FAREWELL
Those of you who have been regular subscribers and social media followers of the AnArt4Life blog must have realised of late that we could not keep up the daily posts which have over the recent months become less and less frequent.
Matt Cameron - the Interwebs Wizard and Anne (the Editor in Charge) commenced the blog in November 2017 and from its faltering steps from a baby to a toddler we are immensely proud of how the AnArt4Life matured into a professional and very popular art blog.
An Art4Life has attracted a world wide list of subscribers and social media followers and has also provided a rich resource for the general public searching on the net for subject matter related to the world of art. As Matt reported recently:
In total there are over 2,200 posts on the AnArt4Life website and over the last 12 months about 70,000 people have visited the website.
Over the past few months we have come to the decision that we can no longer meet the very intensive demands of producing a blog of this quality and have therefore decided it is time to sign off and say farewell. Maybe as we approach the blog's 7th birthday there is some truth in the seven year itch!!!
If you would like to read more about how the blog began and the backgrounds of the team please check out About the AnArt4Life Blog Team on this website.
We have not made the decision to sign off lightly as we are accurately aware of how important the posts have become to many of you. Over the last several months Anne has been in constant discussion with the blog team and subscribers who have been with us since the birth of this baby.
But like all children, eventually they leave the protection of the home and have to make it on their own. And so too will the AnArt4Life make its own way as it will remain on this website as a resource for everyone to revisit whenever you desire to journey back through the past posts which cover so many of the fields of art.
We want to remind you that we have a wonderful tool on the blog site thanks to Matt who suggested many years ago that it was a must for us to have. And that tool is the TagCloud which records into designated categories every post we have every written. By clicking on the Tagcloud icon in the menu at the top of the page you will be taken to the site where you can choose which topic you would like to explore today.
If you are new to the blog please follow the link below to learn in detail how to use the TagCloud.
Julie
And so I as the Editor in Charge must now make a final and massively grateful thank you to the wonderfully talented team who have been on this fantastic journey with me.
Matt has looked after the technical side of producing the website and is largely responsible for the professional quality of what you see and how you are able to interact within each blog post. He will continue of course to look after the site.
Jane has been by my side since soon after the birth of the blog and I cannot thank her enough for her devoted care to making sure the posts were of the highest quality. She has brought so many different aspects of art into our viewfinder and of course we have all loved her extensive travel posts and the mountain of information she has shared from her extensive travels and knowledge of art. Jane will continue to be a frequent world traveller and we all wish her many wonderful trips to fascinating places.
Julie like Jane has been a constant in keeping me on track and advising when the material we were dealing with was of a sensitive nature. She has brought to the blog a wonderful collection of posts on her favourite period in art - the Impressionists - and also on her great love - the world of ceramics. Julie has also kept us up to date with new and exciting artists appearing on the social network sites.
Rowdy has brought to the blog his passion to paint his unique vision of the Australian outback having been inspired by the rich sunburnt colours and rough evocative textures of the landscape so often portrayed by the iconic group of artists called the Brushmen of the Bush. He has also brought into focus the works of many of the artists who make up the vibrant creative community from Victor Harbor in South Australia.
Andrew has a passion to own all the paintings he falls in love with! He also has a passion to share his substantial collection with the public - hence his involvement with the blog. Thanks to Andrew's efforts AnArt4Life has been able to showcase the works by many of the artists in his collection. We are most proud of the vast array of posts Andrew has contributed to presenting in detail the wonderful paintings of Hugh Schulz - a member of the Brushmen of the Bush.
John Pickup a member of the Brushmen of the Bush (our beloved J.P.) was a vibrant member of the team until his death in 2023. We all miss him, his wonderful conversations and the great wealth of knowledge and experience he so willingly shared with us. It means a great deal to us that when J.P. joined the team his own paintings did not have an internet presence and now they do as we have countless posts detailing many of his paintings when as a member of the Brushmen of the Bush he toured the world selling paintings and donating a substantial sum of the takings to Australian charities.
Caroline could not continue as a member of the blog team but we loved having her and her input as part of the original team especially as she contributed many posts which came from local communities she had visited on her journeys around Australia.
Since I was born, art has always been part of my life and it will always continue to be so! I am going to return to painting. With this in mind I will be creating a new website annenewman.studio where, if you wish, you can check out the progress on new creations I am wallowing in. I am not a professional artist but love the smell of oil paints and love playing with the way they blend so beautifully together. As I have frequently said: - I cannot imagine not being able to paint and I cannot imagine living without a dog!!
And so Aeroplane Indy and I will enjoy extra time together wandering around in the sun in the park and stopping to smell those exciting scents that only the Australian bushland can offer - and admiring the wonderful array of grasses my country is blessed with. So look out for another painting of fence posts and grasses!!
And, yes please, continue to send in your comments as you now have time to browse back through thousands of past posts on the AnArt4Life website waiting for you to read. And yes, I will continue to read and answer all correspondence.
Although this is the last email you will receive from AnArt4Life, feel free to check back on the blog website anytime to re-visit your favourite posts.