Yours truly, Winsor and Newton Global Ambassador

For the last eighteen months or so, I’ve been working on the Homo-insecta series, nine of which were recently exhibited in Modern Myth at Counihan Gallery In Brunswick (see previous post). These works were executed almost exclusively in Winsor and Newton watercolours. I bought my first set in London several years ago, and think highly of them. So imagine my surprise on December 2 last year, when I received an email from Michelle Sheehy, Brand and Communications Manager for Winsor and Newton, inviting me to be one of the firm’s Global Ambassadors.

On December 4, I met with Michelle and her colleague Natalie O’Connor, Resident Artist and Education Manager for Winsor and Newton Australia. They asked me to sample and report back on one of its newest products, Winsor and Newton Pigment Markers, which are yet to be released in Australia.

Michelle Sheehy (background, left) looks on as Natalie O'Connor gives an impromptu demonstration
of Winsor and Newton materials at Eckersleys in Prahran on 4 December 2015

Soon after our meeting, a magnificent set of markers arrived in the mail. Before I was able to spend some quality time with the markers, however, the Christmas period intervened. There were also a number of outstanding projects that first had to be dealt with, most of them with deadlines in the first three months of 2016.

The most recent of these was the Goldfields Printmakers show, Elemental, now showing at VAC Gallery in Bendigo. Each of my six archival pigment prints in that exhibition began life as a hand painted silhouette on a eucalyptus leaf. The works are part of the ongoing series, Leaves of Absence. Instead of putting this body of work on hold while I took time out to experiment with the markers (a drawing medium I’ve not had a lot of experience with) I decided to substitute them for the acrylic paint I’d previously utilized as a drawing/painting tool.

The fluid nature of the black acrylic paint had been well suited to the imagery. I was a little concerned that the markers might be too dry, linear and rigid, resulting in laboured, static imagery. In fact, they are wet, painterly and flexible. The drying quality is a little slower than with acrylic paint, but this enables me to take advantage of the product’s superb blending qualities. 

I deliberately chose a project with a restricted palette (the markers come in an astonishing range of colours) so I could get a feel for them before launching into other projects. Meanwhile, this exciting new medium is already having a positive impact on my work.

To learn more about Winsor and Newton Pigment Markers, click HERE.

'Elemental' at VAC Gallery, Bendigo: Opening night

Featured in this post are a smattering of snapshots taken on Thursday evening, February 25, at the launch of Goldfields Printmakers: Elemental at La Trobe University Visual Arts Centre in Bendigo. Some were taken by me, and some by Shane Jones.

The exhibition was curated by Goldfields Printmaker, Josephine Walsh, with assistance from Goldfields Printmakers founder, Jimmy Pasakos. It was wonderful to see everyone's work come together so seamlessly, and in such a superb art space.

On a personal note, the show is something of a milestone, as it marks the appearance of further works from the fledgling Leaves of Absence series of archival pigment prints. They are part of an ongoing body of work that initially came into being in 2015, in response to the brief of Not Born Digital, a Goldfields Printmakers portfolio that traveled to Hangzhou, China for IMPACT9, the international printmaking conference. The works were subsequently exhibited at Ararat Regional Gallery, also in 2015. Until last year, I'd never made digital prints. The process is, for me, an entirely new way of working and much of it was developed intuitively. I've learned a great deal since Not Born Digital - which I most certainly wasn't! Indeed, I'm still learning - and loving - the process. I hope that some of the modest ground I've gained is evident in Elemental, a show I'm proud to be a part of.

Elemental runs until 10 April. For full details, scroll down to previous post.

From left: DK (holding Shane's glass while he takes the photo), David Frazer, Jimmy Pasakos and Loris Button.
(Jimmy and Davids' works can be seen in the background, left and right respectively)

Goldfields printmakers Leonie Auhl (fifth from left) Josephine Walsh and Jimmy Pasakos (in conversation, centre
foreground) Penny Peckham and Loris Button (background left)

Left - right: Opening speaker, artist Jeff Makin, myself and David Frazer in front of David's prints 

Foreground right: Jimmy Pasakos, background centre: DK and Jeff Makin, far right: David Frazer

Jeff Makin delivers his opening address. To his right is Paul Northam, Managing Curator of VAC Gallery
 Artwork left by Jackie Gorring and right by Kim Barter

The opening night crowd absorbed in Jeff's address

Gallery 2: artworks by Jan Palethorpe

A gallery visitor studies Amanda Lawler's screenprint monotypes (right). Left: fragment of works by Jan Palethorpe 

 Jackie Gorring in front of her artworks

From left, artworks by Dianne Longley, Barbara Semler and Jimmy Pasakos

Jimmy Pasakos and Loris Button admire the works of Rosemary Eagle in Gallery 2. Far right: works by Jan Palethorpe

Second from left: David Frazer chats to Jimmy Pasakos. Third from right: Paul Northam, in conversation with
Josephine Walsh and Dianne Longley

Deborah Klein: Leaves of Absence, archival pigment prints

David Frazer's works

Works by Dianne Longley

Works by Kim Barter

Shameless, but irresistible, the delightful James Pasakos, Jackie Gorring and Shane Jones
mugging in front of my Leaves of Absence

And finally, me: relaxed and happy at the opening's closing