This month has been pretty busy for me in terms of getting settled and organised. The reality that I have to start earning a living from my art has finally sunk in! Being a self employed artist is not easy and for those of you who are brave enough to follow your passion and dreams, I applaud you! The road is long, the climb is a steep and for many of us, it will prove too much.
I believe the journey I am on is not just for me, and that is why I feel it is important that I share it. By documenting my story, my ups and downs in this coming year, I believe it will help many of you in different ways, more ways that I will probably every know!
All I hope, is that my journey inspires you to follow your own dreams!

I thrive on a challenge and I know I have the talent and ability to bring my dreams to fruition! You really have to believe in what you are doing 100% otherwise you will fail.  You have to hold your passion in order to succeed, and take every opportunity which comes your way. Have faith in your abilty, hold your passion, be dedicated, committed and devoted to your calling! If you do all of that you , YOU WILL SUCCEED! I KNOW THAT! I BELIEVE IT!

So I finally moved into my new studio space. In this building there are 8 other artist studios , some are lockable and some are more open plan. I really like the space i have because it is pretty private and to look inside you really have to step into the space. I also love it because it has a huge window which always keeps the space pretty bright (something which i am not use to). It is a perfect size for me to start with and I should be able to produce a lot of work here! It has a great feel about the space, light, relaxed and airy. I also have 24 hour access and there is a 7 Eleven downstairs on the corner, so if i am painting late and need a coffee or something to eat then i don't have far to go. I am going to buy myself a kettle and a microwave too LOL

I picked up the keys on Saturday and started moving some of my stuff in, I still have another car load of materials and art to transport but that will happen this weekend hopefully. So now i can get cracking!
I would love to hear your thoughts :)

So my first group show in Melbourne Australia is coming up on the 16th of March, and it is going to be at the Brunswick Street Gallery (Just click the highlight to go to their website).
I have not decided how many works i will be putting into the show but hopefully will be around 10 artworks. I have until the 14th to finalise works, so I guess I will be burning the candle to get them resolved!
I am pretty happy with how the works are developing especially since i haven't really painted for the last few months (due to my moving to Australia) but so far so good!
The opening is on friday the 16th of March at 6pm, so if you are in Melbourne and can make it, I would appreciate the support :)

So last week I finally got a chance to put up some artworks for sale! I also opened up a stencil store where you can purchase and download some of the many designs i have created over the last 7 years!
Thank you to those of you who have since purchased artworks and stencils, I really appreciate the support! It has allowed me to go out and buy more materials etc!
I will be adding more stencil designs over this coming year and if you have any suggestions please don't hesitate to contact me!
Also if you would like me to make a stencil portrait of either yourself or a family member/ pet then get in touch for a quote (garyreef@gmail.com) All you need to do is send me a photograph and leave the rest to me! ;)

 _Seth Apter's book 'The Pulse of mixed Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed' has now been offically released.
As many of you are aware I am one of the 31 lucky artists to be spotlighted in the book!
This month (march) on Seth's Blog 'The Altered Page' he is featuring daily the 31 invited/spotlighted artists from the book, so please check out his blog if you would like to find out more about the 31 spotlighted artists! I am scheduled for the 26th! So look out for my 2 cents worth!
So just click on the highted sites below to go directly to where you can purchase your copy. It is definitely a great book to get your hands on especially if you are a mixed media artist. It is now shipping from Amazon, North Light, and Barnes & Noble

I have always loved to critique art, i spend a lot of time looking at it whether it is online, in magazines or in galleries. I have a constant stream of email request to view art, critique it and give advice as to the direction an artist can take it. I am a 'pusher', I like to push people forward, it is what I do and what I enjoy. I have been fortunate enough to help many people start their creative journey whether it is through inspiring them with techniques, my philosphy on life and art or whether it is through sharing my own journey and art via youtube.
So an opportunity arose late last year to be a guest judge at St. Monica's Catholic School in Melbourne in March. I will be judging grades 8 till 12's and presenting awards etc.

_It was a great opportunity and an honor to be asked and I am really looking foward to the experience. So last week I met up with the co-ordinator of the Art Prize, Zion Mitchell, Curator Lucy Di Lerenzo and fellow art teacher Gerard Mahoney to have an informal meeting and to show my work. I took my little 'Works on Paper' folio to show them examples of the style of art i make. During the 'showing' (this took place in a restaurant in Fitzroy Brunswick area- The arty farty area of Melbourne) our

_waiter proceeded to say how much he really liked my work and that he was an Art Agent on the side and that he would like to give me his card. He went on to say he represents Mike Parr who is a performance artist who became 'known' when he proceeded to cut his arm off during a press conference (previous to the conference he strapped his real arm to his body and made a prosthetic arm and stuffed it with meat). Apparently it caused several members of the press to faint! So I took his business card and we shall see where that 'journey' takes me.

_After our meeting Gerard took us to his studio which was just around the corner from the restaurant on the top floor of a 2 story building. There were 8 artist spaces on the top floor and also an exhibition space to show potential clients artwork. When he was showing us around i was thinking OMG this space is perfect, it felt light and airy and each space was around 4m x 4m roughly. The spaces were manged by Brunswick Street Gallery and so i asked if there were any spaces available, Gerard said we should go over to the gallery and enquire. The spaces had such a great vibe, they were a perfect size and the location was amazing, right around the corner from the gallery and also in the heart of the art area. It felt like destiny. So we went over to the gallery and i met the Assistant Director Joanna Gould who was really lovely and friendly! She told me there were no spaces available but would put my name on the waiting list. I gave her my business card and being the self promoter that i am, i whipped out my small folio of works on paper and proceeded to show her my work. She was like 'your work looks like it would be perfect for the Urban Art show' we have coming up in March! So she said she would email me the details (And she did and i am currently making work for the group show).  Anyway we all went on our merry ways and a few days later i recieved an email from Joanna to say that a studio space had become available and that she was putting my name down for it and that I could come and check it out next week. I was thinking OMG are you kidding, how perfect and great timing as i was thinking it might be a month or so before a space would become available! SO I HAVE A SPACE to create and I am really happy about that, and i said a little THANK YOU to whoever is watching over me:) Youtube video to follow showing you the space!

Walking around the Fitzroy/Brunswick area you can certainly tell it is an artist area. All the side streets are filled with graffiti, symbols and writing! I happened to be especially drawn to this mural of an Aboriginal child with some pretty interesting Mondrian style birds. The childs face was amazing and i am not quiet sure if it is a little boy or girl but the power in the eyes was extraordinary.

So today Lucy and her daughter came over for a private class.  We spent around 3 hours playing around just doing a bunch of drawing and painting exercises. Lucy did feel a little nervous and intimidated in the beginning, as she wasn't use to being taught by such a huge youtube celebrity artist LOL
The day was very casual and I just outlined a few ideas and techniques and also critiqued some of her work. Below are some pictures of the work she created during the class! Was fun and even though no masterpieces were created we all had a good time.

So i designed a poster to advertise both my online courses and also my live workshop courses. I think it looks pretty good and i have to say it definitely represents all of the styles of art I like to teach and create myself.
So I am just waiting for the posters to come from the printers and i am still working on the website (so for those of you who try to access the website you will be met with a password protection until the site is ready)

My intention is to send these posters to several friends around Australia and get them to put them up on shopping centre notice boards, University notice boards, community centres and anywhere else they think they would be visable.  People will then be able to find out more info and register for one of my classes. Once i get enough interest in a particular city in Oz I will then organise a workshop:) Well that is my plan!

So on that note I wish you all a fantastic creative week ahead! Peace to your sexy faces!!

_One of the dangers for artists living in the city is the constant distraction of city living and life. Many an artist has succumb to drinking or partying away their talent due to being in such a busy environment with so much going on.
I know when I lived in London for several years early on in my artistic career, I hardly painted at all. Of course art is a permanent part of who I am NOW and although i am currently distracted by the city, I know I will buckle down and loose myself in my work once again.
One thing i have realised in this 'transition' phase is how important it is to keep focusing on your 'purpose'. I am always telling people to be consistant, dedicated and devoted to their art practice because it is only then you will make a difference and create an impact.
I revolve in many online circles partly because I don't want to be pulled into any one particular group and i also think it keeps you fresh, and there is sometimes that thing where being with one particular group of people for a long period of time...well it can become incesttuous, you know what I mean! So i think it is healthy for artists to constantly mix with new artists and form new associations.
So today this blog is about refocusing on 'your purpose', about being dedicated or preparing and allowing yourself to be dedicated. I have noticed in a couple of online artist cirles of late, there has been great motivation in doing a painting or drawing a day! The great thing about this excercise is that it gets you moving forward, it gets you 'DOING' rather than talking about it. My mantra for many years was ' Think less do more' because many of us spend too much time thinking about doing something, and we get so caught up in the process of thinking about it, that the physical doing doesn't actually happen OR we talk ourselves around it. I think as humans and as artists, the biggest danger for us is to over internalise everything. You really just have to get it out of you physically by painting, drawing or dancing or however you express yourself.

__And in fact i have always entertained the idea of being placed in an unmarked grave or just wrapped in a white cotton sheet and tossed into a ditch LOL (and i have had this conversation with many of you and had a good laugh but there was truth and honesty in that humour). And that is why i think this song has been an important reminder for me personally, because I AM HERE and one day it will be because 'I was HERE' and what is it that i have given forward to the next generation, what purpose has my life amounted to? Maybe i am becoming sentimental in my oldish age which is something i never wanted and still don't LOL but thank you Beyonce for this song, it is a constant reminder of my purpose! And I hope it reminds you of your own journey and purpose and why you are here!

Being in 'transition' is a strange feeling, i liken it to what it would feel like to being a ghost. As i ride the train into the city I feel completely detached from everything and everyone. I feel like i am floating, and i watch people as they go past me and they are all occupied with their routines and lives, and then there is me, in transition. It is a weird sensation, that feeling of not really being apart of anything in particular, not having any real responsibility or routine to my daily life. I wish i cared, but honestly i don't at this point, and maybe that is a good thing or a coping mechanism. I think it makes it easier to deal with change when you just 'let go'.
It is like jumping off a cliff and free falling, i am not ready to pull the shoot yet because there is a freedom in the unknown and in the 'falling'.
Being a ghost in the city is my new reality for the moment and I am ok with it. I know i can't drift forever, but when you have gone through such life altering 'stuff' as i have over the last few months, giving yourself time to be 'everywhere and nowhere' is a good move emotionally. I know there will come a time soon when i will be ready to pull the rip chord on the parchutte and step back into 'reality' and that ghostly feeling will be become a distant emotion, but for the 'now', i welcome it.

_'Suck it up Reef' I say to myself as i come to the realisation that finding a studio space isn't going to be as straight forward or as easy as i had envisaged. The reality that paying for a studio space, rent, food and transport has been a wake up call, because now i have to actually view my art and everything which revolves around it 'in part' as a business.
It is a matter of survival now, i can't rely on a steady income from the cows anymore and the more i think about the huge wall which stands in front of me, and the more i examine the wall,  the more i see it is going to take a lot of work and effort to lift myself up. I am looking for the small cracks and spaces to place my hands and feet because i am determined to climb this huge first big hurdle.
I do take comfort in the fact that I am one of those very fortunate people who seems to attract the right people into my life at the right time and over the years i have lost count of  situations  which 'had i not met a particular person' then I would not be where i am today.
I just have this unquestionable belief that everything I need will be provided in some way and that if i am truly meant to be an artist and follow this passion then 'life' will support me and offer up opportunities. And so far that has worked.  I just want to add that i think it is a 'give and take' thing, just because i am meant to be an artist and opportunities are coming up, i still must play my part of 'giving' as much of my gift and of myself to 'serving' others as I can. The truth of the matter is the more you give and want for others, the more it comes back to you, so i am always aware of this fact and i try to serve others as best as i can.

_Currently I have no art supplies, no paints, canvases , paper etc but as fate would have it, the universe has brought a very special person into my life who happens to live in Melbourne and who happens to have a lot of used supplies AND has offered them to me. Ofcourse in return I will supply her with free private classes in anything she wants to learn, but it just goes to show you and show me that I am being watched over closely.
We are also going studio hunting this week as i need to start looking for a small space where i can work from and hopefully tutor a few students, so fingers crossed something comes of it. I have emailed a couple of places regarding studios but have not heard back, but that maybe because of the xmas new year period. I am anxious to get painting  and creating again so hopefully something fantastic will appear soon!!
If there is anyone in Melbourne who has any advice or thoughts please get in touch 0452454294

_I normally can't sleep on planes but i found myself being comforted by the noise of the aircraft, i felt so at peace and it was like i was being gently rocked to sleep. Finally leaving Norway after 7 years.  Mentally i had released all of my fears about the future and any expectations i had placed on myself and i found so much comfort being just ' in the now'.
I keep saying that it is going to be 'hard' to begin with but i find Dr Wayne Dyer in my head saying you don't attract into your life what you want, you attract into your life 'what you are'. And you are what you think, so you have to be careful what you think because that becomes your reality. He goes on to beat another message into my head ' Don't believe everything you think'.  Sounded weird when i first heard him say that, but the more i examined my thoughts and behaviors the more i realised that message to be true. So for example my thoughts on how my last day in Norway would be didn't really playout in reality. I thought it was going to be so difficult but in reality it wasn't as hard as i had thought. Maybe because i had baptised myself in enough tears over the last 3 months and had fully realised it was the 'END' and that my life would never be the same again.
So now whenever i think to myself that starting new isn't going to be easy, i tell myself that it is going to be easy regardless if it is actually true or not because i can choose to think positive or negative and i think positive!
What i am going through is nothing new, so many other people have done or are doing the same thing. I have this mental imagine in my mind and it is me as a boy and i have fallen over and hurt myself, instead of laying there crying i get up as fast as i can and even though my knee is bleeding i continue to walk and i still continue to cry...but i am moving forward. For me i think that is an important message that even if we are hurting and we have pain, we have to keep moving forward, we have to continue on our journey, sure you can cry along the way, but don't stop, don't pity yourself. You just have to get on with it. Maybe that is how i can deal with difficult situations and why i have been called 'so brave' on many occassions. I don't see it as being brave, i just see it as ' getting on with it'. I am reminded once again of a story Dr Wayne Dyer talked about in one of his lectures and it was about a zebra (or some wild animal in Africa) and it had just had its leg chewed off by a lion but it had managed to escape and it was just eating grass and getting on with its life. It wasn't complaining 'poor me or how could this happen to me', it was simply eating grass and getting on with life. Ofcourse we are much more complex and are aware of our mortality but i think that message was an important one for me, to remember to keep going on, to keep moving forward even if you have a huge chunk taken out of you. You have to do otherwise your finished. There is always going to be 'downs' but there are equally going to be 'ups'.
So i finish this entry unsure of my future or what will actuality become my new reality, but i stay positive in my 'unsurity' (if that is such a word) and just have faith to focus on the 'now' and my passion, the rest will playout as is planned and i will continue and walk forward, wounds will heal and a new day dawns.

So as many of you know, i am leaving Norway which has been my home for the past 7 years. It will be sad to say goodbye to my life here but equally I am very excited about the new life i am about to start. I am full of excitment and also a little fear of the unknown.
So before leaving I thought that i would take the opportunity to take some new pictures of my 'power of white' series out in the wilderness. It took me about 30mins to carry 4 paintings up the mountain, if you could have seen how many times i cussed and swore at every tree, stick or branch which hit my paintings, not to mention how exhausted I was on ascent. But i was determined while the weather was good to DO THIS, because the weather this time of year is so unpredictable and one moment it is sunny and the next your getting snowed on or rained on and sometimes all 3 at once. But the weather gods were with me and it stayed very calm, still and erie silent...but i can assure you i made up for it with my cussing, shouting, huffing and puffing LOL Would have made for a hilarious video...next time.

So I got to the top and proceeded to film and make a youtube video (Currently uploading) and then i ran around taking all sorts of different still pictures. I am pretty happy with how they came out considering there was just me doing the shooting, it would have been better to have someone along to help me with the artistic shots..but you can only do what you can.

So the 'Power of white' series will be following me back to Australia. This series has been a labour of love and now that I am actually moving to a real art city (Melbourne) I now have the change and opportunity to really develop this series into something mind blowly fantastic. I have been keeping a journal of all my ideas for future 'white' paintings and I have enough inspiration and ideas to pull together some fantastic paintings....hopefully. You know how it is though, how things translate from what is in your head to actual reality is somewhat dissappointing. But i intend to fine the best gallery I can to show this series and hopefully attract new patrons and supporters of my work. The Power of white series is my strongest body of abstract work to date. I am excited to think that now i can create some seriously large abstract textured paintings now i am in a place where i can get materials and any size canvas I want. I will be bringing in rusty metal sheets into the next several artworks.

I already have several reservations on a couple of the works which is always a good sign your onto something. But only time will tell!
Working with white has to be one of the most difficult colours to use. Several artists have launched their careers on 'white' paintings and others haven't lol.

What makes a successful artist?
So what makes a successful artist? I have to say it isn’t necessarily about talent. There are a handful of things which I believe if you keep in the back of your thoughts, they will help you get to the level of success you so desire and deserve.

Don’t be an ASS

There is nothing worse than meeting an artist who is obnoxious, full of ego and self-importance. Being an asshole might get you attention but in the long run it will only hurt you.

Here is the thing about successful people whether they are like this in their own environments or not, when they are around people they never have a bad attitude. You know you can be critical and fierce but to be the type of person other people want to be around and what I mean by that is don’t be an ass. The way the art world is structured it has so much more to do with relationships than it has to do with true talent. If you can maintain good relationships you are going to be so much better served than being a brilliant asshole.

Successful artists know this and they look for opportunities, they are nice to people they come into contact with. If you want to get a head learn to be nice and mean it. Be genuine, sincere and kind.

Showing up everyday

Nothing magical is ever going to happen by itself, you have to show up every day and work at it. It is that simple! Be committed to your passion and you will be rewarded, maybe not straight away but eventually you will be.

Don’t worry about what everyone else around you is doing

Learn as much as you can from each other and internalise it, then put it in a bag and put it in the cupboard and forget about. Then you need to really access what it is that you are interested in . Don’t paint to please others although there is a fine line and a piece hasn’t fully reached its potential until it has been evaluated by something larger than you in a sense. It is a part of what we do. So just focus on what you are doing and develop your own visual language.

So today I am really excited to announce the winner of the Sardine Can Shrine Challenge.
As you know I had asked Seth Apter to be the guest judge and he certainly had a difficult time deciding on a winner. But in the end he decided on Deborah's shrine.
This is what Seth had to say about Deborah's shrine titled 'Circus Shrine'
He writes ' I was taken by the playfulness of Deborah's Circus Shrine from the first time I saw it. She created it as an ode to her memories of the circus as a child and her shrine really captures its essence: whimsical, colorful, playful and fun. Deborah did a great job in maintaining the integrity of the original sardine can and wings while at the same time integrating it into a wonderfully complex assemblage. There seems to be a great deal of craftsmanship that went into the design, especially through her use of a light and a wind-up mechanism. Seeing the image makes me want to see this piece in person - and to me that is a sign of a successful work of art.

I would like to personally thank everyone who got involved in this challenge and I appreciate the effort you all took in creating very unique and interesting shrines. What this challenge shows is how wonderfully creative and different we all are, and given the same basic shape 'The Sardine can', we all have the ability to transform it into something magical as well as a representation of our individuality and creativity. So thank you once again for your efforts!
I really hope that you all enjoyed this challenge and I definitely look forward to posting a new assemblage challenge in 2012.
Deborah will be recieving the following assemblage box called ' On the inside looking out' and also a written interview to be posted on Loving Mixed Media and also on my youtube channel.

I would like to thank Seth Apter for his assistance in judging this challenge. Seth will be posting his own blog mention about the challenge, so please be sure to visit his blog over the next couple of days to see what he had to say.
Thank you once again to the following artists who entered a completed shrine and if you would like to see their entries click HERE:
Margo Garrisson, Lisa Patencio, Phillip Chwalinski, Gayle George, Lea Scott, Mike Nowlin, Julie Pilgrim, Heather Snow, Jo Pilkington, Katherine Pippin Pauley,  John Doherty, Heather Smith, Kathleen Blohm, Pascale Hutt, Lucy Di Lorenzo, Dick Camnitz, Kim Draper, Patti Pfaendtner and Lee Hynes!

Sardine Can Shrine Challenge Update
Well I am pleased to announce the guest judge for the Shrine challenge is non other than New York based artist, Seth Apter!
Many of you know Seth through his popular blog 'The Altered Page' and if you don't, you need to check it out! I have been a big fan of his writings and art for a number of years and so when he said yes to being the guest judge for the challenge, i was thrilled to bits.
So as you know, the challenge was to take an empty Sardine can case which i had prepared, and alter it to create your own Sardine Can Shrine. The only rule was that you were to keep the original shape and form of the shrine as much as possible.
I have to say that I am really impressed with the quality and detail in some of the shrines! They are all so unique and different. Seth certainly has a difficult task of selecting a winner from all of the great entries.
The winner for the shrine challenge will be announced on the 7th of this month and they shall recieve one of my own customised Assemblage boxes as well as an online interview on my social art network 'Loving Mixed Media' and also in a blog to be posted here!
So below is a little bit of information about Seth! Doesn't he look like someone you could take home to mum?

_Seth Apter is a mixed-media artist from New York City focused primarily on works on paper, book arts, and textural assemblages. His work has been exhibited in numerous group shows and published in multiple books, national magazines, and independent zines.  He is the host and organizer of a number of international collaborative art projects including The Pulse and The Disintegration Collaboration. His first book, The Pulse of Mixed Media, will be released by North Light Books in March, 2012.
Blog: www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/thealteredpage

 DEAD ROCKSTARS
A TRIBUTE TO THE MORTAL GODS OF SOUND
A GROUP SHOW
Opening reception will be February 2nd 2012 in Eugene Oregon at Blunt Graffix, a 2000 sq. ft. artist studio. Doors open at 6pm and the show runs through February 24th. The art will then move to THE WAVE Art Gallery, located in the historic Whitaker district, and remain until late March._

So I was really excited to be contacted by Matt Dye of Blunt Graffix and to be invited to participate in this awesome exhibition.
Being that the theme of the show is Dead Rockstars I had to do Freddy Mercury!! I just think he is awesome, I also like his image and for me it translates well into a stencil. So I am currently cutting out 3 different stencil designs of Freddy and I hope to combine and layer all 3 to create a unique portrait of him...we will see!

_
To find out more details about the show and to see who else is in it, click on the image. And if your in the area check out the show!!

Consider this - A journey of 1000 miles begins with one step, take the step, that's it! Don't think about where your going to be. Detach from outcome, forget about where you are going, let yourself be guided.
Think softness, think kindness... softness kindness, they trump ALL of the hardness and all of the struggle.
Find your truth in nature, emulate water. 31 verses of the Tao refer to water. Be like water because you already are. And how does water behave, if you want to experience water, don't grasp it, as soon as you grasp it, it illudes you. The only way to experience water is to emerce yourself in it. Become one with it. Don't try to defeat it.
If you take a rock and let the water roll over the rock, the softness substance on the planet, will take away anything which is hard. It will always triumph. Be soft.
The sea is the strongest force on the planet because it stays low and all of the rivers and all of the streams do their battles 'all the carving they do', but they always come back to the source, to the ocean and the source means to stay low. Practice radical humility and everything will come to you.
Reflection
As artists it is hard not to get caught up in wanting to prove something to the world, to prove our art and ourselves deserve some sort of respect. We are always constantly seeking approval from others, that validation that what we are doing is of worth. When I began painting 7 years ago i was filled with Ego, filled with 'fight', ready to mark my territory and to claim my spot. I think over the years my growth and attitude has changed dramatically and my once need to prove to the world that my work stands apart has become like water.
I have come such a long way in a short period of time in regards to personal growth and the development of my art, and I put that growth down to being humble and my constant self reflection.

I think a lot of artists spend so much time and energy defending their art when in fact, they should let their art defend them. Create the work, let it speak, it has the power to change lives. If your work is good you will get recognised, doors will open I truly believe that! Focus your energy on building a strong body of work, one which you are proud of, one which shows off your skills and talents to the best of your ability. Be soft be like water!