rozellepole1-nw

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.

2014 Christmas window-nw

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!

Power Pole (Rydalmere)_102x76cmnw

This painting (a commission) sold before I had a chance to include it
on this website. It was the last painting completed at my old Glebe studio:

“The painting depicts three solar powered MV data loggers that hang on 66kV power lines
and report line faults on each phase. They were designed by the Engineering Manager
at CHK Power Quality Pty Ltd and installed in 2012. CHK Power Quality Pty Ltd
is an organisation comprising of passionate and talented engineers who collectively bring
together many years of engineering excellence and know-how in the area of Power Quality
for Low Voltage (LV) and Medium Voltage (MV) power networks. Their core focus is providing
engineering solutions, products and services, for improving Power Quality”

Rydalmere Pole. 102 x 76cm. Oil

A Rozelle afternoon-nw

I’m donating three paintings for the Rozelle Fire Appeal.
They will be auctioned TONIGHT at the Welcome Hotel.
Please come along and help this great cause. The event costs $65/person
for canapés and drinks, and all proceeds go to the Rozelle Fire Appeal.
Drinks start at 7pm and the auction is from 8pm.
The Welcome Hotel, 91 Evans Street Rozelle
Bookings: 9810 1323 or thewelcomehotel.com
NEWS FLASH– Thank you to everyone! My paintings all sold,
raising $1400 for the appeal. Very happy!

“Sunlit Wall (Rozelle)” oil on canvas. 13x18cm

The bad news first : We are undergoing a little renovation and no paintings
will be on view in my Balmain window for a little while. The lights are out
and the window is covered up while the work is carried out.
The good news
: A new bunch of exciting local rooftop and power station paintings
are coming at the end of September or early October! (that’s just in time for Christmas).
In the mean time, check here and on my facebook for updates and to see currently
available paintings.

A Quiet morning-nw-hometest

There’s a lot of doom & gloom out there in retail land.
Many artists produce work “to sell” rather than staying true
to a subject they love.
I admit that I have been tempted as well but when I do that, I make very bad art,
get depressed, and everything goes downhill from there. I so hate that!
So I don’t do that anymore. I have decided that you “can’t please all the people
all the time” so I paint what I like. If I think it’s good, it appears on this site,
or in a show somewhere. And if I like it, someone else (eventually) will too.
It’s a hard road, but then, there comes a spark of light! I exhibited some new
paintings (never before shown) in a pop-up show at Walsh Bay in May/June.
Two of the new ones sold without more than a few minutes on this site.
There is nothing more inspiring than having the compliment of someone liking
your work enough to buy it. Excellent. Thank you!

Land-framedmono-nw

A monotype is a form of printmaking that results in a unique one-off image.
No two results are ever the same and so the excitement comes from the unpredictability
of the outcome! In this case I used water mixable oils which were manipulated
on the plate (perspex) by hand. Then the paint (ink) was directly transferred onto
smooth archival paper in layers (I like to stop at about three). The images look amazing
when simply framed. I may give a demonstration on monotypes soon.
Stand by for more info….

Industrial Geometry crop-nw

This is a mixed contemporary exhibition, featuring some new paintings
by Suzy King (me), Sydney artist Carol Dance, plus a selection of works
by various Indigenous artists represented by the Kate Owen Gallery.
The exhibition is presented in a lovely little gallery right opposite the Wharf Theatre
and runs for the duration of the Sydney Writers’ Festival.  Down at Walsh Bay the
atmosphere is always exciting but it will be positively electric during the Writers’ Festival!
There’s plenty of parking (surprise), great harbourside cafés and restaurants
so please come and visit!
Exhibition : 16–9 June 2014 – 12noon–6pm daily
6/16 Hickson Road Walsh Bay (opposite the Wharf Theatre)

NewcHarbour-RedBuoy-detail-nw

I like to read the Australia Day Honours list because sometimes
I see someone I like get a mention. This time I’m happy to see
Mr Dean Claflin get an OAM, for services to marine and maritime art.
Congratulations to you.
As an artist in Balmain it’s difficult not to be involved with the harbour, as we live
on the edge of this great waterway. In fact, the inspiration for my entry in the
2012 ANL Maritime Art exhibition was from a picture taken of my great friends
standing on the deck of the steam tug Waratah. Built in 1902 and restored by
the Sydney Heritage Fleet.  I called my painting Sea Dogs.
It’s now a part of the ANL collection but the work will always have a special meaning
of friendship for us. I was also a member of the South Steyne Steamship Preservation
Society, stripping back the old timber stairs after a fire…
But I digress, that’s for another post.

scaffold-nw

Very quietly and in recent weeks, we have seen some men in yellow coats
and hard hats. Scaffolding, external stairs, wire mesh & boards have
gradually been installed.
Many of the broken windows are gone.
You can see a Port-a-Loo on the roof facing Victoria Road visible from the traffic lights
(it’s a brave person who exposes themselves to all those cars!). White Bay Power Station
is changing. “Improvements” have been mentioned but we don’t quite know what
those are as yet. We shall have to wait and see…
I will complete the last of my small Power Station paintings, of which there are about 12,
from drawings, pictures and studies made to date.  There will be 3–4 larger ones to
accompany Grey Sky for a series. By then, I will have created around 80 paintings
of White Bay Power Station, a structure will never be the same again.