A NEW DIRECTION

Sandstone patterns, Oatlands.

Over the past few months I have been working on a series of artworks that have been inspired by the patterns of certain clay bricks. This began last February when I noticed a wall of unique looking bricks in the cabin we stayed in at Avoca Beach near Gosford in NSW, on our way down the eastern Australian coast, heading back home to Tasmania after an extended holiday in Far North Queensland.

After I returned home and settled back into my art, I became very interested in these bricks and started to look elsewhere for other examples. I did, at a brick factory at Longford, about a 20 minute drive from where I live.

Since then I have produced 8 paintings on this theme. But with all research and idea development, there comes a time when a change is needed if one wants to continue the theme without ‘rubber-stamping’, that is, producing the same type of paintings over and over again. The answer? Get out and look around. I did, and this is what happened.

 

Recently we went for a trip to Oatlands in Tasmania’s southern Midlands. This is a small town with a strong convict past and there are many dry stone walls and a wonderful collection of large sandstone blocks. The walls can wait, but the sandstone blocks have really caught my eye. I see a ‘landscape’ in each block and in the coming months I aim to ‘extract’ some. Oatlands has a ‘raw’ climate being very cold in Winter and ‘cool’ for most of the remainder of the year except for a warm Summer period. The landscape is often bare, because (believe it or not) the annual rainfall is relatively low. The area is favoured by sheep farmers and the resulting landscape is mainly grass plains with the odd pocket of trees here and there. Many of the hills are rather bare and many look rather striking. I aim to reflect these conditions in my forthcoming landscape paintings. I will post some examples over the coming weeks.

You can see examples of this area in a series of pastels that I completed last year. Please visit my website: http://www.artkleko.com       Galleries – Pastel

 

Tomorrow I am heading to Cairns for 7 nights. During my time there I will be judging the annual Cairns Art Society Exhibition and Val and I will re-visit some of our favourite places in and around Cairns.

Richard

FIRST PAINTING FOR 2013

 

Rhythm in the Clay

 

80 x 50 cm   Prismacolors on pastel board

 

I’ve hit the ground running at the start of the new year and I’ve finished my first painting, one in my series that ‘s been inspired by the patterns in locally made clay bricks. This subject may seem to be rather boring and mundane, but I can assure you that there’s more to bricks than meets the eye, well the bricks I have, anyway.
The patterns of the bricks in my collection are indeed rather special and have given me much joy over the past 2 months.
I had intended to start a completely new series of paintings after a recent trip to the town of Oatlands in southern Tasmania, but that will have to wait as I need to tackle a few more paintings before I give my current subject a well-earned rest.

 

Today’s painting is rather intense in its pattern. The colours are a result of the clay brick being fired. That being so, imagine the colours that are to be found (dormant) below the ground.

 

The Australian landscape continues to offer me so much material not only for realism, but for abstract painting.

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

PAINTING 34.

Avoca Beach 6.

Prismacolors on pastel board    40 x 15.5cm

I spent a few hours in my studio yesterday working on a 4th small abstract to compliment the 2 large ones that I have included in my exhibition next March. I’m concerned with the ‘balance’ of my show and it didn’t seem ‘right’ to have 3 small abstracts displayed alongside 2 larger ones, so I completed another from my stay at Avoca Beach, near Gosford earlier in the year.

This group of 6 paintings will be as abstract as it gets, in regards to the theme of my exhibition.

‘Rocking On’ features rocks, rock patterns and rock formations that caught my eye during my 12 month holiday on the Australian mainland from March 2011 to March 2012. The exhibition will begin with a series of realistic paintings, move through a series of semi-abstracts and finally reach a series of abstract subjects.

I hope to attract a broad audience of tastes in art, hence the broad variety of subject treatment.

Richard

ABSTRACT FROM CLAY

Fired Clay Landscape WIP

40 x 40 cm Prismacolors on pastel board

Last Friday I began my 28th painting for my March exhibition, but an idea came to me that resulted in me leaving it and spending the day on an abstract inspired by the patterns on a fired clay brick.

It’s still a work in progress, but I can see a lot of potential for this kind of artwork. I intend to explore this theme more fully after Christmas, but in the meantime I need to return to painting 28 as I have a deadline to meet.

For a painting to be ‘fresh’, it’s important to paint when one is motivated. I needed to take a break from one painting to another for just that reason. When I return to my former painting today, I hope I will be suitably motivated.

Richard

SANDSCAPES

My short (3) series on images from 2 Queensland beaches is well underway.

Both of today’s featured paintings are from Etta Beach near Innisfail in Far North Queensland. They contain very small pebbles that are contrasted with the action of waves. This I hope, will result in paintings that will contain areas of abstraction, while there should be an overall ‘landscape’ look.

I aim to complete both paintings by the end of the week and a third next week.

At this point in time I have completed 27 paintings for my March exhibition and I expect to have 30 to choose from by the end of December.

Richard

DILEMMA

This week I completed a triptych of drawings ( each 40 x 15 cm) that featured the patterns of 3 bricks. This may not sound exciting, but I wanted to include in my exhibition next March 3 large paintings of brick patterns that I saw at Avoca Beach, near Gosford on the New South Wales coast earlier in the year.

The problem was that the 3 do not directly relate to the 24 that I am featuring. Although not directly of rocks, they have ‘rock-like’ qualities and they are way more abstract than the rest of my collection. I want to have ‘visual variety’ in my exhibition, and feel the addition of these abstract paintings will add a broader dimension to the display.

These particular bricks have strong links to the Australian landscape. They are made from the land (clay) and some contain patterns and firing marks that remind me of certain parts of Australia.

I am keen to develop this thinking a lot further and paint something of ‘major’ proportions that is directly linked to the Australian landscape.

Richard

DECORATIVE ROCKS

 

Now and then I like to ‘play’ with some of my art subjects.

 

Recently I have been involved with my exhibition in March next year. I have so far painted 25 compositions involving rocks, but today’s image is a small (20 cm sq) ‘play piece’ with a more decorative look.

 

Being a square, I thought it would be good to include 4 possible views. I prefer the top left.

Richard

 

 

 

ESOTERIC ART

 

WIP: Both abstracts were inspired by the patterns on 2 bricks that I discovered at Avoca Beach, near Gosford in NSW, Australia.

My abstract paintings are quite personal and for the majority of people they are hard to understand. Most people dismiss abstract art due to its appearance. If they can’t understand what they see, it’s rubbish. “My 5 year-old could do that”, I hear. Oh boy, how far from the truth is that statement!

 

I must admit that abstract art is art in a “different language”. If you don’t speak that language you will find it hard to understand and interpret any examples of abstraction.

All of us interpret what we see in terms of what we know or remember. A new way of seeing something can be quite confronting for some, but being challenged is one of the great aspects about art that I love. Complacency can be dangerous as it leads to repetition and the mundane. We need to be excited now and then!

I base all of my abstracts on the “known”. In most cases they are based on landscape patterns, weathering, natural mark making, rust or decay.

Pattern is very important to me, as is the emotional tie I have with my subjects. There’s a lot of personal feeling in this work.

Some may think there’s a strong aboriginal art influence in my work, but that’s not the case. Yes, I am fond of aboriginal art, particularly contemporary work, but if you look carefully at my work you will see small rocks instead of dots and other shapes that are more indicative of the Australian landscape.

I love the process of creating this type of art far more than I do with my other work. There is a lot of freedom with this work and it seems to bring out my ‘patient’ side.

Both of today’s featured paintings (when finished) will be part of my exhibition in Launceston, Tasmania, next March.

What do you “see”? If you like the pattern, the colours or the arrangement of shapes, that’s fine. It doesn’t have to be “deep”, to be appreciated.

When I have completed both abstracts I will post an artist’s statement.

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

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