Coin Art - NZ 5 Cent : Tuatara

I finally finished the 5 Cent Painting.

This one took ages as I went over him at least 3 times in different styles. Ever tried to paint Tuatara skin ? From an etching of a coin ??

Anyway, He's finished and I'm relatively happy with him.
Paints almost dry and I'll be sealing and finishing the back.

He is for auction at the moment here; RA Hammond - NZ Coin Art Tuatara

My last auction for the 50c or the $1 went well, I think The 50cent is the one the buyer wants, but I'll confirm that later...
After this auction ends, there will only be 2 paintings left in the first set !
I've had around 10 requests for commisions, but I'm sticking to my no doubles rule.
That way the people who have shown faith and bought early will actually have an investment.

The Australian paintings have been started, and the 3rd set of ten have been decided on.
The 3rd set will consist of 5 early NZ coins and 5 early Australian coins.
The NZ Penny has already been reserved !!

I'll update later...

Rachel.

Coin Art - The Results so far...

OK, so far I have sold the;

• 1 cent
• 2 cent
• 10 cent
• 20 cent kiwi
• 20 cent pukaki

So far I have been able to buy 20 canvas' for the first 2 sets and make $30.
Coin Art is now in Profit !!

Currently I am auctioning off either the 50 cent or the $2 painting.... If it goes over $8 I'm still in profit :D

The 5 cent should be finished soon enough and the Bi-colour $10 coin just needs some touching up.

I cant wait to start on the Australian coins and I'm considering doing one of the special full colour coins that were issued... maybe the bottlenose dolphin one ??

Dont forget to check out the auction !

Later,
Rachel.

Coin Art - Painting coins

"The thing I love about coins is the amazing imagery you can find on them if you actually look ! Most people just consider the humble coin as a means to an end... give them this and I get that." - RA Hammond.

FINALLY, SOMEONE IS PAINTING THE HUMBLE COIN. There will be 28 series with 10 coins in each... Reserve your currency now !




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Coin Art - NZ Two Dollars - The White Heron

This is my favourite so far !!

The thing I love about coins is the amazing imagery you can find on them if you actually look !
Most people just consider the humble coin as a means to an end... give them this and I get that.
Sure there are a vast number of coin collectors (as there always has been) and these people appreciate them for different reasons, but do they think about the money they use ??
I dont really collect coins... I have lots of them and have hoarded lots over the years but I wouldn't consider myself a numastist.
I just have an appreciation for the ordinary.

So back to the painting !
I took a little artistic licence with this one and had fun painting it. In New Zealand the White Heron is called Kotuku and is actually a Great Egret (Not the Great White Egret, though !).
Anyway, on our $2 coin it shows this fantastic bird in flight with a Maori inspired design over the top. The coin is 10 grams and is a gold coloured metal.

I think the hardest part was keeping the lettering straight !
I have just taken this pic and I put a final coat on the background last night so it is still wet.

This one is NOT FOR SALE as I'm going to take a huge leap and enter it into a local art comp. that has called for unique takes on Kiwi Icons. Not saying that it'll be accepted, but I may as well try :)

I've almost finished the Bi-colour New Zealand $10 coin so that will be next.
Cant wait to start on the Aussie Money !!

Later,

Rachel.

PS; Remember; All Paintings remain © copyright RA Hammond 2007, All rights Reserved.
(And if you want to purchase one I'll have paypal purchase buttons up today)

Coin Art - The Kiwi Dollar

The "gold" coins were always going to be fun to paint ! I decided to scan a coin and paint it as the computer saw it... That's why instead of being all one dull mustard colour it is brown, and yellow and white...

We used to have a very attractive $1 note in New Zealand. It was Brown.... I'll leave the description there I think !

Anyway, when they brought in "The Kiwi Dollar" The Great They decided there should be a Kiwi on it. As there was already a 20c with a kiwi on it, they changed the 20 to the Pukaki guy you'll see below.
Our Kiwi Dollars' kiwi is surrounded by ferns and he even has his cute little whiskers.
It is a compound metal, a fairly small coin, just 8 grams.

When deciding on a background there was just one choice. Deep Maroon.
Kind of reminds me of my Catholic School Uniform...

Sorry about the crappy pic, it's not dry yet so I'll put up a better one soon.

Rachel.

PS; The 2 NZ Cents sold on Auction for $40 ! My first painting sale !!

Coin Art - 50 cents NZ`

Well, I have been painting everyday and I'm actually working on the last of the set today !

The 50 cent piece in New Zealand Used to be quite large... now everyone mistakes it for the 20c !
It still has the Endeavour on it though :)
I'm sure I dont have to tell people that the Endeavour was Captain James Cooks' ship on which he mapped much of the coastline of New Zealand (while getting harrassed by the current inhabitants, apparently !!) and then went to discover Australia...

I may touch this up a little...seems a little grey to me :)

Mt Taranaki is in the background on this coin...
I'll replace this with a better pic soon !

All images remain © copyright RA Hammond 2007.

Rachel.

Daily Coin Art - The 2nd 20 cents NZ

After the $1 was brought in to NZ currency with the Kiwi on it, they re-designed the 20c.
From then on it had a Pukaki on it, which is a '...reproduction of a specific carving of an 18th century Maori warrior leader called Pukaki, who was a Rangatira (Chief) of the Ngati Whakaue..." according to one of the NZ currency websites.

I enjoy doing the Maori designs as they are more linear and remind me very much of aztec style. I probably put far more detail in this than was necessary, but it surprised me to realise that this figure wasn't just a "Tiki".


This 20c is lighter in colour than the last one as my model was one of the brand new coins !

I have just finished the $1 painting which has a deep burgandy surround... Only 2 more to paint in this set.
I've decided once 3 of these have sold, I will start on the Australian coins. These are the ones I actually grew up with so I'm looking forward to this....


Rachel.

My Auction is looking a little more respectable now :) ( Thanks David !)

Coin Art - NZ 20 Cent The Kiwi

Coin Art - NZ 20 Cent The Kiwi

In New Zealand the 20c coin has changed 3 times since 1967.
The original 20c was the one with the Kiwi on it.

When NZ introduced the one dollar (which is gold and has the kiwi facing the other way...) Someone thought it looked too similar and replaced the design.
It's now the second lowest denomination in NZ coinage.


This guy was fun to do, if a little naive looking...

Don't forget to check out the 2 cent auction before it closes... At one dollar someone may get a bargain !
I should also add for those considering the possible secondary market for my paintings.... I have completed 7 of the 10 in the New Zealand Series and will be tackling the next series, next week !

Lots more to come.
Actually, 280.
There are 28 steps if you want to Double Your Way to a Million and I intend to do a set of 10 for each step.
Around the frame of each on the back is my encoded description of each picture. I'll add a pic of this eventually, the encoding is just my personal language !

Later,
Rachel.

Coin Art - Ten NZ Cents

Coin Art - Ten NZ Cents

I know I've skipped one, but the five cent has been a real pain and I want it to look like something before I put it up here !!

Anyway.... The 10 cent piece was also fun !
It is of a carved head but put in the shape of a butterfly. The carving in Maori is called Koruru.
The ten cent used to be a silver type coin but in 2006 they decided to not only make it our lowest coin denomination (can you believe that ??!!) but also a copper style coin.
Sure, the coppers look pretty when they are released, but as soon as they tarnish they are just horrible copper coins.
I dont know, I think it devalues the coin... but that's just me !

Anyway, I have chosen to portray the silver type coin as it reminds me less of this blunder... I mean, Change :)

NZ Coins are now minted at the Royal Canadian Mint !

Again, this is 12" square and painted in oils. The background is a thick black which contrasts well with the silver (grey really with blue tinge).

Dont for get to check out how my 2 cent auction is doing.... HERE

Coin Art - Two New Zealand Cents

Coin Art - Two New Zealand Cents

SOLD !

My second painting in this series was a lot of fun for some reason !
The actual picture on the coin is a branch of the NZ Kowhai tree with 2 of the bell shaped flowers hanging from it. Apparently the Kowhai is the national flower of NZ !

Again, this coin was made between 1967-1988 and was demonetised in 1990.
I still remember saving these up to purchase my weekly Smurf.....

Again, this is Oil on Stretched Exhibition Canvas and will be listed for sale exclusively through TradeMe for the very reasonable start bid of... 50 cents NZ.

The background is pure white, very thick oil paint that should be ready to ship in a week when the auction finishes.

Rachel.

Coin Art - One NZ Cent

Coin Art - One NZ Cent

I figured any set of paintings with New Zealand Coins on them, had to feature the much maligned one and two cent pieces.

In NZ these were pulled from circulation and demonitized in 1990.
The one cent features the silver fern (except in a bronze colour...) and was made between 1967-1988.
Most people seemed to veiw them as nuisance coins, but I'm sure kids who found them and could buy one cent lollies weren't too upset with them.

Our lowest denomination is now 10c. Hmmmm.
It was signed by the artist who created it just under the fern, but I have stylised this and it is now a code key to whats on the back....

Painted on a 12" x 12" stretched exhibition standard canvas with 1 1/2" staple free edge. Background is very thick white. Medium, Oil Paint.
NOT FOR SALE

Doubling Coin Art - It Begins.....

Doubling Coin Art - It Begins.....

OK, I'm starting another blog specifically for the Coin Paintings.

In case you've stumbled here in a blind haze, I have been running another Blog called The Doubling Challenge. I am trying to go from finding a penny and doubling my way to a million dollars. You can check out my progress here

While I was born in NZ, I actually grew up in Australia and studied a Bachelor of Graphic Design before I came home.
The reason I have chosen coins for my Doubling related art work was simply due to most people overlooking them...

The first money I found for the doubling to a million project was $2.70. Someone had just left it there. Many of my doubling cohorts tell of coins laying everywhere and people not bothering to pick them up.

A mini survey told me that most people don't even know what is on most of their own countrys' coinage ! Anything that under rated has to be good :D

Each painting showed on this blog is 12" x 12" stretched canvas and ready to hang.
So far I'm getting around one per day ( so I guess I also qualify as a Painting A Day human !).

One NZ Cent is not for sale but the others will be.
Many main currencies will be attempted and there will be 10 in each countrys' set.

If you like the style and have a hankering for your favourite currency....Reserve it !

I'll have the first Pics up soon,

Rachel.