David Burge

Erin at 11

2011-11-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

A recently painted oil of our 11 y/o daughter Erin

I've put the watercolours aside for the time being to concentrate on developing a means of making larger, more robust paintings with the palette knife which I find satisfying in that the outcome is loose and painterly not unlike a watercolour should be.

Looking Around the Backyard

2011-05-21T01:29:00.000-07:00

The Sixth of February 2011

2011-04-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

The day that brought change to our lives in a radical way came without warning as days like that do.

It was a little past noon on a lazy Sunday.
Jenine and I were having out morning coffee late and looking at the paper musing over the economics of our situation and the prices of real estate. A conversation not unfamiliar to us. We've oft considered change but the effort was always something that would wait for us to get around to. Erin was playing in the lounge room, Danyon had stayed over at a friend's house.
It was a typical Perth hills summer morning but with the mornings easterly wind insisting on making it's presence felt like a drunk 45 year old at a teens party. Staying well past it's welcome. It was seeking a suitor as summer winds are wont to do.

Our conversation was halted in mutual rhythm as folks that have been together as long as we have would understand. We noticed the scent of burning eucalyptus which was followed by the usual visual survey in the direction the wind was blowing.
There was no mighty white pillow of grandpa smoke on the horizon that usually accompanies the familiar summer Australian atmospheric perfume but rather a more agitated, blue, thin adolescent, unpredictable looking plume. The source of the blue smoke could not immediately been seen due the steeply undulating contours of the landscape. It was coming from the valley immediately to the east of our property on Brookton Highway.
As a precautionary measure I took the 3/4 inch hose attached to the tap on the east side of the house and ventured as far as it would reach to commence wetting the dry grass between the fence line and the house. Within two minutes the smoke became white and thicker and to the north east I saw the first of the flames racing up the hill like a stampede of great engaged red steers into our neighbours property.
At this stage those destined to gorge on our own moistened grass had not arrived but it wasn't long before they breached the fence and were surrounding the place with a pace and intensity that I had never experienced. I'd always possessed the same masculine imagination of confidence in one's ability at managing all possible scenarios including anything from termite infestation to nuclear attack. Fortunately I also have the ability to know when my strategy or tools at hand is inadequate.
The battle with the hose as my weapon soon became hand to hand with flames reaching tree top, sorties of embers being launched from lofty posts far beyond the reach of any garden hose no matter how mighty it may seem in a war on the meat ants that become annoying around the pool. The smoke was stinging eyes and lungs and it became clear that armour was required. I lay down my hose and went to find and d'on a pair of goggles Erin had been swimming with the day before. With the goggles, and a tee shirt acting as a breathing filter I returned to the front which be this time had intensified, now the pine trees on the northen boundary were well inflammed. Jenine and Erin had been inside quickly gathering some possessions that were immediately accessible. Lap-tops, four of my guitars, some of Danyon's school books and a drawings, Jenine's visual diary. Some of Erin's treasures. I was concerned at this stage; even the agathapanthas had started to burn.
Despite the inferno however, I was optimistic as the front of the fire being driven by the strong wind, which was by now entering a new set of physical dynamics as one reads about being characteristic of high volume fires, had all but passed the home.
I had decided that upon the ignition of my trusty eastern hose that retreat was the only option and I decided to take up the western hose and skirt the immediate house perimeter to manage the spot fires in the gardens and immediate grassy places. Before implementing this plan I decided to update Jenine on the acuity of the situation and offer some suggestion that now would be an appropriate time to evacuate with Erin, Cookie the terrier, and Heidi the guinea pig. The Land Cruiser in the drive way was being licked by flames on the western side of the house. The fire surrounded the north and south of the house but was quickly moving westward.
They left.
I remained to implement the protection strategy which seemed to be working. I was begining to breath sighs of releif and thought I might have a moment to call into work and inform them that due to the situation, I would not be attending work that afternoon as I was due to commence after one oclock.
I did this whislt squirting small grass fires on the south perimeter of the house.
Time to return to the nothern side to check on spot fires. As I rounded the corner something on the rooftop caught my eye. The evaporative air conditioner was ablaze. It was something I'd not considered. It has not been used that day and was was therefore dry. The pads which when saturated act to cool the air, when dry are akin to a small haystack in a plastic box, or perhaps dry paper. A worthy fuel source for a rampant fire.
Any effort to extinguish the air con unit was pointless as the hose volume was now almost a trickle, which as I later realised was a result of the fire department accessing the Mains water supply just down the road.
The sensation when confronted with the sight of your home alight is difficult to describe, not so much panic as disbelief. I decided to look inside to see if there was anything I could do to minimise damage. When I opened the back door I was confronted with a puddle of blazing molten plastic which was cascading from the air conditioner duct between myself and the piano. The adjacent doors were to the kids bedrooms and were open, a glance inside their rooms made my stomach knot as their carpets were hosting the same molten plastic party from the ducts above. Black toxic smoke was now quickly filling the house. I had to leave as I was trying to make my way back thought he door something tangled around my leg and almosgt tripped me, I disengangled what appeaed to be a wire that had fallen through the ceiling, it burnt into my right hand. Later I realised it was an electrical cable that had burnt out. It ws clear that the fire was in the ceinling space and gaining intensity.
I rounded the house to try the front door to perhaps access the loung room to check of Jenine had remembered my father's violin.
I couldn't enter, the acrid smoke was overwhelming. The noise of the fire was a constant explosion as the trees were bursting to flames on all sides as I ran to the carport to make my final retreat.
Driving out, I met the police coming up our driveway. "Time to leave" he said. (I wonderd where else he thought I could be going)
I turned right, onto the highway where a fire unit was wetting the surrounds of a home immediately opposite our driveway. I explained that our house was on fire to which he responded with some expletives and explained that by the time he had disengaged from the current sitation that it would be amost ten minutes and as such our house would be beyond saving.
I had no idea where Jenine and Erin had gone so headed to Albany Highway and found a carpark under a tree near a community medical practice in Kelmscott. Called Jenine and told her where I was.
The loss of property was total. My studio and framing set-up is naught but ash and twisted metal. All the paintings (probably over 300) with 1/3 of those saleable, sketches, written ideas gathered and recorded over the years, certificates of awards, books. The equipmemt gone.
The erasure of thirty years of accumulated stuff is both liberating and painful.
Everything seems new now.

Tate Favourite

2010-09-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

The Tate must be one of very few galleries to feature the classical and contemporary with what appears and feels to be a very natural and shock free ride. Something like a Rolls with satellite technology. All the leather and walnut with the cutting edge technology providing an effortless ride from Elizabethan to Hirst in a few yards of each other. Five hundred years seems to have passed in a flash this afternoon.
Of all the stunning works that confront the viewer on the ground floor the ones that took my breath away were those of John Singer Sargent. For me the most alluring work was a study for Madam X.
Perhaps it was the contemporary and classical blend within the painting (much like the Tate itself). The so called incompleteness of it is like breathing, it's warmth, space and presence floored me.
His work as a figurative painter is yet to be surpassed I believe.
There's no point in going on about the works, it's all been said thousands of times but for the sake of kicking my blog off again this is very good subject. I took a couple of highlights of details of some paintings.
I expect you'll excuse the quality of the photography, no flash iphone snaps with a tinge of guilt(given cameras were not supposed to be used).If I'd tried this in Perth I would be in the electric chair by now...of course Perth has some 'real treasures' compared to the Tate.

Downtown Dolls

2010-03-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Having been motivated by the triumph of Brides By Design being selected to hang in the Shanghai Biennial I have cracked and painted another window. This time a collaborative effort. Nick Simmons took this picture exclusively for the purpose sometime in 2008(that's him behind the 3rd dolls legs:)). It's taken awhile to get around to it but I really like how it's turned out. Almost a weeks work.
75 x 104 cm (29" x 41")

Map to Alice

2010-02-09T10:47:00.001-08:00

Well it's the map I have in my head. I'm sure those that know the area will recognize it immediately;)
I'm enjoying getting these out of my system, tomorrow Kings Canyon gets the treatment.
56x76 BL
Mixed Water Media

Lasseter's Camels

2010-02-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

A somewhat whimsical one.
The images of last year's desert trek will appear as the spirit moves. It moved today and I did this on a sheet of Blue Lake.
Camels abound in the outback, left overs from the early explorers. In 1931 Lasseter's camels allegedly "bolted" leaving him stranded 100 miles from Kata Tjuta (Mt Olga). He never made it however the camels did well. Now it's calculated that 3,000,000 inhabit central Australia.

William and Hay

2010-02-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

One that never made it. Looking back through some photos of work from the last 3 years I think I might have been onto something with this one. I recall using sand mixed with gesso on for the red structure on the left(the corner of a church).
I think I ditched it due to the composition but there are areas I quite like.

Sittellas

2010-01-28T22:21:00.001-08:00

Went to a wedding at a vineyard in the Swan Valley early this month. In fact Jenine and I did a couple of songs there. This was the view from the balcony overlooking the pergola where the ceremony took place looking east toward the Darling Range. Early evening, a delightful time of the day in high summer, golden light, long shadows.

A selection from 2009

2009-12-31T08:45:00.000-08:00

Bayswater

2009-10-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

A little lunch break 'quicky' done back in August. For those who know Perth, this is from Bayswater looking across the river to Ascot.
About 8x12in

AlleyArtCarpet

2009-09-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sitting back chilling here to Killing Joke's "Pandemonium" album, with a nice Scotch, looking through some photos. Found this one of an alley off an alley in Perth.
I like the design from this perspective.
Thought it would make a nice rug.
So I cunningly weaved it on two old hessian bags with hand coloured string spun from virgin yak pubes using a found BBQ skewer.
Well the idea ran through my head but photoshop seemed quicker.
Sadly the local fascist city council has since erased this design from the turquoise wall.
This fits with the alley paintings
from last year.

City of Melville Art Award 2009

2009-05-30T04:54:00.000-07:00

"Brides by Design" received a High Commendation at the City of Melville Art Awards last week.
Not quite the same as last year's top honour but it's great to get a nod of approval from ones peers.

Ghost Gum

2009-04-04T17:37:00.001-07:00

Uluru

2009-04-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

We're rapidly nearing the end of our time here in Alice Springs. After Easter we'll be back in Perth and this photographic dominated travel log will give way to painting I expect.

This selection of photos were taken at Uluru (Ayres Rock) last weekend when we adventured the 1200km loop from Alice Springs to Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and back to Alice via Hermannsburg.

A warm up for the 3000km road trip next weekend.

Petroglyphs

2009-03-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

These petroglyphs are in N'Dala Gorge about 100km east of Alice Springs.
The gorge is an area of great significance to the Eastern Arrente Tribe
To reach the gorge requires a 4wd but the scenery is outstanding and I highly recommend a visit.
These petroglyphs are said to be a conservative 10,000 yrs old.
They are not surrounded by fences or security. Just sitting there for anyone to look at and touch. Not a sign of vandalism or graffiti to be seen. The place emanates a very spiritual aura. A wonderful place.

Monitor

2009-03-11T05:51:00.000-07:00

The weather is starting to cool just enough to go exploring with more comfort here in Alice Springs.
Last Saturday we ventured in to the East MacDonnell Ranges to try and find some Rock Art and to see for ourselves some of the Sacred Sites within 100kms of the town.
Needless to say we had a fulfilling day. I took well over 300 photographs.
This simple Dragonfly sat still long enough for a couple of shots.
PS3 enhanced the palette.

Filles Érotiques, Dedicated to Alice

2009-03-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

The Alice Springs theme continues from Namatjira to these two lovers.
As I've been on a retrospective curve this week I thought this one from late last year is an example of a more recent figurative watercolour.
I've adjusted the saturation a little from what I'd uploaded onto my website previously(for those who have seen it before). It was too pink looking. This is a more accurate jpeg.

"The Turban Guy"

2009-03-04T04:27:00.000-08:00

A serial subject who's face s getting around a bit lately thanks to our pal David Lobenberg.
I have "feelings" for this one as my dear old mate the Blue Lake Blotch returned again after some months in absence.
I know this makes little sense to most. It relates to the odd blotchy texture that is in evidence in this painting.
This Australian made paper has, or should I say had a very desirable velvety and luxurious quality.
Somewhere in the making process the paper became vulnerable to uneven absorption and the result is a random blotchiness which when doing a delicate subject is enough to break your heart. I've spent many hours getting a good likeness in a portrait only to watch a child's face turn into something resembling a leprosy ridden camels ass after a couple of light washes of raw sienna. Or a light cobalt blue summers sky into an abstract version of The Battle of Britain.
I have stayed with Blue Lake and been in close liaison with the maker over the last 5 years to try to overcome the problem which has been happening for about 3 years on and off .
Sometimes we get great results, and lately although somewhat hard and brittle has been blotch free. Having this happen again is very disappointing. Too unpredictable to trust with larger important watercolours.
I think I've just about come to the end of the road with it.
Sorry Maurice! The more recent productions looked and felt tough and durable, yet are still proving to be as fragile as a moths wing if this is anything to go by.
Will do another of this on faithful old Arches 300gsm rough.

Anyone want to buy 15 sheets of unopened Blue Lake?

On second thoughts it'll be fine for oil painting after a couple of coats of gesso.

Apologies for the rave, just had to get it out...!

Again!

Aubrey Beardsley POI #2

2009-03-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Having made reference to Persons of Interest as opposed to personal heros in the last post it reminded me of this portrait I did of the british Art Nouveau oddity known as Aubrey Beardsley .
As I mentioned to Bill I've only ever painted two visual artists; Beardsley and Namatjira, both back in 2003.
I picked up a very old book of Beardsley's work back in ther 80s. Fascinating and intricate fine pen work, oft depicting the grotesque, bizarre and erotic.
I found this famous portrait in a book of Frederick H Evans' photography work around about the same time.
Evans was a great british photographer at the turn of C20.
His cathederal interior photography is magnificent and worth looking up.

Beardsley was something of a living caricature I painted this in 2003 on a 76x56 sheet of Arches.

Namatjira POI #1

2009-02-27T04:55:00.000-08:00

There aren't many painters or art critics who would have claimed that Namatjira was original or innovative. It's not possible, nor fair to read and comment on his painting through western eyes and standards, measures, scales and ideas about what is or is not high art. The notion of the 'noble savage' has been digested, and is long become dust. Namatjira has been the impetus for social, anthropological and ethical debate for three generations now, there are a million opinions and many, many volumes written relating to his life and relationships to his own people, europeans and the art of Australia.

This was a fairly direct attempt at a portrait of Albert Namatjira that I did back in 2003. As I mentioned in the previous post; he was the first watercolourist I was introduced to as a kid. It was his watercolour landscapes of the Western MacDonnells that sparked my lifelong interest in the medium. His was delicate and sensitive touch which is in keeping with the traditional art of the Arrente.
He has a pretty tragic story of being missionized and introduced to grog by the white fellas and then jail for drinking related social misdemeanours.

Off The Kitchen Table

2009-02-18T06:44:00.000-08:00

A few small watercolours from my new kitchen table studio in Alice Springs.
No room for major projects here.
A couple of weekends passing the time.

Sketchbook

2009-01-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

Critters of The Desert Part 1 - Scorpions

2009-01-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

I've seen a few scorpions in my day and have felt their tail between my toes more than once but the ones e get in Perth are midgets.
The Desert Scorpions in central Australia are like terrestrial lobsters but I believe not seriously toxic. Nor are they quick to sting. I prodded one gently with a stick to test it's patience and to garner a sense of it's personality, a getting to know you mechanism if you will.
It did not choose to attack the stick
(like many spiders and big ants I've tried it on) but ran in a strange zigzag manner very quickly away. It might respond differently to a living appendage of course but I was satisfied it looked more fearsome than it behaved.
The above animal would be about 10cm( about 4 inches) in length when extended.
I would not choose to sleep in the desert without sturdy and well sealed protection, if not space, between myself and the ground.

The Crossroad

2009-01-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

I along with most balanced males consider myself a bit of an expert and critic in the subject of preparation and serving of steak. I've had two outstanding steaks in the past 20 years. The first was a 50mm fillet from The Bourbon and Beefsteak grill in Darlighurst 1992,it set the benchmark. Since then I've been on a quiet quest for something to match that magnificent lump of beef. At about 6:30 pm on 4/1/09, 'De Bernales', an unassuming and unfussed Bar and Grill in Hannan St Kalgoorlie served something to challenge the aformentioned legendary establishments best.
Three evenings, and 1800kms of red track later and were were sitting in an internationally owned and service orientated grill several kms from Uluru in the resort village of Yulara. The brochure boasted the usual cliches about how discerning the establishment liked to think of itself and it's food. The menue offered (no doubt for the benift of the numerous Japanese tourists) a steak they claim was from the rump of a tender milk fed young beast and promised to be perfect.
It was served with some exotic mushroom mix and upon a layered potato arrangement in a creamy sauce. The steak was barely 20mm thick, stiff as a board, chewy and tasteless. It was twice the price of the Kalgoorlie masterpiece. Oh the fickle world of steak.
The quality of the accommodation at Yulara seemed sumptuous. I think it may well have benefited from the previous two nights we'd endured at Laverton and Warburton who are in an endless battle for the title of butt-hole of Australia although I've not been to Port Hedland. Anybody from either of those three 'places' who reads this and disagrees is deluded and maladjusted.
My advice for those considering to travel this route is to leave Kalgoorlie very early in the morning and make it to the Tjukayirla Roadhouse to stay the night. Next day go to Warakurna(magnificent landscape and dinkum aboriginal artifacts for sale at roadhouse) that way you avoid staying at Laverton and Warburton. Warakurna is near the Giles Met station and is where the Gunbarrel Highway meets the Gt Central Rd. This area is owned by the Ngaanyatjarra community and requires a permit to traverse. Only about 80ks from the NT border the topogaphy here is not the flat to shallow undulating spinifex dunes of the Gibson, but magnificent ranges coloured from red to blue. Even a local resident cited her daily amazement at the beauty around her. I love this area, from here to Kaltukatjara(Docker River) has an alluring spirit it seems to beckon you to leave the road and explore the thousands of rocky havens and caves. Regardless of what is intellectually known about this area there is a definite spirituality emanating from this landscape. Lasseter, the legendary explorer sadly perished after staying in a cave near this area after his camels took off.

A couple of hours later along the Tjukururu road after crossing the border ones eyes begin to scan the horizon for the first glimpse of Kata Tjuta(The Olgas).
These gigantic red granite rocks first appear as a pinkish blue ghost on the horizon through the numerous Desert Oaks. The road is poor here but the jarring from the corregations goes un-noticed as the great rusty domes rise from the earth and command worship.
The Olgas are about 200m taller than Ayres Rock(which makes them about 550m) and are just staggeringly awesome. It is at their base that our red dirt road ends along with the illusion of freedom. I wish I could adequately describe the sensation of anxiety that arose within me when confronted with the sealed road and the signs and marks of hard edged civilization.
This junction of roads is trully a crossroad.
The base of Kata Tjuta is unique and symbolic. A better mind could perhaps write a treatise about the clash of cultures at this point for not more than a few kms ahead squirms modernity in all it's garrish and obscene commerciality. Yulara is a gut wrenching man made turd of a place where tourists of every nationality swarm like flies gathering , all wearing weird dark flynets over their heads to keep those pesky little devils off their clean pale skin. These things have an ironic way of making the wearer resemble the very insect they're designed to foil.
At the right moment everyone buzzes off together for Uluru, "The Rock" to catch sunset or sunrise.
These mighty sentinels of time are sacred cash cows. No people own these places but all people exploit them.
I'm reaching the conclusion that there is little difference between the traditional perspective and the european when it comes to the dollar.
The desert can do strange things to your perspective.

Journey to the Red Centre

2009-01-11T06:35:00.000-08:00

January 4 we departed the familiar and safe rolling hills of Roleystone for a five day road trip to Alice Springs through the Gibson and Great Victoria deserts.
Without laboring over it suffice to say it's a long, hot and dusty road, isolation being a familiar companion by the end of the second day. The width and breadth of Western Australia is incredibly vast, for readers not familiar with this state I'd suggest a quick visit to wiki to familiarize yourself. It's a four day journey at about 100kms per hour to reach the Northern Territory from Perth via the Great Central Road which is mostly unsealed.
You don't drive after dark here unless you're mad or in a large truck or tank. The nocturnal wildlife is numerous and often large. Camels run wild throughout the outback, donkeys and large red kangaroos make up the most weighty of the possible road encounters at night. Emus are also numerous and pose a risk for vehicles.
Anyway, we arrived in Alice Springs as planned on Thursday 8th.
Have not had time to do much painting but have a few drawings or sketches.
We have several hundred photos so I will post a few here for the record.
Kalgoorlie is the last major town before venturing into a much less comfortable environment.
It's a gold mining town from the 1860s and still retains much of the architecture and atmosphere of an earlier time. Kalgoorlie is a beautiful old town that boasts the largest open cut gold mine south of the equator. The "Superpit" has to be seen in real life to be appreciated. It's too large to photograph from the ground. Google Earth is a good way to see it's massive scale.
The photo I've attached here shows small oblong shapes at the bottom of the pit, these are regular 4wd vehicles, the larger dump trucks making their way up the ramps are carrying 100 tons of ore per load. Takes them an hour to reach the top.

I'll add more photos in the same format in coming days.

Gone are The Blues, this is the country for seeping in the landscape, flora and fauna as well as the culture here.
The town of Alice Springs has numerous galleries. Many of the local artists here paint in the galleries, the New York and european gallery buyers can come and browse and purchase direct.
More on that later.
It's a life changing experience.

This small slideshow shows a little of the early "western" architecture of Kalgoorlie.
For the American readers, Kalgoorlie was the home of Herbert Hoover for a period in his younger days he worked here as an engineer, later he went on to become a President I believe.

Mojo Workin' III

2008-11-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

#3 and the last of this series within a series which was taken from a YouTube Video of Muddy Waters,Sonny Boy and the legendary bass player, writer, producer WiIlie Dixon doing the creamiest version of Got My Mojo Workin' ever.

This is Sonny Boy Williamson, my second favourite Bluesman after John Lee Hooker. A harmonica virtuoso and a voice that is traditional Delta Blues.
I first painted him in 2001;
That series of Bluesmen and women proved very popular and sold almost as fast as I painted them.
These paintings are specifically for a Blues festival here in Perth in January.

Ok who's next???

Has to be JLH, bless his purrdy socks.

Mojo Workin' II

2008-11-26T00:04:00.000-08:00

The second of a new Blues Series, I think most of you missed the first one "Muddy Waters" (Mojo Workin' I)
It's posted before the Tools of the Trade post.
This is 114cmx76cm.
Displayed here in a stock frame.
Finished this one last week.
I've just completed another standard sheet of Sonny Boy Williamson which I'll post shortly.

Tools of the Trade

2008-11-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

These photos pretty much sum up what have become essential tools over the last few years.
The palette is a combination of transparent and opaque pigments (something I don't take any notice of anymore),and a warm / cool layout with some random intuitive variances. It contains from left to right starting at top:
Prussian Blue, Indanthrene Blue, Ultramarine, Cobalt,Cerulean,Cobalt Green, Perm Magenta(random placement but always here) Viridian, Quin Gold, Aurolean, Cad Yellow pale, Raw Sienna, Raw Umber, Winsor Red, Cad Scarlet, Cad Red, Scarlet Lake, Perm Alizarin, Permanent Rose or Opera Rose(I squirt them both into this position and let them work themselves out), Burnt Sienna, Brown Madder, Burnt Umber,Indian Red, Diox Violet(Especially kept to remind me of Bruce MacEvoy's dislike of purple and that it should be always used as often as needed) It's actually very handy as a strong transparent darkener. They're all W&N which are not bad value in the 37ml tubes these days. The photo shows some fluid acrylics which i dabble with sometimes. I'll use whatever pigment suits the mix, either decided by volume required or pigment hue. I don't mind putting some gesso with the watercolours to make a gouashe as well.
The tilting table has a hydraulic foot pump and tilts between flat and vertical with the flick of the hand. Made in Sweden by Nike, cost me $40 out of the local rag(best 40 bucks I've ever spent)
The round bushes are kolinskys apart from 2 smaller ones on the right with the red handles which I use a heck of a lot for those cellular windows paintings etc.
The yellow handled big kolinsky mop is made by Rosemary http://www.rosemaryandco.com/
It's a #8 if you're interested in enquiring and want to compare sizes. It worth a fortune these days, when I got mine they were semi affordable.
I'm not a big fan of using flat brushes for applying shapes, never have been and doubt I ever will, much to my old mentor's chagrin.
An exception to that is the 2 inch Hake is not to be underestimated in flair and versatility, it's an exception to the "flat rule", I wouldn't be without it.
Beer is Hahn premium.

Mojo Workin' I

2008-11-17T05:38:00.000-08:00

Last week i was invited to exhibit at the Perth Blues Club Mardi Gras in January.

I only had two small "Blues" related paintings left, both Billie Holiday ones I did a couple of years ago.

I thought it's worth having a crack at getting a few paintings together for this show which will be held in a well known Blues venue here in Perth.

Finding reference photos of the Blues legends is not as easy as it may sound without using over published ones or risking copyright infringement so I've tried grabbing frames off youtube video clips.

This is the first successful conversion, a couple of others have nosedived.

"Private"

2008-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

The middle portrait of this alley was always going to be a challenge. A little loading bay or nook off the main alley portrayed in the previous post. The vast tonal variations with some bright sky obliterating much of the wall and distant building-tops in the top of the picture, and dark shadowy hard to discern shapes down the bottom did not deserve too much thought . Some colourful artwork and tags in the dark recess behind the stair structure added another element to deal with.

It was the most difficult painting I've ever done to photograph accurately. Settled on doing it in sunlight on full auto.

The colour looks reasonably close but I think it appears harsh overall in the photo compared to the original. Yet here it's maybe a bit washed out...I give up. My website might give a better impression.

Sus Green

2008-10-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

The City of Perth's "municipal officers" must give this little lane that runs between Murray and Wellington St's it's fair share of attention. To me it begs for some spray action.

I've called it Sus Green because the lack of street art in this prime location has to be sus!

This ally provided me with a handful of possible compositions.

76x56cm

Watercolour

Brides By Design

2008-06-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

Brides By Design, I had to laugh when I saw this array of bridal wear proudly hanging of what I suppose are armatures but it's the name that really cracked me up.
It's a quaint shop so I thought it should be saved for posterity.
The taxi, bus and car blending into the gowns were a kick when they began to appear as the paintng progressed.
There are a lot of subtle colours that don't appear in the photo.
76cmx105cm , Arches 300gsm, all W&N watercolours

King Street Reflections Wins Award

2008-06-21T08:48:00.002-07:00

I'm pleased to report that this painting won top watercolour award at the City of Melville Art Awards for 2008.

City of Melville also purchased the painting for their collection and will display it in one of the their civic spaces.

The judge's comments were: "The unusual approach to the watercolour medium reflects the complexity of the ideas explored within this work"

Flutterby

2008-06-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

The summer version of our back garden is dominated by agapanthas.
I'm no gardener so if a plant can survive summer with minimal human intervention here in the Perth hills it's ok to stay.
They attract these orange butterflies, which apart from some small iridescent blue ones are the only b'flies we get here that I know of.
I took several shots one afternoon and forgot about them until I was searching for something relatively "simple" to put on a my first 40+ inch watermedia painting last week.
Since finishing the Skiva piece I've worked on two larger paintings.
This one is 43x43 inches and was a really approached as a learning exercise.
And currently another window about 30x43in which is about 3 days from being finished at my leisurely rate.
This one started off as regular watercolour but by the time I was through with it had been touched up liberally with fluid acrylics (first time using them in any appreciable quantity as well) They're extraordinarily versatile but don't have the same surface reflectivity properties as regular watercolour when used neat(without w/c pigment mixed with them).
They have a sheen which I'm not fond of, for me this creates a look of plasticity.
Certainly no problem when standing back and probably less evident behind glass but if you're accustomed to the dull even look of a standard watercolour this slightly glossy look is a bit of a rub.
I guess it's a matter of weighing up the advantages against such a small nit. For working large, economy is important and FA are winners there.
Flow is also different I think; Not having applied any scientific method of testing I can't be too definite but I think FAs have a different holding threshold when painting on a slope as compared to regular W&N watercolour of equal viscosity. ie they let go and run more readily so less angle is tolerated. It would stand to reason I think that when glazing over acrylic areas that this would be the case but if you're used to w/c it means you need to be aware and make adjustments to technique.

Skiva

2008-05-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

After losing a painting during the week to a rash act. I got back on the rocking horse and tried the same shop from a different window. What I thought would be a relatively easy one turned out one of the most difficult.
I found the varied subtle mid-tones quite challenging. The photo although tonally quite close doesn't show them as well as the real thing of course.
76x56cm

Incidentally today I picked up a 44 1/2 x 10 yard roll of Arches 300gsm
It'll be interesting to have a go supersizing these.

King Street Reflections

2008-05-22T02:57:00.000-07:00

Must go back to these establishments and find out their actual names. Might be a reasonable way to name the painting as well as provide some incentive later on for marketing the work.
This one is a different palette to any of the others.
The gold and green notes harmonize really well with the red tonic.
This one led me to make a note to paint from dark to light, the opposite to standard watercolour practice. This will allow the dark pigments to gently bleed into the adjacent lights to create softer edges. It worked nicely in areas of this one.
76x56cm Arches 300med, W&N watercolour pigments.

Rag and Bone Girl

2008-05-17T09:27:00.001-07:00

This is the eighth out of what may actually turn out to be the twenty I initially quoted to Nicko last year. Some where after about 3 or 4 Nicks skepticism seemed well founded. Now I think my optimism might have been prophetic. Now I've started I can't stop.
Whether or not they work or whether anyone will buy them has become irrelevant, I can honestly say I'm not concerned. I actually love doing them and find the outcome very rewarding. I've always missed the toil that traditional watercolour is bereft of. This method allows a slow piece by piece construction that does not reveal itself until complete. I guess it's not unlike doing a jig-saw puzzle. The silver-point work I do also requires time and patience I think that's why I was doing them along with watercolour, just something to work on for a few days. I need occupation I guess. The "Zen" style of watercolour is very admirable and worthy of regular practice but it does not always serve the need of the painting or idea. I know a seasoned watercolourist who often says; "Failures take all day". Depends on what you're painting I think. The idea is the art not the process or even the outcome. I think the outcome is always an abstraction of the idea. It's like trying to grasp water in your fist.

This piece was much like all the others in process during which there were times when I thought it would find it's way into the bin.
Rag and Bone Girl seemed an apt name at it appears the mannequin is holding a spine. Weird and a little dark I guess but that is the nature of this series for me, I keep finding things I never noticed when I took the photo. The spine is actually a motif on a T-shirt just behind the doll.

The pre-edited photo.

The process is pretty close to this;
Following deciding the crop, I'll get rid of the excessive detail by using the *cutout* filter in PS*. Then fiddle around with the image adjusting colours and values before printing it out. I then project the image using an LCD projector, painstakingly draw the damned thing which might take 2 or more hrs for a full sheet .
The painting process begins by following the print-out. About 3/4 of the way through I dispense with the print-out and let the painting inform itself so to speak.
I will then usually "look" at it in a mat and frame on the wall for a week or more and make chromatic or tonal adjustments before signing it off.

Windows Series

2008-05-14T21:19:00.001-07:00

This series focuses on observations of a subject that is deliberately designed to be looked at but rarely does one stop to stare into these window displays and never does one admit to it.
They mostly exist in the peripheral vision of those traversing the commercial canyons of our modern world.
These windows represent a rich picking of arrangements contrived to show off and entice, but when observed in an objective manner reveal much about the motivations of society and act as a mirror both literally and figuratively. On the glass surface we can see ourselves looking back, in the space behind we see the rush of people and cars passing by, other buildings and trappings of the city, moving oblivious to the watching plastic eyes behind the glass.
These stationary sentinels have stories to tell, stories not about what they see yet cannot tell, but about the colours and styles of societies plumage as the seasons pass.
For the artist, the window gives an opportunity to engage with multiple layers of space on the one flat plane. When viewing these paintings initially a puzzle of mixed up shapes meets the eye, however once the reflected space is realized the abstraction begins to make sense.
They are derived from my own photographs of Perth shop windows.