Featured Artist

 Olive Longstocking

Olive Longstocking's Etsy shop is named for her childhood nickname of 'Lolly Legs."  Her parents called her that as a child because of her stripy sock collection.  She had about 20 pairs of long striped socks in a rainbow of colours! She still owns a couple of pairs and these days you might find her wearing them with her pajamas.

Where do you find inspiration for your paintings?
I live on the Sunshine Coast which is on the east coast of Australia.  It is sub tropical climate, with nine months of summer and 3 months of perfect weather!  It is often referred to as "Gods Waiting Room!" It really is heaven on earth here and I know how lucky I am to live in such a great country. There is inspiration everywhere... the turquoise of the ocean, the leafy greens in the hinterlands, the rainbow lorikeets that squabble on my deck for bird seed, the Australian native plants and our glorious fruit and huge bugs!

Are there new themes or mediums you anticipate exploring in your upcoming work?
I like to dabble and experiment. with colours and paints. I love the freedom of abstract, to be able to paint the sky green and the trees pink.  Why not?  I have recently started dabbling with little whimsical characters as you can see in my gift cards. I would also like to do more collage as I love the textures and patterns in papers and fabrics.

You mention in your profile that you love pieces from the past that have been re-claimed. Does this influence your painting work?
I love vintage finds from second hand shops, perhaps because of their imperfections and history or story behind them. There are some great vintage shops on Etsy.

Many thanks to Olive for sharing her work!

What do you think of her colorful paintings?