Chilu

Let’s try this again… I’ve changed and tweaked a few things with this reel that were annoying me so let’s see if this does the trick 💖 Painting iridescence and translucence in the form of a deflated balloon with all its wrinkles and folds is a technical challenge that cleans out all of my inner worries. I love the initial freedom of the first pass where color rather than accuracy is the guide and once I’m happy I start getting hyper focused on the details. The butterflies will come, Acrylic on canvas, 60x60cm (sold)

Utilizing space for this painting to capture the feeling of the unknown and the vulnerability that comes with that was a departure for me. To restrain myself from over complicating things from a technical standpoint was something I never realized I subconsciously did until this painting. So letting the narrative speak for itself woke me up to how I often just push to do the difficult things. It was a real joy to allow the space to instead tell a crucial part of the story. But I did decide to complicate the balloon - it’s not ombré in real life but I thought seeing it glow orange to reflect the clouds would bring it all together. Thank goodness it worked 🙈 “Wherever I’m going I’m already home”, Acrylic on Canvas, 90x120cm (sold) Sending you all tonnes of love and hoping you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖

This piece was a technical challenge trying to capture a bunch of translucent iridescent flowers that reflect the sky AND have their own colors. By the first pass I was relieved to see that it was likely that the vision in my mind was going to come true. So many layers and so many colors and so much time but I loved every second of it. I also painted the frame for the first time as well which was so much fun 💖 Still believe in good days, Acrylic on Canvas (Sold) Sending you all tonnes of love and hoping you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖

I’ve started painting a big canvas and I’m questioning my choices whilst also loving it 🥴 I’m working hard on building a body of work - it’s coming together but there seems to be not enough hours in the day to get all my ideas out of my head. I watched the Michael movie and I remember him saying that he wouldn’t do any promotion for the Thriller album as the music should speak for itself. I also saw one of my faves @eccavandal say she disappeared from social media for two years so she could give space for her mind to breathe and create. I know @rosalia.vt does the same. My goodness I LOVE that. My eyes got misty at the thought - of a good period of silence. Do you ever feel the same? Just to create and then say “TA DA!” after an absence without being penalized and punished for not turning up regularly 🙊 Anyway - here is one corner of this painting 💖💖💖 Sending you tonnes of love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖

Hello and welcome to the over 20000 new people who have joined my little community. I’m completely blown away that anyone would be remotely interested in me but my goodness I’m beyond grateful for every single one of you because it has given me full license to be me and fulfill my dreams of being a professional artist and give back to the people who saved my sons life. This is a place that I strive to make a kind and safe place for all. I will always try to be a voice that advocates for good, celebrating diversity and the humanity in all of us. Over the next weeks I’ll be sharing more about what’s happening and what makes me tick and what drives me. So, chat really soon 💖 Sending you all tonnes of love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖

An imagination, plus a story, plus an obsession with painting, plus practice, plus patience, plus time equals I made this with my heart and soul. “If the stars were mine”, Acrylic on canvas, 120x120cm (sold)

Two mystery artworks by me will be arriving to @incognitoartshow soon. I’m passionate about this show because all artwork is donated by artists of all skill levels in the pursuit of raising money for artists with disabilities. Each piece is A5 and set at $100 - and I love that it’s all anonymous and you won’t know who you’ll be getting until you purchase the piece and turn it around to read who created it 💖 Artworks are getting scanned in right now and there are already thousands of artworks available to see and build your wishlists for the big launch late June 💖 Visit @incognitoartshow for all the details 💖 Sending you all tonnes of love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖

Given the love my last post got - here is video of the process that I went through to achieve it. As you can see from the inspiration balloon I used as a reference - I tried to push the colors to reflect the sky but also wanted them have their own personality to service the story and concept. There were lots of moments of doubt until it finally came together and I could see that the colors were working. I don’t know how to describe it but my brain starts humming happily when it feels like it’s clicking 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’m weird that way! I ended up using three of my @mastersonartproducts wet palettes for this - there were THAT MANY COLORS! 🌈 Also on a completely different note - for some reason I can’t see the beautiful people who are starting to follow me - my notifications are acting whacky! But I can see it’s still going up 🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t know if anyone else is experiencing this but if not - I’m so so sorry but I can’t see you 😭😭😭 I hope it gets fixed! Because I love this notification! Okay - sending you all so much love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖

While I try to start on my next piece - here is a flashback to my painting “Take to the Stars” - a piece from The Iris Collection where I first explored iridescence and translucence as a technical challenge as well as a concept. Here is the story behind it 💖 Authenticity takes courage. First, it takes courage to accept who we are, disregarding the expectations of those around us. We bravely choose to ignore the judgement and criticism despite the sting of it. We emerge from the chrysalis that has bound us so tight with its rules, breaking out with wings of defiance that allow us to take to the sky. And on our way up to the sky we fly with others who have also emerged from their own chrysalis, all shining bright with their own unique colors. Let us marvel and celebrate them. We can all shine spectacularly together. “Take to the Sky” (sold) Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60cm Sending you all so much love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖

I’ve made my thoughts pretty clear many times on this multi layered subject. So here is one layer - have we forgotten how much we LOVE the process? The respect and integrity lies within the creative journey. The highs and the lows have the ability to heal AND connect. We need it for the wonder and the magic. From a viewers perspective there’s nothing I love more than marveling at someone’s creativity and how hard they worked to get there. We need to safeguard it - it is a precious resource. I’ve been one of many artists in creative fields that have provided feedback and concerns with the legends @_saveourarts who are now presenting their policy slate to the government to regulate IA in the creative industry within Australia. The government is currently reviewing the Copyright Act to safeguard artists rights and this includes not giving special exemptions to tec companies to data mine or steal artist content. It also includes demanding a new regulatory framework to obtain consent, to pay royalties and to provide transparency in IA training output. This is to protect intellectual property, ensure fair remuneration and establish clear rules for emerging technologies. And speaking on the challenges artists now face with what is fake or real - @_saveourarts is also fighting for a mandatory labeling and accreditation system with a “Made by Humans” label on content. Sending you all so much love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖 PS I was going to do a voiceover but I’ve lost my voice! So went overboard whilst sick in bed - it was fun 🤣💖

This painting was a technical and mental challenge for me - I’ve dabbled in figurative work before but from a fashion illustration perspective - working with people I found everyone has a specific idea of themselves and I always worried too much about disappointing the subject. Painting myself has always been my nemesis - it was mostly pleasant but I realised I was groaning with self loathing when it got to my face. But the concept - of being a mother who has finally got herself back, like a flamingo that gets their pink back - needed me to be brave and face up to myself. I’m thinking for the third painting in this series I will avoid my face and cut it out again somehow! Sending you all so much love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖

Here are the still images for my people who love to take their time looking at the details 💖 I decided to do a small collection of three - this being the second. Why three? Well to be brutally honest the abstract portion needed a hanging solution and getting that to happen meant outsourcing a custom frame that burnt an unexpected hole in my wallet 🙈 Worth it but a lesson in how experimental things will often stuff up and you’ll need to make it work - and make it work without cutting corners so that the high standard you place on yourself is maintained. This decision has meant that I am now obsessed with completing this trilogy and have been gleefully working on this as much as I could. This time hubby took the kids away for a couple of nights so I could devote some serious time to it - that support was everything. 💖 The first one was such a steep learning curve - so this time I started to feel a little more comfortable from a technical point of view but my goodness I’ve realised how much I can’t stand looking at myself because I felt incredibly vulnerable and insecure throughout the entire thing. And sending it out to share with all of you is terrifying! Sending you all so much love and I hope you’re all safe and sound 💖💖💖