About

Hello…. welcome to my website and blog – or as as I like to think of it: a Big Leap into Open Galaxies! A sort of online journal, and a place to share some of my art and words with you.

I draw and paint in various traditional art media: watercolour, ink pen, pencil, acrylic…and sometimes on the iPad. I also write and illustrate poems.

I live in a lovely country town in Australia. I’m happily married, a mum of four boys – young men now: someone who loves Jesus; love to: draw, paint, write, read…go for walks, look after the garden; and like a quiet life. Not always easy to have during those busy family years – but I wouldn’t have changed any of it.

Some of my formal qualifications.

• Visual Art Diploma with majors in Drawing/Painting; to which I included a major in English Literature.
• Graduate Diploma in Education: Secondary (High school ) teaching: Art and English.

While raising children, in-between cooking, cleaning, and the washing machine; much of what I wrote and drew, (now a large filing cabinet full) – was scurried down in a hurry, and is still in various draft stages. Some I’ve finished. And now my family are young adults, I hope to God-willing, bring more of it to completion.

Everyday-things, are often my subject matter – even tissues and kitchen sinks, star in my watercolours and haiku. With increasing flights into flowers, foliage, and landscapes for my art. As well: my faith in God; how ordinary things are often extraordinary; how special life is; these themes spill into my art and writing.

I also love to draw faces, which I share about in this aptly titled post 🙂 “About Drawing Faces.”

I flavour my poems, both haiku and my longer poems with: alliteration, personification, assonance…fancy sounding terms for good fun with words. These language devices often appear in whatever I write – for me, a sort of natural occurrence – wisely used they can add music and colour to sentences.

Drawing on the iPad is an exciting addition to my work in traditional art media. The art apps I use have such natural looking media, that my iPad art often looks much the same as my work on paper or canvas.

I prefer to paint and draw with my finger on the screen, rather than use a stylus, and I think it makes it all the more enjoyable.

I print some of my iPad art, and at times make “reproductive” prints of my work in traditional art media. I use high quality, fade resistant inks and lovely acid free matte paper, on my inkjet printer. Occasionally I mix traditional and art app media together.

Thankful to a friend who helped initiate my leap into the online world. She freely offered some information and advice; and pointed me in the direction of WordPress – where I proceeded to build this website – on my iPad…rarely use a computer, for anything.

Thankful to WordPress for their excellent: tools, resources and support.

I keep a keyboard attached to my iPad. It makes typing a lot easier, and it prevents the iPad’s keyboard popping up when I’m arranging my art and words. The iPad has become a handy, compact studio for many of my creative projects.

There’s some information on apps I use, and I share about printing some of my art in many of my blog posts; and on my pages, “Some App Information”, and “Printing iPad and Traditional Art”.

Thankful† to God for my life – for everything.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another. (WEB)

*All images and text © 2014 – 2024 Janette Leeds. All rights reserved.