Announcement of Solo Show !

This July I will be presenting 'Hiding Places' a very special exhibition in the unique location of the Newcastle Lock Up. http://thelockup.info/art-gallery/ 

Inspired by forgotten stories and the shadows that animate lonely spaces I have created a new series of works that are relevent to both the history of The Lock Up and my present day experience of Newcastle City. This is a wonderful exhibition opportunity for my mixed media works where their rubbery, fury, colouful limbs have finally found a home that is suitably dark, provocative and atmosheric.

Opening Night Thursday 4th July 2013
Exhibition continues to 22nd July 2013

Strange Awakenings

Winter has descended and fog skims the surface of the Newcastle Harbour. The city is eery and cold but there is a hum of energy, a quiet murmur, a distant howl. Whilst people may have vacated the outdoors for the comfort of their couches, a new community has moved in and is enlivening the abandoned space. They are an unusual bunch of feathers, teeth and horns, that lick the paint stripped walls of the city and trip you over as you turn a corner. They are transient and inconspicuous and have come to town to catch you when you least expect it !

Keep your eyes out at: http://boointhestreets.blogspot.com.au/

New Works on Paper

White Wash
Gouache, charcoal, collage on paper
50x40cm 2013

In preparation for the the Works On Paper Competition at the Hazelhurst Regional Art Gallery I have a completed a new series of collage, gouache and charcoal works. The series consists of four pieces  that reflect on the working  industrial harbour of Newcastle and is a result of twelve months of work. Earlier sketches have been cut up and reconfigured with new gouache paintings so as to make layered collages. The compositions are loosely based on the  landscape with figure ground relationships between stormy skies and turbulent ocean, fishing trawlers, smoke stacks and freight ships.  Abstract planes of colour are incorporated too, so as to challenge the depth of field whilst meditating on the palette that dominates the industrial environment. Yellow  is a reoccurring colour that can be located on the hulls of ships. the sandy beaches and on the backs of high visibility of workers. Most notable is Ship Entering The Port that uses a yellow panel like a flat piece of signage that simultaneously seeps into the ocean of the composition. In contrast, works like White Wash, are more narrative driven and use shapes like characters that are playing a game of hovercraft on the surface. The technique of cut and paste isolates the shapes and creates a fun contrast that offers a sense of comic relief to the sometimes austere industrial landscape.
Stay tuned to find out if any of the series have been selected as a finalist !

This series can be viewed in the En Plein Air album located on the right column of this blog page.

New Work

Newcastle Port Traffic 
Acrylic on canvas 120x140cm 2013

Newcastle Port Traffic is my most recent new work. Developed unintentionally after I resurrected a worn out canvas from the shed, it speaks very honestly of my visual experience in my current city. As a cyclist I observe the world around me in a frequent and often fleeting manner and whilst colours and patterns often catch my eye they are quickly replaced by new material on a daily basis. The manner in which I gather material is directly related to my everyday life and as more weeks pass the greater the layers of information in my brain. The layers are dense in my personal store so that when it comes time to paint, I imagine there is a deep excavation of memory that occurs in my brain. It always surprises me what happens in the studio, I paint quite freely and wait to see what my brush directs me to do. This is both an elating and doubtful process where I feel vulnerable and without control, but can ultimately be very amazed and affirmed. I liken this creative process to wandering blindfolded in the bush, arms out stretched and touching interesting branches and smelling beautiful fragrances but without a conscious path or idea of the destination. I am beginning to understand that growing up for me is figuring out how to inhabit this place without despair, for it is an experience that extends out of the studio into other parts of my life too. I have a condition that affects my outlook on many things, including my job and sometimes relationships. However, a good friend of mine recently told me that I am very good at inhabiting the present and I liked that because it seems like a good coping mechanism and a guarantee that I won't miss the fleeting or obscure inspiration that is right under my nose.

With Newcastle Port Traffic I have most recently entered the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship and The Churchie Emerging Art Award. Whilst entering competitions remain a frequent job that rarely deliver any results I hope that posting my entries on this blog is a way to mark the effort and share a step in the right direction.

Renew Newcastle Studio

At long last I have secured a new studio in Newcastle as a participant of Renew Newcastle http://renewnewcastle.org/about .

I was motivated to become in involved with Renew Newcastle as a means to secure a work space outside of the home, somewhere personal and devoted entirely to my professional practice. I was also enthusiastic to become more active in my community and interact with other artists. Ironically I am becoming acquainted with the business sector of Newcastle, as I frequent my studio that is located in the CBD. The building itself is a disused office block that is an unusual expression of the commercial world, with a residue of efficiency in the elevator and ramps. I don’t quite feel like I am entering an art studio until I get to my ‘office’ and find fabric and pens sprawled all over the fire proof carpet. I like that being involved in Renew Newcastle has exposed me to another side of Newcastle and I like to imagine that the contrast of my surroundings will inspire a ‘counter attack’ of frivolity and self expression.

Whilst in the studio I am working on a new collection of textile works that will form part of a mid year exhibition at The Lockup Cultural Centre Newcastle. http://thelockup.info/ I am generating an imaginative series of sculptures that are suggestively monster like.  My research for this project is based on the abandoned spaces in Newcastle and my desire to animate them with imaginary creatures.  As I sew provocative and tactile work I am creating an alternate story to the quiet melancholia of Newcastle and activating the energy of the city.

The Big Draw - a review

With success of The Big Draw and the documentation complete I have installed a new album at the bottom of this blog to share the results of the event. I found the day surprisingly fulfilling as I was reminded of the importance of art as a communication tool and the value of the artist in society.

I was lucky enough to be paid for my work at the festival and it was very gratifying to feel my efforts and passion appreciated in a broader community. As an artist who often works indoors and alone it was  wonderful to be outside, without barriers and sharing the experience with others, strangers at that. Not only was it empowereing for me as a professional artist I appreciated the enjoyment that the activity gave to adults and children - I watched as eager eyes accepted my paint brushes and hands and minds set about imagining colourful food.

The day reaquainted me with the positive role that art plays in indivuals lives and for a community. Civic Park was unusually active and colourful, there was music and enthusiansm - something that doesn't often happen in the city of Newcastle except around Australia day or on a Friday night outside the King Street Hotel - which are usually exclusive events. Instead a community was unified for a free event and minds were given the freedom of possiblity so as to imagine with charcoal, paint, collage and water. I only wish that this optimism could remain beyond a single day event and that as adults we could approach more days of the week with the same sense of play and excitement that I witnessed during the festival.

In the future I would like to see the Big Draw planned so as to accomodate the practices of professional artists, this year the event's main participants were children under 12. A Big Draw that showcased the works of professional artists and accomodated events for adults would be a more inclusive day and further the positive example that art sets. It would be optimistic to imagine that an arts festival could reach beyond a day or a craft activity but inspire future careers and continue to support existing artists in the community.

Picnic In The Park - Photos revealed !