The ace of hearts is high

I’m not usually one for Valentine’s Day, but by sheer coincidence, this is the painting that’s currently on my table easel. Pictured top: The ace of hearts is high, acrylic on canvas (work in progress).

While I’m here, Happy Valentine’s Day to my two loves, Shane Jones and Alice B. Cat (pictured below) and to all of you Valentines out there. ♥️

The music and lyrics of popular songs (particularly, but by no means exclusively, from the Great American Songbook), occasionally inform my work. In this instance, the title of my painting is a line from Taking a chance on love (music: Vernon Duke lyrics: John La Touche and Ted Fetter). The song originated in the stage musical Cabin in the Sky (1940), where it was introduced by the incomparable Ethel Waters. Waters later performed the song in the MGM film of the musical (Dir. Vincente Minnelli, 1943). It has since become a standard and has been widely performed, but in my opinion, no one, but no one, sings it like Ethel Waters. To see her version of Taking a chance on love, click HERE. (Apologies for the YouTube ads that precede it).

The lyric is below:

TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE

Here I go again

I hear those trumpets blow again

All aglow again

Taking a chance on love

Here I slide again

About to take that ride again

Starry-eyed again

Taking a chance on love

I thought that cards were a frame-up

I never would try

But now I'm taking the game up

And the ace of hearts is high

Things are mending now

I see a rainbow blending now

We'll have a happy ending now

Taking a chance on love

Here I come again

I'm gonna make things hum again

Acting dumb again

Taking a chance on love

Here I stand again

About to beat the band again

Feeling grand again

Taking a chance on love

I walk around with a horseshoe

In clover I lie

And, brother rabbit, of course you

Better kiss your foot goodbye

Things are mending now

I see a rainbow blending now

We'll have a happy ending now

Taking a chance, taking a chance

Taking a chance on love. 

♥️

Directly below are a series of earlier progress views of The ace of hearts is high:

Studio news

Pictured above and below: Alice B. Cat hitches a ride on Shane Jones for a closer look at a selection of my recent paintings laid out on the work table.

The would-be connoisseur was quickly discouraged when she got a too little too paws-on (although it could be argued that she was wearing white gloves).

Undaunted, the felon proceeded to attempt a break-in of the studio cupboard.

The paintings will be exhibited at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne from 4 - 21 December - minus paw prints, hopefully. 

Sondheim Trivia Night

 

In a somewhat belated follow-up to my last post, here are a selection of snaps from last Friday evening’s Stephen Sondheim Trivia Night, a fundraiser for Watch This, “Australia’s first and only Sondheim repertory company”, of which Shane Jones and I are proud patrons.

Aside from Shane and I, our table comprised Melbourne Gallery Director, Stephen McLaughlan and Phillip (I never learned his surname), who we met for the first time that night. If I do say so myself, we made rather a good team. We didn’t win any prizes - not even close - but we didn’t disgrace ourselves either. The main thing was, we had an absolute ball. 

Pictured above, L-R: Phillip, Shane, Sonya Suares, myself and Stephen McLaughlan. Sonya is the Chairperson, Founder and former Artistic Director of Watch This. The outfit she is wearing was the subject of one of the trivia questions posed by Quiz Master, Nick Simpson-Deeks. We were asked to identify the Watch This production she wore it in. That was a question I could answer with some certainty. She wore it as Amy in Company. I ought to know - I saw it three times! She was brilliant in it, as was Nick, in the central role of Bobby.

Pictured above: Mel Hillman and Dean Drieberg, Co-artistic Directors of Watch This.

Pictured above: Nick Simpson-Deeks, Design and Communications, (and leading performer in many a fine Watch This production). 

Foreground, above: fellow trivia contestant, John O’May. A distinguished actor of many years’ standing, John played principal roles in  A Little Night Music and Into the Woods for the company. I’m a longtime admirer of his work, and dearly hope we’ll see him in future Watch This productions. 

Directly below: Watch This Co-Director Dean Drieberg made my evening when he told me that on my recommendation, during his recent trip to London, he managed to catch Old Friends, then in its last days, and loved it as much as I did. Like me (and no doubt, thousands of others during the show’s run), he was moved to tears when, at the very end, Bernadette Peters turned face to the images of Sondheim hovering over the stage (top photo, previous post) and sang Not a Day Goes By.    

Scotty So: Queen of the Begonias

Here are some snapshots of last Saturday evening’s splendid launch of the Scotty So short film Queen of the Begonias and the Nan Goldin exhibition, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

1 L-R top: Shane Jones, myself, Scotty So, Tim Jones and Spencer Harrison. (Shane, Tim and I have cameos in Queen of the Begonias and Spencer - among several other hats he wore - was the DOP).

2 L-R: Exhibition Curator Julie McLaren with Scotty, aka Scarlett, Queen of the Begonias; 

3 Post-opening celebratory meal in the Oddie Gallery;

4-5 above (snapped on the day after the opening): Screenshot with me, Shane, Scotty and Tim, followed by closing credits. 

It was a privilege and a pleasure to be a small part of Queen of the Begonias. The film, which was commissioned by the Art Gallery of Ballarat, will be screening 24/7 on the gallery’s Big Screen until 4 April. 

To view an excerpt from Queen of the Begonias, click HERE.

A virtual reunion

 Ex Votive Offerings, (RHS above), recently seen in In the company of Morris at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, is reunited here with its companion pieces, Ladies Glisten and Spillage, if only digitally. All three works were created for the 2002-2003 Arts Victoria Touring Victoria exhibition Common Thread that also featured works by Catherine Pilgrim and Shane Jones - a happy and rewarding exhibiting experience if ever there was one.

Originally intended as linocuts, the prints were transferred onto silk screens by Rebecca Mayo after the size in the Chinese silk rejected the block printing ink. 

L-R top:
Ladies Glisten, 2002, Screen print, artificial pearls, hand stitching on sized Chinese silk laid onto interfacing, 120 x 40 cm. Collection: Art Gallery of Ballarat;

Spillage, 2002, Screen print, buttons, hand stitching on sized Chinese silk laid onto interfacing, 120 x 40 cm. Collection: LaTrobe University, Bendigo;

Ex Votive Offerings, 2002, Screen print, needle threaders, hand stitching on sized Chinese silk laid onto interfacing, 120 x 40 cm. Collection: Art Gallery of Ballarat.

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.

Memorable memories

Featuring some highlights from the last couple of days, most notably, catching up with old friends on Saturday, the last day of ATTUNED at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery. (For more about ATTUNED, scroll down to my last post). 

It was wonderful to see Kim McDonald there. Kim and I first met at art school in the 1980s and have been friends ever since. Kim is based in South Gippsland and it’s been way too long since we last caught up - I’ve since figured out the last time was in 2016 - but the intervening years fell away in minutes.

Pictured first and second above: Kim and I, followed by Stephen Mclaughlan, myself and Kim. 

Photos 3 - 4: It was an unexpected surprise to bump into another artist friend, Ballarat-based Carole Wilson, pictured below, third from left.

Photo 5 below: Kim and Shane at Brunetti, which has become my go-to place during exhibitions with Stephen. (Kim is showing me a recommended book). 

Backtracking to Friday, we had a delightful visit from another local artist, Christine Hickson (photos 6 - 8). In the final pic, Shane is giving her a tour of our new storage units, not that there’s a lot to see there at present. 

Another Friday highlight (not pictured) was an equally delightful visit from artist/filmmaker Erin M McCuskey. You can see some of Erin’s work HERE.  

On Saturday evening after our return from Melbourne, the final highlight was a memorable meal further along our street with family members (also not pictured). Thanks for having us, Tim Jones and Spencer Harrison, and it was a treat to reunite with James and Rosemarie Jones after 15 months of pandemic-inflicted separation. 

(Photo credit for photos 1 and 2: Shane Jones).

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.