Sunflower

Ways of Being, my solo exhibition at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, opens in less than a month. It’s primarily a painting show, but will also comprise a small number of relief prints, including Sunflower, 2024, linocut, 15 x 10 cm, edition 40. (Pictured top).

The sunflower, so named because of its constant orientation towards the sun (which it closely resembles), is an enduring symbol of optimism, longevity and resilience. 

Coincidentally these are all character traits shared by our cat, Alice. In recent months she has diligently overseen the progress of most of my paintings and linocuts. My small upstairs studio adjoins a spacious room that does double duty as a home cinema and a second dining area. The large dining table, which also serves as an occasional workspace, is overlooked by a reverse cycle air conditioner. During winter I often speed up the drying process of my prints and paintings by placing them on the table where they get the full force of the heater - as well as Alice’s undivided attention. In the photo below she is pictured with the lino blocks from which Sunflower and A Snail’s Pace were printed.

Ways of Being runs from December 4-24 with an opening celebration on Saturday December 7 from 2-4 pm. 

Photo credit top image: Tim Gresham. 

Behind the scenes

My last post featured developmental views of the lino block for Horn Poppy, one of several linocuts inspired by the works of British Arts and Crafts artist and designer, May Morris. 

Now scroll down to see the behind-the-scenes drama that threatened its very completion, namely, the battle of the studio chair. Fortunately a peaceful compromise was eventually reached. 

Pictured below: Alice B. Cat.

Our 30th Anniversary

Happy First Day of 2023!

New Year’s Eve 2022 was especially significant for Shane Jones and I, as it marked the 30th anniversary of the night we met. Ironically, it was at a mutual friend’s New Year’s Eve party neither of us had wanted to go to. (Unlike our cat, Alice, we are not, nor have we ever been, party animals). 

Earlier in the evening we enjoyed a celebratory meal at Oscar’s in Ballarat (top picture), and later welcomed in the New Year at home with Prosecco and sparklers.

By way of a trip down Memory Lane, the remaining photos, the best I’ve been able to excavate from my iPhone in a relatively short space of time, date from 2002 to 2022.

In the studio at our former Abbotsford home. Clipping from Domain, THE AGE, Melbourne, April 24, 2002.

Excerpt from the Gallery Association Magazine, Art Gallery of Ballarat. Interview by Amanda McGraw, 21 January, 2020.

With Shane at his solo show at Charles Nodrum Gallery, 12 June, 2007. Directly behind Shane: Steven Kafkarisos. In the background to my right: Mark Chapman and Angela Cavalieri.

At RMIT TAFE Gallery, Melbourne, in front of my linocut installation, Iron Butterflies, 7 December, 2007. Photo credit: Robin Rogers.

At the opening of a group show at C3 Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne, 2 September, 2009. Far right: Paul Compton.

Pictured with Shane and his sculpture, Passage, at the Small Sculpture Awards, Deakin University, 22 October, 2009

Article by Megan Frankel-Vaughan, Sunraysia Daily, Mildura, Thursday November 27, 2014.

Photographed by Anne Spudvilas (who also made the martinis) at her former property at Wentworth on 6 December, 2014.

Alice at our former home in Abbotsford on 24 December, 2017, two days after she first came into our lives.

In Melbourne with our friend Leigh Hobbs and Shane’s sister, Patricia Gillard, 11 December, 2019.

Directly after the sale of our previous home at Golden Point, 18 November, 2019. Photo: Terrence Morse.

At our present home in Ballarat East shortly after we took possession in late 2019. Photo credit: Tim Gresham.

At the opening of Backstories, my solo show at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, 24 July, 2021. Photo: Kathryn Ryan/Julie Keating.

I can’t begin to imagine where the past 30 years have gone to, nor can I imagine life without Shane. Happy 30th Anniversary to the love of my life. Long may our journey continue. 

At Potts Point, Sydney, October, 2022.

Exhibition Preparation

When you’re preparing for an exhibition at Queenscliff Gallery, you need all the help you can get. And in some cases, not.

In these views, Shane Jones joins the multiple panels of my paintings and wires them. He is “assisted” by Alice, who volunteered her services before I had a chance to close the doors to the room.

Rückenfigur, my upcoming solo show at Queenscliff Gallery, opens on 23 June and runs to 27 August. Full details are HERE.

Between now and then, I’ll be undertaking a residency at Geelong Grammar School. Meanwhile, I’m just about keeping on top of things - thanks to Shane and no thanks to Alice!

Some progress views at Easter time

On the table easel this sunny Easter Sunday: sunbeams, synthetic hair, a Hans Holbein postcard (Jane Seymour/Queen of England, 1513-1537) and a further progress view of my current painting, Strait-laced, acrylic on canvas, diptych, 55.5 x 22.5 cm.

Unfortunately my studio chair is out of action, so work has temporarily ground to a halt. (See below).

Directly following is an overview of other works in progress, snapped in the lead up to Easter. Image on postcard: Jan van Eyck, Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait?) 1433. All works are fairly near completion, if Alice can stay off my chair for long enough. Oh, well, what do I care? Do your worst, Alice - within the hour we’ll be gone. We’re heading to our friend Tim Gresham’s house for hot cross buns, homemade by his partner, Gaye Britt, followed, no doubt, by a surfeit of chocolate eggs.

Happy Easter everyone! 

Progress amidst distractions

Above and below are progress views of my current work, followed by photographic evidence of why I’m not further along with it.

Despite every distraction Alice (and life in general) throws my way, I’m confident all paintings will be ready in time for Rückenfigur, my solo show at Queenscliff Gallery, opening June 23 and running to July 10.

Caught in the act

Cat among the canvases - or more specifically, Alice, captured shortly after I hastily removed one of my paintings from underneath her. 

Puzzled at my protestations, she reckons an Alice-shaped dent in the canvas will surely increase the value of the finished work, which is destined for Rückenfigur, my forthcoming solo show at Queenscliff Gallery, running from June 23 - July 17. 

A preview of the rescued painting will follow in the near future. 

A landmark birthday

Thank you all so much for the warm birthday wishes I received yesterday. They meant the world - I’m truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends. It’s not every day a girl turns 70. Huge thanks to my love and life partner, Shane Jones, not just for making the day especially memorable, but for his strength and support, particularly over the past 12 months. I couldn’t have managed a quarter of what I’ve achieved without him. Needless to add, Alice was on hand to help us celebrate. Although Shane and I did get out and about (our very full day was sandwiched between breakfast at the Yacht Club on Lake Wendouree and dinner at historic Craig’s Hotel) these photos were snapped in our upstairs cinema room. The flowers are from Sue and Barbara, two very dear friends in London. For health reasons, I’m not supposed to be going overboard with cake, so we comprised with two cupcakes. They are rather dwarfed by the candles - after all, 70 is a big number. 

A true Renaissance man, Shane has been studying guitar and musical composition over the past year. As a surprise birthday gift, he composed a short, exquisite work for guitar, Deborah’s Pictures, and commissioned his music teacher, guitar virtuoso Daniel Nistico, to perform the work against a backdrop of my prints and paintings, thanks to the wonders of technology. Directly below is a fragment of the music, followed by a screenshot of the recital. The link to Daniel’s superb performance is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdCwXi3bdLI 

Thanks again, everyone.

Fine-tuning

 

We’re constantly trying to make our place more liveable and workable. While this is something that tends to happen in fits and starts, it does add up. This week Shane Jones lugged a tall plan cabinet that was formerly cluttering up our very tiny ground floor office upstairs to the first floor cinema room. It now resides outside my studio, where it will effectively double my storage space for small works on paper. The cabinet replaces a white plinth on which the small set of drawers also shown here was formerly displayed. 

All this fine-tuning, however necessary, can be somewhat daunting and disruptive. Sometimes it feels as if we’re tackling a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Fortunately, we have help. Without exaggeration, there’s not a single change we’ve made around here without the endlessly enthusiastic, paws-on participation of Alice B. Cat.