2020 - 2023 Flood, fire and pestilence - But, we are back!!!!!

   At Roo from 2020  -  2024 things have not been boring.

      It has been biblical here at the Roo, with almost all the dreaded horrors visiting us one by one. 

    When I complained about the hardship of having endured a flood, a fire, mouse plague and COVID, my dear friend in America - with a smile in her voice - said, 'Ahh! But have you been visited by falling frogs?' The fact that not long after this conversation, a frog fell from the ceiling and landed on my boob, was enough to stop further speculation or complaints. Because I do not want to hear of any other possibiloities for bad things to happen. 

    But really - it hasn't been all bad!

    I placed photos of the fire on Instagram and lived with the results, so I will not enter them here. 

 

Just saying - while the downstairs living area was being processed, and rebuilt, the upstairs studio received little attention. So limited art was completed. 

2019 - If Nature Was Watching Would You Be Kinder, exhibition at Nona Gallery BIA

2020 - Crossdale 4 Exhibition - Esk Condensary Art Gallery. limited viewing due to covid.

2021 - Crossdale 5 Exhibition - Esk Regional Art Gallery - good turn out, most works sold.

    So pleased we had so much Yang before the Yin.

    We had the most enjoyable 'Grand Tour' in 2019  Traveling through the UK from Devon, Wales and up through to Scotland. Accompanied by Arron and friends we then embarked on an epic cruise - Amsterdam to Budapest. With a week in Budapest and another in Singapore. Brilliant!!!!

We installed a successful Bore, for water, at the Roo. Partied in fancy dress for a significant birthday.

Lost our SNOOPY 18yo

 

Bore - great output

Another Birthday - Ahhhh!

 

Cameron discovered he is allergic to Bees

Cameron had both knee joints replaced.

    

Cameron had several operations for skin cancer and melanoma.

Traveled to Sydney to visit Brianna and Xavier - twice.                            Visited, Noosa and Straddy.

  

 Enjoyed our usual, relaxed, indulgent, happy Christmas's at the Roo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2020 - Fire - entire downstairs sleeping area was gutted. Rebuilt - with improvements.

2020 - COVID - Isolated here with fortnightly trips to Brissy to visit my dad.

We took the opportunity to renovate. Enclosed the entire outside sun area in glass. 

Built a long shade house for our expanding orchid collection.

Built a new kitchen, book shelves, and started the process with council to install a swimming pool.

As soon as the borders were open we took the opportunity to travel. Enjoyed a three week tour of New Zealand by ship, and a four week driving holiday to Tasmania, part-way accompanied by Brianna.

2023 - sold the property that was our Brisbane home and moved to the Roo full time.

2023 - Upstairs furniture discarded and as much as possible everything was cleaned.

2024 January - Studio clean and new furniture installed, and I'm back in my studio.

2024 - is shaping up to be a good Yang year!!!

Arron is off to Japan and is forming a new company.

Brianna has been to Antarctica, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and her new book, 'The Work' is coming out in April.

Have three exhibitions in my sight.

1 - group exhibition, Kilcoy Art Society, gallery members exhibition.

2 - group exhibition - Paint like a Master.

3 - group exhibition - BIRDS - Nona Gallery, BIA

Time to do some work!!!

2024 Exhibition Paint Like a Master

March 2024   Kilcoy art Gallery        kilcoyart.org.au

In 2023 Cameron and I joined the Kilcoy Art Society as a way to meet people in the wider community. Since then I have exhibited in two exhibitions. 4 small oil paintings in the first, and a low relief wall sculpture using  paper clay, acrylic, gold leaf and resin in the Paint Like A Master exhibition.  

 

 

 

As always, I started working toward this exhibition by doing some research.

The word MASTER - by definition - it is a person who shows great skill or proficiency. An expert, a virtuoso or wizard. 

Today Vincent Van Gogh is considered a master. His paintings are worth millions 

Yet Vincent Van Gogh - who to us - is considered a MASTER, was, in his time thought of as a NOVICE. He did not attend art school, so his contemporaries thought his work lacked technical skill.They described it as sloppy, lacking in precision and finesse. Thought his Colors were overly intense and unrealistic.

Yet - Van Gogh - described himself as a musician of color Said he tried to use color as a symbolic language of his emotions. To express the terrible and incredible passions of humanity and today we understand that the intensity of Van Gogh’s palette symbolizes the way he struggled with his inner turmoil. 

 

To me STARRY NIGHT which he painted while in an asylum represents all this angst and beauty. It is his psychological response to the world. 

 

Through bold, emotive use of color and expressive choppy brush strokes his work displays directness, freshness, vitality and passion. And we consider it a masterpiece. 

 

Then I looked up the word LIKE. Paint like a Master. LIKE - means having the same 

characteristics or qualities.

To me these qualities were - the way he displayed his inner turmoil,with colour, intensity, vitality and passion. 

 

It wasn’t primarily about producing something to be sold. Vincent In his 10 year career as an artist - having produced some 800 works - Sold 1

 

In my response to produce something LIKE Starry Night - I chose a circle to portray the timelessness of his mental condition. To show the disquiet and choppiness of his life - I have portrayed his trouble thoughts - looking out from his asylum. 

To represent his passion and vitality I used impasto and color. Thick layers of Paper clay with Bright Acrylics & Gold Leaf . To symbolize the restraints placed on him by his contemporaries and society - I have Imprisoned the work behind a layer of hard resin. 

PROCESS Paper clay - is it dries hard without the use of a kiln. Build up layers - using a slurry of paper clay, water and PVA glue. Joined at the back with Chux, and slurry. To repeat shapes I produced molds using PINKY SIL or Plaster. I sealed the finished work with gesso, painted it with acrylics and sealed it with resin.