Doggies Paintings 2017

I drew my first footballer way back in my teen years.

It was of one of my younger brothers playing a game on his own in the backyard.

Our back yard was a few blocks from Windy Hill. My brother commentated as he kicked, and he roared as though there was a crowd of 99,000. Of, course there was not. Not even at Windy Hill, was there ever a crowd of 99,000.

There was only me, with pen and paper in hand. I was keen to see if I could draw a moving figure. And so I tried.

Since then I have explored footy as a subject through my art and through my painting.

These paintings form part of a collection of work that I have done since the start of the 2016 finals. It is the first time I have used a grand final as a theme to inspire my work. The Doggies win against the Swans was an uplifting experience for all; not just mad keen footy fans, but for those too, who claim proudly to 'know nothing about footy'.

From the depths of despair at having such a long span between the glory of only one ever premiership cup, the anticipation of having reached finals and the unlikely chance of charging up through the final series to make it to the big day, was...well, such an unlikely story.

Being a tiger fan, I was able to take it in, unencumbered, from the periphery, going into to the city on the night of the Hawthorn final to sketch the grandiose stream of people walking to the G, anticipating all the possibilities of the Sydney/GWS trek, absorbing the atmosphere of the red, blue and white Scray landscape in the days before the granny, to the finality and joy of the big day.

These paintings focus on the footy family, any family, any nationality, any age, any gender, the concern and the weight of possibilities as they charge forth to the final game of the season. 

My families are portrayed at the station, waiting and wondering and hoping the win will be theirs only.

And with this long awaited premiership victory, there came the drenching sense of joy. To me the intensity of those feelings is perhaps, at a contained peak upon the drive home for those who attend any such sporting game and for those supporters in the days, weeks…...and sometimes months, afterwards.

The statement made by hanging ones' team scarf out the car window, is the one simple gesture that epitomises a sporting celebration and for the Western Bulldog fans, the grand celebration that was the 2016 season.

Glen Eira Artists Society Annual Exhibition

I have two Still Life paintings in this exhibition that is on NOW.

Domestic Scene....

....with the ingredients for Mary's Chocolate Brownies.

My trials with simpler compositions and flatter colours has continued. I have moved back to the stretched canvas's and oils after exploring the many and various possibilities with acrylic paint on paper.

The acrylics do have some advantages over the use of oils especially where drying time is concerned. For me they work well in smaller works on paper, but they don't appeal to me for use in larger works. 

The very feel of oil paint moving across a freshly primed canvas still seems luxurious by comparison to acrylic paint. It allows for subtleties of tone and texture that are not as evident in acrylic, as it dries too quickly to be able to work into the paint at later stages.

Impasto areas of acrylics also seem a little too plastic for my liking whereas oil paint often maintains a natural lustre and sheen that create their own stories within the surface of the medium.

Domestic Scene with the Ingredients for Mary's Chocolate Brownies is the last in a small series of domestic scenes on canvas measuring 60cmW x 50cmH.

My next plan is to take what I have been doing here and hopefully apply to some new and larger figurative works on canvas.

Mary's Chocolate Brownies:

150g butter

220g chocolate

250g sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

3 eggs

150g plain flour

90g pecan nuts

Grease 25cm square baking dish, and preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Melt chocolate and butter together over a double saucepan. Remove from stove and stir in sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour and nuts.

Stir until mixture just comes together. Pour into baking dish and level off.

Bake until the mixture is set but not dry, about 25 minutes.

DON'T OVERCOOK.......the top should be soft to touch, the brownies will firm as they cool but should remain moist and fudgy.

Cool in the pan and then cut into squares.

*Serve after school with a chocolate milkshake and a plate of fruit.

Ok, Where am I?

It is Monday the 6th of March. I'm at home.

I have had a good break from the desktop over the holidays. So here I am cleaning up 99 unread emails, paying bills and booking seats to the Richmond v Carlton game on the 23rd March.

And baking... The never fail Custard Powder Sponge Cake for afternoon Tea...here it is...

And back to painting... I am finally coming to the end of the Doggies  work. Most of it has been A4 acrylic on canvas paper. Over the last month I have added to the collection with, at this stage about five paintings; oil on canvas. (I will put them up shortly, either here, on my shop or on Instagram. Instagram is much easier to load images than it is here. It is a lot quicker as it can all be done easily from the phone. Details will follow when they are up.)

After having worked on the smaller A4 acrylic pieces it has been good to go back to using oil on canvas. The acrylics are great for speed and quick drying time. They are a great back up if I am stuck at home due to school holidays or sickness. The acrylics are bright and vibrant and work really well when diluted with a medium. Given they are on paper they frame up well in either a simple black or white frame.

The oils on the other hand are much slower to work with in terms of drying time but this can be beneficial in that compositions can be changed and altered and scraped back as required.

The oils also have a capacity that enables you to work into them and build upon layers that can become quite sculptural, and almost velvet like in texture and lustre.

For a while now I have been wanting to paint in a way that is less dependant on either what I see directly in front of me, or on a reference photograph. So, I began by going back to my domestic scenes that I began with years ago and have worked at bringing in a newer approach that incorporates memory and imagination too, and a method that is hopefully freer and less academic in style.

Domestic Scene with the new Kitchen Aid above is the very first one I did. I have taken a similar approach with my bulldog footy images too, where the reality is diminished, the colours have been heightened and flattened; and the emphasis is on both narrative and expression.

We shall see how this progresses throughout the year. It is a process, undoubtedly.

Back soon, it's time for cake.

a similar composition to the one above

acrylic on canvas paper

Yamba Works; Seaside Frolic

After a series of pen and ink and watercolour works that I did earlier in 2016, I have explored the seaside theme further by using the sketches (image below) to form the basis of a collection of small paintings. Visit the Yamba 2016/17 Gallery to view the images.

All works are available through Belinda's Store, High Street Yamba

Framed ink and watercolour sketches 2016

300gsm watercolour paper; A5

Sold Out

Cityscape

Things are a bit all over the place.

I participated in the Cityscape en plain air painting day with the Glen Eira Artists Society earlier this month. I found a spot at the back of the chemist that fronts on to Glen Huntly Rd. Tucked away it was, but I was able to park my car and not have to lug stuff too far.

Here are some progress shots:

The weather was excellent. Warm and sunny with some shade. The Elsternwick Traders put on a mini carnival down in the newly designed Elsternwick plaza so there was a great response and atmosphere on what was a leisurely Sunday afternoon.

I did a quick ink sketch to familiarise myself with the important elements of the composition; sketched up in chalk, a layer of thin paint to block in certain colour areas and then a finale of thicker paint applied quickly, in part because my back was sore, and in part to capture the sunlight and its shadows before they shifted.

I spent about 2 -3 hours between set up and pack up on the piece. It was covered insects at the end, attracted to the yellows, I think.

days end

Exhibition: Cityscape currently on in the Annexe gallery at Glen Eira Town Hall, Glen Eira Rd, Caulfield.

26/11/2016 - 11/12/2016

Footy Finals

Well, I am a bulldogs fan only in so far as I have jumped on the proverbial bandwagon. I suppose it is a bit of relief when your own team bombs out way before there is even a slight chance of making it.

One gets the chance to regroup and take on whoever it is that might seem like a good proposition.

I was curious to see how the Bye week would play out; would interest wane amongst the fans; would the players be affected. In Melbourne there was plenty of speculation in the lead up to the footy free weekend. A lot of it was negative...and, at a gut level, yes I would agree "A bye before the finals, how could you?'

I didn't go to any of the finals games. The closest I got was to the city and the area around Birrarung Marr on the Friday night that the Bulldogs played the Hawks in the semi final on the 16th of September.

The atmosphere in Melbourne on that night was amazing. With so many going to the game, and taking the long walk from Flinders Street Station there was a never ending stream of fans strutting the promenade.

A constant sea of red, white and blue mingled with a bit of brown and gold. The Scrays were perky, ambitious and on the cusp of daring to dream.

It was a balmy night and I found a spot down just beyond Federation square where I did a couple of ink and watercolour drawings on paper.

The distance in being a bit further away was ideal. The actual stadium fell further into darkening background. It was replaced with a cityscape of lamp poles, the lit spire of the arts centre and a variety of of buildings from the Eureka tower on the south bank to the old Herald Sun on the North side of the Yarra.

From these sketches, I was able to work up some more work. Acrylic on canvas paper as the one to the right shows. 

The atmosphere in melbourne during grand final week was intoxicating. I always like the anticipation that leads up to the final game, but this year was taken to another level with the Western Bulldogs having reached this grand occaision.

I was met with many fans saying that even if they don't win that the fact they were in a grand final is ok. Such a momentous time for a team with only one premiership cup in the trophy cabinet.

One Trophy 

September 2016

There are more works in this series, in fact I'm still work ing on some now...four weeks later. I'll post some more when I feel I might be finished with the theme.

View fullsize

ink and watercolour on paper

sketched as I watched and listened radio and TV

sold

Sam

Delighted to have been selected as a semi finalist in the Douglas Moran National Portrait Prize 2016 with my portrait of Sam.

To see all the semi finalists work visit here

Footy Art Show 2016

Ok, it's on again The Annual Footy Art Show at the Artists Garden, Fitzroy Nursery, 390 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, although on a smaller scale than in previous years.

This years theme is 'Women in Football'.

For the last year or so I have been experimenting somewhat. I am always attracted to the graphic quality of an image for its simplicity. The problem for me is that it can take away the painterliness of a painting if I let it become too graphic and too stylised. And at the same time, I am also drawn to the loose lines that seem to come in a freer way when I draw.

Hypocrite? Maybe.

My goal is to somehow bring the two together, comfortably.

With this painting, I feel as though I have had some success at marrying the two.

To see the whole painting and make your own judgement call down and visit the nursery during this 2016 finals season.

Punt Road Oval

I've put up some images of this painting of the stand at Punt Road. And some of the quick sketches I did at the ground. The Tigers were training (well....they appeared to be) on this particular day so I could only get a distant view from Punt Rd. 

Walking around the ground I discovered the museum was open. As it turned out, I had a fabulous tour with the curator, Roland, I think his name was, who undoubtedly is an expert in all things Yellow and Black. His own personal collections, many of which are in the museum, have been accumulated over his lifetime. Team photos, footy trinkets from cereal packets, swap cards and the rest, are just some of the items he has bought at Camberwell market or had donated to him.

Punt Road Oval is beautifully located with a backdrop of gum trees and open space in the area behind the stand. The stand has a curved footprint and the upper deck really embraces the shape of the oval.

At the Punt Road end of the stand, The Jack Dyer Stand, an old sign remains intact. It reads clearly Vickers Gin over a space that must have been the bar. With crowds that on occasions exceeded 40,000 people in the 1940's, one can only imagine what this area would have been like for a spectator.

In fact, it is probably difficult to imagine in these relatively affluent times. Without modern sanitation and facilities to accomodate so many, these spaces must surely have had an atmosphere, all of their own. 

For the painting I had a look at some old photos. At some stage there was clearly a traditionally white picket fence, possibly up until the 1950's. The painting is not of one year in particular, rather a reimagining of the ground as it has been.

I came across a player I hadn't heard of Billy Barrot, prominent it seems in the mid to late 1960's. He was a dual premiership player and the 1965 Best and Fairest player of the year. 

He was also known as Bustling Billy for the way he could work through the pack on the field. The genesis of players names is an interesting quirk in the establishment of personalities in the game of Australian Rules football. 

I scouted through some old You Tube footage of him playing at the MCG. Even though I have no living memory of Billy, something about it all sounded familiar, in both sound and vision, that I wonder if it was the backing lullaby of my infancy.

The Jack Dyer stand is magnificent in its restored glory, particularly in its' yellow and black trimmings on the fretwork. Looking at bits of missed paint work and the old pictures I came across it seems the fretwork in the 1960's would have been a more traditional Brunswick or bottle Green and Cream combination.

I plan to go back to Punt Road on a day that I can hopefully access the ground and have another look around.

The finished work is Oil on canvas, 76cmW x 61cmH and is available $725