studio-blog

A Bargain 'Waiting'

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:34:15 +0100

Painting Available at Limited Time for a Very Good Price

Waiting, 106 x 87cm, oil on canvas, framed

I have a work that was painted soon after my arrival to Melbourne from Brisbane. I wanted to show a feeling of waiting for someone to return from work while she keeps warm huddled near a heater. It's a tight, lyrical piece as the narrative is confined to two sections of the canvas, both characters separated by a visual metaphor. Their connection is clear yet their distance in space and time is made evident through a couple of metaphorical symbols. The man looking at his watch, and that one is dressed formally and the other is wrapped in a cloth, the domestic in contrast to the city environment. The other suggestion of place is the MX newspaper lying on the ground. In Melbourne, commuters are often seen reading this free newspaper offered at the train stations. The work was shown in a solo exhibition I had at Richmond Gallery and is framed.
I am offering this work for sale at $950.00 for a limited time. If anyone is interested please contact me.

All the best to You

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:14:45 +0100

Ah well, another year another celebration. It picked up a rhythm and then slowed down. But it has been fun and meaning is only garnered from the stories one searches for in the debris of passing time. I finally relented and painted over 'Be calmed'.
I'm calmer now. I'll post the finished painting when its well, finished.
Take care and if anyone is reading this, a very special hello and good wishes to you.

To 2012 and beyond...

xx

Studio Show 2011

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:16:48 +0100

Well it's all happening at 898. Hoping that you will all be able to drop by and have a look at the new work. Some smaller works which are a little poignant, evocative and loose. I quite like them which is nice. There will also be some newer larger works which are a mixed collection as I range form my conceptual explorations of being and states of mind, such as 'Endless Possibilities' and 'The Anonymous Astrologer' to my current preoccupation with boats, oceans and fish. What can this all means I wonder. Often I can only work this out retrospectively. Some of these are 'Waiting for Seamail' and "When is a Fish not like it's Mother' This came about from a dream I had about 20 years ago when I have the opportunity to meet the man who knows the answer to everything. I probably should explain this in greater depth but to read this you'll need to visit on Saturday 8th Oct.

White Cat in a Midnight Garden

Adrift

Opening of Upcoming Show The Collector's Exhibition

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:06:54 +0100

I am pleased to say that I have a work on show at the upcoming Collector's Exhibition 2011. The venue is Gallery 314,
314 Church St Richmond. I think there will be around 100 artists so it will be an interesting show to say the least. I had a solo retrospective at this Gallery a few years ago now, but I do remember it is a lovely space so pleased to be able to revisit.
I decided to enter The Triumphant Gardener because it is a fine, strong piece of work so hopefully it will hold its ground amongst so many works. If you are reading this and are curious about turning up, I will be gallery sitting on Thurs 8 Sept from 3pm 6pm so please drop by. However, if you can make the crazy opening on Sunday 4 from 3pm - 6pm come on down. Here's to a successful show.

Waiting for Seamail

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 05:06:56 +0100

This work was made after a trip I took up north, to be by the sea and the sunshine. When one sits on the shore and gazes out to sea, one thinks of all that could have been, what might be. The love that could be dreaming of you over the horizon and whose heart is open. The contrast of being alone on the shore when most of the time we are constantly connected to everyone but no one in particular. For someone that cares that much to make the effort of writing a letter and entrusting the seabird to deliver the message was a token of that determination to keep a connection despite the odds.

It is a painting about missed moments of dreams and travel. How connected we are and yet at the mercy of the tides.

Waiting for Seamail

Rob McNamara Exhibition

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:06:13 +0100

I will be exhibiting one of my pieces, "Clearing the Mind' at the upcoming show Rob McNamara There is a crack in everything, Thats how the Light gets in' which opens this Friday 5 August. It will be showing at the Collingwood Gallery, 292 Smith St Collingwood. Opens at 5pm. I look forward to seeing you there. Rob McNamara has an annual show where artists both with and without a disability are invited to show work in response to a theme.

I chose 'Clearing the Mind' because I painted this work to express how opening the crack represents the hope and desire for change in personal growth and reaching a sense of authentic self.

I have represented this by the journey of the “shadow’ that exists in our sub-conscious, reaching into the deeper part of ourselves and clearing away the accumulated debris that can cloud and restrict us. The space within which the person exists is now opened up and a way forward is possible.

Clearing the Mind

91 x 76cm

Acknowledging Country Exhibition

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:23:28 +0100

Acknowledging Country Exhibition

Well the exhibition "Acknowledging Country"which was part of Reconciliation Week has come to an close.

The Project Dreaming Tracks brought artists together to show our support and commitment to celebrate Aboriginal Australian culture, country and acknowledge Indigenous history. Held at the St Francis Pastoral Centre
cnr Elizabeth & Lonsdale St, Melbourne from Wed 25 May - Mon 20 June 2011. The opening was a really nice affair, I met some lovely folk and was very appreciative that I could be a part of such an event.

I showed "Looking for a Grave" and 'We Share the Same Heart". Both works are for sale.

But all good things come to an end so we move on to the next one. keep you posted..cheers..

Looking for a Grave

We Share the Same Heart

The Anonymous Astrologer

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 03:32:40 +0100

Well folks, it's another chilly day in Wintery Melbourne. I have a migraine and so am to be found resting in my bed. But there is just next to me 'The Anonymous Astrologer', recently painted and so fresh, one is in danger of having red paint leap onto any decent piece of clothing. It has a quiet contemplative feel about it. I believe the source of this imagery is two fold. I recently saw a magnificent, dark and brooding painting by Molly Pwerle and I was struck by her colours in this work. It made me connect to a part of myself I hadn't in a long while. I wanted to explore these feelings, these dark. stellar places. Meanwhile I have been watching a program by Stephen Hawking about deep space, infinity, black holes, the unimaginable space that we float within. So here i have it. It's different but connected.

Flood Journey

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 02:19:42 +0100

Earlier this year my country up north was swamped by a torrential downpour. It was quite devastating. I painted this work to continue the conversation I started with 'A Single LIfe' and then 'Journey To'. The story is about moving forward, from the past to a new future, possibility and potential. In this work, 'Flood Journey' i was inspired by the way people, strangers and neighbours can to the assistance of those who were suffering from the effects of the flooding around them. Another metaphor I suppose about support and that by taking a chance and risking something, there is a boat, a vessel that will take you to dry land.

Flood Journey

From Sketch to finished fish

Wed, 25 May 2011 07:39:26 +0100