Love…Light… Truth or Dare… Fashion… Life… Love…

'Love Light' - Illustration using ink and markers on vintage mixed media collage

 

Sometimes I just love life so much is it kind of annoying to others… I smile all the time… my life seems like it is floating… no matter how hard it gets… I find joy in everything.  It’s when I feel love bursting from my heart… and I know how ‘airy fairy’ it sounds… but it is how it feels.  I give thanks to all I have.  For even the things that frustrate me most remind me of how alive I am…

And when I feel this way I want to draw pretty dresses and share my thoughts and tell the world how the sun shines bright every day… if you let it… if you can find that few minutes to see the light… your every day will be joy…

'Truth or Dare' - Illustration using ink and markers on vintage mixed media collage

We Are Always Watching

We Are Always Watching - Mixed media on paper

Sometimes you feel a little alien. Sometimes you feel like you are being watched.  Every move seems important.  The slightest of moves you feel are so important in the big picture.  I wonder who is watching?  I wonder all the time.  The more I watch the more I wonder.  Have you seen me around?  You might notice my eyes, you can’t forget them.  They draw you in and your mind is taken.

All this time I knew.  Do you see me in the boat?  It goes so fast, so beautiful, so sleek.  I see timber, I see white and above all I see bright, bright blue.  Hair is dark and eyes so big.  Clarity and crispness.  The ocean surrounds.  The ones who helped me to this place are by my side.  We are always watching.  See our eyes?  We see your mind.

 

Ruby - Markers and ink on paper

You might see me sometime.  My name is Ruby.  I know style.  In the fashionable kind of way.

 

Tribal Chief Snapper - Ink and markers on paper

I’m pretty sure if you’ve been to Snapper I’ll have seen you.  I’m the Tribal Chief.  Nothing gets past me.

 

Danger Tallows - Markers and ink on paper

Remember that day you were surfing and a big shadow went under you?  And there was that feeling of dread.  What was down there?  Ever wonder how you didn’t see that shadow again?  My name is Danger Tallows… protector of the waters.

 

Queen of the Rain - Ink and markers on paper

I know you have all been watching me.  The Queen of the Rain.  There was conflict and it will settle.  I was nearly overthrown.  Order is being restored and life will get back to normal.

 

Big Eyes - Markers and ink on paper

You don’t need to tell me anything. I already know.  My big eyes read your mind.

 

I first saw one surfing.  Then I saw them everywhere.

17 Years Ago, Jimi Hendrix and Art School

Not much survived art school… myself included.  I have only a few pieces still, most lost or damaged over the years. I remember at one time my little Datsun 180B was full of artworks.  The whole boot and back seat was piled high with works.  And there was a skull on the back shelf thingy… somehow it inspired me to create more.  I look back and wonder about all those works.  I remember some but not many.  I remember music was such a huge influence on everything I did.

 

Jimi Hendrix - pencil on paper (never finished)

Recycled fashion, the word vintage was hardly a spot on the horizon, I just loved creating something new from something someone didn’t want anymore.  Oh so many years ago.  Makes me smile when I look back and remember.  I often dream of being back in that time, carefree, creating, each day being inspired by my own creations.  Art, music, fashion… Seventeen years ago… and all I the time I aspired to fashion.  I used to look at the fashion students and wish I was them.  As much as I loved my art and that side of things. I was so influenced by fashion and would spend hours upon hours with my head in magazines.  Collaging my room, drawing the beautiful garments.  Writing about the feeling of the big feature editorial pages – full of high fashion models and amazingly stunning clothing.

My life gets so busy sometimes I feel like I’m the middle of a big bird frenzy…

Beautiful Daydream - Mixed media collage

Fly Like You Are Living Your Dreams

The Bald Eagle - Gouache, ink, pencil and markers on paper

When you’re not learning you feel like you’re drowning & when you are learning you feel like you’re flying.  Sometimes life gets so busy it’s not like you forget to stop to enjoy the moments of beauty, it’s just that sometimes when you stop you are just so tired that you see the beauty just don’t feel the energy it possesses.  Good news is, if you look at the beauty long enough the energy takes hold… I suppose what I’m trying to say is…. I need a holiday!  No expectations, nothing but sunshine, relaxing, taking in the beauty so the energy takes hold.

For now I look at the flamingo for the energy, head held high and so bright.  I love the flamingo.

The Flamingo - Gouache, ink, pencil and markers on paper

 

♥ For The Love ♥ Art Show

♥ For The Love ♥ Art Show by Sarah Crawford

I tell you I get so excited leading up to a showing of my artworks!  I start painting all through the night, I can’t sleep, my mind is racing a million miles an hour – and I also get anxious!  I inevitably try something new, then want to do a whole series of those new works, adding to the pressure, and generally forgetting the other works I need to finish.  Until a few days before that it, then I don’t sleep for a few days, wishing I had stayed focused on what I needed to do!  I wouldn’t change it (much!) because it allows me to come up with new ideas.  It would save a few tears I’m sure if I stayed within the boundaries, but where is the creative fun in that?

So what will you see at this show?  Of course there will be nudes, that goes without saying.  And fashion. There will be birds, dogs, maybe some fish.  Some famous faces and those aliens that seem to pop up everywhere.  There is even a special skateboard deck I have painted – a first for me.

My art shows are about sharing the passions in my life.  My passions have come for this show from your passions.  I see and hear you all with that special something or someone that lights up your soul.  Maybe it’s your pet, your dog, your best friend.  When you speak of him you do so with such passion.  He makes your life special.  It might be the music, the clothing – or just the love of the living of life.  But it lights up your life.

If you are on the Gold Coast on Sunday 5 December I would love for you to come along so you can see these artworks inspired by passion.  The show is from 3-6pm at littleBEANS on the Gold Coast Hwy at Nobby Beach.  A special place to me as it was the venue for my 1st ever solo show a few years ago.  And they continue to support me to this day.

The restaurant is open all day and is perfect for a Sunday afternoon drink!  Hope to see you there – You’ll see me doing something that lights up my life.

xo

www.sarahcrawford.com.au

 

For the Love of Birds

 

For the Love of Birds – Mixed Media on Canvas Paper

I tell you I love birds!  They are so amazing. Over the years I have spent so much time watching them.  My favourite is watching them fly above the ocean, then dive into the water to catch a fish.  I can watch for hours.  Imagine being the bird, flying through the air, diving into the water… spectacular!

The ocean today looks so alive.  It is a darker blue than it normally is, lots of white peaks… reminds me of growing up and along the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.  I stood on the balcony this morning watching the ocean, one of the luxuries of living so close to the beach and having a view from your home, the birds still diving yet they were being pushed around by the gusts of wind.  It showed such determination.

One of my favourite memories of the ocean was on a stormy day in Lorne many years ago.  It looked so wild – so alive and passionate.  The wind was howling, it was cold, the waves were big, the sea was rough.  I can still smell the ocean from that day, feel the intensity of the storm and the beauty of nature.

Today is Monday – creative day, art day, my day.  I love Mondays!  It allows me to do what I love, completely be myself and be in my daydream world.  Reflect on the world and how lucky I am for all the beautiful experiences and wonders I have been a part of.

xo

don’t forget to visit my website at www.sarahcrawford.com.au for all artworks and details of upcoming exhibitions

Sunday 5 December

3-6pm

littleBeans – Gold Coast Hwy, Nobbys Beach, Gold Coast

Sarah Crawford Art on Display – come and see what I have been creating and of course, I would love to see you there xo