Hopefully ever after

Facing an uncertain future, hopefully ever after.
Each work: acrylic on canvas, 12.4 x 12.4 cm

As yet untitled, these are the first works in a series I’ve reluctantly placed on hold while I continue to work my way through several other projects, some with looming deadlines. In these times of unprecedented upheaval and uncertainty, there’s no guarantee that all of these commitments are going to run as originally scheduled, but at this point, I feel I’ve little choice but to proceed as if they are.

The miniature paintings featured here were made for an exhibition that isn’t going ahead, at least in its original form and time slot. C’est la vie, especially in times of COVID-19. On reflection, I believe the delay is for the best, as it will give me more time to develop the series and the ideas that underpin it.

I very much look forward to returning to this fledgling project, whenever that will be, and seeing where it leads me. Meanwhile, a couple of early developmental views follow, the first of which also features the irrepressible Alice, our boon companion during the long days of life in lockdown.

PATTERNS OF COLLECTING at The Johnston Collection: Final Walk-and-Talk

Pictured above and below are two works from a series of watercolour miniatures made especially for PATTERNS OF COLLECTING/From the Bower at The Johnston Collection.

To learn about these and other works in the show, join me and fellow Bower artist Louise Saxton at The Johnston Collection Museum for an informal walk-and-talk, tomorrow, 13 September from 10 - 11.30 am. Bookings, which are essential, can be made through The Johnston Collection HERE.

This will be the last special Bower Event before the show ends on 18 September.

Photos by Tim Gresham.

My watercolour pad gets the chop

As mentioned in a recent post, it was my intention to publish the remaining watercolour miniatures created for the forthcoming show PATTERNS OF COLLECTING - From the Bower at the Johnston Collection singly, along with progress views of each. Times have been extremely busy of late, however, and with the deadlines for this and other projects fast approaching, I couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer. It was time to take the Knots and Braids series to its final stage - namely, cutting up the contents of watercolour pad to fit their individual vintage frames. 

Here is the watercolour pad page-by-page, shortly before I took to the contents with a pair of scissors, followed by the aftermath.

From the Bower at the Johnston Collection: Update #1

The watercolour miniatures I've been making for the forthcoming show, Patterns of Collecting/From the Bower at the Johnston Collection, have been accumulating at a faster pace than I've had time to post here. (The exception is Love Knot, directly below, which was previewed on 14 February in our Valentine's Day post).

To make amends, this is the first of a series of posts documenting the remaining works in the series.

Completed works, L-R: Untitled, 2018, 12 x 9 cm and Love Knot, 2018, watercolour, 9 x 7.2 cm

A Big Show of Small Works

I’m eagerly anticipating joining forces with an extraordinary lineup of artists in the upcoming Small Works: a Survey, including the inestimable Julie Keating and Debbie Hill, who also curated the exhibition. 

Included on the invitation is a detail of my painting Pirate Queen, seen below in its entirety:

Pirate Queen, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 9 x 7 cm
Photo credit: Tim Gresham

The show, which opens next Saturday, 7 April, from 2 - 5 pm, will be launched by David Coles, founder of Langridge Artist Colours. 

Small Works: a Survey

Red Rock Regional Theatre and Gallery

520 Corangamite Lake Road

Cororooke 3254.

Open weekends 11 am - 4 pm, or  by appointment.

Small Works runs to 29 April.

New work from the bower

Untitled (Pearl) 2018, watercolour, 12 x 9 cm 

The newly completed watercolour miniature pictured above was specifically made to fit the vintage frame on its right. Since planning began for the latest iteration of From the Bower at the Johnston Collection in East Melbourne, I’ve amassed a sizeable assortment of vintage frames, sourced from antique shops and markets, thrift stores and trash and treasure markets.This one was a lucky find at Ballarat Sunday Market. It's rare for me to know anything of a frame's history, but this one is an exception. The elderly woman from whom I bought it told me it once held a photograph of her grandmother. 

In a reversal of the usual order, it’s the frames in this project that come first; I relish the challenge of tracking them down almost as much as making the works to fit them.

Untitled (Pearl) progress view