Why do cats always think they are helping?

Once again Millie thinks she is helping me.

New colour scheme

I'm working on a new piece of artwork for the SAlt exhibition group. I have a tendency to normally stick to the same colour themes. I decided to change my colours for this piece of work. Below are simply photos of the colours and fibre I'm working with.

A challenge for all artists

Below is a really interesting article that was emailed to me in regards to your rights as an artist. I've posted the article information in as well as the link from the original article.

Article from Sydney Morning Herald 20/4/2012

Register or regret: artists alerted to new ownership law

Wendy Frew

A new consignment regime seems to have taken many by surprise.

Artists risk losing work they have consigned to commercial galleries if the galleries go bust, thanks to a new federal government law that few in the art world know about.

The Personal Properties Securities Act, which came into effect on January 30, requires artists to lodge ownership of their consigned work with an electronic register that can be searched by potential buyers. Artists previously relied on consignment notes to prove they owned their work.

Artists should be prepared to either comply with the new law or risk losing any security interest over their work when they give it to galleries for sale or exhibition, says the Arts Law Centre of Australia.

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The law change is timely in light of charges against Cameron Hall, the director of failed Sydney art gallery Smith & Hall, of obtaining money by deception. When Hall's companies were placed into administration in late 2010, hundreds of artworks were caught up in the collapse, including paintings owned by self-managed superannuation funds.

The new register replaces 40 asset registers and 70 laws across Australia that covered security interest in assets other than real estate. The government says the system was introduced to help consumers and businesses manage credit risk.

''If artists don't register their interest, then an administrator [of a failed gallery] is able to just presume all the property held at the gallery is owned by the gallery,'' said the executive director of Arts Law, Robyn Ayres. The paintings could be sold to help pay other creditors owed money by the gallery, Ayres said.

''The register involves an extra step and increased expense for artists to secure their interests … It is a shield for the administrator, not for the artist if the artist is not on the register.''

The Arts Law Centre and the National Association for the Visual Arts are worried a lack of publicity about the new system means many artists aren't aware they need to register their work.

The Australian Commercial Galleries Association knows little about the scheme and is unclear what role galleries play in registration.

The visual arts association had not been contacted formally by any government agency about the scheme, ''let alone explaining it to us,'' said the association's executive director, Tamara Winikoff.

''This is something that everyone needs to know about,'' she said.

The one government advertisement about the scheme seen by the Herald makes no mention of artists or art galleries.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General's office said the new register provided improved protection for artists.

''For less than $8, artists can register their entire interests in one gallery for up to seven years, which should give artists great peace of mind to know their works are secure,'' the spokesman said. ''It's important to note that artists who have their works in a gallery before January 30 can register their interests for free on the register.''

He said the register provided ''improved protections for artists over and above the past use of consignment notes''.

A spokeswoman for the Insolvency and Trustee Service, which administers the register, said a single registration could cover all artworks delivered on consignment to one gallery.

The Sydney artist Camille Masson-Talansier might have been better protected if the register had been in place when Smith & Hall went into administration.

Masson-Talansier became aware the gallery had folded only when she discovered the four paintings she had verbally consigned to Smith & Hall had been sold by auction company GraysOnline, on behalf of the administrator, at prices dramatically lower than those she usually commanded.

The artist said she produced emails that made it clear Smith & Hall had received the paintings from her but she said they did not convince the administrator, who used the money to pay other Smith & Hall creditors.

''The artist is always in a vulnerable position,'' Masson-Talansier said.

''My situation is a case in point, because I didn't even realise that my work could be considered the gallery's asset.''

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/register-or-regret-artists-alerted-to-new-ownership-law-20120308-1umyz.html#ixzz1sX9rrArI

Random Drawing

A random drawing I did over the Easter break. The original is in black and white and I then coloured in a version of it using Photoshop.

Random Easter photos

These photos were taken once again while away for Easter. There were lots of old abandoned farm houses and ruins of buildings in the area.

Above are the remnants of an old house that has a tree growing inside it. 

Photos from another old house. Note the spray painted sign on the left hand side of the house. 

Some more art based Easter photos

Below are some of the more art based photos I took on our week away.

Sparks from the fire on a slow shutter speed

A bird nest in a local windmill

The tracks the sea snails were making in the rock pools

Snails on a local fence post

The sun reflecting on the water in the rock pools

A fantastic Easter holiday

I've been on school holidays for 2 weeks now and it more like it has only been 2 days. I have barely managed to get any artwork done let alone clean the house etc.

My husband and I spent the first week near a place called Streaky Bay on the coast of South Australia. The week consisted of motorbike riding, fishing, rock pool hoping and eating. Funny how when your away camping in a tent for a week without real showers, etc. that you come home more tired than when you left.

I've included a few photos from our trip. These ones are just the general ones.

This is just one of the many bays where we went beach fishing.

A gorgeous beach where we spent the afternoon wandering around in rock pools.

The never ending sand dunes where we went motorbike riding and sand boarding.

Me about to go sand boarding behind one of the bikes. Lets just say it isn't a skill I mastered.

A local seal colony, you were not allowed to get any closer to them. 

My husband sand boarding. He was only slightly better than I was.