Helsinki Design Week was held recently and there are definitely some trends coming out that I can get behind. Medgina Saint-Elie highlighted a few for House Beautiful...

Be like Marie and decorate with things that 'spark joy' rather than just following fads. This colourful abstract painting was inspired by the colours of a mango sorbet. After a difficult and stressful summer I wanted to create a series of artworks that, to steal the phrase from Marie Kondo, 'sparked joy'. Little beacons of painted happiness, full of colour and celebrating the good things about summer.

Say yes to colour in the home. Bold blue, deep mustard, yellows and peachy orange, whatever you like, the choices are limitless. Pictured above, Ocean Tides print in beautiful bold shades of blue and striking Gantheaume Point print of the Broome coastline with it's ​amazing red rocks and aqua water.

Mix colours and shapes in fun ways. The recent geometric print collection is a fun and affordable way to brighten up any space. Inspired by playful op art and patchwork patterns, these gorgeous new designs come in a range of sizes, from cute little 10x8in and A4 paper prints, to big 24x36in ready to hang canvas art.

Thanks to Bluethumb Art, another featured work, this time my photographic weaving 'Family Tree' in their Curve Appeal collection.

"Sculptural curves are popping up more frequently in 2022 interiors. Everything from the design of furniture to vases is embracing a softer side, adding a rounded modern touch to contrast the geometrics of previous years. Take the edges out of your life with our new curation of sculptures, paintings and photographs that take curves to the max in 3 dimensions."

Art of Display
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​A recent tip from the UKs House Beautiful magazine in failsafe tips for decorating from interior designers, Angus Buchanan suggested: "For the space under the stairs, organising a display is a useful way to utilise it decoratively. One tip for maximising the space you have is to use reclaimed timber to create more shelving space, where art and objects that have meaning to you can be displayed."
​So don't forget the spot under the stairs as a great little place for showing off smaller artworks.

You can view the all current desert landscape work here

Several paintings have been released as part of my Variegated collection looking at organic patterns found at the microscopic level in leaves. Using a soft white wax over board allows for the beautiful natural wood grain to show through. Finished on top with white detail and a scattering of cut paper in a mix of metallics and neutral tones.

The calm, muted colours, focus on natural materials and organic shapes creates a Japandi style aesthetic.  Japandi being a hybrid of Japanese and Scandinavian design, zen meets hygge if you like. At the heart of these works is the idea of embracing simplicity and celebrating the beauty of imperfections in nature, a core belief of wabi-sabi. ​

You can view the whole set of new works currently under 'latest collection'

Bit of fun to end the week on. Sometimes I know exactly what I'm going to call a painting before I even begin, and other times I can't for the life of my think of a good name for my artwork. So if you're an artist and you get stuck on what to call your next piece - try this out! LOL

I've found over the years as an artist that some of my most successful work, or the pieces I feel have turned out best, happened when I worked with a limited or restricted colour palette. Over time I've been narrowing down the colours I like to work with and this is my latest update.

One of the best ways to develop a colour palette for paintings I find is to mood board. You can do this the analogue way, cutting out pictures from magazines and stick them in your journal, but I prefer to gather images together then photoshop them. Creating a Pinterest board is another great way to collect images that inspire you. 

It was important for me going forward to make sure my colour palette reflects the Australian landscape. Keeping the bold blues, turquoise and red I often work with but combining them with the more muted tones of gum trees and deep ocean.