Alongside an Art God!

I was recently commissioned to paint a portrait of Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones by a Canvas Lover (Nobby Beach) who had been admiring a work of mine featuring an Astro Beauty. So after passing on a Rolling Stones book with a few pictures tagged I had everything I needed. A simple enough brief! The pressure set in however, after finding out that this guy actually owns an original Andy Warhol featuring Mick Jagger which hangs in his home.

So after getting through a long line of commissions I finally faced the 'Keith' images and I have to admit I got really nervous! After all this man is a serious Rolling Stone's fanatic and he would know Keith Richard's face far better than I do. So to cut a long story short, I forced myself to do it, I dropped it off at Canvas yesterday and as fate would have it the Rolling Stone's no. 1 fan just so happened to be there drinking coffee with some mates. Time to face the jury! He came in and we introduced ourselves and I showed him the work. He paused while looking at it, turned and held it up to his two mates asking "Hey guys who is this?". The two sun-glassed coastal looking men stopped and looked. One of them "Ummed" and "Ahhed" (meanwhile I'm freaking out!) the other then confidently replied "Keith!". No. 1 fan turned back to me, smiled then looked back at the work and said "Sold!" Yay!

He then tells Matt and I that he actually owns original drawings by the Drummer from the Stones, Charlie Watts as well as the Warhol. This guy was even wearing a Rolling Stone's T-shirt yesterday, he really is a HUGE fan. So now my humble little painting joins a collection of Rolling Stone memorabilia to make any fan jealous. Oh and did I mention it will be hanging alongside an Andy Warhol????

Could it be this one?

Or one of these? I dunno, because I stupidly forgot to ask!!

Here is my tribute to Keith Richards.

Not sure which Mick Jagger portrait he has, but here are a few I found and liked!

Framed Favourites.

I have been meaning to get some prints of a few of my most popular paintings of 2011 for quite a while now, and having had 5 weeks of holidays I finally managed to get some done. Here are a few pics of the prints in some unique frames. There is currently only one of each available as I did not want to go overboard buying frames in case they don't sell! Fingers crossed the market  goers on Friday night will snap them up though.

Celebrating a year of great firsts.

Today officially marks the 1st Birthday of the Facebook page I dedicated to my paintings; My friend can paint. So to celebrate I will be Auctioning off two paintings and all proceeds will go to my sister-in-law's fundraising efforts for a dear friend of hers who was recently diagnosed with a deadly Sarcoma. Ash is only very young and recently married the love of her life, and this has been a huge shock for her family and friends. Having only been married for just under 2 years myself I could not imagine having something this huge happen to myself or Matt when we are just starting our life together as Husband and Wife. Bri had commissioned me to paint a wedding gift for this lovely couple and I gladly painted some love birds for them in a colour scheme they admired. I then finally met Ash in October  of 2011 and she informed me how much they loved their bird painting.

Many people are affected by Cancer everyday and it is really shocking and heart-breaking no matter what age or stage of life a person is in. So I hope to raise a good chunk of money for this worthwhile cause and you can help by spreading the word too!

Both of these works will be up for Auction on My friend can paint (Facebook page) from today to Friday 13th Jan and 100% of the proceeds will go to Briana Armstrong's Fundraising.

Click this link for more info on the fundraising efforts or to donate money yourself.

To bid of either work go to: My friend can paint

What's new in 2012...Objects of my desire!

So after my solo show, the new works I produced featuring desirable objects such as Kitchen aids (which I like to call 'KITSCH'en aids), vintage cameras and telephones were so well received and fun to paint I have added a spin on them and kept on painting. Here are a few sneak previews. Some of these will be sent off to various businesses but they will first be offered to the market goers at Miami Marketta on Jan 13th. Pop Art lovers beware!

What's new in 2012...hoot hoot!

So I have had a few people ask me to paint Owls and I kept putting it off as there are so many artists already painting, drawing and illustrating Owls that I did not want to be compared to these or seem unoriginal. BUT I painted one and it was so addictive I have now painted 5 of them. I will officially unveil them at Miami Marketta this coming Friday. I hope they are well received as I plan to paint more now!