Coochiemudlo Island 29 July 2015

 Another day in paradise. So fortunate to get in another day of plein air work, with fellow artist friend Nicola on Coochiemudlo Island.
We walked around the Eastern side, where there has been more erosion than in previous visits.
There's a number of  spectacular uprooted dead tree trunks on the north eastern side of this island which I couldn't resist working with.
I found some sea sponge for mark making  and proceeded to be captivated sponge marking  many sheets of paper.

 I also came across the remains of a turtle which felt like a gift. Below is this amazing sharp bone like structure and also a paddle like structure. I found it next to a clean turtle skull, and some turtle shell.  The  asymmetrical shape of this turtle carapace structure is amazing and I plan to continue working with it. (This photo has decided to be up side down)

Melbourne July 2015

Had a few days in Melbourne last week visiting galleries and eating lovely food.
It was wonderful to see the works of Jo Davenport at Flinders Lane Gallery in the flesh.
See the following link of Jo talking about her work:
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnQvKnqEkfM

Also a highlight was the John Wolseley show.
See link below:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcFx5TX49e8&noredirect=1
How can anyone not love this man?
What I really enjoy about his work besides his dedication and total immersion, is that its all about process and understanding, rather than end  result to satisfy a perceived market.

Our short stay also coincided with the Melbourne city Art Night out whereby all the city gallery spaces were open (and we had a map!) to explore a number of hidden art spaces tucked away in the bowels and crevices  of old city buildings and lane ways. Fun.. (Did I feel like I was perhaps a doting parent of the exhibiting artists ...yes)

Nudgee Beach Plein-Air Drawing 27.07.15

A perfect day out at Nudgee Beach plein -airing with friend Chris. It was just one of those days perfect weather, sun, breeze. The  midgees and mosquitoes even laid off until later in the day.

I found myself increasingly fascinated by the rhythm of the landscape. The stands of mangroves and always the lines! .  For some of the black ink works I used a Pandanus Palm nut (totally delicious to use) that had a fibrous worn out end, a mangrove seed pod, and beach charcoal. Increasingly in my thoughts is the notion of the fragility of the landscape and its ecosystems especially in areas of high human impact.
At the end of our day, sadly it was too easy to collect 2 bags of plastic bags and debris rubbish, as a thank you to this lovely peaceful location.

Cherry Hood Workshop 2014

Earlier this year I attended a 2 day watercolour portraiture  workshop with  Cherry Hood.  It was run by  Art Workshops Australia.
All their workshops are great but this 2 day one held at Newrybar, Byron Bay Hinterland was particularly good. Cherry is THE watercolour portraiture guru artist and I was keen to learn some large scale water colour techniques and just how did she do it?

Lake Weyba Residency

Introduction

Besides being an artist I have a real passion for saving whats left of our natural environment in S.E.Qld and especially that of the Sunshine Coast, which has led me to starting an artist residency at Eumarella Shores Lakeside Cottages, Lake Weyba.

In my role as Secretary of Coolum Development Watch, I happened to learn of a substantial impending development application at Lake Weyba http://www.noosanews.com.au/story/2012/05/11/hands-off-our-weyba-mantle-group-says-master-plan/, and become acquainted with  "Friends of Lake Weyba" friendsoflakeweyba.org a lobby group dedicated to protecting the ecological values of Lake Weyba.

The artist residency I am embarking on is in collaboration with Eumarella Shores, and Friends of Lake Weyba. The purpose is to bring attention to the rich, natural, biodiversity that currently exists in this fragile and precious ecosystem, and to create great artwork for an upcoming,end of the year group art exhibition,(with Elizabeth Poole and Robyn Fox). In this blog I intend to document the process.

Drawing Workshop with David Fairbairn

I was lucky enough to attend a  4 hour workshop on Portraiture at Caloundra Regional Gallery  yesterday with David Fairbairn.
He currently has a12 year retrospective exhibition of his work at the gallery, which is travelling around the country . The current show continues until Dec 4 , 2011, and is certainly worth a look.
The majority of the works were very large drawings on a number of  Arches sheets of paper stapled to a Matt board behind perspex and white frames. They are very beautiful and exquisite in all their rawness, energy , honesty and grubbiness. Some remind me of  Frank Auerbach .
What did we do?
1.We drew our faces by feel not sight.
2.On another sheet  using a mirror, again we drew our faces, looking and drawing as if feeling our faces. The aim was to follow the direction of the surface and aim for an open webbing effect over the surface.
3.Take the sight drawing and tear or cut it up, keeping in mind the contours of the face.
4.Arrange and glue on another sheet so that the idea of your portrait is still there but it is distorted.
5. Photocopy  and then work with the photocopied versions.

From my understanding what he was trying to do is push the participants beyond illustration. Emphasise" the  process as art making" , "aim for an honesty of expression".

June 2011

It took me all day (and some more)to craft a new artist statement. It reflects some different thoughts on how my art practice is developing this year. Here it is:

Artist Statement June 2011

World as Lover

‘World as Lover’ is a new body of work which reflects and explores my own personal philosophical shift into that of Deep Ecology.

For me layers of haze have been removed to reveal what I’ve always intrinsically known:

‘that all is one  and interconnected……that all exists in relationship to the whole’.

The philosopher/mathematician G.W. Leibniz in 1670, stated “Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another”

It is my view that humans do not exist independently as separate or superior beings to the whole…..we all have equal right to be here; the plants, the animals, fungi, insects, the soil, the mountains etc

In fact it is our dominant “anthropocentric” view combined with an unquenchable thirst for economic growth that is currently killing the planet and its life forms at an ever increasingly accelerated rate.

As the human race has become more “advanced” and “civilized”, so has it become more alienated from its source, its roots, its connection to the mother Earth.

In the same process as we are killing whole species, cultures, poisoning the air, rivers, sea, bulldozing rain forests, filling in our wetlands etc so to are we slowly killing ourselves both spiritually and materially.

In my latest work I want to evoke the life forces, hidden Earth Spirits in the landscape. I want to listen to the Earth, feel the Earth,and make use of all my senses to examine all my connections, as my process for art making. I want to explore the spiritual connection of what it means to be part of this magnificent functioning ecosystem.

I also hope that through my work others may look beyond the shallow destructive economic growth rhetoric to a future based on ecological sustainability. I hope others use their life force energy to fuel their own enquiries to find a deeper connection with the Earth and all its wonderful life forms.     

“World as Lover” comes from the title of the book “World as Lover: World as Self” written by Joanna Macy, Parallax Press 1991.