I don’t normally paint figurative but this was a special request from a photograph.
Sam was a gorgeous child I actually met after the work was completed. It was nice to
paint a person for a change, and it’s funny how you seem to already them really well
when you first meet the subject of the work. He was a pleasure to paint.
Disused oil on canvas, 31 x41 cm. I painted this in 2013 and no one showed much interest at the time.
Too dark, too depressing they said. I was going to keep it – I like the brushwork, the colours, the light – but then a year
or so later it sold to a like-minded client in Victoria. I’m always a little sad to see my favourite paintings go.
It’s good to look at the older work in the archive section. Older work doesn’t always mean “less good”, it can show
a change in direction or how the current work has developed. An artist’s work evolves/changes over time and
looking back can trigger new ideas for the artist as well, because you look at things in a different way.
Someone was looking in the archives recently – and now this work has inspired a large commission for 2017.
I’ll be working on the studies in February!
This new series of 12 paintings explores the rooftops we see everyday but don’t really notice.
Most feel familiar, but at the same time, some are hard to pinpoint. Many village rooftops display
a rich mix of colour and decorative architectural detail that will never be replicated,
yet it’s those ornate features that add unique character and charm to our local community.
I hope you come along to see them and enjoy them as much as I do!
The Balmain Art Show : November 12-13 (only 2 days)
2 Eaton Street Balmain
Opening Friday November 11: 7.30-11pm (ticketed event)
Exhibition times: Saturday 9am-4pm & Sunday 10am-3pm
My exhibition White Bay Powerstation : New Paintings at Gallery 503 has now closed.
Thank you to all who came along and made this show a great success – a near sellout
(less 2) of the larger paintings, and a couple of commission requests as well.
It was great to meet so many new people, and also a few clients who have purchased
my work in the past (I love that, it’s such a compliment when people return!).
Gallery 503 is very new, this was only the fourth exhibition. It’s a great space with an
industrial feel – perfect for my style of work.
A big thank you to Lynn Pearce at Gallery 503 for helping me stage a great show,
and also with my framing. I’m already looking forward to exhibiting again next year!
It was a nice surprise to find my exhibition featured in Ciao Magazine today!
And on the front cover too. A big thank you to Gallery 503 for your fantastic work and support.
The exhibition looks great and it’s a beautiful space with a really nice vibe!
Gallery 503
https://www.facebook.com/gallery503lilyfield/
An exhibition of New Paintings
October 20-26
You are invited join us for drinks on Saturday 22 October 4-6pm, and to see a new series
of my larger White Bay paintings. There are some views of the White Bay site before the hardhats
started cleaning things up, along with some more abstract paintings.
And some works will also be available as museum quality prints on canvas very soon.
Gallery 503 is a great new little exhibition space down near the entry to Callan Park.
This exhibition only runs for a week but is open every day, so come on in!
Gallery 503
503 Balmain Road Lilyfield (near Cecily Street & Callan Park traffic lights)
RSVP: please email me
PLONK! is an eclectic mix of exceptional work by 33 local artists.
This group show is in a new Pop-Up space which was an old winery (hence the name),
so in keeping with the liquid theme, I’m showing two liquid-inspired paintings.
Come along if you can, it will be fun (and there’s music by the talented Amie Zar!)
Opening night: Thursday 13 October 6-9pm
Exhibition 14-30 October : Pop In Space 72-74 Pyrmont Bridge Road Camperdown
I’m working on a new group of larger White Bay Power Station paintings for my solo show in Lilyfield.
Opening October 22nd, 2016. Please check back often, as more details will be posted as things progress!
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.
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.