In celebration of Lewis Carroll

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, AKA Lewis Carroll, was born on this day (27 January 1832). Arguably his writing has had a more profound and lasting influence on my own work than any other writer - or artist, for that matter. He was also revered by the Surrealists. 

I’ve just unearthed these two works from one of my plan cabinets. The drawers are in dire need of a cleanup, so it’s a miracle I found them so quickly. I wasn’t even sure they still existed; in fact, I’d almost forgotten about them. But I’ve never forgotten about him. 

Happy Birthday, Lewis Carroll. 

Pictured above, 1 - 2: Alice of Hearts and Alice and the Chess Board, both 1992, hand-coloured linocuts, A/Ps, 13.5 x 9 cm.

Remembering Virginia Woolf on her birthday

A slightly belated homage to Virginia Woolf on the anniversary of her birth, 25 January 1882: one of my early woodcuts, dated 1992, now hanging in our upstairs library. Scroll down for a closer view.

The work hangs below a woodcut portrait of Dorothy Parker (1991), another literary hero. Other works, left, from top, include a small, very early linocut, dated 1986, a homage to another favourite author, Jean Rhys, whose novel Wide Sargasso Sea I was reading at the time. The painting directly below it is by Shane Jones, followed by a drawing by Paul Compton. On the top right hand side is a tapestry by Joy Smith. 

On my UK trip in September/October 2023, I didn’t make it to Monk’s House, the former home of Virginia and Leonard Woolf, although I have been there on previous occasions. I did, however, manage a day trip to Charleston, formerly the home of Virginia Woolf’s sister, Vanessa Bell, and her partner, Duncan Grant. The plaster bust of Virginia Woolf (1931) by British sculptor Stephen Tomlin displayed in their studio (pictured below) was snapped during my visit.

What is the meaning of life? That was all - a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years, the great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead, there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark; here was one.

― Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, 1927

Ghosts of Christmas just Past and Belated Happy New Year

On January 7, Shane Jones and I attended the final performance of A Christmas Carol at the Comedy Theatre in Melbourne. 

We saw the first Australian production a little over a year ago, with Australian actor David Wenham as Ebenezer Scrooge. It was as fine a time in the theatre as we have ever spent, so much so that we were reluctant to chance undercutting a perfect theatrical memory with a revival that might not quite live up to it. In the end, however, a generous offer of two-for-one tickets for the final performances was too tempting to resist - although we still had slight reservations.

We needn’t have been concerned. In the role of Scrooge, Welsh actor Owen Teale was every bit as impressive as David Wenham, which, believe me, is saying something, and the rest of the cast (some of them returning from the last production) were, as before, simply wonderful. I love Dickens and still treasure my childhood copy of the novella on which the play is based.

As in the previous production, just before it got under way, several cast members hurled oranges into the audience with gay abandon and astonishing precision. Shane proved to be as gifted a catcher as they were pitchers, and managed to catch one for each of us and another for the woman sitting next to me. We also scored two mince pies each from a couple of “vendors” moving through the audience. They were the best mince pies I’ve ever tasted.

My orange survived long enough to serve briefly as an additional reference for Orange Tree, another painting that draws primary inspiration from an embroidery designed by May Morris (work in progress, pictured top). The orange was consumed shortly after this photo was taken. It was every bit as sweet and juicy as it looks.

Belated but heartfelt wishes to you all for a sweet, juicy and happy 2024. 

Official Endorsement of SWAN LAKE

Yesterday afternoon I delivered additional copies of the Special Edition of my linocut Swan Lake to the Art Gallery of Ballarat shop. Many thanks to those who have already acquired the work.

Directly afterwards Shane Jones and I drove to its source of inspiration, Lake Wendouree. Upon arrival, I was approached by two representatives of the local swan community. 

Their designated spokeswan eyeballed me and proceeded to deliver a brief but impassioned monologue, which I wish I’d videotaped. I don’t understand Swanese, but like to think the speech was in support of my humble print. 

Swan Lake is once again available through the AGB shop and (I choose to believe) comes with official endorsement from the Ballarat Swan Community. 

Pictured top: Swan Lake, 2023, linocut with collage and hand-colouring. Special Edition of 30. 

Swan Lake was initially created for Whereabouts - Printmakers Respond, an exhibition of works by 56 Victorian printmakers. Curated by Rona Green, it continues at the Art Gallery of Ballarat to Sunday, February 4, 2024. 

For Auld Lang Syne

As another bittersweet year hurtles to a close, step inside my studio for auld lang syne.

We may be more than halfway through the twelve days of Christmas with a new year fast approaching, but in the studio, time stands still.  

Christmas 2023

 

Merry Christmas for tomorrow. I hope you enjoy every minute of your day, no matter how you celebrate it (or not) and that the last few days of 2023 will pass equally agreeably. 

My own year was capped off by a visit to London in September/October that was life-changing in unforeseen, seemingly endless ways. Fuelled by my trip, I’m now working with renewed vigour and a more assured sense of direction towards a solo show at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, scheduled for the latter part of next year. I can’t wait to see where the work takes me and what ever else the new year will bring.

My thanks and gratitude to those who have offered their friendship, support and encouragement throughout the past momentous year. I’m very lucky to have you in my life, and it’s a privilege to be a part of yours. 

Image on e-card: Deborah Klein, The Heavens Declare 2, 2022, linocut, 20 x 15 cm. For background information on this print and its companion work, The Heavens Declare 1, click HERE.

Seasonal Salutations

A special memory is attached to every decoration on our Christmas tree, and every year we collect new ones. There is always room for more! 

Thinking of friends and family near and far this Christmastide. May it bring all you could wish for, and more. 

Swan Lake (Special Edition)

It seems that swans have always been connected to the places I’ve called home, from the black swans of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne to the white swans of Regents Park in London. 

Nowadays my Whereabouts (the title of the exhibition for which my linocut Swan Lake was initially created) is hereabouts. Ballarat is home, and for me, Lake Wendouree and its beloved black swans are where the heart is. 

At the invitation of the splendid Art Gallery of Ballarat shop, I’ve created a special limited edition of Swan Lake to coincide with the current exhibition. Numbered I - XXX (1- 30), the work is available exclusively through the gallery shop. It’s pictured below alongside a striking inkjet pigment print (open edition) by fellow Whereabouts artist, Miranda Costa.

Whereabouts, an exhibition of 56 Victorian-based printmakers was curated by Rona Green. But before making your way to Whereabouts, don’t forget to pick up a free, fully illustrated exhibition catalogue at the front desk of the AGB. 

Pictured from top: Swan Lake, 2023, (Special Edition), linocut with collage and hand-colouring, Edition: 30. Photo credit: Tim Gresham;
Images 2-4: Black swans in the wetlands area across from Lake Wendouree;

Images 5-6: Special edition of Swan Lake on display in the AGB shop, along with an archival pigment print by fellow Whereabouts artist Miranda Costa;

Images 7–8: Front and back views of the fold-out poster-sized Whereabouts catalogue, an essential exhibition guide;

Image 9 below: Whereabouts installation view. Pictured L-R: Rona Green, Petal, 2023, hand-coloured linocut, Deborah Klein, Swan Lake, 2023, hand-coloured linocut, printed by Bill Young, Miranda Costa, Thinking, 2023, inkjet pigment print, Gillian Kline, Inward Goods, 2023, linocut. 

Click on images to enlarge.

Whereabouts opened on 18 November, 2023 and runs to 4 February, 2024.

Opening celebration of BLUE PERIOD

Here are a few snapshots of the joyous opening celebration of BLUE PERIOD at One Star Gallery, Melbourne, on the evening of Friday 1 December. It was terrific to meet up with fellow artists, among them, Tiffany Titshall, (pictured below), and reunite with others I haven’t seen for far too long, in particular, Ann Holt, who I’ve known since my long ago and far away St Kilda days. (Ann, who’s pictured in the third view with Shane Jones) reckons this is the first time we’ve ever exhibited together, and I’m pretty sure she’s right).

The works of artists who couldn’t be there, including Lisa Barmby, Deborah Walker, and Linda Gibbs, whose stunning landscape is hanging next-but-one to mine in the installation view below, also made an impact. (That’s Jane Burton’s photograph in between my works and Linda’s). It was also great to see another old friend, film maker Donna McRae (pictured above right).

Pictured above are my three paintings Recollections, Waiting and Idyll and directly below, BLUE PERIOD curators Mariella Del Conte and Katrina Beale introduce writer and performer Clare Larman (final view). Clare, who memorably launched the exhibition with an evocative blue-themed poem written especially for the event, writes like a painter. 

Scroll down to my last post for a complete list of BLUE PERIOD artists. 

The exhibition runs to 17 December. 

Opening tomorrow: BLUE PERIOD

 

BLUE PERIOD,
One Star Gallery,
301-303 Victoria Street,
West Melbourne Vic.

OPENING EVENT: Friday, December 1, 6-9 pm

“Of the colors, blue and green have the greatest emotional range. Sad reds and melancholy yellows are difficult to turn up. Among the ancient elements, blue occurs everywhere: in ice and water, in the flame as purely as in the flower, overhead and inside caves, covering fruit and oozing out of clay. Although green enlivens the earth and mixes in the ocean, and we find it, copperish, in fire; green air, green skies, are rare. Gray and brown are widely distributed, but there are no joyful swatches of either, or any of exuberant black, sullen pink, or acquiescent orange. Blue is therefore most suitable as the color of interior life. Whether slick light sharp high bright thin quick sour new and cool or low deep sweet dark soft slow smooth heavy old and warm: blue moves easily among them all, and all profoundly qualify our states of feeling.”

- William H. Gass, On Being Blue, 1975

Artists: Amanda Florence, Andrée Van Schaik, Ann Holt, Anne Algar, Astrid Munday, Camilla Gold, Camille Hannah, Clare Larman, Deborah Amon-Cotter, Deborah Klein, Deborah Walker, Jane Burton, Jaqui Stockdale, Jessica Kritzer, Katrina Beale, Linda Gibbs, Lisa Barmby, Lisa Walker, Marion Harper, Melody Woodnutt, Mimi Kelly, Mina Young, Moya Delany, Rhonda Dredge, Sarah Faulkner, Sonia Payes, Tina Douglas, Tiffany Titshall, Victoria Hartcup, Wendy Morrissey and Xanthe Waite

Exhibition dates: November 30 - December 17

Hours: Th-Fri 3-7 pm, Sat 1-7pm, Sun 1-5 pm, or by appointment: 0432 357537

Pictured top: Deborah Klein, Idyll, 2021, diptych, acrylic on canvas, 35 x 12.5 cm

A busy weekend

Shane Jones and I covered quite a lot of ground over the past weekend. On Saturday afternoon we drove to Melbourne to attend a screening of The Lesson at The Kino, part of the current Cunard British Film Festival. Still resonating to this terrific film, we dropped off my three paintings to One Star Gallery in readiness for Blue Period, an exhibition of diverse works by 33 women artists, the second of its kind to be curated by Katy Beale and Mariella Del Conte. 

Pictured top, L-R: Idyll, Waiting, and Recollection, all 2021, acrylic on canvas, freshly unpacked at One Star Gallery. I’m excited to see everyone’s work at the opening night this Friday, 1 December, 6-9 pm. 

Scroll down to my previous post for further information.

Pictured above: On the following afternoon Shane and I attended day 2 of the weekend-long launch of Milk Shed Gallery at Weerite near Camperdown. Huge congratulations to Harley Manifold for bringing this extraordinary project to fruition, and to all 26 exhibiting artists, including Kathryn Ryan, pictured third from left, and Julie Keating, pictured far right.