Art documentation

At the start of a new week, preparation for my forthcoming solo show, Backstories, continues apace. 

This afternoon we visited the studio of photographer Tim Gresham to get the last of the artworks documented. On the left is The Sea She Saw, the painting I recently reworked. (See Blog Post Saturday, July 3). 

Tim has been photographing my artwork since the late 1980s, when we both lived in Melbourne. Fortunately for me - and a lot of other local artists - he moved to Ballarat a few years ago. Tim still spends three days in Melbourne (he is also a talented weaver, and works part-time at the renowned Australian Tapestry Workshop), so Melbourne-based artists and galleries can still avail themselves of his services.

Ordinarily, I get groups of artworks documented as I go along. Today Tim also photographed a second work (not pictured) that was actually painted last year, but somehow fell through the cracks at the time. The next time I see the works on the wall will be on July 24 at the opening of my show at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery. 

SAVE THE DATE

Backstories, my solo show at Stephen Mclaughlan Gallery has been a long time coming. It was originally scheduled for April 2020, and the works, a combination of paintings and drawings, were all ready to go. Then along came Covid, followed by another unforeseen circumstance that necessitated a second postponement. In the interim period, I made a few more works, all of which may, or may not, make the final cut.

More than 12 months on, reconnecting with the work for Backstories was not a little unnerving. As I unwrapped it all, I repeated ‘it is what it is’ in my mind, and steeled myself to resist the temptation to undertake endless “improvements” that could ultimately prove destructive. (Not without justification have I been accused of overthinking). 

The work pictured here is an exception. With the clarity afforded by time and distance, I simply felt I could do better and am substantially repainting it. The painting has a way to go, but hopefully I’m still on schedule and haven’t condemned it to the art scrapheap.

Backstories opens on 21 July. The opening event is on Saturday 24 July from 2 - 4 pm and the exhibition runs to 7 August. Further information will follow shortly. 

In the meantime, please save the date!

Pictured top: progress view of The Sea She Saw, acrylic on linen, 40.5 x 30.5 cm.