Days pass so quickly here. Being on diet is driving me nuts, actually everything is driving me nuts thanks to it. I hate when i chose to be on diet just to please someone else so I would avoid the argument. I hate arguing, having conflicts etc.

Me and lil one are enjoying a lot of walks together, about 3 times a day. I think she gets so worn out from it, but she cherishes every moment. Due to not so perfect weather we enjoyed beautiful clouds and bit of sun breaking now and then. By weather forecast should get better soon.

I have made it a goal this summer to try to take decent picture of the lighthouse this summer. I mean i had been trying and trying for ages now and i always fail. Hopefully one day. This one could turn into painting some day.

I started posting on ETSY again. I hope I do get some sales in the end.

Well after 30h grueling flight that was not pleasant to say the least I am home at last and to be honest happy and content. Lil one is loving every minute of the stay here, where she is always bussy doing something, and playing with other kids for a change.

Makarska didnt change much. Staid pretty much same with some minor makeup changes lots of them for better. Even though it is surprisingly raining and me freezing my butt off which should not happen at this time of the year I am having a blast.

We go for walks every day sometimes few times a day. We went to park. Lil one was so much dying for having some company that she approached one girl and said “Hello lil girl May I please play with you?” who could ever resist such request. So they had fun at the swings and other toys at the park. Nana looked so happy. I have not seen her so happy in long time.

She had a blast. After that we went to find her a mary-go-around so we did she remmembered from last year where it was and she ran straight for the lil horsie:

Today we took prezzies to Bojan’s and Agi new born. She had fun playing with their kids and tons other kids from neighbourhood. I am amazed she is socialising so well considering she hardly plays with other kids at all in aussie. I am glad she is fitting in and everyone loves her.

I was happy also to see my friends and they were happy to see me as well. I always feel like I belong here, always feel welcomed where people actually tell me hi and give me a hug and kiss on cheek without pretences. Very excited to be here.

I will be leaving tomorrow night on airplane to go back home. I am so scared of flying one could not believe it. I passed on all passwords to my husband so he can take care of things for me, packed up everything still left to weigh up the bags and make sure I didnt overpack. Laptop is ready, spare battery ready, few changes of clothes for lil one, I packed have medicine bag for me and lil one since we both have history of getting very sick on plane. I hope we pass all security checks with all meds on board. Paintings have been packed as well as stock for my ETSY shop for while I am away has been photographed so I can still keep running it while away, and hubby shipping everything for me.

I will be sending entry to CAS annual members show this year, that includes 1 oil on canvas, and 2 unframed acrylic on paper paintings. I am also renewing my membership so I have it for next year since I enjoy my time with CAS a lot.

“St Vixen”
Oil on canvas
“Everyone has a Demon within, that taunts us, seduces us, draws us out, and in the end devours us without us even noticing. I wanted to portray a demon within me from within using things that I have learned from observation of religious art. The texts behind the demon are all taunts and hurts that it throws at me while I try to resist surrendering to despair and oblivion.”

Special thanks to Ellie for being model for this painting.

I know I stand no chance in the contest this year but giving it a go. It is a big show this year since it is 70 years of CAS, and they will be celebrating the 70 years since Contemporary Art Society has been founded with this show.

I am also entering 2 paper works to paper folio. I am hoping they sell god knows I need cash.

“Just Hold Me To Sleep”
Acrylic on paper
Approx 20″x25″
Model: my sister

“Memories”
Acrylic on paper
Approx 20″x25″
Model: Gorana

I feel bad I had to jack up the price on those two, but I had to considering the entry fee and gallery cut, as well as taxes.

The paintings will be on show in July.

I will be leaving back home in few days. So excited. All packed up and up and atom.

My lil one has been sick again. She had temperature for few days I hope it is all well before we go on plane so the 27h flight would not be as difficult as it was last year. Prezzies are all packed ready to go, meds, as well as snacks for lil one, just to pack up laptop, scan some pictures of my new aceo’s so i can upload while I am gone, as well as clean up my USB stick and copy the files there so I have backup, and copy the family photos to home webserver so I have backup of all my files and pictures there. So much work it is stressfull.

On bright note I started as webmaster/webdesign for Women’s Art Registrar, very excited about it, and also starting up the ground work for the new business venture that should hopefully generate me some income so I can work from home more. Will see what all pans out from it. I am hopeful it will lead somewhere.

Did few new listings on ETSY, as well as quite few new paintings. I will be uploading them when I get overseas I am just too swamped to be able to do them now. I am not spending as much time on internet eather. Very happy actually about it. I started to get my life back.

I learned few very important lessons recently. Will share them at some later point.

In past few days I did quite few new ACEO cards. Here are two boats I painted and posted recently.

“Sailing Boat”
ACEO Card
Acrylic on paper
BUY NOW: 5$+s&h

“I grew up in small Croatian coastal town, where live people who love their ships as much as they love their own family, sometimes even more than anyone alive. Ships there have life of their own. I frequently wish I could just sail away on one of these sailing ships, wishing for the wind to fill up my sails so i could soar forward.”

“Sunset”
ACEO Card
Acrylic on paper
BUY NOW 8$+s&h

I grew up fishing with my dad in sunset and watched these beautiful sailing boats gliding across the surface of the water dreaming I was on deck of one of them.

For past few years I have been very alarmed about the censorship of artists and media in Australia, and for past few days the reasons for that alarm became obvious. There is nothing sader than seeing the lynch mob with pitchforks ready to hang the artist,and police showing the way by raiding galleries across the country. Whatever the reasons the freedom of the speech and expression always need to be held dearest to ones heart,once that gets taken away, other freedoms dissapear as well and the country becomes dictatorship.

I am refering to the recent controversy overblown as usual by the media of photography by Bill Henson. He is renoun australian photographer,widely recognised across australia and overseas. The photographs he took of 13 year old girl nude, shut down artshow, and police confiscated a number of his artworks from number of galleries across the country. I saw the photos and there was nothing pornographic about it, they were a beautiful depiction of the human body (no genitals displayed), with amazing utilisation of shadow and light that just touched viewers heart. If it wasup to the lynch mob in Australia all the painters of cherubs would be classified as child pornographers. It is amazing how one immediately equates nudity with pornography. Nude human body of all ages, its beauty has been celebrated in art since there was human race, and it is sad that it has come the time where by censoring the display of the human body one actually makes people more and more self conscious and wonders why so many people have body image problem. To me Australia is ultra conservative society, becoming more conservative and shut every day. I had been told off quite few times on pool and on beach for allowing my lil one to go on just in bathers without the top on. I mean people who shun children going topless to beach must have dirty mind to begin with to make something innocent into something so perverted. I hope my child grows up free to behave, dress and display her body in way she feels most comfortable with, without the pressure from extreemist ready to burn artists and parents taking photos on a stake.

Well returning back to the topic… media lashing out at parents for allowing world renoun artist to photograph their children, even though those children later grew up fine, without ever feeling abused? or media attacking artist because god forbid he is figure artist? I mean where is the line? Will they prosecute next parents for taking pictures of their babies first bath? Or will the art be reduced to paintings and photos of fruit and flowers(oh icould make those into fruit and flower porn).

Thing is pornography is type of art, and what makes it pornography is the intent. When one makes something with the intent of someone wanking off in front of it it is porn, however when something is not done with that intent in mind it is not. I mean someone in the end could wank off in front of the picture of pretty flowers as well, but it would not mean that the picture of pretty flowers was porn. When returning back to the topic, people that grew up that were in photos by Bill Hensen never considered it porn. I do suggest anyone before commenting to this to actually do research.

The photos themselves are beautiful, that linger in mind of the viewer, they are emotionally intense however there is nothing sexual about them. They were taken with the parent being present, with full consent of the parent, the models when they grew up grew up into normal adults they didnt have the second thoughts of being an art subject so what is the issue? I mean there were no display of genitalia (unless someone considers flat chest genitalia, which is actually good 40 cm away from the pubic area), they were not explicit, they were quite tasteful.

I talked to my friend also figure artist in australia when whole thing erupted, and what he said I agree with not many will dare speak up and defend the artist so the lynch mob would not go after them. I do strongly suggest reading THIS ARTICLE