Recent ramblings.....

Winter is here and it's so gloomy looking at blue that I decided to do something a bit brighter and warmer for my blog background....makes me want to paint!

Recent days in the studio have seen me exploring hotter and hotter drier landscapes as the cold of an Orange winter sets in! Seems a bit weird calling it an Orange winter but that's what it is......winter in the town of Orange! My desire to travel west into warmer climes always drives me crazy at this time of year and this year, my car broke down delaying the outback trek that I love so much......what to do? I think I'll take a few smaller trips....next week off to Forbes though for a workshop and it's always warmer and drier out there! Maybe I'll just keep driving west.....hmm now that's a thought!

More here

So for a little preview of what I'm painting, here's a sample! I'd love to say it's the finished image but the finished works has a few more marks on it.

And another inspired by Lake Eyre, currently in flood for the second year around.....

 

I've been asked a couple of times lately how I would describe myself as a painter. One person felt I was an impressionist, which is a description I rather like but no sure it fits. The second person told me they had been told by their art teacher that I was a landscape painter which isn't a good description either.

So for the record, I personally describe myself as a contemporary landscape painter. My works are done from 'memory' of landscape, and are not actual places. If they have a place name with them, it is for reference purposes only and to let you know where I was when I gathered the 'feelings of place' that I paint. I prefer to paint 'memories', 'sensations' 'form' 'marks' 'patterns' that come from being in a 'particular place' at a 'particular time' such as sunset and sunrise, my favourite times of day as the gods change over their influence....

My interest lies in the abstract nature of the earth and her patterns, the marks that we all leave behind as we try to change this place and make it bend to our rules, mostly with dire outcomes. I love the terra forming patterns of farmlands especially from above and my works are increasingly becoming aerial landscape patterns.

My palette is drawn from the iron rich soils of Oz, the deep red soils of our outback and the fabulous blue skies above, reflected on the earth and waterways.

I've added a share button so you can share this blog with your friends! Take care through the winter cold months and keep warm! See you out back!

Time to GEE UP and get to it!

Robert Genn says in his recent email "Thinking ahead is good! Starting is better!"

With that in mind, I am about to put the hectic pace of 2011 behind me and enter the quiet space of the studio and START to paint! I'm not sure about you but everyone I know is telling me how busy and fast this year has been, that time is speeding up and there's so much to do, that making decisions is becoming more and more difficult. I know for myself that this Year of the Rabbit has chopped and changed about quickly and is proving to be a difficult one in which to 'focus' in the way I need to focus!

So here we go, to make a START!

Even my newsletter and blog have gotten well behind and there are many, many friends and colleagues that I just haven't had time to connect with....and on that idea of connection, isn't it now a strange concept...to connect (?) or do we?

I was thinking this morning about how many friends and connections I have around the world (and I love all of you - you are all such fantastic artists, philosophers and people!) and how much I would like to be able to 'connect' with you all more! My mother on the other hand had only 2 friends who lived overseas and to 'connect' with them, she used to write long letters by hand, send them off by post (6 weeks to deliver) and then wait patiently for replies! They were long letters though and full of stories about the family, her feelings and desires and well-wishes for her 2 pen pals (old nicknmae for people we used to write to).

How my mother would have loved this new mode of connection - but back to my question - do we really 'connect' nowadays? I rather doubt that we are connecting! I feel we are having quite a shallow experience these days compared to my mother's.

Our lives are now filled with rather tenuous promises of "I'll remember you!" "I'll definitely be in touch!" "You'll see me again" but each day brings us 'new' connections, new people and new promises and our past words fall like leaves in the Autumn on cold and hard ground.

So now back to my studio to re 'connect' with my 'art'. And hopefully now that I've made a START back on the internet after some 8 months doing other stuff, I'll be able to keep a connection with you all as well!

Last year saw the end of "The Eye of the Eagle" Series and I am now preparing myself for the long way forward into the next series of work.......the idea has come from the past series but is more focused....more later as I progress forward.

My works are now available at Wentworth Galleries in Sydney CBD as well as Aarwun in Canberra and Jayes in Molong. I will be discussing exhibition dates over the next few weeks and will let you all know when and where but in the meantime, take a look in the galleries if you're near them!

Reminiscing at Year's end!

Well, I've just looked at the date of my last blog and see it's back in the middle of 2010.....which just goes to show how quick this year has passed by. I set out to have a good year and it's definitely been that!

The Survey of my artworks over the last 30 years or so has been hung at the Orange Regional Gallery and opened to a large crowd of the best people I know. It was fantastic to see the different crowd that came to the opening that night. There's a 2 mb video on my website if you want to wait for it load....shows about 1/3 of the show.

With 6 exhibitions behind me this year, I am looking towards hopefully a quieter 2011. This year has been quite strenuous and one has to wonder what sort of perverted amusement one gets from all the pressure. Along with my own shows, I have hung and curated another 10 or so at Jayes in Molong so in many ways I am exhibited out!

There was also the larger than life itself, putting together of CONTEMPORANEA with Jim van Geet which traveled from Melbourne CBD to Canberra over the month of October to November. Jim and I were amazed at the exceptional response we got to our proposal for the Florence Biennale Artists of Australia group which we head up, to exhibit together. We expected about 20 artists to respond but no; 33 artists put their hands up and we ended up with over 100 paintings, all of which were large or really, really large to hang. Argh! But Jim is an amazing man and whilst the whole exercise put me into hospital with a 'stress' attack,. Jim carried on and hung the Melbourne show then packed it and took it to Canberra. Thanks also to all those wonderful artists who pitched in and helped!

You can see my friend and artist, Sibylle Werner here with Good Boy by Gillie and Marc! Good Boy was a great drawcard and brought a variety of responses!

Here we are at the National Gallery testing out the pears!

 

 All round it's been a great year! Hard, but great! So till next time, break a leg!