A Cocker Spaniel called Goonie Gaga

“Goonie Gaga” the Cocker Spaniel

So those of you who have been around me know I am in love with dogs.  Not just like them but love them.  Having grown up with them all my life until I was nearly 30 it has felt like something has been missing in my life for the past eight years.  That best friend that is there to hang out with, always with a smile and a wagging tail (or a guilty face when they’ve been up to something they weren’t meant to!) making life even more special.  Not having my own companion means I’ve taken to falling in love with everyone else’s dogs even more than ever.

My latest commission which I feel so honoured to have been asked to do, was really special to me.  “Goonie” the Cocker Spaniel is a delightful dog, full of personality and has been given the nickname “Goonie Gaga” after the one and only Lady Gaga.  He has this super cool long hair on top of his head, like a mini mohawk, a lightning bolt under his eye (think David Bowie!) and hangs out with all the supermodel girl dogs – all tall, lean and beautiful – he’s like the stylist to the stars! Such a delight to see so often as he lives close by.

The painting is 76cm x 76cm so a nice larger size and is done in acrylic paint which I have grown to love.  I use some a nice clear paint medium which really helps me achieve what I want from the paint.  I already miss having the painting around, it felt like Goonie was living in my apartment for a few weeks whilst I was painting him. I stared into his eyes and every detail of his face so many times I felt I was connected to him even more.  I just love Goonie!!

 

 

Today is the Day :: The Yoga Continues…

Today is the Day.  I wake up every morning and say aloud ‘today is going to be a great day’.  A few years back I made the decision to say this every day. Often it’s quietly spoken and I also make myself smile and be thankful for the things I have and have experienced rather than look at what I am missing out on or not achieving.  Some days are easier of course than others.  I can honestly say, it has helped me through some tough times and reminded me to appreciate my every day.

Balance. That thing so many of us strive for in life, and the one thing that can be so hard to achieve if we don’t simply stop at some stage each day to reflect on the beauty of the world and breathe.  I always find watching birds flying is so good to make you feel balanced.  It can take five minutes, but you will feel a sense of weightlessness – just as the bird looks as it is flying. If things are so busy and I don’t find time for myself to get that balance, I try and take the time to stop and watch the birds – or close my eyes if there are no birds around and imagine, being a bird, flying up high, soaring and feeling the wind in my wings, watching the world below.  It always help and makes me feel like some of the weight has been taken off my shoulders.

xo

Images: (top) Today is the Day :: 25cm x 25cm :: Acrylic on ply wood / (below) Balance :: 25cm x 25cm :: Acrylic on ply wood – both will be for sale through the Golden Yoga studio – 3/1712 Gold Coast Highway, Burleigh Heads QLD.

The Calm :: A Yoga Series of Peace and Balance

The Calm.  The moment of peace and balance in your life. White light, no clutter, just calm.  All those voices in your head are quiet, they have disappeared to another place, released and have left you in silence.  

My latest project with Golden Yoga in Burleigh Heads on the beautiful Gold Coast of Australia has really opened my mind to a new inspiration.  The dots have always been my meditation and how I work through my thoughts, releasing emotions with each dot I paint.  Having another source now in yoga is a wonderful feeling.  

Owner of Golden Yoga, Melanie Commons kindly invited me to do some artwork in her new studio space – a blank canvas (in this case walls!) and a new energy to be created in there it was such an honour to be asked to put my piece of harmony permanently in there for all to enjoy.  

My process is always the same when I work on a new concept for an artwork or art series.  I immerse myself in the subject and in this case, also the space.  I spent time in the studio and it’s surrounds, listening to the sounds of the outside world as well as the quiet of the studio space.  I walked around, feeling the dimensions of the walls, the height of ceiling and imagined walking in from every angle, putting myself in different positions allowing myself to imagine being in there, practicing yoga and what it is that I would want to see, what it is I would want to take away from that experience.  I wanted to create a reminder of the practice, using silhouettes to keep it free of clutter; and text – the words Melanie gave me to draw inspiration from. I wanted it to have my handwriting, my style, yet keep it in the yoga world and represent a certain calm beauty that is everywhere you look but doesn’t invade your personal space.

The studio project inspired me to do a series of works on canvas and ply wood (see image above title ‘The Calm’) which will be displayed and for sale through the yoga studio.  The solid silhouette chosen for peace and calm – one colour as we are feeling as one; the three orange circles representing balance and the dots to represent energy surrounding you in this calm. I am currently working on a series of six on ply wood in 25cm x 25cm, all with different yoga poses, all representing calm, strength, inner peace and harmony.  The Calm is the first in this series.

The yoga studio is due to open this week and once the rest of the space is finished I will share the photos so you can see the artwork and the beautiful space that has been created.  Melanie is a fantastic yoga teacher and I have started taking one on one classes with her which I am thoroughly enjoying.  I am quite shy in certain environments, yoga being one of them.  It is wonderful to be gaining confidence so I can really enjoy this practice that is truly calming and energising at the same time.

Golden Yoga opens to the public on Wednesday 21 March, 2012 at 3/1712 Gold Coast Hwy, Burleigh Heads – (Level 1 of the new Globe Building). For more information and a timetable of classes click on link here to go to the Golden Yoga website.  I hope to see you there some time in the future xo

The Countdown: Colombia and a Passion for Life

Sarah Crawford :: The Countdown :: 32cm x 32cm :: Acrylic on canvas

It’s been a quiet time for my artwork since returning from Colombia.  I’ve been busy, yes, definitely there is that.  I also had that feeling after those amazing trips when you wonder where your place is in the world.  You don’t feel as inspired by your surrounds because you have just returned from something so different, so spectacular and life changing that you can’t imagine going back to the life you once had.  The things before you went away that you were unhappy with are magnified ten times over.  A million times over.  You wonder how you let them stay in your life.  Maybe because you were in the countdown.  The countdown to the dream holiday.  You can put up with so much when you know you have something wonderful to look forward to.

So when you return, there is no countdown.  It has dissolved.  Gone.  You have your memories of a world that was fun, where you smiled each day, laughed, experienced the new, explored and loved every moment.  There were no pressures.  You did what made you happy, each day was about living for joy, making the most of it all and capturing moments so you can hold onto them forever.  You felt a warmth in your heart because you are feeling passion for life, you are living.

The few months after returning from this trip I found it hard to paint.  My surrounds and my life were no longer inspiring me in the same way.  I wasn’t feeling that same passion I had experienced.  So it became a quiet time for my creations.  Trying out new techniques, sketching up new ideas.  Nothing really filling my heart with a sense of love.

It took me two months to make big changes to find that passion for life, for creating.  And another month to really start feeling myself again.  My trip to Colombia changed my life.  It was everything I had dreamed of and more.  It left me with a sense of happiness but also the urge to be there once more.  So I now have made my own countdown.  It doesn’t have any number of days just a knowledge that someday I would be back there, in Cartagena, listening to the music, laughing and happy, in awe of a culture that is so spectacular and rich in history. And now, I am sitting here, full of passion for life, and in what I do.  I am on my new adventure with no idea what will come next other than something fresh.  Something new and before I know it the countdown of days will be on again to go back to Cartagena.  But for now, I paint and have new ideas, am finding inspirations in so many places – and dreaming of relaxing in a hammock in the not too distant future.

Sarah xo

The painting ‘The Countdown’ is the first for me in 2012 and is part of series of the same name.  It represents the need for passion in life and of living each day with hope and happiness and believing there is a countdown to something even more spectacular to look forward to.

Click here to view this artwork and more at www.sarahcrawford.com.au