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.

HORNED POPPY (study)

Pictured above and below: selected developmental stages of the study for Horned Poppy, 2024, acrylic on canvas laid on board, 10 x 10 cm. The face tattoo is based on Horn Poppy (1885), a wallpaper designed by May Morris.

The study, a resolved work in its own right, is among several paintings currently in the works for my upcoming solo exhibition, Decorated Women, at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Melbourne, opening on December 4. This may seem to be a long way off, but the way this year is racing by, it’s really and truly not. So do save the date!

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.

On small work

More thoughts on small work, as that’s what I’ve been making of late. 

There is a quote from poet/playwright/librettist/author/artist/filmmaker, the late, great Jean Cocteau, that I’ve never forgotten. In this instance, he was speaking of the ever-increasing size of cinema screens, but his words apply just as aptly here: “The next poem I write, I am going to get a big sheet of paper”. 

Pictured top: Tender Grapes, 2023, acrylic on canvas panel, 10 x 10 cm. 

The tattoo is based on a tiny detail from the embroidered panel Autumn and Winter, c 1895-1900, designed by May Morris. Elizabethan portrait miniatures, a particular passion of mine, were also a significant influence on this work, as they have been on several others in the series. 

Garden Pieces

Pictured on the workable with the paint barely dry: A Garden Piece (study), 2023, acrylic on canvas adhered to board, 10 x 10 cm.

Despite its diminutive size, it was a considerable challenge to resolve this work; I could have completed a substantially larger scale work in considerably less time. Just as I was about to consign the painting to the scrapheap of heroic failures, it began to come together, almost as if the damn thing had a will of its own and finally decided to cut me a break.

Yet in spite of the hours spent on A Garden Piece, whilst questioning if my time would be better spent elsewhere, and in the face of the painting’s many imperfections, the technical lessons I learned along the way were well worth it. 

As previously mentioned, the point of departure for the tattooed face is the embroidery panel A Garden Piece, designed and worked by May Morris in the months leading up to her death in 1938. Her exquisite work is pictured directly above, and below, most poignantly, is the label that is affixed to the reverse.

New Abbotsford workspace

Our place in Abbotsford has been a virtually constant work in progress since we moved here. (I've just asked Shane to remind me how long it's been and he tells me it will be twenty years ago next May. Goodness - where did that almost-two decades go to?) Aside from getting an air conditioner installed upstairs in recent weeks (heaven knows how we survived without one for so long) the other exciting - and considerably more aesthetically pleasing - development is the latest transformation of part of the downstairs area, which, over the years, has variously been used as a studio, an office and a spare bedroom.

It's now a small studio again, an adjunct to the sizeable work table I have upstairs. Shane has done a magnificent job of plastering its ceiling, which continues into the adjoining entrance area, as well as installing art deco ceiling roses and light fittings (the latter sourced in antique markets in the Victorian Goldfields). 

Not shown in these views are the storage cupboard to the left of the bookshelves and two wooden plan cabinets directly opposite. The remainder of our books are now stored on bookshelves in the entrance hall; there's a partial view of them in the above photo. After a recent flood, one of several we've had over the years, numerous books had to be rescued from Shane's studio, the entrance to which is behind the art deco door, in the top photo, right. Fortunately, this time the damage, which at at first looked horrendous, was relatively minimal, and all of Shane's artworks were miraculously unscathed.

Shane also built the heavily laden bookshelves which fill the entire back wall of the revitalised space. A section of them can be seen directly below.

I spent the better part of yesterday tidying up the space, particularly the books, with a little help from Alice. She is seen taking a well earned rest in the following two photos.

On this sunny New Year's Eve morning, it's a good feeling to have the space ready and set to go for 2018.

Artworks on the wall are by Shane Jones, Paul Compton, Priscilla Ambrosini and
Jenny Nestor. The small sculptures on the top shelf of the cabinet are by Shane.
The moth masks on the bottom shelf are by me.

Alice, sitting on the lap of my cushion doll, Elsa (named after her lookalike, the
great Elsa Lanchester. See also below).

On the wall, right, are some of my celluloid and theatrical heroes, including the
Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester,
Angela Lansbury and Ethel Merman.