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 101cmRoad to Khancoban acrylic on colorfix paper 47 x 67 cmNightfall, Moonlight, Morning oil on canvas 122 x 152cmA Place I Know acrylic on canvas 76 x 61cm SOLDDirt, tree, Rock, Water acrylic and oil on canvas 61 x 76cm Bush Sunset acrylic and collage on canvas 152 x 61cmFragile Connections acrylic and collage on canvas 91 x 61cmWhen the Cicadas Sing acrylic and collage on canvas 102 x 152cm SOLDI heard the Trees Whispering Again acrylic and collage on canvas 76 x 61cmI Heard the Trees Whispering mixed media on canvas 102 x 91cm SOLDConnections oil on canvas 122 x 61cmWhispering Stillness watercolour and graphite on Hahnemuhle paper on canvas 102 x 76cm SOLDFloating with Words acrylic and collage on canvas 152 x 122cmWinter, Summer acrylic on canvas 122 x 152cmLandscape with Language and Kangaroos in Half Light acrylic and collage on canvas 122 x 122cmFrog Night acrylic and collage on canvas 102 x 152cmOutcrop acrylic on canvas 91 x 122cmHilltown Scriptoria acrylic and collage on canvas 91 x 122cmWords and Fences acrylic and collage on canvas 76 x 76cmUrban Landscape 102 x 182cmYes, Memories do Matter (diptych) oil, acrylic and collage on canvases 152 x 240cmTablelands oil on canvas 102 x 182cm SOLDWordful Silence I mixed media on board 21 x 16cm SOLDWordful Silence II mixed media on board 21 x61cm SOLDWordful Silence III mixed media on board 16 x 21cm SOLDWordful Silence IV mixed media on board 16 x 21cm Wordful Silence V mixed media on board 21 x 16cm SOLDWordful Silence VI mixed media on board 16 x 21cmTree Tracks acrylic on canvas on board 21 x 16cm SOLD
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 61cmRavages of Time pastel and charcoal on Hahnemuhle paper 122 x 80cmClosing In pastel and charcoal on Hahnemuhle paper 80 x 122cmCharred Memories Mixed media on canvas 51 x 41cm
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 (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
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.
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 cmUncertain Silence oil on canvas 120x60cm Renamed After ImageCalmly Waiting oil on canvas 120 x 60cm Renamed Sitting in the Morning SunWhite 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
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 8.5cmCrashing Shoreline 11.5 x 15.5cmGale Force 10.5 x 8 cmInto the Wind 10.5 x 8 cmRough Surf 11.5 x 16 cmSand Bar 12 x 7.5 cmShallows 11 x 9 cmWinter 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 cmRiver Walk 12 x 14.5 cmUnsettled 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 youngOcean (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.
RestingMooredLong ShadowsInto 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
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 122cmGymea Lily pastel and charcoal on gessoed Hahnemuhle paper 104 x 74cm Finalist in Fisher’s Ghost Contemporary 2021Drawing Drawing Drawing pastel on colorfix paper 46 x 53cm
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:
SoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldSoldReworkedSoldSoldSoldSoldEarth Matters is on show at the SHAC (Southern Highlands Artisans Collective) in Robertson from 4 June until 5 July
While 2020 has been a bit still, a bit quiet, many of us are still beavering away, keeping occupied, keeping safe.
Views of a Summer on Edge Mixed media on 8 10x10cm canvases 10 x 100 cm Finalist: Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery 2020 SOLDA Summer on Edge Mixed media on 5 10x10cm canvases 10 x 60 cm Finalist: Gosford Art Prize 2020Ravaged Land mixed media and collage on canvas 91 x 122 cm Finalist: Fisher’s Ghost Contemporary Art Award 2020Lost Summer mixed media on board 13 x 23 cmEerie Coast mixed media on board 13 x 23 cm SOLDBeach Holiday mixed media on board 13 x 23 cmShifting Ground Oil and acrylic on canvas 91 x 120cm
