30 MINUTE MAKEOVER

The week before I left for Uluru, I spent some time completing 7 small (A3 – size) drawings in preparation for an art exhibition that I’m curating and showing in towards the end of October.

Today’s featured photo is of one of the drawings that I spent 30 minutes on in order to ‘tidy it up’, ready for framing.

Tomorrow Val and I are heading back to the Australian mainland. We fly to Sydney for a night, then to Uluru and Alice Springs for a week and finally, 3 days in Melbourne.

I am looking forward to seeing the world’s largest rock!

In the meantime my blog posts will continue to appear as per normal.

Richard

HERVEY BAY TRIO

I have completed 3 paintings of rocks from Hervey Bay and have commenced a 4th.

The contrast between stones continues to fascinate me and hence the number of paintings to date.

I now have completed 18 paintings for my exhibition next March.

At this point in time, I am displaying a “bias” towards rocks from Cow Bay in the Daintree, Darwin and Hervey Bay. I suppose this is not necessarily a bad thing, but want to ensure that my exhibition of at least 24 paintings is varied enough.

Back to number 4!

Tomorrow I am  spreading the good news about coloured pencils (teaching) at Latrobe and I’ll post a report next week.

Richard

PAINTING 17.

Today’s post features the 17th painting that I have completed for my exhibition next March at the Providore Mill & Gallery in Launceston.

I have included a step-by-step account of its development.

At 60 x 40 cm, using Prismacolors on pastel board it took the best part of 3 days to complete.

The rocks in question are from Hervey Bay and I aim to complete at least 2 more paintings from that area.

The highlight (for me) of this composition is the large rock at the top. I love the way it casts a shadow over the smaller rocks below.

The amount of flesh colours in some of the rocks there, contrast beautifully with the chunky bluestone examples that are mainly used in retaining walls to stop the sea from eroding more of the coastline.

Better get back to work!

Richard

THE RED DOT

The red dot is the most powerful and influential symbol that artists know and respect. Its presence symbolises success, while its absence can easily arouse feelings of rejection and at times, despair.

There is so much emphasis on ‘selling’ one’s art these days as being they key to a successful career. Artists who continually sell their work are deemed to ‘have arrived’.

But what about those (many) artists who sell very little work?

If one isn’t concerned about selling, then the arrival of a red dot next to your painting should be seen as a ‘bonus’.

There is though another side to the ‘red dot saga’.

Does a red dot really mean that you are a successful artist? If 100 people like the painting next to yours and it didn’t sell, and only one person favoured yours and bought it, does it mean that your painting is the better of the two? There’s no accounting for taste. What is popular may not be good, but more often than not, opinion should be taken seriously.

The art market is very fickle. If you paint what people want, then you expect to sell. If you paint what you want, then you are taking a greater risk if you are relying on your art for your income.

Personally, on nearly all occasions I paint what I want to paint, and paint it my way.

Money isn’t everything, and neither are red dots, but they do look nice next to your paintings don’t they?

Richard

ART SEEDS

As I like to work in themes, I take the time to ‘research’ as many ideas as possible. Not all of my ideas reach my easel, but when they do they usually result in a number of paintings.

I’m not a spontaneous thinker or art producer. I like to plan my work, often well ahead.

Take last week for example.

I was in Devonport at the invitation of the Northwest Art Circle to judge and open their 23^rd annual exhibition. All went well and my wife and I also enjoyed some wonderful hospitality.

The following day we visited Lillico Beach, near Devonport. I’ve visited there before, but I hadn’t really spent a lot of time there.

I was ‘on a break’ from painting groups of stones, but thought that the opportunity to photograph and gather some interesting subjects was too good to miss.

I have included some examples of some of the photos that I took.

Gathering ideas is all about ‘opportunities’. You may not want to paint that particular subject today, but there will come the time when you’re looking for something new to paint.

I file all of the photos I take and print those I think may make good paintings.  Some often find their way onto my display board or are attached to my drafting table. They sit there. I look at them, then one day an idea is born!

It’s like planting seeds, art seeds.

I enjoy harvest time!

Richard

SINGLE SUBJECTS

I am currently working on several paintings that feature single rocks. Some are for symbolic reasons, while others are due to their patterns or textures that (in my eyes) were stand-outs on my recent 12 month stay on the mainland.

Art isn’t always about being complicated, complex, or detailed.

There are many occasions when “simple” things have a certain appeal.

Focussing on a single object is not as easy as one would think. It takes me just as long to complete a 40 x 30cm painting as it does for one 60 x 40cm.

The smaller the painting, the more accountable you are as far as detail and accuracy is concerned. I am always amazed at the quality of miniature art (100cm sq). Now there’s a challenge!

Today’s featured artworks are a pair of paintings that will be part my exhibition next March. The top painting is of a very small stone from Trinity Beach, Cairns, that has a wonderful abstract pattern.

The bottom painting is of a small stone from Hervey Bay, that (for me) symbolizes the ageing process. More on this painting when it’s finished.

Wednesday: Ageing.

Richard

SYMBOL

On Tuesday I completed a small (40 x 30 cm) painting that will be part of my exhibition next March in Launceston.

For me, this painting is rather significant because of its resemblance to my home state of Tasmania.

I found this rock on a beach near Mallacoota, on the south east coast of Victoria.

It is indeed a small rock, barley 7 cm across, but I remember my reaction when I first saw it. I had to photograph it and treasure the moment of finding it.

At times I found it quite hard being so far away from home for so long (12 months), during our recent extended holiday on the Australian mainland.

You could say it was a souvenir of Tasmania, found in Victoria.

To date, I consider this my most successful painting since my return to Tasmania in March.

Today I am judging an art exhibition in Devonport and I’ll be announcing the prize winners and opening the display of work by members of the Northwest Colour Circle this evening.

Richard

THUNDERING WATER

The Barron Falls between Cairns and Kuranda in Far North Queensland is a magnificent site when the Barron River is flowing strongly.

The sound, the spray and the sight of so much water cascading over ancient rocks is truly awesome.

This is a “must-see” place to visit and it’s no wonder that it is so popular with tourists and locals alike.

Today’s painting of the falls that I completed last week will be part of my exhibition in Launceston next March.

60 x 40cm on Canson pastel board with Prismacolor pencils.

Richard

ART PRIZES

Last week my wife Val and I went to visit Shirley and Rod at their gallery in Scottsdale, a lovely town in Northeast Tasmania. I took with me 4 paintings that will be part of an exhibition there in June. It was great to catch up with them after 12 months away.

I got to have a chat with Shirley and she wanted to know when I would be holding an exhibition in the gallery. I’ve been keen for some time to have one there, but the time has never been “right”.

The problem is that my paintings aren’t big sellers. I seem to do well when it comes to art prizes, but not so well when it comes to big sales. Why is this so?

One could come up with a host of reasons from my preference for coloured pencils to the hard-edged nature of my technique. But the real reason has stared me in the face for a number of years: I don’t paint what the majority of the buying public like. I paint what I like, the way I like and when I like.

This is not good economics! If I relied on my art for my income I would be a lot thinner than I am at present!

It’s a dilemma that a lot of artists face; does one paint for one’s self or paint what sells? Some artists have the ability to sell everything they paint, and good luck to them. Alas, mine situation is not that rosy. The solution?

Since I returned from my “gap year” holiday I have decided to concentrate on trying to win some art prizes. I don’t know where or when, but I have a plan and it starts now!

What I paint for my exhibition at Scottsdale later next year is a problem that I will have to ponder carefully. My immediate concern is will I sell any paintings at my exhibition next year? To be honest, I fear that although the work will look vibrant and I hope rouse the imagination, there will be few, if any red dots. I’m not being pessimistic, just a realist.

I am who I am, and I want my art to reflect that, but it’s hard in a market where photographic-like art sells well.

Today’s photo is of the early stages of a painting that is the third in a series that I am doing featuring the lounge room in the old shearers’ quarters at the historic farming property, Cheshunt, in Tasmania.

Silence pervades, as the morning sun pierces the window, revealing a single mug on a dusty wooden table. Where has everyone gone?

More to come.

Richard

MY LATEST PAINTING

Yesterday I finished (except for some touching up here and there) my latest painting, that being of some rocks from Hervey Bay in Queensland where we stayed over Christmas for 30 days.

This painting is more about colour and abstract shapes than the rocks themselves and is in keeping with 5 other paintings of rocks from Darwin and the Daintree that I have completed thus far for my exhibition next March.

Today I will look at some of the waterfalls I visited over the past year and see if any would be suitable for inclusion in my exhibition. I am very concerned about the overall ‘look and feel’ of the work that I choose. What started as an exhibition of rock formations has developed into a collection paintings of objects and scenes that ‘moved’ me on my travels. It’s a “work in progress”.

Yesterday I took delivery of proofs of my new business card and my first digital print. More about both of them next week.

Richard