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Showing posts with label Winged Women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winged Women. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

HipCat Gallery

Chocolate argus Winged Woman, 2010, linocut 32 x 32 cm, ed. 30. Photo credit: Tim Gresham

In an exciting new venture, artist and master printer Lawrence Finn has initiated HipCat Gallery, an exhibition space that is dedicated to contemporary Australian printmaking. The gallery is part of HipCat Printery, a custom printing and artist access studio located five minutes from historic Trentham in Wombat State Forest. 


Shane Jones and I visited HipCat for the first time last Sunday during the Daylesford Macedon Ranges Open Studios program. That’s Shane in the above photo, centre, alongside Lawrence and his goat, the regal Princess Leia. 


HipCat Gallery’s inaugural group show will be opened by David Frazer. I’m delighted to be part of it, along with David, Damon Kowasky, Dianne Longley, Hyun Ju Kim and Lawrence Finn. Chocolate Argus Winged Woman, pictured top, is one of two linocuts I have in the show. 

The opening event is this coming Saturday, 5 May at 3 pm.



Thursday, February 16, 2017

Linocut Workshop in Warrnambool


The three lino blocks pictured above are set to wing their way to Warrnambool (although strictly speaking, they'll be travelling in my suitcase). I'm giving a two-day linocut workshop there on the weekend and really look forward to working with the participants. Workshop organiser Glenn Morgan tells me we have a full house.

Also travelling with me is a group of Moth Woman Vigilantes lino blocks.


We’ll be working in a studio in the former Fletcher Jones Factory, now the site of a fabulous antiques and collectables market, that just happens to be one of my favourite places in Warrnambool. It’s just as well I’ll be working, as it’s invariably filled with temptations to which I have little resistance.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

CREATURES



I'm delighted to have had three of my works curated into CREATURES, the exhibition officially opening next Sunday at Queenscliff Gallery & Workshop. Judging by the lineup of artists, it should be a terrific show. 

Exhibiting artists: Kaitlin Beckett, Aileen Brown, Michelle Joy Caithness, Paul Compton, Deborah Klein, Leonie Connellan, Tony Convey, Gordon Craig, Philip Davey, Jole Di Florio, Silvi Glattauer, Rona Green, Callum Jackson, Julie Mia Holmes, Ying Huang, Hyun Ju Kim, Damon Kowarsky, Olivia Mazzone, Graeme Peebles, Catherine Pilgrim, Geoffrey Ricardo, John Ryrie, Lisa Sewards, Spook, Susan Wald, Emilie Walsh, Andrew Weatherill, Deborah Williams, Joel Wolter, and Tin Wong.

Official Opening: Sunday, 9 October, at 3pm

The exhibition runs from October 5 - 31

Queenscliff Gallery & Workshop 
81 Hesse Street 
Queenscliff 3225 

Phone: 03 5258 4927


Gallery hours: 10 - 5 daily. (Closed on Tuesday)

My own contributions to CREATURES, three linocuts from the Winged Women series, are directly below:


Blue Tiger Winged Woman, 2010, linocut, 34 x 34 cm. Ed 30 


Great Eggfly Winged Woman, 2010, linocut, 34 x 34 cm. Ed. 30


Macleay's Swallowtail Winged Woman, 2010, linocut, 34 x 34 cm. Ed. 30

Monday, September 12, 2016

Winsor and Newton Acquisitions

In the midst of pre-exhibition nerves prior to my solo show at Tacit Contemporary Art (see Blog Post Wednesday, August 31) I've received some terrific news. Three of my Winged Women linocuts have just been acquired by Winsor and Newton Australia.

Originally flown to Jasco headquarters in Sydney for the July launch of Windsor and Newton's Pigment Markers, they were destined never to return – and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Below, left - right: Green-spotted triangle winged woman and Clearwinged swallowtail woman, both 2011, hand coloured linocuts, 32 x 32 cm., pictured in the Ballarat studio shortly before their one-way flight to Sydney.


To the right of screen, L - R below: Green spotted triangle winged woman, Clearwinged swallowtail woman and Blue triangle winged woman, snapped at the W&N Pigment Marker launch at Jasco on 7 July 2016.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Linocut Workshop at the National Gallery of Victoria

Pictured below are a selection of Moth Women Vigilantes and Winged Women demonstration blocks ready and set for the linocut class I'm giving for NGV members at the National Gallery of Victoria tonight from 6 - 8.30 pm.


The workshops are aimed at beginners. Participants will make their own linocut, which they will learn to print without the need of a press. I'll be running another session next Wednesday evening. Both classes are now sold out. To those who are participating, I look forward to seeing you there.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Parallel Prints Opening Event


Parallel Prints, the Australia/New Zealand exhibition/portfolio that includes my linocut Ideopsis gaura Winged Woman (pictured above) opened at the Art Gallery of Ballarat on Friday, October 2. A joint project of the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Art at Wharepuke, New Zealand, Parallel Prints will be simultaneously exhibited at both venues.

For those who can't make the show, a complete set of prints are here: http://www.parallel-prints.com/parallel-prints-2015-nzaustralia/.

To date the portfolio has been accepted into the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Federation University, Ballarat.

The opening event is this Friday, October 9 at 6.00 for 6.30 pm. If you are planning to join us, please RSVP the gallery on 5320 5858. For full details, click on the above image to enlarge.

The exhibition concludes on Sunday, 22 November.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Dainty paperwing Woman x 36

Last Wednesday's intensive printing session in the Ballarat studio has resulted in a veritable swarm of Ideopsis Gaura (Dainty Paperwing) Women (see photo #4 below).





Once the ink has dried, each print will be hand coloured (the butterfly from which this Homo-insecta evolved is yellow, black and white).

Due to the magic of the multiple, Ideopsis gaura (Dainty paperwing) Woman will make simultaneous debuts in October at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Wharepuke Print Studio, New Zealand, as part of Parallel Prints, an exhibition featuring 11 Australian artists and one New Zealander: the show's curator Mark Graver. Full details TBA.

Pictured above: stages in the editioning process of Ideopsis gaura (Dainty papering) Woman, 2015, linocut, 30 x 30 cm (paper size) edition: 36.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Declaration of Independence (Manifesto #1)


Idepopsis gaura (Dainty paperwing) Woman is another step closer to liberation from the lino block - and so am I. 

In future it is my intention to establish some distance between printmaking and myself. This work in progress is intended for a curated group show, admittedly a terrific project, that I was invited into to last year - and make no mistake, I'm giving it my all. It’s the first linocut I’ve undertaken in 2015, however, and with it has come the surprising, but better-late-than-never realisation that I haven't for one minute missed making prints.  

There are still a number of printmaking commitments to fulfil before I can confidently cry 'freedom'. At the same time, I’m a firm believer in the truism ‘never say never’. For starters, I still have some of my own print-based projects to complete - but in my own good time. I also look forward to exhibiting a selection of the 2007 Moth Masks linocuts in Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop's inaugural group show later this year.

So although this signals an end of sorts, it is more a new beginning, of only taking on outside projects - of any kind - not just print-based - that will also serve my work and, as much as possible, of operating within a framework that ensures a smooth, continuous workflow and encourages, rather than interrupts, delays or in any other way hinders its development.

Printmaking actually began taking a secondary role in my practice some time ago. I don’t remember feeling happier or more fulfilled than I have in the past 12 or so months, working predominantly on the Homo-insecta watercolours and paintings. Conversely, there are aspects of printmaking I don't enjoy - in particular, the frequently unpredictable, maddeningly inconsistent, dogsbody process of printing and editioning. Moreover, I have never felt entirely at home in the printmaking world. A mentor of mine once remarked - a trifle cynically - that there are no loyalties in the art world. I believe he is wrong about this, but, based upon my experiences, not enough for me to continue pledging undying allegiance to the World of Print - except from the outside, as a longtime admirer of so many of its gifted practitioners and their works.

Nevertheless, for a very long time printmaking was central to my own creative endeavours; I have accumulated a storehouse of priceless memories from those years and met some marvellous people. Late last night I began work on a PowerPoint presentation for an artist talk I’ve been invited to give at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in October. Compiling images for the talk brought about the recognition that some of the prints aren't so bad either.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Ideopsis gaura (Dainty Paperwing) Woman - a new linocut

The 2015 Melbourne International Film Festival is now in full swing. As regular visitors to this blog will be aware, MIFF is an event Shane and I attend every year. Pictured below in its early stages of development is one of two projects I'll be working on between screenings: Ideopsis gaura (Dainty Paperwing) Woman, 2015, pencil and acrylic on linoleum, 22 x 23 cm (approx. image size).

The completed linocut is destined for Parallel Prints NZ/Australia, an exhibition featuring 1 New Zealand artist and 11 Australian artists. The exhibition is scheduled to open at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Wharepuke Print Studio, New Zealand on 3 October. Full details will be posted nearer the time.





Sunday, March 8, 2015

Emergent Jewel Beetle Woman

Early stages of Jewel Beetle Woman (Sternocera aequisignata) 2015, acrylic and pencil on wood, 20 x 20 cm.




Friday, February 20, 2015

Indian Leaf Butterfly Woman #2

An unexpected bonus of having a studio in my back garden is the regular visits I receive from various members of the insect and arachnid kingdoms.

Meanwhile, a fully formed Indian Leaf Butterfly Woman rests on my drawing board.

Indian Leaf Beetle Woman, 2015, acrylic on wood, 20 x 20 cm

Rhinoceros beetle visitor

Rhinoceros beetle (side view)



Thursday, February 19, 2015

Indian Leaf Butterfly Woman, Part 1

Currently on the drawing board in the Ballarat studio:




Work in progress pictured above:
Indian Leaf Butterfly Woman, 2015, acrylic on wood, 20 x 20 cm.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Queen Alexandra's Birdwinged Woman, Part 1

Pictured below are some early stages of my first work for 2015: Queen Alexandra’s Birdwinged WomanThe 20 x 20 cm wooden panel has been sized in order to protect it and prevent darkening - its subtly grained surface will provide the background to the image. The figure was outlined in pencil. It was then painted over with a couple of light coats of gesso, through which these guidelines remain visible. An area of detail has already been added: I concentrated on the subject’s skin and hair, mainly to get a feel for the medium. I've painted on wood before, but have never worked in quite this way. The remainder of the image will be built up via a series of thin layers, to which further details, notably the markings on the butterfly's wings, will be added.






Saturday, October 4, 2014

APW Print Fair - a preview


The Australian Print Workshop's APW Print Fair opens next weekend, 11-12 October. As one of the participating artists, much of my time of late has been spent mounting, packaging and labelling my work (see below).

I’ll be showing selected prints from 3 separate, but related bodies of work, namely the Enchanted Hair Ornaments (2009) the Moth Masks (2009) and the Winged Women linocuts (2010).

The Enchanted Hair Ornaments, 2009, hand coloured linocuts, 30.5 x 23.5 cm, ed. 30

Moth Masks, 2009, hand coloured linocuts, 15 x 15 cm, ed. 30

Winged Women, 2010, linocuts, 32 x 32 cm, ed. 30

The insect women wrapped and ready for the Print Fair

We have high hopes for fine weather and a swarm of visitors. I hope some of you will be among them. If you can make it, be sure to come up and say hello.

APW Print Fair
Australian Print Workshop
210 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy, 3065
T: 03 9419 5466

Hours: Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October
10 am–5 pm each day.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Back to the Present

Welcome to my Art blog, to 2014 and what I hope will be a marvellous year for all of us.


But before launching into a busy year (despite my best laid plans, it's already shaping up to be another one of those) I thought it important to pause momentarily and consider just some of the events that for me made 2013 a standout, that fed my work because they fed my spirit.*

DRIVING MISS DAISY
Back in April at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne, Driving Miss Daisy with Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones and Boyd Gaines gifted us with some of the most superlative acting I’ve ever experienced. Over the years I’ve been privileged to see some mighty fine theatre, not just in Melbourne, but in London and New York; this was one of a handful of occasions on which I witnessed true greatness.
http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/driving-miss-daisy-20130407-2hes3.html



WEIMAR CABARET
I never again expected to see anything remotely as fine in live theatre, but only a few weeks later Barry Humphries’s Weimar Cabaret opened at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall. The Australian Chamber Orchestra, cabaret singer Meow-Meow and Humphries himself brilliantly performed music from Weimar Germany, much of it heard for the first time in Australia.

Click on the link below for an interview with Humphries and Meow-Meow and a clip from the show:


TOULOUSE-LAUTREC: PARIS AND THE MOULIN ROUGE
Since childhood, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec has been one of my favourite artists. So completely wrapped up in his work was I, it took me years to discover how shamefully underrated he is. Toulouse-Lautrec: Paris and the Moulin Rouge, for which we traveled to the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, was another of 2013’s highlights. For the many who associated him solely with those (admittedly superb and ground-breaking) lithographic posters, it also showcased what a brilliant - and extraordinary prolific - painter and drawer he was. 
http://www.museetoulouselautrec.net/home-en.html

Pictured above: La rousse au caraco blanc [The redhead in a white blouse] [Carmen Gaudin in the artist’s studio] 1887
Oil on canvas
55.9 (h) x 46.7 (w) cm
Lower right: HTLautrec (H, T and L in monogram)
Reference: Dortu P.317
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Bequest of John T. Spaulding
Pictured above: Jane Avril at the Jardin de Paris  [Jane Avril au Jardin de Paris] 1893
Planographic, brush and spatter lithograph, printed in five colours on wove paper
125.0 (h) x 92.0 (w) cm
Signed lower centre, printed from the stone in olive-green ink, 'HTLautrec'
Reference: Wittrock P6b
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra NGA 1996.891
Gift of Orde Poynton Esq. CMG 1996

Pictured above: The jockey [Le jockey] 1899
Planographic, brush, crayon and spatter lithograph, printed in six colours on wove paper
51.8 (h) x 36.3 (w) cm, edition 100
Signed lower right corner, printed from the stone in black ink, 'HTL' monogram dated lower right corner, printed from the stone in black ink, 1899 [inversed]
Reference: Wittrock 308
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra NGA 1977.15
Purchased 1977

BLACK CAVIAR 
In what was a singularly trying year in Australia - with the certainty of worse to follow in 2014 – it took something pretty damn special to take our minds off our troubles, if only for awhile. Meeting the retiring champion racehorse Black Caviar at her farewell appearance at Caulfield Racecourse rates as highly as any of the other events listed here. Like several artists, including Lucian Freud, Edgar Degas, Alfred Munnings, George Stubbs and the abovementioned Toulouse-Lautrec, equine subjects have significantly figured in my partner Shane Jones’s work. He has been following Black Caviar’s illustrious career for a long time and has even painted her. Meeting her for the first time was an inestimable treat for me and getting so unexpectedly up close and personal was an unexpected surprise and a first for both of us. We were completely besotted and stayed for hours. Seldom in my life have I met such a gentle, patient, intelligent, laid-back animal. Clearly she loves people every bit as much as they love her.





EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Back in the theatre, Victorian Opera enchanted us with Robert Wilson and Phillip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach. The infamous five hours running time (with no interval and no discernible plot) passed in the blinking of an eye.


The same company’s exquisite production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George was by far the best version I’ve ever seen.


MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
At Melbourne’s Kino Cinema we saw a filmed version of the celebrated West End revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. I was extremely disappointed to miss out on seeing this production live in the West End when I postponed a planned trip to London. But this was the next best thing – dynamically filmed, with stunning performances, and a scintillating libretto that was all the more poignant for starting at the end and tracing the three protagonists’ stories backwards to the beginning of their friendship. Sondheim’s score, of course, was utterly sublime; several times I was moved to tears.

There was something disconcertingly familiar about the leading female character, Mary. When I recalled that the musical was based on a 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the penny dropped. I was almost certain that Kaufman and Hart had used their fellow writer and Algonquin Round Table Member, Dorothy Parker as a partial basis for Mary's flawed, but fabulous character, which a little research subsequently confirmed. That really made my day.



*The above list is by no means inclusive; it does not include highlights already covered in previous blog posts.