No. 1
June 2023
Hello. Welcome to Sunny Coast Art and Design.
After a couple of years of study, research, planning, writing and revising a business plan, preparing financial reports, building a website, and ensuring all compliances are met (Acts, Regulations, Codes, licenses), I am excited to finally open my business, Sunny Coast Art and Design.
My main goal for the graphic design service is to provide a friendly, high-quality service where I listen closely to my clients’ needs and ideas and add mine to produce work that stands out in the crowd and exceeds clients’ expectations.
Painting is one of my favourite things to do. Selling paintings and prints at Sunny Coast Art and Design is my dream come true.
2023 is proceeding quickly and Winter has arrived, sending us on a search in the back of our wardrobes to retrieve our woollies. Do you like the cold weather, or do you yearn for summertime when winter arrives?
On one of the last days of Autumn (28 May), Jan and I attended the annual Immanuel Arts Festival in Buderim. It was so good to get out for an hour or two. We enjoyed seeing the work of many talented artists. Jan went home happy after purchasing two nice little handmade wooden mantel clocks. I was delighted when she gave one of the clocks to me. I can hear my clock ticking as I sit here typing this blog. The clock tells me the time is 2.28 a.m.! One of the downfalls of operating a business is that there is a never-ending list of jobs you must do and not enough hours in the day to complete them. This can lead to working overnight which results in sleep deprivation.
Talking about sleep, I must tear myself away from my work (which I love) and go to bed now!
Take care and keep smiling.
Merryl
The clock, crafted by Mr Whittaker.
No. 2
July 2023
Hello!
I started this blog on 6 July 2023. It is now the second last day of July and I decided to delete what I wrote on the 6th and start again.
This month I attended several networking events so that I could meet and connect with people from local businesses. I find it challenging and interesting to walk up to a group of strangers and wait on the sidelines looking for an opportunity to say hello and join the conversation. Sometimes I back away having been unsuccessful and move to another group and try again.
On 30 June and 28 July, I attended “Good Chats” at the Sub Tropic Studio in Caloundra. On both occasions I was greeted with a smile and made feel welcome by the friendly hosts. I enjoyed hearing the guest speakers talk of their experiences in their creative journeys. I was excited to see Paloma, one of my former graphic design teachers, who always inspires me.
Jan and I have been out and about this month taking photographs of scenery for our future paintings. Currently the prints on our website shop are all 40.64 cm x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 inches). I think this is a perfect size −not too big and not too small. However, if you would like a different sized print, please let me know in the website’s contact form.
In this blog I am including two digital illustrations of birds which I drew recently. I hope you like them. If you need an illustration or two, I am ready to create for you. Drop me a line in the contact form and I will get back to you.
Until next time, keep smiling.
Best wishes
Merryl
No. 3
August 2023
Hello.
Today (August 31), I took one of my original oil paintings to the framing shop to select a frame for it. The helpful person assisting me commented, “I can’t believe it will be September tomorrow. Time seems to go by faster the older I get”. I feel the same. Do you?
August was a very busy month for me. In addition to doing all the usual office/business type tasks, I spent many hours doing new artwork (painting and illustrating). I plan to have prints made of two of the watercolours and make them available in my shop soon. I will give you a sneak preview of one of the paintings in the sketch stage (shown on the right).
This month, Jan and I visited several art galleries in our local region (Yandina Historic House Gallery, the Stevens Street Gallery, the Seaview Gallery and the Sunshine Coast Art and Framing Gallery) and attended an art show at the Yandina Ginger Factory. We loved seeing the work of the local artists. We met two talented and experienced artists, Dorothy and Thelma, at the Ginger Factory art show and enjoyed talking with them. Dorothy contacted me last night and invited me to drop off three of my paintings at the Yandina Historic House Gallery next week so they can be displayed in the gallery/shop there. If you live in or are visiting the Sunshine Coast region I recommend that you visit the gallery and view the wide variety of art and gifts made by local artists.
Until next month,
Kind regards
Merryl
No. 4
September 2023
Hello.
This month my blog is going to be very brief.
It is the morning of 29 September, and I will be heading off to the hospital for surgery in about three hours. On Monday afternoon I tripped on the edge of a garden path, fell onto concrete and broke my right arm.
I hope to have happier news to share with you next month.
Best wishes.
Merryl
No. 5
October 2023
Hello!
My plans for October were all delayed because I fractured my right arm and required surgery to repair it. I needed some time to recover following surgery but am now back running my business to the best of my ability (it’s hard to do everything with my left hand when I am right-handed, and I am unable to drive a car currently).
I was working on some new illustrations prior to my accident, and I have now uploaded them to the Portfolios illustration section of my website. I hope you like them – I would love your feedback.
By the time it is blog time again, I hope my arm has a full range of motion.
I appreciate your support.
Best wishes
Merryl
No. 6
November & December 2023
Hello.
November and December have been busy months at Sunny Coast Art and Design. And we have some exciting news to share with you!
In October, Merryl submitted an application to join the ASA Style File (a curated portfolio site for illustrators to showcase their work).
Merryl was delighted to be selected to join the ASA Style File and display her illustrations on the ASA Style File website: https://asastylefile.com/ .
Merryl has been busy creating some new watercolour paintings and digital art. The artwork is currently at the Printer, and we are planning to add it to our shop in January 2024.
From the team at Sunny Coast Art and Design, we thank you for your support and kindness this year. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and safe 2024.
Best wishes from Merryl and Jan.
