white hand-lettered writing on orange graded background. It reads: There are many wonderful people on this earth and you are one of them. tangerinemeg.com

Bol Soul, I see you …

You’re committed to supporting friends in their bold uniqueness. You delight in and celebrate kindred spirits’ quirks and awesomeness, their OC tendencies and their goodness.

Remember we talked about some other ways to know if you are a bold soul, here? Do you know someone with one or more of those qualities?

Would you like to give them some recognition?

I have a couple of options to cheer them on …

  • … enter this giveaway (see instructions below) and get a 2018 bold art calendar for them! Or,
  • … go to my facebook or Pinterest and share the image to them from my posts (I’ll put them up as soon as this blog post is ‘live’)

#itsamovement #boldsoulrecognition #calendargiveaway

What’s going on?

I ordered too many 2018 bold art calendars. Most have gone to good homes already, and there are a few left…  I’d love to for some #kindredspirits to enjoy them and I’d love to hear about someone you admire! Plus, I haven’t played around with a giveaway for bloody ages – let’s now!

Let’s get bold.

And complimentary.

Think of a friend who’s Bold Soul-ness you’d like to acknowledge and encourage.

You sometimes get a ‘What? Am I invisible?’ vibe when out and about … Shhhh, it’s our superpower, luckily …

… the important thing is we’re visible to each other :)

 

Giveaway Details

To go in the draw for a 2018 bold art calendar for a friend or admired person, leave a comment in the comments section below, including:

  1. Firstly, Why you’re a bold soul! This will make your entry valid – no light hiding under any bushels, dearheart! And,
  2. Nominate a bold friend: tell us, why do you think they’re bold? Please tell the story in your comment. Along with why they’d get a kick out of a bold art calendar.
    [You can nominate them as ‘bold’ for any reason: their work in their particular field, strength in adversity, a personal quality, an action, mindset, project or something else.]

Winners of the giveaway will be decided at my & the Tangerine Dream Team’s discretion on May the 4th. [Oh cool, Star Wars day :) ] Winners will be notified via email. There are remaining just 1 cat calendar, 2 still life and 12 bold women calendars. The calendar will be the giveaway, you’ll just need to cover pack and shipping. Sound good?

Join the groundswell!

#kindredspirit, let’s acknowledge ourselves and recognise each other. Let’s percolate up and make society’s fabric awesome. (It may smell like a coffee shop.)

So, to recap: comment below with your own and a friend’s awesome-ness (getting some clues from the You Know You’re A Bold Soul When… blog post if you like). I look forward to hearing all about them. #sharesomelove

Love Meg x o

 

PS Want to see my Pinterest boards on a similar inspiring theme? Try clicking these: Bold Souls, Older + Bolder, and Bold Women. Hope they make you happy, too!

PS 2 I’ll also put the tall image on Pinterest and the wide version on Facebook, to share along onto Bold Souls…

hand lettering on a graded orange background, with extra colour in the words “wonderful” and “you”. It reads: There are many wonderful people on this earth, and you are one of them. tangerinemeg.com

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Cat art and the art of coffee

Introducing Ben from Fleurieu Roast and a lovely-smelling collaboration of coffee and cat art!

Laughing lady holding box of cards, and smiling man holding shiny black bag of custom roasted coffee, with a group of cat paintings in the background.

When you step into (or even before you step into) Ben’s roasting shed, the coffee aroma greets you! [Did you know the smell of coffee is an antioxidant?] Ben has a finely tuned palate and subtle nose to tell different types of coffee apart!

Why am I introducing Ben? We’re collaborating: my (cat) art is exhibiting on Ben’s walls!

A tilted camera shot of the mini exhibition at fleurieu roast

When dropping off and hanging the artwork, I also got to hold green coffee beans – did you know they start this colour? I didn’t. [And don’t worry, the Meg hand germs get roasted off in the process.] I’m thinking that carpet might be a nice element in a cat picture in future, too.

a hand holding green coffee beans in the foreground, with a patterned rug out of focus in the background

You can get ground coffee and cups of coffee on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons, along with Ali’s teas. Timely, as for the next 2 weeks Ben is having a sale (see pic).

my feet on a patterned carpet next to a sale sign at fleurieu roast

Walk in & take a deep appreciative breath. After you’ve ordered your coffee, get yourself some bold art or a card if you fancy a momento of your Fleurieu visit.

This is Ben readying his camera to take the first photo of us you saw.

Ben Tugwell of Fleurieu Roast readying a camera to take the header shot of this blog post

Address and open hours details on my stockists and galleries page. Cheers for having my bold art in your space, Ben!

If you know a bold soul who loves really good coffee and cat art, please share this with them. Mwah!

If you know a bold soul who loves really good coffee and cat art, please share this with them. Mwah!

If you’ve a friend who loves good coffee and bold cat art, would you share this with them? Mwah!

Love Meg x o

 

PS Want to see my cat art Pinterest board? Go here.

PS2 Check out my tea cup and saucer picture and a pink mug and cat picture in my 100 Pictures Project!

If you know a bold soul who loves really good coffee and cat art, please share this with them. Mwah!If you know a bold soul who loves really good coffee and cat art, please share this with them. Mwah!SaveSave

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The second 5 pictures of the 100 Pictures Project

Goodness, I’m nearly up to picture 15 of my 100 Pictures Project, so let’s gather up pictures 6 to 10, right here, right now … :)

5 Tangerine Meg pictures, overlaid with blog post header type: " The second 5 pictures of the 100 Pictures Project"

Click the composite image below to check out the full version of all the pictures… In order from left to right, top to bottom, we have:

  1. A still life: *Succulent, Geranium and Honeymoon Fabric*, the plants from which are steadfastly looking just as good in the vase on my table even today,
  2. *Faithful Heart* – love and strength and what’s important (love) + the 4 AP (Artist Proof) print women are in all different skin tones,
  3. *Welcome cat – the lino print* is also in 4 colour schemes,
  4. *After Autumn Rain* (groovy inner child boot walk with chicken) [The chooks are different colours too!]
  5. Found a great quote to put on the gallery shop page with rainbow cat, then decided to go ahead and illustrate it.. I like that the quote gives something to ponder while I draw – as can you while you colour. It’s a bit more poetic than good old Churchill’s quote, right? Click the pic below for a downloadable of the colouring page / quote available in my shop now (as are all the pics).

Here’s a version without the header writing over it! See them all – maybe even get one for yourself! – at the 100 Pictures Project in my online gallery shop. In fact you’ll see all the way to 16 there ‘cos I’m scrambling to keep my blog up with art progress!

Haha, I imagine I’d’ve got to 10 pictures sooner if I didn’t quadruple the work it took on the three lino prints! Oh well, I like that there are a mixture of different mediums :) As a collection of 10 themes the threads will flow through the various methods.

Talking about the themes, this is how my *100 Pictures Project* chart is looking:

[Like the little Kyeli quote tucked in there?]

Did you know?

If you’d like blog posts such as this one to arrive right in your inbox each month, sign up at the top, side or below this post! I’d love to welcome you to the Studio eLetters tribe!

Along with putting time into art-making, I’ve been thinking about forgiving and yet also keeping eyes open. Life has a lot of limbo-ey phases, hasn’t it?

Talk soon,
Love Meg x o

 

PS Click the picture or this text link to check out availability in my online gallery shop if you’d like to buy an original work of (bold) art on paper! Fun! [Works on paper rock – I may elaborate on that thought in an upcoming post!]

PS2 The April Print of the Month … click this to take a closer look at *Early Figs in blue and white bowl*… SaveSave

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It’s not just computers that need to de-frag

… Cautionary and inspiring tales from the dusty front line of Accumulated Stuff. And how a self portrait photography course helped me clean up my act!

"It's not just computers that need to de-frag" written in handwriting like font, and the word "Defrag" is illustrated with computer mother board like patterns.

We moved into our new house – #ecodreamhome – around a year ago, and after many waves of releasing belongings, Tangerine Man and I are doing our (hopefully) final round of Discern and Release! Hoorah!

Some call it decluttering. I don’t like the word ‘declutter’ even though I know everyone gets what it means.

How about de-fragging?

You know when your computer defragments, it sorts and re-files scattered fragments of information leaving free space to think and do? That’s what we need to do to our belongings!

The computer takes ages to de-frag.

So do we.

‘Defrag’ is a great name for this process, don’tcha think?

What I’ve learned from culling the combined treasures of 2 collectors

  1. Forget about sunk costs! [Crikey, the collections we’ve let go!… Magazines, toys, education notes, clothing] … I dare not calculate the original cost of acquisition!
  2. If you’ve lived for 1 or more years without touching an item, ya probably don’t need it. Except your skates, you’ll always be glad you have your skates.
  3. Many of the things which haven’t been touched can be useful / enjoyable for someone else. I found that an encouraging thought, particularly with clothes that are no longer suitable for whatever reason.
  4. You don’t need as much as you think you will. Or, the things you think you will … a good reason to take your sweet sweet time about this!
  5. Tangerine Man sees there’s more usable space. I look around and am amazed at the high percentage of usable objects right now… And, the other side is we know where to find what we need (see point 6).
  6. All the pins and needles are in one spot. All the bandaids are in one spot. All the fabric is in one spot. All the dresses… This is a revelation to me. I’ve become used to looking, sorting, searching, not finding the right version… One goal was to have a place for everything and everything in its place, and we’re genuinely getting there…
  7. Without consciously planning to, I’ve all but stopped watching renovation and house flipping shows. Interesting. They were my comfort food for a while there! I don’t know why I’m hardly drawn to them any more. Pretty sure I still like them, though my current reality set up show is the Queer Eye re-boot, which makes me so happy that I’ve decided to watch one a week (rather than binge watching) like in the olde days, and take the in between week to enjoy anticipating the next episode. Hope they make some more soon :)
  8. Have a pause (of days even) between car loads of op (thrift) shop drop offs. It takes a day or so to re-set after the off lift! No hurry. Settle in with with the space and changes you’ve made, then go again.

It’s been a matter of re-grouping things in the same category, cleaning, deleting. It’s so fresh to look around and feel that your space clearly tells your story… How did a photography course help? Read on…

Self Portrait photography course helped me clean up my story

I did one or several of Vivienne McMaster’s online photographic self portrait courses. I assure you they’re not at all about a self portrait with perfect skin and a selfie stick at a famous concert. Vivienne is such a beautiful teacher of knowing and looking at yourself with kindness.

Ever since first learning of photographic self story telling, I’ve wanted less messy/distracting options for backgrounds in my real space, which has been a motivator to get my rooms cleared to the point of being true and beautiful backdrops. [Implementation has taken a while!]

Sometimes maligned as ‘selfies’ or narcissistic, photographic self portraits are a valid way to include yourself in your own story. I recommend you do any course with Vivienne McMaster for gentle ways to beautifully evolve your relationship with yourself in photos.

[Later: I realise I may have given the wrong impression here. We haven’t moved house so I have clean photo backgrounds – there were loads of reasons it was right for us – and Vivienne McMaster encourages getting yourself into your story now whatever is alongside you … I meant, that looking more at self portraiture had me thinking … well how am I living? Do I like it? (It was messy with 2 kids and 1 adult at the time, I can tell you) What do I really want? What is my story? Considering surroundings to be part of that, and letting it help me to recalibrate was motivating for me as a visual person. Does that make sense?]

Home de-fragging, pro tip:

You don’t have to move house to clear things, you can shift a piece of furniture! You still want to: sweep where it’s taken from, sort what was on/in/under it and release as needed, decide where it’s going. Sweep the new space. Choose what goes back in/on/under!  What wants to be binned/recycled, what is moving forward with you?

Have you a history or story with de-fragging? I’d love to hear! ‘Specially encouraging/success stories, or, even stories about when a re-frame made a difference.

Talk soon,
Love Meg x o

 

PS Check out my Happy Home pinterest board, if you’re interested in my home inspirations. Maybe one day – when the pictures are hung – I’ll post some pics of our house somewhere on line!

PS2 If you want my freshly picked blog posts to arrive in your inbox each month, simply sign up for my blog round up, the bonus is you also get Studio eLetters and the Tangerine Treasury!

PS3 You can still get calendars... They’re $25. From 400 printed there are just 26 left on hand as we speak… 20 Bold Women. 5 Cats. 1 Still Lifes.

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You know you’re a bold soul when…

You know you're a bold soul when ... blog post header with hand lettered type, on watercolour shapes and featuring Rainbow Lady picture

You know you’re a bold soul when…

  • You’re beyond youthful fear, over trying to fit in and be ‘beige’… Now you care less about societal demands and want to be you! It’s time to express yourself unapologetically and loudly!
  • Freedom, beauty, happiness and kindness are important to you – with a great big dessert of sovereignty and taking no rubbish!
  • Talking about sovereign… gender, age and actual royal connections aside, you’re a Queen. You know the three archetypes of Maiden, Mother, and Crone? Let’s include and celebrate the fourth one, Queen, after Mother and before Crone. That gives us a lovely lot of bonus, un-destined, in-between years – goodness willing and the creek don’t rise – for action and fun! Listen to more about the fourth archetype here, with Pace and Kyeli.
  • You’re meeting yourself where you find yourself: here. Appreciating your humanity, realness. Naturally the same respect flows to others. You do not, however, suffer fools gladly!
  • You may or may not be what anyone would call older, but you’ve gone through something in life that’s given you a similarly independent frame of mind.
  • In others, you’re seeing past younger and older, gender, ability, skin tone and seeing equally valuable human people
  • You’re committed to supporting friends in their bold uniqueness. You delight in and celebrate kindred spirits’ quirks and awesomeness, their OC tendencies and their goodness
  • No damn sugar coating! In so many ways. Truth telling, with kindness. [Also, no actual sugar! Human bodies don’t function well with that white stuff.]
  • You’re less concerned what ‘others’ [who are these judgemental ‘others’ anyway?] might think, you speak up when speaking up is required, even when your voice shakes
  • You’re getting more comfortable with trusting your intuition, and recognising your sensitivity is your strengthBold woman with text "Your sensitivity is your strength"
  • You likely have introvert qualities – yey, half the population does, y’know – and work with them to do your work in your own best way
  • You sometimes get a ‘What? Am I invisible?’ vibe when out and about … Shhhh, it’s our superpower, luckily …
  • … the important thing is we’re visible to each other :)
  • You’ve realised the importance of good old fashioned gratitude

Join the groundswell!

#kindredspirit, let’s acknowledge ourselves and recognise each other. Let’s percolate up and make society’s fabric awesome. It may smell like a coffee shop.

I’m thinking of you, with recognition, pride and insider joke giggling chortling…
Love Meg x o

 

PS Want to join my email bold soul tribe? There are colouring pages, a phone screen and more in the Tangerine Treasury (the subscriber’s secret download library) along with eNews member’s deals, birthday emails and free insider updates every month direct to your inbox from the heart of my studio. Bold, arty fun :)
Barb the Bold Soul says:

“I absolutely love all of the color and joy in your emails. When I see a new one, I don’t know whether to open it first (Eat dessert first) or leave it for last (Save the best for last). Either way, it’s been a long time since I’ve so enjoyed venturing into a new area.” ~ Barb

PS2 If you already are on my mailing list: I so appreciate you, bold soul! Let’s do this! x o x oSaveSave

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The First 5 Pictures of the 100 Picture Project

Header text overlaid on 5 new happy artworks

A million years ago Last century (early eighties) the librarian at graphic design college told us new students this truth/joke: When in a group setting somebody mentions a topic they don’t (yet) know about, the librarian/s present will glaze over briefly (and possibly look seemingly vaguely off into the distance) while they figure out how they would look it up.

I love that (and am related to and around many librarians) and pretty sure I’ve see this actually happen!

I love when people are drenched in their specialty/genius and they want to use their powers to make things better. I feel that way with my new art project, too :)

Art can change the way you look at the world

Have you heard that good art can change the way you look at the world? I love it when I go to an exhibition and afterwards, back outdoors – where I was perhaps half an hour ago – everything seems different with my new art-influenced perspective.

I particularly remember returning to the daylight when I’d seen David Hockney’s many-eyed photographs.

And Christine McCarthy’s (one of my teachers/mentors) and her prints  have forever changed the way I look at coastal sand dune vegetation and other landscape wonders!

My art project has already started to change the way I’m looking at things!

For me, it can feel like a whole other day by the end of a walk or a day, let alone a week or a month or a lengthy project! You too?

Based on other lengthy projects (like my 50 Pictures for my 50th birthday a couple of years ago) I’m guessing that End of Project Me is some way off yet… I am still Start of Project Me. However, I note this art project is already subtly changing my outlook.

I was walking past a tree with ripening apples, searching my mental filing cabinet for what paint colours I could use* to approximate Mother Nature’s palette. Like the librarians, right?! Seeing my palette in my mind’s eye, mixing a colour… Lol! <3

Here’s a collage of the first 5 pictures of the 100 Picture Project:

5 new pictures, 4 are paintings and one is a black and white colouring page

Click the picture to view and read the description/story of the first four in my online gallery shop.

Picture 5 is a great Winston Churchill quote I came across that’s going to be super relevant this year! To help embed it in my psyche, I spent some hours lettering and decorating it…  I even have it (smaller) on my vision board to remind me, and had it pasted down even before I nominated my big art project.

The colouring page of the Churchill quote is not for sale!

But, you can have it!

Whaaaat? How does that work?

It’s now a part of the Tangerine Treasury secret library of downloads!

If you’re already signed up for my mailing list, you can access this as a downloadable colouring page in the usual way. Otherwise, sign up and download today!

Related / Unrelated News …

How intriguing is this recent article about instagram changing the way we involve ourselves with art? Might I even suggest the term ‘play’ with art? Certainly there’s influence going in both directions :)

You can follow along the 100 Pictures Project artworks in progress on instagram and facebook… go ahead and comment when one of them resonates with you!

Love. Light. Peace.
Meg x o

 

* Red and the light pink mixed. It was a lovely ripe-y pinky red.

PS There are still some 2018 Bold Art Calendars left – mostly Bold Women and a few Cats, and right now there are a couple of Still Lifes.

Catsanova Invitation Adelaide Fringe 2018

PS2 If you’re in Adelaide and you like cat art, come to the Catsanova Fringe Cat Art exhibition at Pepper St Art Gallery, Magill, between February 18 (the launch) and March 23! I’ll have some artwork in there … did you see, one of my paintings is on the invitation (top right) :)

PS3 Click this for your own copy of the current Print of the Month. As of this writing, it’s a cat one :) [Later: I’m not doing Print of the Month right now, but you can still order prints!]

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2018 Art Project: Introducing the 100 Pictures Project

I’ve just set upon an audacious goal for an art project this year: 100 pictures in 2018.

Tangerine Meg looking towards a blue page with chart of an art project drawn up in black marker lines and writing

There are so many pictures I want to do, have been ‘meaning’ to do … so many series and themes I’ve been meaning to play with. To force gee myself along to make headway on these pieces, this morning I’ve decided in 2018 to aim for 100 pictures! Holy Moly.

100 Pictures Project, Rules

  1. The 100 Pictures Project pictures can be small, middle-sized or big
  2. The medium can be lino print, pen and watercolour, a sketch turned computer illustration, a pattern design, a colouring page, or anything else that’s a fair equivalent
  3. The 100 Pictures will comprise 10 each of these 10 themes:
    Cats (breeds),
    cats (storybook),
    dogs,
    still life,
    chickens,
    quotes,
    flowers,
    people,
    black & white animals,
    cups & mugs.
  4. I can categorise a picture however I see fit, but check off only one box per picture
  5. If I started a picture in 2017 and finish in 2018 it can be counted, but if I start a piece in 2018 and complete in 2019 that won’t be counted. [I say this knowing I have 2 lino prints verging on ready to print! Likely I’ll start some this year and complete in 2019, too!]
  6. The hashtag is #100PicturesProject if you want to search for progress over the next months, the images will build up. [I’ll make that into a link once it’s ‘worth’ searching!]
  7. I will probably make calendars with the pictures, but am not focussing on that initially
  8. You can certainly buy these along the way if you want to own a piece of this 100-piece body of original artwork! [Thank you! That helps keep the stove and computer running too!]
  9. Cards? Giclee Prints? Maybe … yet to be decided! Do you like the sound of that?
  10. This art project will utilise my tendency towards compulsion focus-when-I-have-a-chart-to-tick-things-off to good advantage, serving to make me encourage me to delve into my chosen themes and prioritising making artwork over generally getting distracted.
  11. I reserve the right to change these self-declared art project parameters if they just aren’t serving. Or extend the time! [I estimated my 50th Birthday project taking 2 months, and it took 10!]
  12. This is a blog post/weblog/journal article! The official webpage for the 100 Pictures Project is here.

Photo collage including: Tangerine Meg's smiling face, a cat, the numbers 53 and 54, and a radial decorated heart.

100 Pictures Project, Motto

Note, in this ^^^ double exposure photographic self-portrait, the start of this quote:

Continuous effort – not strength, luck, money or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.

~ Winston Churchill

… which is one of my faves on my new Vision Board for 2018, and I wholeheartedly believe it! Everything I’ve ever impressed myself by achieving has taken the long way round, and I’m gonna need reminding of it almost every day while I chip like a-bird-punching-at-a-diamond-with-a-tardis-inside at the 100 pictures!

I’d love to hear in the comments section if you have a specific art project or goal – or other life area – for 2018.

I’ll get on and post this now – I’ve got pictures to make!

Talk soon, Mwah!
Love Meg x o

 

PS There are still some 2018 calendars left… I’ll adjust the gallery shop to reflect if/when I have Still Lifes coming back from stockists (though they seem largely to have sold out) and currently I have 8 Cat-themed, and 22 Bold-Women-themed ones in hand. 10% off for everyone. (Members have had full choice and 10% off since I did the print run. Join here for next year (and freebies)!)

PS2 Please share along a link to this 100 Pictures Project to any friends who you think might like it… it’ll be fun to welcome more kindred spirits to the tribe, yes?
#catlovers #gardeners #indieartcollectors #boldsouls #boldartlovers #happyartlovers #originalartcollectors

PS3 In the header image at top, check out my new red necklace from Teahouse Glass – love.love.love it! Click this to check out similar ones in the fabulous Annie Kuhn’s online shop.SaveSave

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Live Bold List 49: 15 Small things I’ve learned so far this year

I journeyed with Tangerine Man* (my husband), on an 8-hour each way road trip for a couple of days to Melbourne, Australia, and came home with some fresh perspectives.

15 Things I’ve learned (or done) so far this year

  1. We saw a wonderful skull exhibition at a gallery we’d not been to before.
  2. A generous French woman (who we stayed with) said I “… could be her daughter”, because of our ages. Me: “Yes!” :D
  3. Took trams and trains – Melbourne has a great public transport system – and despite taking ‘wrong’ ones and getting on and off at various ‘wrong’ stops, made it home with generous amounts of walking.
  4. Found out that I am kind of soothed by op shopping (thrift store shopping) … Kinda disappointed but I guess it could be worse, right? It could be expensive or do no good.
  5. I have noticeably progressed with my FODMAP foods self-knowing. No problems while away, hoorah! I discerned my quantities, and even ate at a mexican restaurant!
  6. Went to Side Hustle book tour talk. After a long day of walking and crowds, I lit up in recognition of ‘my’ people in the queue. Chris Guillebeau speaks well, using stories to creatively make his points, is appreciative of his world wide community, and was friendly as he signed my copy of Side Hustle School. [Currently reading it!] “What’s next?” At the Side Hustle Book TourPhotos of the event are here (glad I somehow knew it was wear a striped top day!) and were taken by Peter Fritz who is doing interesting work supporting mid-life reinvention.
  7. Saw this cool wobbly reflection
    section of a city scape showing a rippled reflection
  8. Saw lovely art making a statement on an everyday electric hub thingy. Do you know who painted these?
    painted sides of electricity boxes sighted in Melbourne
  9. Drove! [Grateful for a reliable car!]
    view out a windscreen at a road and a blue sky
  10. Caught up and had dinner with my adult son
  11. Recorded some grids on footpaths (sidewalks) … they might make nice textures for photos, or patterns for pictures. We’ll see.
    Three footpath patterns and textures
  12. After toying with a great many words over the previous days and on the road trip, I’ve chosen a fitting one for my 2018 Word of the Year… Embrace. I started smiling when I alighted on ’embrace’ – a good sign, right? I think it’ll work nicely for me in 2018, and will wrap around [see what I did there?] many aspects. For me, it relates to quality of life, self-acceptance, relationship consolidation, skills and interests consolidation, embracing of whole self-ness, and of course actual hugging! [I’m nervous putting a private, not-yet-played-out guidepost ‘out there here’ in ‘public’, and I’m not wanting any feedback on my choice, thank you.] Have you ever used Embrace for your word of the year? I feel it may be a popular one…
  13. On that note, do you want me to illustrate/decorate your Word of the Year? Check out my new service here.
  14. Once my word was discerned, I was able to complete my 2018 Vision Board upon our return. Fun :)
  15. I resolved to make a priority of art in 2018 … my next blog post is about how I’m going to make sure I do!

How has your year started, dear bold soul? I’d love to hear… drop a comment below or on my Tangerine Meg Visual Artist Facebook page.

Talk soon,
Love Meg x o

 

[PS added later… If you ever go away, who do you get to look after your cat? A neighbour or a cat-sitting agency? On the flip side, if you love cats, cat-sitting could be a cool side hustle! This post from Grubby Cat talks about considerations if you think you’d like to cat sit :) ]

 

*Not his real name

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Changes big and small this year (so far)

Thing to remember: 2017 is not over. I’m not summing up something that is, as yet, incomplete.

All the same … what’s been making a difference so far?

header for Changes blog post, with blue sky photo and coloured party lights.

Tangerine Man and I moved into our new house, which is a big, wonderful change *and* we’re still de-fragging boxes, belongings, baggage!

We inherited some beautiful green curtains, and this week got the ikea hardware to make them work. Lucky us, they fit just right and need no further adjusting.

I formed my new studio into a video shoot backdrop (see background of next picture at left). Glad I got it functional early on, though the rest of the house is scrambling to catch up!

We lost our other old orange catboy. After caring for small, medium and large dependants for 27 years, we’re taking a short pause (paws?) from pets.

After those big changes, and many months, I/we are settling down – feeling ownership, starting to viscerally get that ” … we don’t have to move”.

How is it that I feel *more* like myself when I have henna on my hand? I imagine folk with tattoos get feels something like this. My capable hands are starting to look like an old lady’s hands in photos. Are you noticing some changes that come with time passing, too?

This year, I doubled the size of pages I write on each morning from A5 to Julia Cameron‘s recommended A4. And more recently, I added in some gratitude recording (3 Things I’m Grateful for) in the morning along with about 3 core desired feelings (CDFs), and a Martin Seligman suggestion, a What Went Well and Why recap in the evening. This has helped be more in touch with an optimistic perspective – aware that I’ll be recording these – and I’ve enjoyed having a dedicated time in the day to not only debrief and plan, but also to practise with words and language.

My (and yours, too) efforts and projects add up! I’ve come a long way since starting blogging in 2007 … from starting a mailing list, making and showing art and making calendars, and this year introducing great quality art reproductions of my work. I’ll be turning 11 years old as a blogger in 2018, and I have plans for something fun around that next year. Stay tuned. :D

the left image is a hand coloured lino print entitled "A Veritable Garden" showing the human digestive tract as a garden; the right image is a pair of walking shoes aligned with a compass of chalk hearts on a road

Lately, I’m getting closer to the crux [not the horcrux!] of this FODMAP and inflammatory foods digestive puzzle. I guess, why should a whole bunch of crap being touted as food work in a human body? Even if you don’t want to lose weight or look younger – JJ Virgin addresses us as though we do – this book is important to read.

Just this month I got the party lights up! They’re so festive! #thismakesmehappy

party lights installed and lit and a half face selfy, all with blue sky, right hand side deeper blue

Well done, Australia on #MarriageEquality! Hoorah! Pause for a minute, breathe and enjoy, then no doubt the next challenge will need our energy!

Not trying to be comprehensive today, just practising casting my mind back and reflecting on some of the events and progress of the year. I might do a full, the-year-is-finished round up after December 31st, or I might be busy making my yearly collage / vision board. In any case, this has been an ‘almost’ round up. Hope you enjoyed it! Paste a link below if you’ve blogged a yearly wrap up. I’d love to see! :)

Trying to remember: a helpful thing to do amidst the flurry is to pause and remember to be grateful. Do you do that, too?

Kindness and Love,
Meg x o
(here in the Aussie sun in front of a friend’s party lights!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS Want to gift yourself (or a fellow cat lover) *Cosy*, my December Print of the Month? It has a somehow both an awake *and* snuggly atmosphere, just right for a bedroom or other room of relaxation … check out on the right below for a close up peek at the paper texture.

PS2 Several Cat and Bold Women themed 2018 Calendars are available. “As soon as possible” is the best time to secure the theme you desire! As of this writing I have approximately 27 Bold Women calendars, 10 Cats and 2 3 0 Still Lifes (that’s going to fluctuate this month a bit due to January, stockist change outs and so on!)

PS3 This post is kind of a listicle without a numbering system, isn’t it? Oh well, at least there are lots of pictures! Happy day, bold soul. Thanks for reading right down!

PS4 Are you on my mailing list? Get on it if you like my art and want to get the holiday email in your inbox very soon! Here’s a sneak peek of the desktop artwork I’m making for a holiday gift (do you like the coloured lights?):

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