Tamara Armstrong Visual Artist | Artist

Tamara Armstrong Visual Artist

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25.01.2022 Big thanks to UCSC for this lovely shoutout and the photos. Loved working with these superstars and proud to see them taking some ownership of this corner of their school. More ART + COLOUR = More JOY

24.01.2022 This week I had the pleasure of brightening up this wall with a bunch of the ‘Creative Arts’ students from Upper Coomera State College. The design took inspiration from the surrounding gardens, the school colours and of course a few of my trusty favourites were thrown in for good measure. I’ll have to return for a better photo in better light next week. Thanks so much to art teachers Nancy and Doug for getting me in to work with their students and trusting me to bring the project to life. Love getting to witness young makers putting their stamp on their school in a lasting way. We all had a ball

24.01.2022 Having fun in #procreate on my iPad with shots from my art journal pages. This is an older pencil sketch of @maryankain that I glued onto a painting by my daughter and I’ve just tweaked it digitally. So much fun! This is also the same sketch I took my lines from for the ‘Women of Colour’ Creative Collage Kit. The large ‘Bold Beauty’ kit has now sold out but there’s still smaller kits available from my online shop. Hope to see the finished results from those of you who purchased a kit last week.

23.01.2022 Just found my way to @apeaceofwerk What artful, heartful accounts are you following to keep you smiling?

23.01.2022 More books and female voices to celebrate Stoked to receive my order from @sweatshop.ws last month Cutting time from screens means more time for reading and it’s good to have a pile of quality reads on the ready when you find yourself twiddling your thumbs

22.01.2022 These leafy, layered originals will brighten your dull white walls. The pair are currently hanging on display at Island Arts Gallery on beautiful North Stradbroke Island and canvas prints can be ordered direct from my website, cropped as squares. All enquiries welcome if you can’t make it over to the island. Worth the excuse to visit though.

20.01.2022 When one tree flowers multiple colours Fellow tree lovers can you help me out with the name of this one? #wishlistplant

20.01.2022 Plants on Painted Plants Last week I couldn’t tell what was real and what was not. My brain, body and emotions were too thinly spread. I overdid it...again. But the lessons are being learnt I can assure you. Thank you for the well wishesI’m firmly positioned in the slow lane for however long I need to be, and always grateful for my incredible support network Thanks in advance for your patience and understanding. I may not respond as quickly, but I will get back to you as soon as I’m able to.

19.01.2022 Love this new release from Electric Fields. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ao7GOymvhsw

18.01.2022 Almost 5 years ago, brushing my stuff at @cafeomai ...the very day my Mum rang me and told me about the Cracknell Road family connection. See my last few posts if you missed the story of my latest portrait of cafe owner Maggie Nguyen @singingindkitchen - my mural features in the background. It’s a painting within an painting and Maggie surprised me at our sitting last month when she brought along her own yellow dress. Another nice nod to the mural Sure does pay off to take lots of photos. Wish we had more photos of my Great Aunt and Uncle running their shop from this same spot in the 60s, but cameras were not a luxury every family could afford. Another reason to be grateful for the things we currently take for granted

17.01.2022 Is it bright enough though?

17.01.2022 Welcome Spring! So glad you’re here. Love this space and shoutout from Tailored Space Interiors this morning. This is Twilight Palms as a framed print

17.01.2022 My very first ‘Native Bird Painting’ workshop at Island Arts Gallery yesterday with these beauties (and two extra little cuties just beside me out of shot). Would you look at these creations Such a beautiful morning, can’t thank everyone enough for making the trip across. I’ll have to offer this one again sometime soon Anything to be near these amazing weaving by Paula Boo too xxx

16.01.2022 Did you catch these mega babes on The Project last night? Get your videos sorted for the next Couch Choir instalment thanks to the genius Love Bugs Astrid and Waveney Yasso

15.01.2022 My Mum re-enacting her 11 year old self outside what is now @cafeomai but in 1968 was her Aunty Jean’s fruit and vege store on Cracknell Road. This is the very same shop that my Great Grandmother Tess lived at the back of as well in the mid to late 60s, Mum tells me what is now part of Cafe Omai’s kitchen was my Great Grandmother’s actual bedroom!! You can’t make this stuff up, seriouslySpot the same tiles on the exterior of the building in both photos. Mum was 11 when she u...sed to also stay at the shop over the weekends to work for pocket money, they also sold soft drinks, cigarettes and potted gerberas that my Great Uncle Allan sourced from the Rocklea markets. Mum tells me she is also wearing her fave green floral dress which she made for herself in Home Ec - My maternal family’s connection to this building which Maggie now owns, was completely unknown to me at the time @honghenwooddesign asked me to put a quote together for a mural. See my last post which reveals my portrait of Maggie with my mural. A building that has housed some hard working women, including Maggie and her clever Mummy Kim,so much history for sure. Grateful to have found my way here through art and paint. Check out @cafeomai next time you’re near Annerley, you won’t be disappointed See more

15.01.2022 Holidays are for finishing off incomplete paintings

15.01.2022 Really excited to be featured in the latest issue of @arteditmagazine - find my full page spread featuring the dynamic @anisa_nandaula on page 165 and find my painting of @_enterthedragon_ in the gift guide on page 210. Loads of brilliant Australian artists to discover. Thank you @arteditmagazine for inviting me on board with this exciting issue

15.01.2022 Okay guys, basically do as I say and not as I do. *puts communal paintbrush in my mouth Painting with young people on mural projects requires a lot of initial ‘do this, but don’t do that’ - followed up with some serious micro-managing, repeating instructions and then before you know it, we turn up the tunes and get into the zone No paint spills, no dirty brushes and Mr Sponge is always on hand for accidental strokes outside of the lines We always get there in the end and it’s awesome to stand back and admire the finished result Thanks for the photos and kind words UCSC!

14.01.2022 And you know I’m going to paint this

12.01.2022 Bonding with my latest canvas This mural painting business is very serious guys. Very serious. I probably should be physically distancing from it, who knows what it has seen, heard....had stuck to it When you realise you haven’t got a work in progress photo, @liammathers to the rescue #highschoolbuildings #thiswall #thisglamourouslife

12.01.2022 Almost certain wearing these matching shirts in public would have cramped his super tough, cool guy reputation. But so glad there’s photographic evidence Enjoyed another day with my Dad yesterday, looking through old photos, remembering good times and trickier ones, fashion trends and faces of those who’ve passed on but have never left our hearts. Grateful to have had a day together making new memories Love you Dad x

12.01.2022 Have you been over to Minjerribah for the Arts Trail yet? It continues all of this weekend and next. So many amazing talented local artists putting their wares on display, and many from their actual studios. It’s worth the trip across the water. Find all the details via @islandartsgallery bio or visit; Minjerribah Arts Trail

12.01.2022 Journal page filling while clever musician friends strum their guitars, play their bongos and sing sweet harmonies. A blissed out Monday night

11.01.2022 ‘Rose Gold Sunset’ & ‘Day/Night Palms’ freshly framed in oak and now on show and available from @islandartsgallery in Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island

10.01.2022 Friday morning mountain bliss, workshopping with the Year 11 art students of @coomeraanglicancollege

09.01.2022 Fun flashbacks to a fun day of Creative Collage Goodness with the team from Ruby PR over at beautiful Couran Cove a few years ago. I took my large 'Bold Beauties' and a bucket load of coloured papers, felts, pens and glue sticks to see this bunch of ladies unwinding into some playful cutting and pasting. There's no rules, no room for perfection and nothing threatening when you just allow yourself to play. Just watch how kids do it if you need a reminder of your inner-artist.... They are in there, alive and waiting to be released! No fear, no over thinking, just good old fashioned fun. The large Bold Beauties have sold out but there's a couple small kits available, the perfect size for sending in a gift card sized envelope or framing with a store bought picture frame. There's still a few Large 'Women of Colour' kits waiting for homes. Send them as a gift to your friends or family or gift them to yourself and invite a friend to join you for a play session. It's always fun to bounce ideas with a friend, collaborate and smile. You might tackle a few pieces each day, like a jigsaw puzzle, or you might smash through them all in one sitting and find yourself needing a whole new art journal. Who knows what you might spark, I just hope it's JOY! There's absolutely no deadline, no criteria and no need to show anyone

09.01.2022 Here’s a ‘nice’ photo of me looking relaxed in early March, coz I just cut my hair myself in my bathroom 20 minutes before River Hazel arrived. I’d managed to put on a bra. My hair was playing nice when I held my head still. And even though we were supposed to go outside in the lush rainforest, it bucketed rain. That’s what rainforests need to exist you see, so that’s cool, we just pivoted. I shoved some mess to the side of my table! I shuffled in some incomplete canvasses th...at matched my outfit. We got some new head shots. Voila! River kept the image nice and tight so you can’t see the mess all over the floors. Coz guys, that’s what keeps you here right? Pretty pictures Anyways, now that I have your attention, I’ll let you know that these unfinished canvasses are going to be finished and on display at @island arts gallery in Dunwich on magical Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island) from late September through to October. I’m so honoured and excited and feeling aligned to this, even though I don’t have a name for the show yet...? Pfffft...It will come. This is what we do as artists, we pivot, we get excited, plans change, money dries up, the rug gets pulled out from under us 80% of the time. So we pivot, change our plans, find other ways to fund life, look for that inevitable window that should open and then just go in that direction. Uncertainty and lack of routine and change can be scary if you’re not flexible. The world would prefer we stay rigid, but life kicks us into action whether we plan for it or not. Meanwhile I’ll actually be sending out a newsletter tomorrow. Or maybe Thursday...so subscribe for a round up of my upcoming workshops, my exhibition dates, and my latest mural reveals! Thanks for reading the caption, type a cat emoji if you got here See more

09.01.2022 It’s been a big week of rest, with a dash of workshopping. But nature came along for the ride, which always makes me feel better Unfortunately I had to cancel a few commitments this week, but I’m so glad I was well enough to still go ahead with these two. Thursday I worked with the 10s and 11s at Assisi and this morning with this breath taking backdrop, I worked with the 11s from Coomera Anglican College. We experimented with different techniques and approaches and the stude...nts had the gift of time to make. Something the formal school day doesn’t always allow. I look forward to seeing what these immersive experiences lead the students to in their final year of Visual Art in 2021. Many thanks to all of the schools that have employed me to work with their students this term. It’s always a pleasure and always rewarding. Term 3 is usually a heavy and full one, but 2020 turned up the volume even more. I wish all of you who work in education, a peaceful and restful holiday

08.01.2022 This week I’ve been painting a colourful mural with the lovely Creative Arts students from Upper Coomera State College. They’ve been looking at my popular ‘Leaves & Lines’ style ahead of my arrival and I got such a thrill to see their watercolour studies. We are two days into the wall and this time tomorrow it will be complete! Lovely comments are flowing in from passing staff members and students. The weather has also played nice for us and the wall couldn’t be better positi...oned to take in all day shade That’s my fave kind of wall Big thanks to Nancy Donaldson for getting me in and making this project happen. Art teachers ROCK Stay tuned for the big reveal tomorrow

08.01.2022 Hope you're all enjoying your Friday, here's a little flashback to 2017 taking my pooch to check out the freshly painted dog houses and mural I'd completed at Stocklands Burleigh Heads in November that year This was such a fun brief to work to! by @two birds social

08.01.2022 Leafy Trio of originals, on show and available from @viking_framers here on Tamborine Mountain. Find them opposite the historical St Bernard’s Pub. Ps, this is the only place you can view my work on the mountain

07.01.2022 Loving this capture of my framed canvas print of ‘Banana Chandelier’ Big thanks to @brianaforsterdesign for the continuous support of my work over the years. Bri has a great eye for colour, space and style and works with oodles of great local suppliers to bring her clients a dreamy, unique and contemporary space to enjoy for many years. If you want more colour in your home, but don’t know how to approach it - get in touch with Bri for sure Thanks for the kind words too Bri, you put a smile on my tired dial this morning

06.01.2022 Morning strolls = palette inspiration

06.01.2022 Print perfection Thanks @leftbankartgroup for this bang on reproduction of my portrait of @magsindkitchen

05.01.2022 Thanks to Boom Shankar for interviewing me for their latest blog. Last week I had the pleasure of spending a few relaxing days at Headland Chalets at Point Lookout on Stradbroke Island and the current summer range of Boom Shankar clothes were perfect for ‘Island Time’ Read the blog via their website Thanks to my mate @ellsie_bells for being my Instagram wife and capturing these shots

05.01.2022 Finishing off my demo work from last week’s Native Bird Painting workshop at @islandartsgallery

04.01.2022 Team Work Another shot from today, powering through the multiple shapes and layers and colours with these gorgeous helpers at Upper Coomera State College. Loads of curious questions about what it means to be a working professional artist, and plenty of proud moments standing back admiring their work and collecting compliments from people passing by. This is probably the best part of working on murals with young artists, for me anyway. You can’t be what you can’t see and this world will always need more creatives, with hopeful ideas and the courage to truly shine Serious colour therapy = serious JOY. I hope this wall spreads more smiles on the daily and brings more students back to the Art Department. #artmatters #artistherapy

04.01.2022 Happy Tuesday ( it’s Wednesday)Reminder to water your own grass, prime your own canvas and stay humble The Rock never forgets where he came from (or does he?) and btw that smell ain’t coming from his bumbag #KnowWhoYouAre #trustlifefromthere #bekindtoyourselfandothers

04.01.2022 A fun flashback from 5 years ago My thoughts on this have not changed. Life’s too short not to be happy, so surround yourself with more colour, make more time to rest, get slow, get centered, call the people you love, dance like no one is watching, sing louder, smile wider and be grateful for all the good things that you have and that you bring to the world ... Hope your Sunday night is peaceful

04.01.2022 A lovey little ‘plant on pine’ piece from last week’s dreamy workshop with the sunny 11s from Coomera Anglican College

03.01.2022 Stoked to have had my portrait of @magsindkitchen selected as a finalist for the @bluethumbart art prize this year. There were 2500 entries and the finalists were narrowed down to 180 - which feels pretty incredible to be included in. I would be so very grateful if you could head over to @bluethumbart and vote for my entry in the People’s Choice Award #bluethumbartprize20

02.01.2022 So much goodness to celebrate this week Spring has sprung and my gorgeous, inspiring, and brilliant friend Laura Elvery has celebrated her second book release Laura and I met through a mutual friend, after discovering we travelled on the same flight to London back in 2008, where we both moved to teach and travel with our partners. We then became fast friends that year travelling parts of the UK together, enjoying the sights, sounds and tastes of London and sharing war stor...ies from teaching days. In 2013 we got pregnant around the same time, had our baby girls two weeks apart, sent each other the texts only new mothers understand and have been celebrating the ups and downs of pursuing these chosen paths in Art and Writing, whilst raising children, maintaining our important relationships and attempting to keep our own cups full. Laura’s book of short stories are inspired by the few Female Nobel Prize Winners throughout history. A book that took 3 years to complete, seeing L travel to Stockholm for further research and immersion in the lives that she so beautifully explores in her writing. I’ve often said to Laura that she seems to almost channel the voices of these women, whom she’s never met - allowing us, her readers to also be truly moved by the possibility of their experience and the world at that time. Laura’s work is a gift to the writing world, and her friendship is a gift to mine. You’ll not be disappointed and I implore you to purchase a copy of ‘Ordinary Matter’ for yourself and the people in your orbit. I’ll be buying multiple copies for my Christmas and birthday gifting list. Couldn’t be prouder of you L xoxo See more

02.01.2022 Way to start the week! Thanks to Watermelon Red for this sale today. This is the framed canvas print of 'On an island breeze' in real oak floating frame, with a happy new collector. Enjoy Sarah and thanks again Steff for the ongoing support. Stop into Watermelon Red next time your in sunny Peregian Beach near Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.