Third painting for exhibition

This is my third painting for the mental health fellowship sponsored exhibition in May, with the subject 'out of the darkness into the light'.

It has been an interesting subject to explore.

The title for this is 'Risk Assessment'. A label we stumble over even in hospital toilets.

The musings of the protagonist are such as these.

I don't know if this is darkness in here, it's certainly not black. But it's without contrast. I am dulled by medication, away from risk, away from excitement and motivation, away from orgasm and pain. Away from personality too... 

Out there? Is it time to go out there? It is a risk. There is light and there is shadow. There is freedom, adventure and pain and passion and... 

So who makes the decision? And what are the consequences? What if I fail? ... I mean, what if I fail again?

'draft' as at Friday 13 April

item for silent auction to support Jervis Bay Arts

Jervis Bay Arts are holding a silent auction at Huskisson Picture Framing 1- 28 November, as a fundraiser for next years SeeChange Festival.

Click here for information.

I have loosely lined the drawers of the Loose Woman and am entering her in the auction.

AND when I delivered it, they said, oh wow, she looks much better in the flesh!

Happy bidding! :-)

small dark tabletop phase

I found myself with a curious little three legged phone table and another rectangular coffee table, which may have been a TV stand - in days when television sets were smaller - with a 'lazy susan' top, that swivels around.

The first become Violet, the "Loose Woman" [acrylic on wood]... who lent herself to a label for marmalade made from grapefruit given to us by two women with a remarkable sustainable property not far from here. The purpose of making marmalade is the design of labels (in case you were not aware of this).

The second one, the one that turns around, became a much more complex work, with many layers of charcoal and acrylic... "The hands that Turn the Table."

Rotate the computer to get the full picture here!

Many hands and handsfull, bent on turning the tables.

from furniture to structure

I had made a start on pieces of furniture, had other items gathered to work on, scratching my head while walking past them... but meanwhile I had had some found at recycle nineteenth century windows and french doors installed to divide the house in two. I needed to paint around the new work, but painting the frame of the door got out of hand immediately and then.. and then I began reverse painting on glass.

Reverse painting a person on glass is interesting, interesting technical challenge, also interesting psychologically as you have to begin with the make-up, the superficial... and then move onto the skin and in to the deeper tissue. I had, I confess, developed the image of "Greeter" before coming to terms with the need that she needed more on the back than what was on the glass... there had to be a whole person. And it was evident that such a wild spirit needed the support of her Alter Ego - behind the wilder side of each of us, maybe, maybe, is a sterner, assertive, perhaps still precocious Alter Ego.

They have had their impact on the house....

large, larger!

Picking up items from kerbside chuck-out.... And here I found myself with two tables. These presented challenge because of their sheer size, what to do... Here is the evolution of one table, into a painting called "Winter Dreamer". Took months... walking past daily, hiding it away and getting it out again, doing smaller items in between.

no more classes, no more canvas

I have always had a difficulty with boundaries. And always tended in galleries to look at the interesting practical devices (temperature controllers, bugle head screws, fire extinguishers) more than the contrivances of so-called installations.

I began gathering bits of furniture from the tip and painting on them. Here are two works from early 09:

"Mind your Toes" - on a small stool

"Serving Wench" - on a wheeled trolley

art class

I enrolled for an art class in early 09, attended several classes but found it had more emphasis on rules than tools, I got enough tools and left.

We were to do landscape, I found myself seeing human forms in landscape, they seemed to take over... and you can see the influence of my attendance at Joan Miro's workshop at the golf course :-)