I’ve always enjoyed this event, in which
artists are invited by St. Luke Artist Colourmen to make an artwork (most
commonly, a painting) on a wooden palette.
The preceding exhibition was held in 2010, when my palette
Behind the Mask was judged the "
Most Exquisite". My prize, a voucher for
art materials, was spent over an extended period of time, primarily on a range
of acrylic paints. Ironically, many of these have been employed in the making
of my 2013 entry, which is previewed above.
The profile portrait that appears in the
upper right hand corner of this blog features an earlier palette, made
originally for the second Exquisite Palette exhibition in 2008.
As I’ve previously asserted, play is an
essential ingredient in any artist’s practice; using a more relaxed mode of
expression, many do some of their best, most imaginative work. The successive Exquisite
Palette exhibitions have certainly been testament to that.
Personally, I always relish the
self-imposed test of how to incorporate the palette’s hole into the composition.
My painted palettes have evolved as a thematically linked series, drawn from an
extensive repertoire of insect and mask iconography. The masks and the basic artist’s
tool upon which they are painted combine to reinforce the notion of artifice. And
of course, the masks’ peepholes perfectly meet the challenge of the hole in the
palette!
This exercise has also reminded me of what
a sympathetic painting surface wood can be, especially for finely detailed
work, and has cemented my determination to use it more often.
The
Exquisite Palette 2013 will be launched on April 10,
from 6-30 – 8 pm at:
St. Luke Artist Colourmen
32 Smith Street
Collingwood, Vic 3065.
Phone (03) 9486 9992
For further information, visit the St. Luke
Artist Colourmen blog HERE.
The exhibition will run for a month.
Pictured from top:
Zodiac Moth Mask, 2013, acrylic on wooden palette, 29 x 20 cm
Developmental drawing, 2013, pencil, 29 x 20 cm
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