Wattle Blue Butterfly Winged Woman

                            

This newly completed painting is a commission that came out of my recent exhibition at Chrysalis Gallery - I'm just about to deliver it, and hope their client will like it.

The Wattle Blue is a South Australian butterfly, so called because of its favourite habitat, the glorious Australian Wattle Tree. For me its personal significance is twofold. I have just returned from a short trip to Quorn and Adelaide in SA, reuniting with family members, and wattle is one of my favourite flowers. The butterfly was sourced from an excellent textbook on South Australian butterflies purchased from the South Australian Museum. 

So ends my last project for 2010, as the countdown to Christmas, already well under way, continues….

Pictured above: Wattle Blue Winged Woman, 2010, 36 x 36 cm, acrylic on linen. Completed work and some developmental stages. Top image by Tim Gresham.

IMPRESSIONS 2010

Stages in the development of Unmasked, 2010, hand coloured linocut, 20 x 15 cm, edition 10. It was created for the Australian Print Workshop exhibition IMPRESSIONS 2010 limited edition prints by contemporary artists

Images from top:

• Work in progress
• Completed block
• Proofing finished work
• Participating artists

(Click on images to enlarge)

The exhibition will be launched on Friday 3 December from 6-8 pm and continues until 12 February 2011

Australian Print Workshop Gallery

210 Gertrude Street

Fitzroy Vic 3065

Phone: 03 9419 5466

Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 am - 5pm

Gallery closed for Christmas and New Year 25 December 2010 - 10 January 2011

A Blast from the Past

Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum have just done an extensive rehang. We called into the gallery yesterday and enjoyed revisiting some of the collection's many highlights.

In conjunction with this, their latest exhibition (which opened on Saturday) focuses on artists from the Castlemaine region whose works are held in the gallery's permanent collection.

My own work, Femme Fatale, 1996, linocut with chine colle, is currently on view in the Benefactor's Gallery. It was acquired at the conclusion of the touring survey exhibition Deborah Klein - Out of the Past 1995-2007, which was guest curated by Diane Soumilas. The work originates from the Film Noir series (1995-1997.)

View their website HERE.

To see other works from the Film Noir series visit the Portfolio Page on my website.

From top:

Femme Fatale, 1996 pictured with works by Rick Amor, Paul Boromeno, Albert Tucker and Petra Reece

Installation detail: Femme Fatale, 1996

Click on images to enlarge

Natural Histories - final days

From top:

• Gallery entrance
• Last day visitors: Leigh Hobbs, Deborah Klein, Dmitri Kakmi, Robert Heather, Edwina Bach
• Chrysalis Gallery Director Delwyn Freestone with Shane Jones
• Shirley Murdoch, Deborah Klein, Sue, Peg Johnston
• Shane Jones, Deborah Klein, Kim McDonald

'Natural Histories' Launch

Here are a few shots, taken mostly during the early stages of the opening night. My partner Shane Jones was delegated photographer and took all but one of them. Thanks to Deborah Bradbury for the last photograph (directly above) of Shane and I with artist Hannah Bertram. Later it became too crowded and we got too distracted by the countless conversations that occur at a busy opening. It was fantastic to see so many people, including friends and fellow artists. Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a memorable evening for me.

Special thanks to Delwyn Freestone, Director of Chrysalis Gallery, who has taken so much care with every aspect of the exhibition. Warm thanks also to Andrew Gunnell of Chrysalis Gallery.

From top:

• Deborah Walker, Craig Gough, Wendy Stavrianos and James Griffin
• Bartender extraordinaire John Ryrie
• Marian Crawford and Valerie Sparks
• Doug Willis and Andrew Gunnell; in background: Chris Cochius and Joy Smith
• Brian Pieper, Deborah Bradbury, Richard Morrison, Carolyn Goldberg
• Diane Soumilas, John Hinde, Jane Burton
• Background, left: Ralph Moran, Deborah Bradbury; foreground: Paul Compton and Priscilla     Ambrosini
• Deborah Klein and Martina Copley
• Jazmina Cininas, Lisa Barmby, Lisa Sassella, Bill Reid (with back to camera) and Elyss McCleary
• Shane Jones, Hannah Bertram and I (photograph by Deborah Bradbury)

Natural Histories installation views

Selected shots of the exhibition, room by room.

Final works for Natural Histories solo exhibition

The work is all done for Natural Histories. It is a huge relief, although there is still a lot of pre-exhibition preparation to do.

Pictured above, the last three works completed for the show.

Second from top: Common Rose Swallowtail Winged Woman, 2010, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36 cm (Photograph by Tim Gresham)

Base: Urolitha bibuntifera and Aitcis erythrozona, 2010, acrylic on miniature plaster masks, dimensions (H x W x D) 8.3 x 5.8 x 3.5 cm and 13.5 x 9 x 6 cm

Natural Histories
Paintings Linocuts Drawings Mixed Media

Opening: Thursday 7th October 6.00-8.00 pm

Exhibition dates: 7th - 30th October

Chrysalis Gallery is conveniently located just 15 minute's walk from the City CBD (opposite the old Mercy Hospital site).

Hours:

Tuesday-Friday 9.30-5.30; Saturday 11.00-5.00;
Monday by appointment - please call 9415 1977 or 0418 324 651.

Contact Details:

Chrysalis Gallery & Studio:
Director: Delwyn Freestone
179 Gipps Street East Melbourne VIC 3002
Phone: 61 3 9415 1977
Fax: 61 3 9415 1966
Email: prints@chrysalis.com.au

The complete works can be previewed on the Chrysalis website in about a week's time. To view their website, click HERE.

2010 Print Council of Australia Member Print Edition

Above (from top)

Red Lacewinged Woman 2010, linocut, hand coloured. Image: (irregular) approx 36 x 32.5 cm, Paper size: 45 x 38 cm
Photograph by Tim Gresham

Printing Red Lacewinged Woman, the artist's studio, September 2010

The following (slightly edited) information and list of venues appears courtesy of Damian Kelly, General Manager, Print Council of Australia Inc.

"Each year the PCA calls for nominations and independently selects artists to produce a commissioned edition of high quality prints especially for our members. This year's judges were Thomas Middlemost, Curator, Charles Sturt University and Linda Elliott, Curator of Public Programmes, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. The prints are purchased in advance, through a mail order system.

Details of the prints are released in the September issue of IMPRINT magazine. The artist proofs of all editions are on display at venues in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney. Order Forms are made available in the September issue of IMPRINT, and members select their print (or prints) in preference order. In total there are some 300 prints for subscribers, these are allocated in order of Order Forms being received. Allocated prints are posted to subscribers at the end of November.

Numerous public art museums, schools and galleries have been long time participants of the program, and many individual collectors are now also joining. This means that it's possible to buy prints that are also being purchased by many of Australia’s well known state and regional galleries."

Each commissioned artist has produced 6 artist's proofs which were forwarded to each of the venues below on 30 August. It is recommended to check individual galleries for hours and viewing times, but the works should be on show somewhere between 10 September and 24 October. The ten prints will initially be launched at Handmark Gallery in Hobart on Friday 10th September 2010.

Megalo Print Studio + Gallery
Canberra Technology Park
49 Phillip Avenue,
Watson, Canberra, ACT 2602
alisonalder@megalo.org

Grahame Galleries + Editions
1 Fernberg Road
Milton Qld 4064
editions@pacific.net.au

Tin Sheds Gallery & Art Workshops
Faculty of Architecture
University of Sydney
148 City Road
SYDNEY NSW 2000
lever_a@arch.usyd.edu.au

Port Jackson Press Print Room
61 Smith Street
Fitzroy, Melbourne VIC 3065
info@portjacksonpress.com.au

Handmark Gallery
77 Salamanca Place
HOBART TAS 7000
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide SA 5001
info@handmarkgallery.com

Flinders University
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide SA 5001
celia.dottore@flinders.edu.au

Artist and Author Talk, The Melbourne Athenaeum Library, 22 September at 1 pm

For further information, click on flyer to enlarge.

I hope to meet some of you at the Athenaeum on the 22nd. For those of you who haven't visited before, it is one of Melbourne's gems. Check out their website HERE.

Premature Primavera

Purple Azure Winged Woman emerged on the very last day of winter - a harbinger of springtime and some warmer weather (at least let us hope so.)

Image above:
Purple Azure Winged Woman, 2010, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36 cm
Photograph by Tim Gresham

Newly Hatched

Although butterflies typically hatch in spring, this example of recently discovered hybrid subspecies Macleay's Swallowtail Winged Woman has just emerged from her chrysalis cocoon, boldly defying the current Melbourne cold spell.

Image above:

Macleay's Swallowtail Winged Woman, 2010, acrylic on linen, 36 x 36 cm