Private Eye - a work in progress

A sequence of developmental views of Private Eye, acrylic on canvas, a work still in progress. 

From the ongoing series, Flowers of the Femmes Fatales.

MOONLIGHT SWIM

Pictured top: Moonlight Swim, acrylic on canvas. (Progress view). From the current suite of works provisionally titled Flowers of the Femmes Fatales. 

In this instance, the flower associated with my protagonist, namely a water lily, appears as a stylised motif on her bathing cap. Its design was adapted from a vintage knitting pattern that was sourced online. (See below). 

On my morning walks by the Yarra River in Melbourne I pass a similar ‘No Swimming’ sign to the one portrayed in the painting. 

Directly below are a series of developmental views of Moonlight Swim.

The work is a descendent of two early works (pictured below), both of which share similar iconography: The Third Time, 1995, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cm (collection: the artist) and Not Drowning, 1996, oil pastel, 160 x 120 cm. (Collection Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW. Acquired through the Jacaranda Drawing Award 1996).

EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSES: a linocut in progress

Pictured above and below are selected progress views of my current linocut. It’s intended for a group exhibition and print exchange comprising relief prints by 55 artists that’s scheduled for early next year. However, because its curator, Rona Green, will need ample time to organise numerous aspects of the project, including framing and collating all the works for the portfolios, our print editions are due to be completed and delivered by early August 2025. 

The title of the exhibition/print exchange is Irrepressible. My work is entitled Everything’s Coming Up Roses. 

Easter Greetings

Pictured top: Underdrawing for Daisy Chain, a linocut in progress; pigmented drawing ink with touches of acrylic, 21.5 x 21.5 cm. 

The Michaelmas daisies represented in the work are associated with Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere (September-November) and were named for the time of year in which they flower. 

Here in the Southern Hemisphere, however, Autumn coincides with Easter and in Australia they are affectionately known as Easter daisies.

Directly following: Selected photos from a delightful Good Friday afternoon walk with Shane Jones (second from top below) in the wetlands by Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree.

For Shane and I, no Easter would be complete without the film Easter Parade. Every Irving Berlin song is a gem, the choreography is dazzling, and both are impeccably performed by its extraordinary leads: Fred Astaire, Judy Garland and Ann Miller. But my all time favourite is Drum Crazy, a number written especially for Fred Astaire, who was a fine drummer in his own right.The following still was snapped in our home cinema screen during today’s screening.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter.

TENDER GRAPES, a work in progress

Pictured above, from top: a new studio pinboard (carefully curated, as it holds a mere fraction of my huge postcard collection) and on the worktable, L-R: Tender Grapes, 2023, acrylic on canvas panel, 10 x 10 cm (study) and Tender Grapes, 2024, acrylic on canvas panel, 30.5 x 30.5 cm (work in progress).

Pictured below: a closer view of the works. For more about the study for Tender Grapes (a finished work in its own right, as are all the studies in this series), go HERE.

The face tattoo is based on the following detail from Autumn and Winter, c 1895-1900, an embroidered panel designed by May Morris. 

Both paintings will be included in Decorated Women, my solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, opening on December 4.

Tudor Rose (Part 2)

Pictured top, far right: a further progress view of Tudor Rose (acrylic on canvas board, 30.5 x 30.5 cm). To its left is the study for the work and a reproduction of the eponymous needlework panel designed by May Morris, from which the tattoo iconography is drawn.

Additional developmental views are below:

The work is from the current series, Decorated Women, to be exhibited at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne in December 2024. 

For earlier views of the work in progress, go HERE.

Tudor Rose: a work in progress

Pictured above and below: developmental stages of Tudor Rose, acrylic on canvas on board, 30.5 x 30.5 cm.

The face decorations on the small study, soon to be recreated on the larger work, are based loosely on selected motifs in Tudor Rose, c. 1890, an embroidery panel designed by May Morris. An article on the significance of the Tudor Rose and its application in embroidery is HERE. 

Tudor Rose is part of my ongoing series, Decorated Women, scheduled for exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery in early December 2024.

Work in progress: Masked Australian Painted Lady

Pictured above, right: progress view of Masked Australian Painted Lady, acrylic on canvas on board. The study to its left, a finished work in its own right, is destined for the upcoming One Hundred Faces exhibition at Playing in the Attic. 

Scroll down for earlier developmental views.  

Masked Australian Painted Lady takes its inspiration from the glorious butterflies that were frequenting our garden at the time of its conception. The Australian painted lady (Vanessa kershawi) is a species of butterfly found primarily in this country. Borne by westerly winds, it  has expanded its territory to include the islands on Australia’s east, including New Zealand.

Spring and Summer

The small painting, Maid of Honour (final image below) made for last year’s 100 Faces exhibition at Playing in the Attic, was originally intended to serve as a study for Spring and Summer, the work-in-progress featured here. The study was sold during the run of the exhibition, but fortunately I had documented the work and was able to use the photograph for reference. The tattoo in the original work is based on selected motifs in Maids of Honour, an embroidery designed by May Morris. 

The scaled up painting allowed for the incorporation of considerably more detail and so I turned to Spring and Summer, 1900-95, May Morris’s larger, more complex embroidery panel (reproduced below), as the point of departure for the tattooed face. The completed work will be part of Decorated Women, a solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, in December 2024. 

Tattoos have been a recurring theme in my work since the mid-1990s, beginning with the Tattooed Faces and Figures series of linocuts and drawings. In the coming weeks, I’ll share some news about some of those too. Suffice it to say at this point, it’s beginning to feel as if I’ve come full circle. 

Images from top: 

Spring and Summer (progress view), 2024, acrylic on canvas board, 30 x 30 cm;

Work in progress with primary references;

Spring and Summer 1900-95, embroidered panel by May Morris;

Maid of Honour, 2023, acrylic on canvas board, 10 x 10 cm.