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It’s been too long

Where should I start?

Well, like a CV, I’ll start with the most recent.

On Saturday, 29 September 2024 the JADA opens when the winner will be announced. I am thrilled to be a finalist in this very prestigious Biennial Art Prize which is held at the beautiful Grafton Regional Gallery.

The 2024 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award (JADA) celebrates contemporary Australian drawing at its finest. The nation’s leading regional drawing prize, with an acquisitive first prize of $35,000 and early career award of $5,000, this exhibition is the flagship of the Grafton Regional Gallery.
 
The JADA champions innovation and excellence in drawing and showcases the enduring importance of drawing practice in Australia. This year’s exhibition features works from 65 artists, whose approaches to drawing span the technical and traditional, through to the experimental, conceptual and performative.
 
28 September – 8 December 2024

My submission is representative of my ongoing practice as an experimenter of ideas, mediums and messages. I can’t sit still.

“Walking with Words” continues my interest in combining text and print with paint, line, ink and collage, and taking into consideration what the intangible, such as sounds, might look like and how can I represent them visually.

Walking with Words mixed media on canvas, 102x150cm

My statement accompanying this work:

I am numbed by the state of our world and bemused by the way words are manipulated and deliberately misused.

I am pondering the importance and potency of words. Words can be barriers which either keep you out or keep you in, imprisoning you or freeing you. Words can be liberating or they can become unwelcome obstacles.

I have selected words and the letters of words from an unintelligible language and used them as pattern. As picture elements, they are useful due to their neutrality. To add to their neutral presence, I have placed them upside-down and I have likened them to a compact bush landscape. I am imagining that I am finding my way through dense trees similar to manoeuvring my way through false and fake information. While there is a sense of claustrophobia, anxiety and helplessness, my optimistic self wants this work to offer some hope for our future.

NEXT

Every now and then, I take time out to do some observation drawing. It’s relaxing and doesn’t require quite as much brain space, something I seem to be running a bit short on recently.

Drawing is so important. It’s like the fitness that one needs to stay on top of your game. Drawing can be used as a warm-up, as a meditation, as medication, as the final prize.

My drawing of Stuart was and is all of those things.

Stuart
charcoal and pastel on Steinbach paper adhered to canvas 76x61cm
Commended Award in the Tim Copes Portrait Prize at the Bowral Art Gallery.

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abstract landscapes

reSONATE

reSONATE is a combined exhibition ofworks by robyn Kinsela and Ruth Levine
https://www.hkedit.com.au

An exhibition of mixed media artworks by me and by my talented friend, Sydney based mixed media and textile artist and sculptor, Ruth Levine, was founded on our common interest in words, language, sounds, recycling, upcycling and a joy of life.

All works by both Ruth and me, can be seen on HKEdit’s website.

Following, are some of the works that I exhibited.

Possum Light acrylic and collage on canvas 76 x 101cm
Road to Khancoban acrylic on colorfix paper 47 x 67 cm
Nightfall, Moonlight, Morning oil on canvas 122 x 152cm
A Place I Know acrylic on canvas 76 x 61cm SOLD
Dirt, tree, Rock, Water acrylic and oil on canvas 61 x 76cm
Bush Sunset acrylic and collage on canvas 152 x 61cm
Fragile Connections acrylic and collage on canvas 91 x 61cm
When the Cicadas Sing acrylic and collage on canvas 102 x 152cm SOLD
I heard the Trees Whispering Again acrylic and collage on canvas 76 x 61cm
I Heard the Trees Whispering mixed media on canvas 102 x 91cm SOLD
Connections oil on canvas 122 x 61cm
Whispering Stillness
watercolour and graphite on Hahnemuhle paper on canvas 102 x 76cm SOLD
Floating with Words acrylic and collage on canvas 152 x 122cm
Winter, Summer acrylic on canvas 122 x 152cm
Landscape with Language and Kangaroos in Half Light
acrylic and collage on canvas 122 x 122cm
Frog Night acrylic and collage on canvas 102 x 152cm
Outcrop acrylic on canvas 91 x 122cm
Hilltown Scriptoria acrylic and collage on canvas 91 x 122cm
Words and Fences acrylic and collage on canvas 76 x 76cm
Urban Landscape 102 x 182cm
Yes, Memories do Matter (diptych)
oil, acrylic and collage on canvases 152 x 240cm
Tablelands oil on canvas 102 x 182cm SOLD
Wordful Silence I mixed media on board 21 x 16cm SOLD
Wordful Silence II mixed media on board 21 x61cm SOLD
Wordful Silence III mixed media on board 16 x 21cm SOLD
Wordful Silence IV mixed media on board 16 x 21cm
Wordful Silence V mixed media on board 21 x 16cm SOLD
Wordful Silence VI mixed media on board 16 x 21cm
Tree Tracks acrylic on canvas on board 21 x 16cm SOLD
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In the Pipeline…

In the pipeline are works in progress, works finished and waiting for a posting, and finished works that may be painted over, destroyed or repurposed. Who knows! These 5 works are the result of re-working original artworks. Begun in 2022 or earlier, they have now been completed in 2023.

Connections
oil and acrylic on canvas 122 x 61cm
Ravages of Time
pastel and charcoal on Hahnemuhle paper 122 x 80cm
Closing In
pastel and charcoal on Hahnemuhle paper 80 x 122cm
Charred Memories
Mixed media on canvas 51 x 41cm
Categories
abstract landscapes

Better late than…..

Most recent news (as of mid-February 2023):

I am happy to report that I have been selected as a finalist in both the 2023 John Villiers Outback Art Prize (Outback Regional Gallery 11 March – 7 May 2023) and in the 2023 Muswellbrook Art Prize, painting section (27 February – 29 April 2023).

This Exhausted Land
This Exhausted Land (triptych)

10 x 36cm mixed media on 10x10cm canvases
Finalist: John Villiers Outback Art Award, Waltzing Matilda Centre, Winton, Queensland.
After Image

oil and acrylic on canvas 122 x 61cm
Finalist: 2023 Muswellbrook Art Prize for painting,
Muswellbrook Regional Art Gallery, Muswellbrook NSW

Before that……late in 2022, I was a finalist in 2022 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, contemporary section:

Fields and Boundaries

oil on canvas 102 x 152cm
Finalist: 2022 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Contemporary Section,
Campbelltown Art Centre, Campbelltown NSW
Categories
abstract landscapes

Winter work

Marking Time 2022
Charcoal, pastel and gouache on Hahnemuhle paper 122 x 80 cm
Worked over.
Wisps 2022 oil on canvas 61 x 122 cm
Worked over.
Seen Better Days (Remembering Granny) 2004 – 22 gesso & pastel on paper 62x84cm
(This work will probably go through the wringer again and re-emerge in a new light, again).

Observational drawing is a practice of mine where I don’t have to think too much. The subject sits undemandingly, in front of me and doesn’t ask for anything. It’s a good way to de-stress.
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Staying Calm

My life has generally always been and still is, a bit…. chaotic. I find solace making these meditative works. They are like a song, like poetry and they have a calming effect. I chill out into another place.

Sometimes I listen to an audio book, sometimes music, but very often, I listen to the outside bush and bird noises.

2022 has seen me revisiting old ideas and old works on which I build new ideas and new works.

Edges of Silence
oil on canvas 122 x 61 cm
Uncertain Silence oil on canvas 120x60cm
Renamed After Image
Calmly Waiting oil on canvas 120 x 60cm
Renamed Sitting in the Morning Sun
White Shadows
pastel, gouache, charcoal on Hahnemuhle paper 80 x 120 cm
Worked over.
Reeds
acrylic and Sennelier ink on canvas 30 x 40 cm
Renamed Wordless Silence

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Looking Back, Looking Forward

Covid comforts. I worked on small mixed media works during the 2021 lockdowns and on the occasional large work (some still in progress).

Stormy Weather series

Each of the small works has a torn edge and is float mounted with a dark timber frame. the two larger works are float mounted with a limed timber frame. All are mixed media on Hahnemuhle paper. Unless otherwise indicated, all are for sale.

Distant Storm 11 x 8.5cm
Crashing Shoreline 11.5 x 15.5cm
Gale Force 10.5 x 8 cm
Into the Wind 10.5 x 8 cm
Rough Surf 11.5 x 16 cm
Sand Bar 12 x 7.5 cm
Shallows 11 x 9 cm
Winter Winds 11.5 x 8 cm

Wangaratta Watercolours

Out of the storm and into the calm.

A very short escape to the outskirts of Wangaratta on the Ovens River in Victoria resulted in some small watercolours painted en plein air. All are WN watercolour and graphite on Magnani paper and all are float mounted and framed with thin dark timber, with the exception of “Unsettled Landscape”, which has a limed timber frame. All are for sale.

River Beach 10.5 x 8 cm
River Valley 9.5 x 7 cm
River Walk 12 x 14.5 cm
Unsettled Landscape 10 x 15 cm

Peachy Beachy works

Randomly chosen and reworked. Each is gouache and Sennelier ink on paper and each measures 13 x 18 cm. Each is float mounted and framed with a limed timber frame.

As the year moved on, my work got calmer.

Washing those thoughts away
When we were young
Ocean (Hawkes Nest)

Postcards from the Beach

All of these works are float mounted and framed in a dark grey timber frame. They work well as a set but could be displayed separately. They were all started one long weekend at Greenwell Point on NSW south coast and finished in 2021 in my studio. They are pastel and gouache on Khadi paper. Each work measures 11 x 15 cm.

Resting
Moored
Long Shadows
Into the Sun

Finally, back to the Gymea Lily

The Gymea Lily is a magnificent, majestic primeval flower that towers above the ground and is found mostly on the east coast of NSW, especially around Sydney. It has sword-like leaves more than 1 metre long and it grows a flower spike up to 6 metres high. They are beautiful!

I tied this lily to an easel with its stem dipping into a bucket of water, and over 3 weeks, I drew it. I was keen to incorporate the slow opening of the flower over time and to capture that within one drawing. That first drawing traces the slow changes that the lily was starting to go through.

This work is framed with a generous sized neutral mount and a plain matte black frame. Total dimensions are 140 x 106 cm.

The Majestic and Primeval Gymea Lily 104 x 74 cm pastel and charcoal

Then, as time went on, another work was created. This watercolour is float mounted and box framed in a dark red /brown timber frame.

Withering Gently 72 x 43cm watercolour and ink on Hahnemuhle paper. SOLD

Finally, to end the year, this watercolour of the lily was created with gusto. Good bye 2021!

Frazzled 76 x 51 cm watercolour, ink and graphite on Stonehenge paper adhered to a stretched canvas. SOLD

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Breathing quietly

Another Covid year sees me calmly, slowly, picking through stuff trying to toss some, revitalise some and create some newies.

Lazy Weekend pastel and gouache on gessoed Hahnemuhle paper 80 x 122cm
Gymea Lily pastel and charcoal on gessoed Hahnemuhle paper 104 x 74cm Finalist in Fisher’s Ghost Contemporary 2021
Drawing Drawing Drawing pastel on colorfix paper 46 x 53cm

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Earth Matters

Although the sounds, smells, textures and views of the mountain behind me are constant sources of inspiration, the recent catastrophes of drought, floods, bushfires and Covid, have provided fodder for much of my current work. The creation of something of beauty, calm and optimism, are possibly my emotional diversions as I explore the sad, fragile and terrible beauty of our world.

My pictures have their roots in the real world, but are by no means images in the conventional sense. I don’t copy my subjects, I interpret them. Sometimes the materiality of my medium takes a dominant role and I become engrossed in its unique qualities.

Using acrylic and oil paints, collage and mixed media, I create rapidly at first, keeping up with my thoughts. Then I let the work rest for an hour, a day, a year or a decade, as if it needs an incubation period. I eventually re-see what has been created and finish the work.

I revisit many ideas, resulting in the continuous presence of common, sometimes tenuous, threads that mirror my life and experiences.

I work from my immediate responses to both tangible and intangible subjects like bushfire, illness, sunshine, quiet, uncertainty and blend them with memory. The list goes on and so my work evolves that way.

All works that have not sold already are still for sale:

https://theshac-exhibition-shop.square.site/shop/robyn-kinsela/54

Open 10-4 Fridays to Mondays

www.theshac.com.au/

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2021 begins

Happy New Year so far!

“Views of a Summer on Edge” SOLD while a finalist at the Sunshine Coast Art Prize at Caloundra Regional Art Gallery.

Views of a Summer on Edge mixed media on stretched canvases 10 x 95cm SOLD

“The Burning” SOLD while on display on the online gallery Bluethumb. www.bluethumb.com.au/robyn-kinsela

The Burning acrylic on canvas 152 x 122cm SOLD