Getting on with it

So, how are you and yours? Hope all is good for you and that your Christmas holidays are full of love and good cheer.

Mine? Well, despite my housing situation, which is not dire by any means, just a bit unsettled. Anyway, I am getting on with things. don’t have much space atm but have managed to do a few small paintings.

All acrylics on stretched canvas 30 cm X 30 cm

The Tawny Frogmouth and Kooka are in the Gallery at Mike Carney Creative Centre Charters Towers. You should really make the effort to go out and visit this amazing ‘city’. If you research its history you will find why I and many others call it a city. The older centre of town is a charming step back in time with beautiful architecture and friendly residents. The newer part of town has a number of enormous, incredible mosaics of some of the paintings of Magnetic islanders artist Peter Lawson. The paintings are great, the mosaics are awesome.

You can see just how large they are!

I am thinking I might enter The Percivals next year. Since entries close in Feb. I better get my skates on…I have an idea…watch this space.

Right, I’m done for this post. Ciao for now,

Local Markets

Oops! Started this well before Christmas/New Year…

Sooorrryyy!

My biggest supporters are in my local community, and I thank Balgal/Rollingstone community for their support.At the recent and final market for 2022 I sold some paintings, a book, and a poster.

These bird heads are proving quite popular, so will try for more next year…maybe.

Have also done a commission. I usually don’t even try to reproduce the same painting twice but the mother of the model wanted one of her own, with autumnal colours. It turned out all right, but I’d never make it as a forger. Perfect copies are boring…lol.

Was going to put up a pic here but my bluetooth is failing to connect. I can’t figure out why. Yes I have it turned on.

Any how, I had a very nice holiday season, even if a lot quieter than usual. I was house/pet sitting for my daughter and family, who flew off to Canada for a very white Christmas. they had a lot of fun and reunited with lots of family, including a brother and sister and their father and his new partner. Everyone over there is, apparently, well. It was so good to see them all, if only in photos. One day I will be rich enough to make the journey.

I hope your New Year is off to a rousing start, and that it brings blessings of every sort.

It is pouring here in the tropics, par for the course. I love it.

See you all again, soon.

A Small Win

The above won 1st prize at the Rollingstone Pineapple Festival inaugural art competition, and is presently on show at the Tyto Gallery (Ingham) Birdlife Art Exhibition/Competition. If you’re in the area pop in and look at the many beautiful artworks on display, then vote for mine in the People’s Choice, okay?…LOL.

I am in Bungendore, NSW visiting family for the next fortnight. I’m finding it a bit chilly, but it is so beautiful that I can’t complain too much. As you can see, there are still some eating places with fires going. Many spring blooms are out and walking my grandson to school is a great pleasure. They have two dogs who I love.

crab apples I blossom

A look down the street

The Gathering had a warm welcome

Friends at play in the back yard

And out for a walk

Bungendore is beautiful…

My daughter works from home, so we do see a lot of each other, which is wonderful. Along with her paid employment, she is a children’s author and has some stuffed toys to go with her book, The Adventures of William Brambleberry Aviator Mouse.

Isn’t he just soooo cute!??

Rosie is starting a new/old book. A re-telling of one she wrote for her own children many years ago. We’ll see how that goes.

And, Percy is still working on Book 3 of the Beaufort’s Landing series, At Curlew Cry.

Ciao for now,

I’m an Exhibitionist

Hi there!

I have a small exhibition on in Townsville, come have a look-see. I owe a big thank you to Helen, of the Community Information Centre, who helped me set up. It looks quite presentable, don’t you think?

As you can see, there is also a table with some of my poetry books; Light in Dark, my recently-published latest collection; Australia..my Heart, a look at Australia as I drove my beaten-up red Corolla around Australia; Purple Pages, a very small collection about love- the slightly erotic, the funny and the angry. All are for sale.

Along with these I’ve given some space to my friend Percy Rose’s crime novels.

Now, as long as you are in town go along to St. James Cathedral and look at the wonderful works of many local artists represented there.

It seems like, at this time of the year, it’s all about art. The Burdekin Exhibition in Ayr is coming soon as is the Hinchinbrook Birdlife Exhibit/Competition.

I have to get to work on other stuff, so I’ll close. Please pop in and have a look at my work and don’t be shy about buying some.

Ciao for now,

February already:

Don’t you just hate how time disappears: one day we’re all shouting Happy New Year, next its well into February! Anywho, here we are.

My Rosa Christian Desktop is terribly untidy and scattered atm, but I’m getting there. Percy Rose is doing better and Rosie O’Grady is working on her new website.

My grief refuses to be lassoed and tamed, but patience will win the day.

I haven’t done a lot of new writing, except for a couple of poems and some short story exercises, so here is a reminder of some of the books available from Rosa Christian at Amazon.

Do you ever go back over stuff you’ve done and get a laugh out of it? I found a recording of the title poem for my first ever foray into self-publishing, My Fish Loves Me. I did try to add it here but must upgrade and pay a fee to do so. Bummer…ah well.

Ciao for now,

Proofing some Poetry

Pround Mama of these 3.

So, I haven’t been doing nothing. Just received these — Light in Dark is my latest poetry book, and the first in around 10 years. It is full of all sorts of reflections on life – I think I need to say, all written before Covid.

Purple pages is a mixture of lusty romance poetry and the problems that ‘love’ can cause. It’s a little bit naughty, a little bit angsty, a little bit difficult sometimes. Not for children.

Australia…my Heart has also been available as an ebook on Smashwords for some time. It was the first book I had printed (paperback). It is my most popular book to date. It is mostly work from when I toured the heart of this great country, along with some other nature based ones.

Both of these, I’ve rejigged for print, but I haven’t altered or edited the text, just the formatting, because they are a product of the times in which they were written, ie about 15 years ago. Yikes! Really!

They will be ready for sale from Amazon.au shortly; as soon as one small glitch with the printing thereof is ironed out.

Artwise, I’m working on a piece for entry into the Tyto Bird painting comp. It is great fun to do this one. You’ll see why when I finish it and put it up for general viewing.

Also, we are gearing up for our A@RT Exhibition, so lots of ads invites catalogues etc to attend to, which I’d better get back to.

Ciao for now,

Busy…and some art

Hi, this is a scheduled one again just so I have time to recover from my trip and my friends party…

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I have been busy and have sent off for some print proofs. One of my new poetry collection, Light in Dark; a new edition for Australia…my Heart and Purple Pages. both of the latter are poetry collections as well. I had to do a new edition of Australia as I couldn’t upload the old one because…formatting with illlustrations. Purple Pages is a small collection of poems on life, love and in all its despair, torment, joy and sensuousness. All are already available as Ebooks, HERE.

I’m pretty much over doing this for the moment… so here are a couple of my latest paintings.

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The one on the right is not quite finished yet, but you get the idea….

I’ll say ciao for now,

Okay, okay…

Yes, I know its been a month but…

This fabulous art work is from my artist friend Lynn Scott-Cumming. She works from home and at Umbrella studios in Townsville, where she recently held an exhibition‘Moom Phase: chasing trancendence’, of her moon prints, of which this is one.

I’ve been busy, but unfortunately not writing anything new. I have however edited and done the cover for my new poetry collection and it is live as an ebook as we speak. I have ordered the proof and admit I’m a bit excited about this one. Is it terribly ‘up myself’ to say I quite like these poems? I meditate through the muse about this crazy world we live in and our place in it. Light and dark in equal measure. Even though some of them are pretty tough to read, to make up for that others are full of love of nature and some are mildly amusing.

I’ve also been working on a print version of my errrr…naughty poems. This small collection of poetry written sometime ago is already available as an ebook. Though not biographical the poems do echo some of my younger angst. Some of them are a bit tough as well, but that, however, is made up for by ‘oh la la’…lol. Send or read them to your lover…

Art work my own
https://www.amazon.com.au/Light-Dark-Rosa-Christian-ebook/dp/B098MNMF81/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1625791265&refinements=p_27%3ARosa+Christian&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Rosa+Christian

Why oh why will this image not allow me to link on it? It only has a link to media file. The other one worked fine…sigh!

As always, let me know what you think. Ciao for now, Rosa.

Sooorrryyy…

Yes, I have been slack. My excuse is that I’ve been nursing my alter-ego along trying to get print copies of their book done and ordered. For details see Percy’s latest blog. We have had some trouble, and still have in some quarters, but our first shipment should arrive in a few weeks…fingers and toes crossed.

Now, I can settle down and get on with publishing my next book of poetry. Tentative Title is Light and Dark. My trouble with titling my poetry is that I write about all sorts of things and have no theme except the life around me and my inner life. What do you think of the title?

It is the wet season here and Dog and I got the ‘lack of Vitamin D blues’, but now the sun is shining, and back to heavenly weather we head. My yard has dried out enough so I have mowed at least but there is much weed pulling needed.

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This was my backyard last week…

In the meantime, I’m still painting…I am taking video lessons with the late E. John Robinson. Love his work and attitude and relaxed style. Some of the lessons I’ve got are rescued from tape so the colours he is mixing are a little difficult to see…luckily I have ears. Here is one I did following the video — Mountain Lake. Not too bad, considering it’s not Australian scenery, and I certainly have no snow-covered mountains where I live in North Queensland. Not excellent, still…

I followed this up with a painting from a photo of Lac Louise (I believe) taken by one of my Canadian nieces, which she kindly said I could use. Of course, I changed the clouds, a lot, and brought in brighter sunlight from the upper right and made some other minor adjustments. Overall, I’m quite pleased with the finished product. More practice needed though.

Oh, and we put on another ‘Bubbles and Brushes’ night, and despite the fact that it was absolutely pelting down 2/3 of the people signed up turned up, and a fine time was had by all.

Well that is all I have until next time, when I might have some exciting news…

Ciao for now, Rosa.

Art, Art, Art…

Hi there, I’ve been lying low for a bit but just had to tell you that I’ve been involved with a couple of art exhibitions lately. I’ve not won anything but have had the great good fortune to see some beautiful work from amazing artists. I think I mentioned The Percivals a month or so back. This biennial event is always a great place to see great art.

Well, then there is St James Cathedral Exhibition which opened last Tuesday and closes 16th this month. I have 4 pieces looking for new homes hanging there. This is a lovely space filled with not only paintings, but jewellery, sculptures, felting, silk dying etc. It is full to bursting with beautiful thinks, and is an inspiration to all creatives. so if you are in the Townsville region go and have a look. You will love it.

Last night I attended the opening of the Tyto Gallery (Ingham) Birdlife Exhibition/ competition in which I and a friend have a couple of pieces. The Sea eagle above is one of my entries.There were some astoundingly beautiful pieces and kudos to all who have won a prize. There is a People’s Choice prize to be announced after the show closed at the end of this month. You have plenty of time to visit and vote. It is an amazing building which shares its lovely exterior gardens and outdoor artwork with the Library building. You won’t be sorry you visited, so just do it! I tried to find a link but couldn’t (my bad). I will ring around on Monday and see if I can and update this post accordingly.

Next Sat the 15th a group of talented Rollingstone/Balgal Beachkids show the results of a series of workshops they recently attended. I was honoured to be one of the artist supervisors. Well done to all the children and adults involved.

Next month its time for our A@RT (Artists at Rollingstone Team) group to strut their stuff. On the weekend 12th & 13th September. There’s a Car-boot sale on the Saturday as well. Kill 2 birds with one stone and come and check out some great work. There will be a diverse collection of genre and media. You’ll love it. You also get to vote for your favourite painting, a wonderful way to compliment the artists who have put so much of themselves into creating these awesome artworks. Next year we will endeavour to have our own FB page up and running. So much to do and so little time to accomplish it all.

And, artists don’t forget The Strand Epherema is coming up.

I think that’s about it. Ciao for now, Rosa