"encuentro" close ups

"ENCUENTRO"

Mixed Media, on canvas, 51x77cm.
Curently on show at Eltham Library Community Gallery
This piece was made for the Moments in Time theme of
the Exhibition.  At the time of making this, the uncertainty of our environment was prominent in mymind. Talk of Carbon emiissions, carbon offsets, carbon tax.   Finding balance within our communities, in our cities, amongst nations even is well into our futures, but finding balance in our lives must come first.

Current Exhibition - Moments in Time

One of my pieces is currently on exhibit till 20th June 2010.

I will post a photo leter today.

Jackson Slattery (1973-), "Props", Sutton Gallery, Melbourne

5 Feb 2011 to 5th March 2011.

The exhibition is primarily made up of works on paper and includes also marble painted in Trompe L’oeil, in the unmistakeable style of Jackson Slattery.
On close inspection the piece of “Marble” reveals itself to being light weight, hand made planks of fibreglass and paint, created with the same care into detail as the watercolours that won him the Metro Art Gallery Award in 2009. The characteristic veins of marble are realistic and deceiving, tricking the eye into a false reality. These works are reminiscent of the early frescoes, where painted marble was used to decorate the walls in ancient Greece and Rome.

Mr Slattery comes close to being a photo realist in his work, with the “Untitled” hand for example. But then again he has left slight traces of painterly watercolour wash effects to be seen in other works on display. His chosen subjects are in a way a stark contrast with the fluid qualities offered by the medium. For example the “untitled” (marble and clay) is a very tense image which has the inclination to create anxiety in the viewer. The artist has painstakingly and with outstanding craftsmanship, coupled with a keen eye for detail, been able to produce works of art of very high standard.

As testament to his expertise in the genre of watercolour, he has been named, in the current issue of Australian Art Collector, as one of the top 50 of Australia’s Most Collectable Artists; an accomplishment in itself for someone of his age.

In my attempt to interpret his art, contemplating his skill and recalling the surprise when watercolour is exposed as the medium I come to a realisation that the lightness of the medium he uses is subverted and turned on its head by the technical skill and subject matter that he portrays.

All this makes for a very absorbing exhibit with the viewer marvelling at the steady hand and mastery of colour and realism produced in such a very unforgiving medium.

Self Portrait in oil

self portrait, oil on canvas

referencing Siqueiros - Self abstract

This abstracted self portrait image, created whilst referencing bold colour and outline in the work of Siqueiros, contextually remains connected to the appropriation theme.

Chaos Series

This image is a progression on the David Siqueiros appropriation, into self portrait.  The bold lines remain as does some of the compositional ideas of shape and abstraction of these to frame the figure.

From Chaos - Life

spheres in motion

These were made as an experiment in producing the "spheres".  The inspiration for this work came from the technical side of the images produced by Melbourne artist Shane Jones.  His works include images of what looks like paintings still covered in bubble wrap ready for shipment.  They are in fact illusions, as they are actually painted images representing a painting, covered in bubble wrap, including masking tape. Thats what he paints, in a trompe l'oeil style.

refrencing of David Alfaro Siqueiros

Referencing of David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican artist, 1896 -1974.  I have created this monotype in likenes to the previous image.  I have named her the "Bleeding Madonna".   I see her as suffering for the women that were depicted in the Siqueiros murals.

Appropriation - David Alfaro Siqueiros

This is an image which I painted as part of an assignment on appropriation.  The image comes from a mural by Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros.  I chose this image for its strong line and colours and textural value.  The womans arms depict such raw strength, the kind of physical strength usually left for the depiction of men.  That is not easy to come by in the art world, and has made this image special and significant to me.

"ab antiquo" series

These are images of the women in

India and the work they carry out today just as their ancestor did in the past.  The instruments of the trade have not changed.  Women tending to the animals, and women sweeping the streets with a hand made straw broom, as they have done through the ages.

"ab antiquo" monotype series

This image is the first in a series titled "ab Antiquo", which in latin means from ancient times..   A monotype produced from an etching, the series was inspired by my trip to India in early 2010.  The fact is,  that some of its population still live the lives of their ancestors with very little change.