Time to prioritise

I started this blog almost a year ago with the very best of intentions to regularly paint and add new small paintings. But try as I might there are always more pressing things needing my time.

With a young child (not quite 2), regular exhibitions, creating and running a forum, planning exhibitions to curate, a little bit of other work here and there, I have been pulled in more directions than I have and I really need to find more studio time for my exhibiting work........so, I have decided to leave this blogging world for a while.

The paintings still available on this blog will remain available for the next month or two, and after that they will be sent off to my galleries for stock and exhibitions. The blog will remain live and it may be resurrected with more paintings at a future date.

But for now if you are interested in my work and would like to be kept up to date, I invite you to pop on over to my website http://www.amandavangils.com/ and join my mailing list.

My mailing list receives invitations to and updates on exhibitions, other information that I think you may find interesting and the occassional special offer.

Thanks for all your support to date. I hope to see you on my mailing list, and maybe even at an exhibition or two.

Regards

Amanda

No 23. Guardian

Guardian 2008 19cm x 14cm (8" x 6")

Oil on linen

A more conventional landscape than you will have seen here before. From the Yarra Valley in Victoria one cold misty day well before the fires.

$300 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

No 22. Girl Next Door

I have been so tardy getting new paintings completed for this blog that I have decided to add on to this blog an already completed work from the 2005 series 'Playtime'.

During 2005 to 2008 I painted well over 50 paintings on these wonderful 8"x6" stretched linen supports. The paintings began with the 'Snorkeller' series, before moving on to children with the 'Playtime' series and contining into the 'High Wires' series.

The painting below is one of the few remaining pieces that I have left from these small works. Girl Next Door appeared in one 3 week exhibition back in 2005 and has lived in my studio ever since.

Girl Next Door

2005, oil on linen, 19 x 14cm (8" x 6")

the golden fish and life in multiples

Still no new small paintings to post.

It has been for me, as for many others I'm sure, a strangely busy time with this and that and some of the other thrown in for good measure.

At the moment I am working on exhibition preparation for an exhibition that I will be curating of over 30 artists (more news on that at a later date), I am doing 2 short term paid jobs and I'm also trying to get things together to allow me to organise a trip to New York with some friends...6 adults and 6 children.

Clearly I like to plan things in multiples.

And so it is with my painting.

I am up to my elbows in unfinished paintings, working in my usual way of starting several paintings at once. For me it is a good way to work but can be quite lengthy as I try to patiently fit a dozen 'good' paintings into the time between the starting and finishing. At last count I had 4 large paintings, 8 smallish (14"x16" / 30cmx41cm) and about 6 for this blog. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before I have something to post.

This afternoon I was surprised (and delighted) to find myself referenced on the lovely the golden fish blog. The golden fish is a quiet meditative type of blog; the posts are often small on text, a snippet or two with some photos, reflecting on something special seen through something small. It's a lovely blog to be included in and I was very happy that somehow Steven from Canada had stumbled upon my work. Thank you Steven.

New Book!

BOOK

I love the variety of avenues one has these days to publish work. Recently I have experimented with creating a book on blurb (which if you haven't seen it is a great site where you can create all manner of books). The books are very professionally produced and give people the opportunity to create extremely small runs as the books are printed upon order. So far I have kept my 'experimental' books private but after a lot of work I have now created a public version of a book of my recent work.

My new book "Amanda van Gils: Views from a Speeding Train" is 38 pages long and features 34 paintings representing the entire "Views from a Speeding Train" series, including some of the small paintings featured on this blog.

The book also contains an Artist's Statement, a CV of exhibiting history and is available in softcover or hardcover.

For more information, to preview or purchase go to: http://www.blurb.com/user/Amandav?profile_preview=true

No. 21 Small Painting 21

No. 21 Small Painting 21

2009, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")

Not for sale

For two years in a row I have organised an Art Swap of small works amongst artist friends.

This year over 30 artists participated. The painting above is one that I painted for David Coles, a very talented artist and the man behind Langridge Colours (paint products). We each received a work from someone other than the person we sent to - David has sent on a painting to Ian Rogers and I was fortunate to receive a beautiful Snowdome painting by Victoria Reichelt.

It is a wonderful tradition and one that I am looking forward to again next year.

No. 20. Train Window - Spain

Train Window - Spain
2009, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).

$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

No. 19 Train Window - Italy

Train Window - Italy

2009, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).

$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

No. 18 A swift exit from Monte Carlo

A swift exit from Monte Carlo

2009, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).

$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

A return to the speeding train series.

No 17. Toys to get around on - Caddy

Toys to get around on - Caddy
2009, oil on linen, 19 x 14cm (8" x 6") (linen on wide profile stretchers, wire attached for easy hanging, no framing required).
$250 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.
This is another of the toy cars that live in my studio. Since my son came along I often find it mixed up in his toy box in his bedroom. How it find's it's way there I am not quite sure and it regularly comes back out only to disappear again.
Like the ute painting, I started this one a while ago but with the recent dissappearances I thought I would regret it if I didn't finish the painting before something happened to this little pink caddy.

No. 16 Toys to get around on - Ute

Toys to get around on - Ute

2009, oil on linen, 19 x 14cm (8" x 6")
(linen on wide profile stretchers, wire attached for easy hanging, no framing required).
$250 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

A painting of a toy ute that I have had following me from studio to studio for quite a few years. Every so often it pops up in my work, it has been made into a ceramic sculpture, used as a ready made in an assemblage and also included in paintings.

I have been working on this particular painting for a little while and finally this morning the ute got it's much needed paint job.

Calendars and Cards

To all my subscribers, visitors and buyers I'd like to wish you the very best for the festive season and the coming year. May 2009 be a year of happiness, goodwill and beauty for you all.

Thank you for your support, in this, my first ever blog. I hope you have enjoyed the small paintings and that you will stay with me as I add new images in 2009.

To celebrate the arrival of another year I am pleased to announce that selected images from the "Views from a Speeding Train" series will be available for a short time on a specially produced 2009 calendar.

The calendar features one painting for each month and are available through redbubble at only $30AUD each plus postage. The calendars are high quality A3 size (see below for calendar specifications). Some images are also available as individual cards.

For more information, to preview or purchase click HERE to be taken to http://www.redbubble.com/people/amandav

About redbubble calendars

The calendars are printed on high quality, high density paper that's easy to write on, and come bound and ready for hanging on your wall.RedBubble calendars are printed on an HP Indigo 5000 (for those who haven't heard, this is the digital press). Each page is a matte coated print on 170gsm pages. The cover is on heavier 300gsm paper. Calendars have a hanger and white wire binding. RedBubble calendars are satin-coated prints on high quality art paper. They're A3 size (that's 297x420mm, or 11.69x16.54")

No. 15 Breezing by an Italian house

Breezing by an Italian house

2008, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).
$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

SOLD

Thicker paint than usual, I really enjoyed pushing around the waxy paint. This is another small version of a work from my current exhibition.

No. 14 Study for View from a Speeding Train 17 (Madrid to Barcleona)

Study for View from a Speeding Train 17 (Madrid to Barcleona)

2008, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).
$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

A really lovely spot, while I can't pinpoint exactly where on this day's journey that I saw this particular landscape with the house roof barely peeping through, I do recall that dusk was not far off and as the light dropped reflection of the interior became more apparent on the train windows.

No. 13 I had crossed whole countries without realising

I had crossed whole countries without realising

2008, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).
$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

During the trip to Europe, where the inspiration for my Views from a Speeding Train came, we were on trains so often and travelled across quite a few countries that I'm ashamed to say I sometimes lost track of exactly where we were, saying 'si' instead of 'wee'. This image I had attributed to a day we were travelling through Spain. I later realised, with the assistance of my well loved and well travelled aunt that this was in fact a view of Italy.

No. 12 Study for View from a Speeding Train 5

Study for View from a Speeding Train 5

2008, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).

Not for Sale.

This little one was a delight to paint. The larger version was selected as a finalist in the John Leslie Art Prize and mentioned in both the catalogue essay for the exhibition and in The Age review of the John Leslie Art Prize exhibition.

No. 11. Train Window - The Netherlands

Train Window - The Netherlands

2008, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).
$190 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

One of the more scratched and battered windows we encountered on the Eurail trains.

If you'd like to see more come back tomorrow when two more paintings will be posted. Use the Feedburner Subscribe function to have emails delivered to your inbox when new images are posted. Emails will only be sent once a day if an image has been added.

No. 10 Train Window - Riviera

I'm back.

Apologies for the delay in posting new paintings. My exhibition 'Views from a Speeding Train' took up all my studio time these last few months, but the exhibition is now up on the walls at Jenny Port Gallery and I am able to start painting and posting small paintings again.

I aim to make up for for my lack of posts by posting quite a few paintings over the next two weeks instead of just one a week. They will in the main be studies for the exhibition pieces.
Here is the first one:

Train Window - Riviera, 2008 oil on canvas, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
$190 AUD + $10 postage worldwide
SOLD

On line Interview

Sorry still no new small paintings, just a fair bit of work on bigger paintings for the exhibition, which is now only a couple more weeks away.

There has been a lot going on to get the exhibition ready, aside from painting, including interviews in press and one interview online. Click on this link Artists at Work - Interviews with Contemporary Artists to read an interview with me on the Art Re-Source blog.

Art Re-Source is a new blog with some interesting interviews already appearing. Other artists interviewed include my good friends Erika Gofton and Simon Collins, well worth a read.

Upcoming Solo Exhibition in Melbourne at Jenny Port Gallery

During December my exhibition 'Views from a Speeding Train' will be on at Jenny Port Gallery in Richmond. The opening will be on Wednesday 3rd December from 6pm-8pm and the exhibition will continue until December 21st.


With my solo exhibition only a few short weeks away I am unable to spend any painting time on small paintings so this blog most likely won't get an update for a few weeks.

The exhibition will include a number of pieces that came from small studies on this blog along with pieces that have recently been in some significant art prizes (including the painting below).

This will be the first time the series 'Views from a Speeding Train' will be shown in it's entirety.

If you would like to add yourself to my mailing list to receive an invitation to the exhibition visit my website and enter your email in the mailing list form provided.

No. 9 Yarra Valley 11am

Yarra Valley 11am, 2008, oil on canvas on board, 12.7 x 22.9cm (5" x 9")
$150 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.

Another small painting from my Yarra Valley excursion.

No. 8 From the back seat of the car it was all a blur

From the back seat of the car it was all a blur, 2008 oil on canvas, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")

$160 AUD + $10 postage worldwide
This one is from a recent trip to Queensland. In a car on a highway........another vehicle travelling fast enough to experience little more than fleeting glimpses of the passing landscape.

No. 7 Yarra Valley 10am

Yarra Valley 10am, 2008
oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 22.9cm (5" x 9")
$150 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.





Heading off to the Yarra Valley recently with a car full of painting supplies hoping to capture some of the great views, I found myself swamped in mist barely able to make out details 10 feet ahead of me. While the mist provided something different to what I had been searching for I was very happy with the beautiful simple nuances and ended up with a few paintings from the day (including painting number 2 on this blog Yarra Valley, after the mist). Heavy fog is not too unusual for this part of the country but not very comfortable for painting in - especially when I forgot to pack wet weather gear - so this piece was completed in the studio.

No. 6 Through the Train Window

Through the train window, 2008 oil on canvas, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")

$190 AUD + $10 postage worldwide
Another small study for the "Views from a Speeding Train' series that I am presently working on for my next exhibition.

No. 5 Somewhere in Spain

Somewhere in Spain, 2008 oil on canvas, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")

A second small study for the "Views from a Speeding Train" series.

No. 4 Honeymoon memory

Honeymoon memory, 2008

oil on linen on board 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
SOLD

This is an image that I have lived with for several years; in fact ever since my Honeymoon in Port Douglas (North Queensland) when I went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef.

I painted this figure in a much larger work suspended over a landscape back in 2003. It was the first of what became my 'Snorkelling' series (you can see some of this work on my website here ) . I have always liked this image and relished the opportunity to revisit it and paint it as-is without the change of scenery.

No. 3 Somewhere between Barcelona and Nice

Somewhere between Barcelona and Nice, 2008
oil on canvas, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
SOLD

This is a small study for my new series of works titled "Views from a Speeding Train" The series is based on the views that I saw through my train window as I sped through Spain and France on my first trip to Europe 2 years ago.

A few more examples can be seen on my website (link to the right of page) but mostly the works are hidden away in my studio while I work toward my next exhibition. I have several more images still to paint so you will see some more studies popping up here.

No. 2 Yarra Valley, after the mist

Yarra Valley, after the mist

2008, oil on linen on board, 12.7 x 17.8cm (5" x 7")
(painted on Art Boards™ Archival Oil Primed Linen Canvas Panels with slots for easy hanging).
$150 AUD + $10 worldwide postage.


I recently headed off to the Yarra Valley for a morning of painting. Car loaded up with painting supplies I arrive to find the area wet and shrouded in mist and unable to see more than a few feet ahead.

A few hours later however the weather improved and I was able to see the surrounding landscape. But while the mist had lifted there were still perils to be had......I accidentally leant on an electrified fence trying to capture this scene from the best angle, I sure won't be doing that again!

No. 1. A long day driving and I'm still only part way there

A dark painting to get my small paintings blog started.

A long day driving and I'm still only part way there
2008 Acrylic on board 10.5cm x 15cm (4"x6")
$150 AUD + $10 postage anywhere in the world

Coming Soon

Please come back in a few days to see the very first post on my small paintings blog. Subscribe to recieve updates.

In the meantime you can visit my website to see examples of my work http:www.amandavangils.com