Greenway Art Prize 2014

As it happened, I managed to get the Cooks River Reflection painting finished and sent in an application on time.  Whew! And guess what folks? I was told that the painting was chosen as a finalist! Yay!  Here is the invitation to the Opening Night if you can come.  Should be fun!

Venice

Artists who have visited Venice cannot resist the temptation to paint it. From Monet to Australia's Joseph Zbukvic they have all been moved to capture its watery luminescence.


I am challenged by Venice not because of reflections or water but because I have to paint convincing buildings! Venetian architecture can be very ornate and that makes it even harder. Anyway I'm having a go. It appears that rulers and precise perspectives are out - these are after all not architectural paintings. It's easier and looks better to just sketch - the imperfections are part of the charm.

Cook river reflections

I've always loved the reflections on water. One day I was at the Cook river and took a photo which is the reference for this painting. It's not completely finished but I'm hoping to enter it for the Greenway prize.

Abstraction

Decided to attend Paul M's Abstract workshop last Sunday. Abstracts are not really my thing but I thought I could take a few lessons away from it. Poor old Paul has broken his left arm lifting compost. He wasn't his usually cheery and cheeky self. However the class was fully subscribed so Paul had to get through it regardless of any pain and suffering.


The first work I attempted was a cellist whom I drew from a YouTube video. I wanted the movement to be represented. It's really hard to capture motion. Todd Fuller agrees and he's having an exhibition soon of drawings of dancers in full flight.


This next attempt was a painting of trees that I tore into strips and glued on brown craft paper. The outlines were then painted directly over everything. I'm not sure it's an effective representation.



The last painting was a still life with colours inspired by Paul. Orange and turquoise blue. It's not 100% complete but I do like the composition and the complementary scheme.

Loch Lomond

After a long absence from acrylic painting in favour of watercolours I returned to this media. The subject is boats in Loch Lomond, about an hours drive from Glasgow. One glorious day last month, we went for a day trip and the kids went swimming in the Loch. Brrrr!


The light on the water was simply unreal at the end of the day. This painting is only A3 in size - just to warm up, working to larger sizes.

Galway and Glasgow

Had a lovely time in Galway, we stayed right downtown and our view was like this painting. Galway City is next to the ocean and the Irish were swimming in it! Water must be 15 degrees.


Next stop Glasgow where we stay with my sister and attend the Commonwealth Games. The weather has been magnificent for Glasgow with mostly dry days. Today I decided to paint the birch trees in her garden which dappled shade onto her garden wall.


Because the weather was so benevolent, we go to Loch Lomond today for a swim (the kids did go in) and a walk up the hill. This is the view of the loch. Had to stop once the midges started biting.

Ireland and Venice (again)

After a warm few weeks in Italy, we arrive in Dublin to 16d and drizzles. Hmmmm. Somebody forgot to tell them it's high summer. We drove to Galway City yesterday and are staying at a comfortable 2 bedroom apartment. But the strangest thing happened- we bumped into Andrew M and Catherine at the hotel. It turns out that they were checking in after some time in Cork.


Anyway on the apartment's walls were photos of Venice. It being wet, I declined to join the others for a swim at an indoor pool and decided to practice painting Venice instead. This is the depiction of Santa Maria Salute and gondolas.

More hillside towns

At the risk of sounding blasé and ungrateful, I think I've overdosed on Tuscan and Umbrian hillside towns. They are all picturesque and built on steep hills. Puffing uphill is mandatory if attractions are to be seen. And most have great views but I've been to so many recently that they have all merged into one.... Cortona, Siena, Spoleto, Norcia, Castellucio, Gubbio....



Yesterday we went to Gubbio for the funicular. It's a unique one that is not fully enclosed, more like a cage. Quite terrifying when travelling at speed. At the top was a minor Basillica dedicated to San Urbaldo. The saint himself is mummified and can be appreciated. This is a quick sketch of the courtyard with brick archways.


There was a terrific storm this morning and when it cleared the mist lifting off the valley was quite spectacular so I had to attempt a painting. Today I'm laundering having decided on a quiet day at the villa. The Laus have rushed off to see Orvieto. Ordinarily I might have gone but it's probably just another hill side town and I would be better off painting here. Roger is reading on the hammock and Sam enjoying a quiet day away from cousins.

Terraia villa

Enjoying our villa in Terraia not far from Spoleto. It's a farm house attached to a huge mansion called Villa Pianciani which is extremely grand and used for weddings. Our villa has a pool which has come in handy to entertain the kids and for us to cool down after a long hot day.


The views are magnificent - overlooking plots of wheat and other grains. There is olive grove just near by. There are mountain ranges in the background.


The house itself is in picturesque brick and stone as is all dwellings this part of the world. It's pretty large and fits all 7 of us with no trouble at all.


Yesterday we drove to Norcia, famous for the cured meats, truffles and pecorino. Then a windy drive to Castellucio, a town perched high up the mountains. This is part of the Mount Sibillini Park. Lots of lovely wild flowers as we walk through mountain trails.

Tuscan delights

It's now time to sample some Tuscan delights with a stay near Siena. The estate we are staying at is a small farm with wheat and olive trees. This is the view from the terrace. Very typical Tuscany.


This is a shot of the interior of the Sienese Duomo. The famous Duomo looks gothic in parts and Romanesque in other parts. It took 500 years to get to the final state of incompletion. The decorations on the floor panels (marble galore) and paintings are Renaissance as they probably were commissioned later. The black and white strips are most distinctive.

Canals

The problem with painting Venice is that it is hugely built up and consists of buildings everywhere... and I'm not a big fan of drawing architecture.


Anyway I sat next to the canal near the hotel and did some sketching. It was early morning and the best time as many gondolas ply this route later and although picturesque, they ruffle the water surface and spoil the reflections. Some gondolas even have an extra musician on board and the strains of "O Sole Mio" can be heard all day!! This attempt doesn't even begin to pay homage to the beauties of the place. Oh well. At least I have 200 photos!

Venice

After 2 days of travelling we arrived in Milan. Stayed at a lovely hotel close to the railway station. Quick visit as we boarded the train to Venice the next day.



This is a quick sketch of the views onboard the train. It hurtles at 200kph speeds which makes it nearly impossible to photograph anything. The impressive Italian Alps are ever close by with amazing snow capped peaks. The land is fertile and grown with rows of corn, wheat and grapes.

Venice as ever, is beautiful in its decay. We got onto a vaporetto and to our apartment in San Marco. This is the view out of our windows.

I've always wanted to paint a roof top scene. Venice is so glorious but time here is so short that I'm taking tens of photos everyday. Last night we went to a performance by the Interpreti Venezia of Vivaldi's four seasons. Held at Chiesa San Vidal, it was outstanding musicianship at a glorious venue.

Splash!!

Our focus on water continues much to my delight.



Waves thundering towards the rocks, this is my version of a famous watercolour painting. I especially like the wet on wet for the waves - creates a blurred outline which depicts water so well. I also learnt how to splatter the painting so that it looks like drops of water. The white foam is obvious because I used such dark colours next to it.





Here is another of waves - Susie smoothed out the colours so that the change is not too obvious. I used that wax crayon to reserve the white foam and I like the way watercolour seeps between so that it's not an obvious demarcation. You also see this in this next one of a building in town.

More experiments

Watercolour is suiting me rather well as I find that I'm all for the quick but effective in painting. I often fall into the trap of putting lots of detail in and am reminded by Susie that picture making (composition, tonal value) can be so easily forgotten - especially for large paintings. No danger with watercolour - no painting larger than A4 works for me - so many opportunities to stuff up. And you can't do too many corrections as otherwise the paper simply falls apart.


In this cliff painting I used a wax crayon to put on the whites. However I remembered the crayon only after the first wash of pale blue so the waves crashing is not dramatic enough. Susie thinks I should crop the top off and frame it. Experiment with the bottom - gouache??


This scene is of a wharf in Kiama where part of it was underwater at high tide. My interest is of the water under the wharf. Does it look convincing?


Lastly we had to paint flowers today. Susie presented a mixed bunch. There was just a riot of colour and textures. This is just a small section of the bunch - using the border technique to tie the elements together. I do like this trick - could be used on many compositions. As I'm in the gestural school of painting (except when left brain gets in the way) my flowers have little details but they seem to work.

Market scene and painting water

Susie had impressed on us the need to do the darks so that the eye is drawn to look. Thus far I've not been too successful but I've succeeded at last!


This market scene was at the Orange Grove organic markets at Lilyfield. I was attracted to this display of root veges - it was so French chic.



We then had a class on painting water which I was very eager to learn. Wettish paint can be lifted with a dry brush but some paint is always left behind. Masking fluid leaves a very defined edge which is not beautiful. But a wax crayon repels water and the mark is quite natural.


Here I have used wax crayon to define the ripples. Also see my attempt to paint wet on wet in the background. Susie has told me on no uncertain terms that I'm not to paint the tree on the right as I need to leave some part of the painting for the viewer to decipher.

Venice

I did this painting of a typical Venetian scene to get myself ready for the big trip. The essence of Venice and Italy are those warm mustard and rose colours they use on walls.


I don't think this a masterpiece at all and it needs lots more work but it has served its purpose - which is to get me painting Italian colours.

Botanical watercolour

As I rapidly discovered it is best to be bold and confident with watercolour. There is no place for short strokes and over working a picture. In a bid to improve I did these hydrangeas - you have to not care about the results too much.


This bottlebrush were assisted by Susie. In other words she made it beautiful.

Watercolour class - animals and portraits

My friends and family all know that I'm not an animal lover so last week when asked to paint pets, I had to force myself to get interested.


These two pugs were from Susie's photo library and everyone loved the first. This boxer below is rather sombre.


Moving on to humans then, here is a quick portrait of my daughter when she was delectably cute at age 4 and half.

Clovelly club house

I've been labouring over this painting for a while now and it becomes more important to finish it as my paintings slowly disappear to new owners leaving gaps on the walls. This painting is of Clovelly club house perched above the sandstone cliff.


It's not quite finished as I have a few figures to put in. Having painted a gloss finish over this, I expect that any mistakes I make with figures may be easily rubbed off. Well, that remains to be seen.....

Post exhibition plans

After the successful Bondi exhibition, I've been occupied delivering artworks to friends, acquaintances and others. It's with delight that I see the vacant walls and the opportunity to start again. A few plans I had in mind:

1. Paint a few urbanscapes, starting with Sydney. Particularly older buildings like the town hall and QVB.

2. Paint the blue mountain vista on a grand scale. Did I mention the little painting I did inspired by David's mountains? It was up only to replace something sold but Frank almost sold it on the last day to an Englishman ..... If only the wife was absent ...

3. Get ready for Europe by painting some travel sketches in watercolour.

It looks like I'm going to be very busy...

Fame

After much pestering of the Wentworth Courier by Frank, the journalist did run a feature of us. Here it is in all it's glory.


I'm pleased with the publicity. Hopefully this will translate into more visitors and sales. Minding the gallery is both a chore and a delight. One has to be present 10-5 and have to covered off if going to the loo or getting a coffee. However some interesting people visit - there's lots of opportunities for chats. One bloke came every time I was on duty. Another came with a baby in sling, a dog under his arm and a coffee in the other hand. A woman paid me the highest compliment by asking if she could learn how to paint under my tutorage. You quickly work out which paintings have fans and why. I'm not sure I can be retail assistant for long - probably lose the plot after a week!

Opening night

Our much anticipated opening night was on a rainy Wed- not a good combo for attendance. In the end probably 40 people turned up - mostly my friends. Francesco's mum's rissoles were a hit but way over catered with the result we had leftovers. Nevertheless it was lovely to see friends and I sold 8 paintings that night. Some record!


We were very busy. My sister says that I need to charge more but I think I just want to get these works off my walls so that I can paint more! Todd said that he had never had a more successful exhibition in his time here.

Hanging Day

Finally the time has rolled round to hang the paintings at Bondi Pavilion. Packed the car with paintings and begun what I knew would be an arduous day. Luckily Francesco and David are tall and strong. As I am no use except to give an opinion as to where something should hang and how. Eventually after 5 hours, it was done and Frank proceeded to ring his contact Robyn at the Wentworth Courier.



Prior experience in getting free publicity has not been successful. My experience is persistence is key. Frank has done marvellously to get a journalist to print a small notice and then to attend. So here we were, hot sweaty and dusty and Robyn wants to photograph us. After which Frank managed to sell her a painting so well done team, got a red dot before opening night!

Last painting for the exhibition

The exhibition date looms large and I thought I was done but a friend bought an artwork so decided to paint a replacement. My sister thought I was mad to even contemplate sales this close and has said I need an agent but alas she lives in Scotland which makes it impossible.

Anyway I got busy and here is the result - Wylies bath again but from
a different angle. I love the effect of the water - so inviting on a lovely day.

Watercolour boot camp

After failing to get into Susie Murphie's daytime watercolour class, I enrolled in her one day workshop - titled watercolour boot camp. This was most appropriate as the normally sweet tempered Susie was barking out orders left and right.

It turned out that I needed reminding of what she had already told me previously.

1. Joseph Zbukvic had defined watercolour consistency ranging from 'cream' to 'tea'. Joseph was tutoring at the Bathurst camp - indeed he is a fab artist but really arrogant. The key is to mix the darks in cream consistency. Application should be immediately followed with a second wet brush to spread it and reduce the hardness of the edge.

2. Never mix colours thoroughly, the beauty is in the varied spectrum.

3. Work quickly while paint is wet, introduce highlights.

4. Link the shapes so that it looks consistent. Let colours mix while wet on paper if possible.

5. Most importantly, do not apply paint using point of brush. Instead load the brush and apply using its side. Looks terribly fiddly otherwise.

6. Confidence is key - confident brushstrokes are more important than being perfect.

7. Lastly mix lots of the right colours in cream consistency as the worst thing that can happen is to run out before you are done. This last point explains why my previous attempts at larger formats flopped - my tiny travelling palette was to blame. I needed a large plate to ensure I did not run out and then had to work over dried paint.

I figured that what I need to do now is to get lots of practise. Using photos I should get my watercolour hours up as otherwise I will forget - resulting in bewilderment (what happened???) and disappointment (should have stuck with acrylics!). When I'm perched at a gorgeous view in Italy, I want to be able to produce some approximation of the beauty.

Boats again

Inspired by the boat painting I did under Helen's tutorage I embarked on another. This one was of Rose Bay at sunrise.


I am on a roll at the moment. Think I will do a series on boats - maybe another one or two....

Reflections from the dam

This is the last painting started last week at the residential art school. This one I took at the CSU campus itself on one of my early morning walks (that was the only time of day the temperature was cool enough for a walk).



It's of the reflection of eucalyptus trees on the dam. Painted on canvas for portability. Of course it means I have to frame but I guess if it doesn't sell I can pop other paintings in at a later stage.

Final day and recap

While many at the art school will stay till Sat morn I have to go Fri because of S's birthday dinner. Anyway I miss my bed!

The class has been chummy and they are nice people with the exception of the odd whinger. We have developed a nice collegial relationship. I haven't learnt an awful lot but I did learn how to mix black and burnt sienna. The best part is that I managed to complete one diptych and produce 4 other works. No way I could achieve this with a week at home!

Asked if I would do another Bathurst, I would say unlikely. The trains are inconvenient, the rooms are student quarters and the heat pretty draining. Having said that, if Helen were to run a watercolour workshop, I might be tempted to see my way around these obstacles.

Demo and auction

This watercolour painting was done live in an hour in a demo last night by Joseph Zbukvic and Herman Pekel. Both are tutors here and have been for decades. This was larger than a whiteboard in size.



It was auctioned off but as I didn't stay till the end I've no idea how much money it fetched.
These two artists are fab but my favourite water colourist aside from Helen is Alvaro Castagnet. His works are ethereal.

Day 4 Bathurst

It's hump day and everybody is feeling tired and washed out. It doesn't help that it's so hot in Bathurst - I'm sure it was 40d. At first I thought I'd paint cows but decided not to. Got a photo printed on campus (so cheap! $1.10 for an A3 colour print!) from
the iPhone and decided on a panoramic format. Unfortunately could not purchase a stretched canvas in strip format so ended up with unstretched canvas which will have to be framed.


Eventually I got going and here is the view from Kilcare beach in Central Coast. Lovely isn't it? Tomorrow I shall put in a few figures and that's finished. Not sure if I want to do much tomorrow as I'm going home - hurrah for home comforts!!!

Day 3 Bathurst

Helen showed us her watercolours and truly she is an amazing water colourist. I think it's really her medium so it beats me why she is teaching acrylics. Unanimous decision today to paint boats but the groans and moans indicates the difficulty. For a change I am following the pack.


My boats are relatively scatty but I don't care. More interested in the water effect than the boats. Also completed a sea scape. These A3 paper are so simple to fill in.


I believe these rocks are on the south coast but can't be 100% sure.