Artists Blog

On Saturday the Calligraphy Guild of WA held it’s annual AGM and I now wear the hat of Secretary. On Sunday, our Chairperson (or Grand Poohbah of the Guild – her words), Gaye Godfrey-Nicholls, opened her solo exhibition. She is placed amongst the best Calligrpahers practising this ancient art today.

Her exhibition is entitled “Lyrical” and represents her visual interpretations of 33 of her favourite songs. I’m sure you can guess the Title of most of them. 

(I apologise for the quality of the images, flash was unavoidable as it was after dark, and we all know that Flash & Glass hate each other!)

Some of Gaye’s prints that I’m about to frame up and hang in my studio to serve as inspiration.

So for any of you that have questions about calligraphy, feel free to drop me a line anytime. And if you’re in Perth, drop by the Mia cafe in Inglewood to see some of Gaye’s amazing work. Exhibition open until april 21st.

Before the massively, devastingly, horrendously violent unleashing of the heavens on Monday, it was perfectly gorgeous, sunny weekend. A weekend with lots of art excursions all over the city and even the beach.

It was the last weekend of The Sculpture by the Sea, and it certainly did not disapppoint. Cottesloe Beach was bathed in dazzling sunshine and was extra glittery with all her sculptural jewellery.

The reactions of observers and dedicated beach-goers was another source of amusement.

The imagination of the sculptors was certainly given full rein this year. Materials and form were amazing.

Kids found the counting sculpture irresistible.

Some couldn’t resist an opportunity for welcome shade.

This piece was also the winner of the $15,000.

Some beachgoers weren’t concerned about shelter from the sun. Just the opposite in fact.

Some pieces were intricate works of art.

There’s an astounding 70,000 bottle tops in this sculpture.

Made even more astounding when you realise that they’re all stitched together using cable ties.

Some quite simple in design.

Some seemed to remind us of familiar forms which we know well, but  skewed somehow.

With over 60 sculptures to explore and enjoy, it was the perfect ending to the weekend.

Then the Monday Hailstorm Hurricane hit and Perth was hammered. Current  damages stand at  $203 million (43,000 insurance claims), with estimates that it will double. I hope the scupltures fared better than my house!

My last post was about an image I produced at an illustration workshop I did some time ago. On the weekend I bumped into the artist with whom I did the workshop, what a lovely coincidence!

You may recognise him from the newspapers and telly as the only WA artist left in the running to win the $50,000 Archibald Prize. (Finalists were announced just recently.)

It’s South Perth Artist Peter Kendall (whose book “A sausage went for a walk” still gives me a giggle).

To see some newspaper photos of his massive portrait of boxer Danny Green, click here. Took him 3 long months he said.

Best of luck Peter!

More digging through old files and I find a drawing done at an illustration workshop some time ago. Done in graphite, coloured pencil and ink.

Funny how many mums say they’d like a print to put up in their kitchen….

Can you guess what these are?

Hint: The river is named after them.

Black swans on the Swan River.

Off to a Ball now by the banks of that very same river.

Calligraphy Class was all about playing with Paste Paper, which is essentially any paper coated (in a wide variety of methods) with a mixture of cooked flour paste, with paints or pigment added. Above is one of mine with combed colurs in the background and then metallic powders sprinkled on top. Once dry,the paper can be used as background for calligraphy work, or in collages.

Here I used a woodgraining tool through the paste.

Here our esteemed teacher, Gaye Godfrey, demonstrates how to blend paint and paste in correct quantities.

Then swirl it on with a simple household sponge (brushes, rollers etc will do nicely also).

Then she writes back into the paste with a calligraphy pen. You can also do this with a skewer, chopstick etc.

And voilà! The finished product.

We all got stuck in, and produced lots of pieces reasy to be transformed into calligraphy works. Below is a detail of the metallic effects that gives a matte piece of paste paper a little sparkle.

At the end of the lesson Gaye teased us with what’s in store for the next class. I can hardly wait!

For those that are interested in Calligraphy, I highly recommend joining your local Society or Guild – it’s a great way to acquire some beautiful (and fast disappearing!) skillls.

Since returning home to Perth I’m rediscovering treasures hidden away in the shed whilst we were gone. It’s been about 2 and a half years since my Royal Show Ribbon winning calligraphy piece went for a dip in the swimming pool.  I needed to take some catalogue photos, and had laid it out on the only area of paving long enough (it was a very long piece).

Of course the unthinkable happened.

A sudden gust of wind picked it up like a huge sail and threw it into the water. The duck thought it jolly good fun as I plunged in to rescue it.

What I was left with was a sodden mess of individual pages with non-waterproof inks running in all directions. The cat was rather enjoying herself as well,

as it all smelt so fishy when wet….

…that she just had to lick it. Not that it could get any wetter.

Treasures no more. Disgusted with myself, I threw it all on a shelf in the shed where it’s been drying out since July ’07. When I was looking for some nails in the shed I saw a piece poking out. Looking at them again with fresh eyes I thought it might be worth a go trying to repair some of the water damage. Of course it will never be like the original, but now it’s got “character lines”. The smudges and blurs will always be there, but it’s just more background for the calligraphy to sit upon. I pulled out my pens and got stuck in.

These are just some of the pieces -there are those that are just too far gone to be salvaged, and those that have had their shells damaged (which means more beachcombing to finish the repair job).

But at least it’s got me thinking about a piece for this year’s Royal Show – deadline for submissions in July. Time to sharpen those nibs!

Having  recently amassed a HUGE amount of new watercolours (all different brands from lots of different countries), my old colour charts are no longer up to the job. Time for new ones, and a new way of organising my pigments. I am boldly going to attempt to arrange them on one all-encompassing colour map. Famous last words perhaps…..

Below I am testing Winsor & Newton pigment density (student quality Cotman colours versus artist’s quality). For the final results and completed colour chart, click this post.

Other busy work was going on in our household over the weekend. Can you guess what the boys were building?

A Quarterpipe!

Yet another one, this time much, much smaller and no steel welding or huge skate park area required.

Whenever I need a shot of colour inspiration I turn to the garden. Now that it’s cooler (meaning under 40C/104F!) I’m out there a whole lot more.

Blue Iris feeling fresh in the morning.

Candy Cane Frangipanis scent the air.

Looking down the throat of the Leopard spotted canna lily reminds me of the 1960′s show ”Time Tunnel”.

The hibiscus are madly flowering their heads off, and it’s magic watching them unfold right before your eyes in the morning - from tight bud to full flamboyant bloom in minutes.

Insects are out and about in the dawn light as well. Fly for breakfast anyone?

And of course the bees never stop.

Morning always reveals surprises.

Other winged creatures show up out front at first light.

Then stay for a seista on my front door mat. Gives the Postie a surprise sometimes!

Throughout the day more visitors come and go.

These long beaked Corellas can create carnage to a lawned area in mere minutes.

Watching the blue dragonflies hunt and dance can be quite hypnotic. They look you straight in the eye as well.

Now we have four turtle doves instead of two.

I can feel some botanical drawing/painting urges coming on…

Having a play with my pan paints today, and this bird appeared:

Quite a change from my usual bird paintings!

It rather matches some of the paintings and drawings I did for the Rainbow Catcher (see last 2 posts)

Lots of critters hiding everywhere in my house!