09 Aug New (bigger) rooftop paintings

I haven’t posted here for a while but I have been busy with some larger White Bay
Power Station paintings (more about those in a later post).
I’m currently working on a new series of slightly larger rooftop paintings as well.
These are all 30 x 30 cm and will be framed.
The tops of the lovely old buildings around Balmain & Rozelle are mostly intact
and untouched by renovation, so preserve the “quaintness” of the village.
We see them every day but we don’t really look at them.
It’s worth stopping and looking up. Better still, my new rooftop paintings will be
on show later in the year. Details will be posted soon.

22 Apr Way out west…

Recently I went to South Australia and visited the town of Burra
(a little north of the Clare Valley, about midway between Adelaide
and Broken Hill). Burra was the one of the world’s largest
copper mines and a major rail transport centre.
In 1877 the mine closed, the population shrank, and the area became wheat
and prime merino sheep country. And sadly the train no longer runs to Burra.
Today the town services the local farming & grazing community, and with its charming
blue stone architecture and mining heritage, is a popular tourist destination.
A warm hearted town with some lovely and interesting people and there’s some good
accommodation (we stayed at the railway station, a fabulous little B&B!),
a couple of great restaurants too.
But the main draw card for me is the abandoned buildings out of town.
To the north, it gets dry. In past times people have upped and just walked off the land.
Tough decisions in very hard times. The area is scattered with an abundance of ruined
buildings, and those colours of the country! A rich source of inspiration for
artists and photographers alike.

10 Mar Open studio weekend

I will be opening my studio this weekend as part
of the Leichhardt Open Studio Trail (LOST) – March 12-13
95 Beattie Street Balmain (opposite Oliver’s Café @ The Exchange Hotel)
LOST is an annual event held in conjunction with Art Month in March.
During this time artists studios in the local area open their doors to the public.
It’s a rear opportunity to see the spaces and chat with participating artists.
There is a free Heritage Bus service covering the trail too!
For more information and maps CLICK here

25 Feb Commissions

Occasionally I’m asked if I will do a commissioned painting.
I have always said “no” because they make me nervous.
But the requests are becoming more frequent so I will do
a commission if I think I can create a good painting.
This is one of a number (many!) of studies for a view down Brent Street
in Rozelle, looking towards the city. You can see White Bay power station,
the Anzac (Glebe Island) Bridge and Centrepoint (Westfield) Tower
as a contrast in background to the quaint little cottages in Rozelle.

31 Jan New very small paintings

A new collection of very small paintings are now
starting to appear in my display window and on this site.
There will be a few new ones each week (all going well!)

This is the little yellow terrace on Evans Street. I called it The Yellow House
but maybe it should be called “Burano in Balmain” because it reminds me
of the coloured houses in Italy.

23 Dec Season’s greetings

Wishing you a happy & safe holiday season & all the very best for 2016!
And a big thank you to all who supported and encouraged me over the past year.

01 Nov Small paintings update

Sold today. This is from the Small Rooftop series. A view of the city from Rozelle
with a yellow terrace sparkling in the sunshine.
Soon (over the next six months or so) my power station paintings will finish, as the changes
begin to take place at White Bay. I’m looking at having a public exhibition of some larger paintings
of White Bay as a final goodbye to the power station as it now stands.
Please contact me if you wish to be notified about the exhibition details.  Rooftops and power poles
will continue at the same sizes and same prices. I’ll have to find a new third subject as well.
Stay tuned…

07 Mar The Rozelle Fire Appeal

Pleased to say that this painting, Darling near Victoria, was successfully auctioned
by Bella Emporio in Rozelle and the entire amount raised went to those affected
by the horrific Rozelle fire.
“In the early hours of of September 4, a baby boy, as 11-month-old babies do, woke his parents
as they slept in their inner-western Sydney apartment. The young couple, living in a unit above
a set of shops on Darling Street, Rozelle, comforted their son. After taking him downstairs,
the young mother told her husband it smelt like someone was spray-painting a driveway outside.
A little while later he headed off for work, leaving their unit at about 3:45am, with his wife
and baby boy together in bed. Less than 20 minutes later a large explosion ripped through
the convenience store below, causing a fire that would claim their lives, their 27-year-old neighbour,
and completely destroy the homes where they lived.” – Sydney Morning Herald
No one knew why or how such an event could happen in a closely knit village shopping strip.
The fire-damaged building on Darling Street needed to be demolished before the strip could reopen,
and it was also a crime scene. No one knew how long it would take. The normally buzzing little village
was suddenly like a ghost town, surrounding affected buildings were unsafe, some businesses closed,
others struggled for weeks, and the whole community was in shock. Finally the convenience store owner
was charged with a number of offences offences including murder, attempted murder, manslaughter,
and setting a fire for financial gain.
Rozelle is once again a buzzing little village, with an even stronger community bond, but no one
will ever forget what happened on that morning in September 2014.

22 Dec Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

It’s been a big year, with the horrific tragedies in Rozelle and Sydney city,
moving the studio (and us), renovating (in a way), saw some friends come,
saw some friends depart, some married and some had babies.
Some great news, some shocking…  I hope, for me at least, that the coming year will be
more settled so I can get on with some real work. I didn’t even do a Christmas card this year
(sorry, I don’t hate you, no one got one!). So embarrased. But it’s enough about me.
I wish for all of you to have a very Happy Christmas
and safe holiday break. And the best and most peaceful year in 2015 ever!