A new addition in the studio!

As it turns out, I now require reading glasses! It occurred to me that I paint a lot more than I read and should buy a pair to wear while in the studio. I only need them for short distances, so while painting I actually look over the top of them but they are perfect for when I am mixing my colors! I hope over time, the glasses themselves will be testament to the colors worked with while wearing them. If my Iphone and Ipod are any indication, my glasses will soon be an artwork too!

Simplifying!

I have had the urge of late, to simplify daily life and in the studio.I am still enjoying working with a vibrant palette, Cyan, Magenta and Cadnium Yellow  exude a positive energy but the Titanium mixed with a little Yellow Ochre added a spaciousness in which to move. It changes the way the color fields bounce of each other, almost exaggerating the resonance of each field. I like it- hope you do too!

"Biology of Belief" - A new painting, a new palette!

The month of July was challenging on a personal level.

I made an unexpected trip home to Australia to see my Step-Father in the ICU ward. He passed away a few days after my return to the USA.

May he rest in peace.

I began this painting in the days before leaving to Australia and completed it in the days before his passing, on my return. I was thinking a great deal about the Biology of our bodies and how our beliefs shape our reality  I thought about human consciousness, our cells and how our thoughts and beliefs in turn affect them.

The time spent in the studio with this work was highly cathartic and I like to think that although it was a time of sadness that this painting reflects more of a celebration of life In Gratitude!

The MAC's 2013 Annual Membership Show : "Delta"

'DELTA I'

Here is my entry to 'The MAC Membership Show 2013'!

Opening

Sat July 27th (6-8pm) 3120 McKinney Ave Dallas

The theme is DELTA. [The capital letter Delta, Δ, is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. The symbol is commonly used in subjects of science and mathematics, often to describe change. The triangle, the strongest of shapes, can also be a source of inspiration]

My life has been full of change of late and paint interprets this well;

As paints merge with each other, enticed by gravity, they create new pathways in their combined flow- just as a River Delta joins the sea. A metaphor for how each day shapes the next in life.

A joy to watch unfold.

Studio in July...

I started late last night but I made some headway with this new Triptych. With the warm weather in Dallas at least these layers will be dry to work on again tonight. I am feeling the pull of the Autumnal palette, there is something soothing about working with Burnt and Raw Umber's, Sienna's and White.

"Of Water I" has found it's new home...

I received this photograph recently of my diptych 'Of Water I' in it's new surrounds, in a beautiful home in Miami.

I love that it has been hung above the piano! Music and Water go together, there is a lyricism in the energy of flow they share.

I always love seeing the paintings in their new environments, hope you do too!

Miami bound...at least my paintings are!

"Texas Translated III" has found it's new home in Miami!

This work is heading off to it's new home in Miami, Florida.

I am so lucky to meet some wonderful people in the process of sharing my art. It is always rewarding when another person picks up on the energetics at play when a work was created. In some magical process energy is captured in a painting and remains to be shared.

It further validates my belief that there is so much more than meets they eye with art!

I am pleased to know it is going to a home where it will be truly treasured!

"The Deep End" (Msg 4) has found its new home!

"The Deep End" - (Series 1, Message no 4) from my Melbourne Exhibition in 2009 has found it's new home right here in Dallas, Texas! It may take some time but paintings have a way of finding their rightful owners.

I am always delighted when a work resonates with someone enough for them to wish to hang it in their home. It is very rewarding as an artist.

"Lest we Forget II" (Anzac)...the series is born

 

I have been having so much fun creating a series of work based on one of my first paintings from 2001 titled 'Lest we Forget', which is in memory of the Anzac soldiers that fought at Gallipoli in WWI.

I am presently working on a triptych in the same palette, using similar techniques.

It is a wonderful feeling to create a body of work based on an old favorite. The original painting 'Lest we Forget I' is not for sale but I am hoping the new series will be the basis for my next show. It will be interesting to see what comes through.

http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/

Studio space...

Seems I am outgrowing my studio space again! I migrated down the hall into the sun room and yet still here...no room to move!

It would seem I have come full circle and am creating a series based on a work I made in 2001 titled 'Lest we forget'. I was heavily influenced at the time by Mark Rothko and his division of the picture plane.

The red and orange here provides a base for which many layers of drips and swatches of color will be added in layers.

It is a happy coincidence that I have begun work on these paintings on the 25th April which is Anzac Day, when we (Australia and New Zealand) remember our troops that gave their lives at Gallipoli.

It was Anzac day when I finished the original painting in 2001. I remember finding an Anzac memorial pin outside the studio and placing it in the top of the painting, where it stayed for many years. It was painted in memory of the Anzac soldiers. I have been planning this series for a couple of weeks now and am happy to have begun.

This is the original Anzac painting titled 'Lest we forget' 2001

"Migrating Tribe"...A commission for an Australian client arrives safely

I recently was asked to paint a commission for an Australian couple based on an earlier work they had seen and liked. The end result had a similar palette but was very different to the mentioned work.

Every painting has it's own voice and although I may set out with a specific intention when I pick up my brush, by the time I have finished painting the work that comes through is often very specific to the person whom commissioned it. It is a trust process on both sides!

My client's wife (for whom the painting was a birthday surprise)  loved the hieroglyphs in previous works but when I painted on this canvas, they came out as a tribe migrating across the canvas rather than filling the ground.  I am pleased to report not only did the painting arrive safely but they love the 'tribe of hieroglyphs' that came through too, it reminded them of the Kalahari. I have found with commissions, it is safe to trust my intuitive process as the outcome often resonates with the client in a way I could not have predicted and with a meaning quite personal to them.

It was wonderful to be able to roll up a canvas with a bit of bubble wrap and send it in a tube pack via U.S Postal service. In the past I have always looked in to art-specific carriers for art work. It occurred to me I had a fabulous framer in Melbourne who also stretchers canvas on to support. It turned out to be much more cost efficient to send the canvas rolled and re-stretch it on delivery than send it as a finished work.

This is good news as it really opens up the way for sending work overseas , something that I thought of as too difficult or expensive to do in the past!

"Easter" : My latest painting

I have been painting this work for a couple of months but finished it over the Easter weekend.

It was a little hard to photograph as it has some 'water color' like washes. It is all painted in oil and glaze though.

I was asked this week if my 'crosses' are intentional. The answer is sometimes. They often 'pop up' whether I have them in mind or not. I think my hand likes the motion of making them as they are one of the consistent elements in my work.

As a symbol, the Cross means many things to many people. It is a powerful symbol and I like that 3 turned up in this work titled 'Easter'.

Hope you like it too.