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.

 

 

2016 - Mixed reviews to date

After a very successful exhibition in November 2015, an extremely enjoyable Christmas, and New Year spent with family, and friends, at the Roo, and in Brisbane, Maleny, Stradbroke Island and the Tweed, I started 2016 with high hopes.. .  

 

 

 

I knew I had to have a total hip replacement operation end of January, to remove a growth and diseased acetabulum, and though I was not the least impressed, I was resigned to the process happening. . .so packed my bag and into hospital I went. . .  unfortunately, not to come out until I had experience two nights in Intensive care and another week on the ward. Yep!! And still no hip operation!

I experienced anaphylactic shock, and ended up intubated, and supporting a series of tubes pouring in copious quantities of Insulin, antibiotics and antihistamines.

I felt 10 times worse after the NON-Op than before I went in.

 

Now here we are towards the end of April, and still waiting for the hospital to release my, operation anaesthetic drug use list, so the Immunologist can re-test . . . . And for my system to get rid of the mast cells, and recover from heart attack.

So there will be more testing, to find what caused the severe allergic reaction. . . .but when?

 

Cameron and I had anticipated going on a river cruise in France, and then driving through Spain, to join a cruise from Barcelona across to Italy, ending in a week in Venice, and then home. This would have been to celebrate Cameron's second retirement (Sounds like the Second coming of *. And no there will not be another series of retirement parties!!!)

 

Being extremely unamused with all the hospital visits, blood tests, Dr's visits and waiting. (Pain in hip is unacceptable and lump is growing rapidly)  So some positive action is required . . . . . . (A table of friends here last Friday night were talking of their favourable experiences on recent cruises)  And I thought . . .why Not? . . .Looked on line, and by the Saturday was booked, and we are off next Tuesday . . .Cameron, is at this very moment, in trying to extend his Passport, as he didn't realize his was out of date . . . .Yep!!!! That is what happens when you are VERY spontaneous.

 

But bugger it!!!  Booked first one I could find... leaving the soonest.

Melanesian discovery, for 10 nights aboard the Pacific Jewel . . . mmm!!!! Not France, Spain or Italy, but it is on water, and I will not need to lift a finger for almost two weeks.

No it is not something I had anticipated, but when you can't move much, it appears a great option.

Booked a Stateroom with Balcony, and have been informed that we have been 'bumped up' . . .sounds painful, but apparently it means we now have a mini suite, with a balcony -  so should be Ok!!

 

Cameron will be able to do all the exciting, energetic stuff, (Segway touring, deep sea fishing, golfing at Le'Meridian, Diving)  while I meander, and do the less strenuous activities like cocktail making, cheese and wine tour, discovering the Island food, sailing through the islands on a Catamaran, (again!) and trying snorkelling (again!!!)  

 

 So, if one must suffer and endure .. I am pleased it will be while sitting on my Balcony, looking at the beautiful blue Pacific ocean flow by.

 

p.S booked Luke Magnan restaurant, SALT for a couple of meals . . .Looking forward to that. Yum!!

   

Thank you to family and friends for ferrying me here, there, and everywhere, and for bringing untold quantities of coffee and taking me out for cuppas, and outings . . truly appreciated.

 

PSs . . . .have recently sold two more paintings, so all in all, and despite ALL, the year should improve, end on a high note.

 

5WAYS

Hanging an exhibition is an exhausting process which requires hard work, co-operation, assistance and a good eye. Fortunately we had a generous dollop of all qualities supplied by the 5 exhibitors, family members and friends -  resulting in a two day assembly - which eventually culminated in an extremely cohesive display  . .  A huge Thankyou



 

 

 Deciding where to hang each individual piece so that it works as a whole is not an easy task . . . thank goodness we all have an abundance of humour . . .

 Sculpture, ceramics, installations, paintings and wall art from various artists, with entirely individual ways of working, does not automatically work together  - without serious thought and lots of juggling . . .

Painting - Sharon Lee  

Sculpture - Lyn Derrick   

Installation - Lily Karmatz

Ceramics - Linda Back          Ink on paper - Kate Cooke

The past two years being influenced by Ikebana and the 'Do' has been an extremely enjoyable process . . .A mammoth thankyou to Lily, Linda, Lyn and Kate from me - and to my family for their endless support and good humor throughout - you are all wonderful.
Time to go home, recharge our batteries, and get our glamour-rags out for the Exhibition opening of 5WAYS . . .

Connections Renewed - All sold out!

Oooops! How quickly life can speed by while we forget to maintain the everyday -

We (Linda, Lyn, Lily and myself) thoroughly enjoyed the entire process of our exhibition.

The setting up . . . 

Linda Back ceramics

Lily Karmatz

Lyn Derrick - sculpture

My supportive family

The setting up does not just happen - and once again I would like to thank my family for their help and support.

The OPENING. We were thrilled to see over two hundred people attending -  
a big Thank you to you all for being there . . . .

Opening at Gallery Nona

Stephen Newton with us after opening

Sales on night were very good. . . . .  Always nice!!!

Sharon Lee Paintings, Linda Back ceramics

A BIG Thank you to Stephen for his opening speech. We appreciated the time he spent viewing our work and the time he took to write and deliver this speech.

Stephen Newton - Opening speech

Stephen Newton        http://www.visualartist.info/stephennewton

Stephen Newton is an Australian sculptor working in wood and stone

Timeless connections to place through the sense of touch

". . . . Thank you very much Linda, Lyn, Lily and Sharon for this wonderful invitation and May I congratulate you all on a fabulous exhibition.

Welcome everybody to Connections renewed -  a fitting title for such a cohesive exhibition.  I had the exhibition to myself yesterday which gave me time to get immersed in the work, and during that time I felt myself repeatedly drawn into and out on a gentle ebb and flow of visual and sensual delights, and I left  the exhibition ‘soul nourished.’ I put this feeling down to having just experienced a wonderfully designed, and curated exhibition of deeply resonant forms and images, inspired by the natural environment. The word interwoven – used in this exhibition to describe the artists’ careers and life journeys also comes to mind as a fitting title for this exhibition.

I think Connections Renewed is a better title, because it implies the passage of time and the changing nature of things – of connections – between people and people, between people and place. And while all the artists offer us a deeply personal account of their relationship to nature, it is not so personal as to stop all of us, the audience, bringing something of ourselves to the work, because the work invites us in.

And that’s what I’d like to share briefly with you today, some of my thoughts and feelings that surfaced when I was ‘invited in’. Like any observation or reading, the response usually implicates the nature and bias of the reader. I guess that means that I have approached the exhibition as an artist and educator  . . .  .

Linda back - ceramics

Linda Backs ceramic installations show us an extremely confident and sonsistent handling of the medium. The concept ‘vessel’ – such an iconic canon in the seramic world, is conceptually – though not physically – deconstructed into a rigorously arranged multi-object installation. The framing of the forms into beautifully crafted red cedar wall units lends a kind of surreal-domestic atmosphere, familiarly engaging with a slight whimsical twist. I’m also reminded of the textural tonality of the elegant still life arrangements of the painter Giorgio Morandi, delivered to us as robust organic sculptural form and sublime cabinetry. Linda’s tubular works are also vessels of a sort, though I felt them to be reminiscent of  mangrove nodules or tree roots, slowly and surely finding a way out of the earth and ocean into the life and light of the world.

Lyn Derrick - sculpture

Lyn Derrick’s sculptures for me exist as elegantly refined and ecologically renewed modernist forms. The modernist sensibility of ‘truth to material’ is played out through a meticulously crafted architectonic aesthetic. However the ‘truth’ found in Lyn’s material carries the urgency of real environmental concerns about the future of Tasmania’s old growth forests. The poignancy and humanity of our nature/culture condition, reveals itself to us through delicate and precarious balance of wood and steel. Lyns sculptures are not small; there is a sense of the scale-less sensation in each piece, drawing us into the intimate relationship with the work, physically and emotionally.

Lily Karmatz - installation

I viewed Lily karmatz’s work in the exhibition as work in progress, and this is by no means a detracting statement. As Lily herself says in her artist statement, “I am not concerned with creating the object.” How then does one respond? As simply as one responds to leaves falling, wind blowing and water flowing. Of course all art practice is a process, but not all art practice needs to end in a product. Lily’s works on canvas and wood, combined with organic materials such as leaves, twigs and vines are a highly refined moment in time, a time we know will surely pass. I have long known Lily’s passion for Ikebana, and I a also reminded of the Japanese Wabi-sabi aesthetic , which is accepting of change and embraces a natural beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Lily’s artwork is ‘in process’, but that does not mean it is unfinished. It offers us the rare opportunity to experience the visual art equivalent of what my Lyenga yoga teacher calls a ‘soft exhalation’.

Sharon Lee -  smaller collage works.

Sharon Lee’s pictorially layered collages and paintings remind me in some, of an almost Max Ernst-like landscape. Ernst himself said ‘an artist must have one eye on the outer world, while the other eye looks towards the inner world’. Sharon’s imagery holds nothing of the melancholy of Ernst, her images are always a joyful experience, allowing our eye to drift through a kaleidoscope of layers and colours, allowing us to connect the fragments of our own memories. As Sharon says in her statement – “The individual brings their own emotional history to the viewing, creating their own unique narrative”.

In this exhibition – Connections Renewed – Each artists work is a natural salve for the senses, a balm for the soul.

Connections Renewed is a heartfelt honouring of nature, and a gentle reminder to us that we are all a part – sometimes an ungrateful part – of nature.

To quote Sharon’s words, we all have an emotional history, it’s a history connected with each other and it’s a history deeply connected with nature.

This wonderful exhibition invites us to renew our own personal connections with nature and in turn, with each other.

Thank you . . . . "

Out Celebrating - after the exhibition was complete . . . 

Thank you to everyone involved. Those who exhibited with me, and those who were supportive throughout the entire process. The reporters for writing the articles in the news papers, the gallery staff, those who attended or spoke at the opening, and to the people who bought our work, we hope it brings you enjoyment for many years. . . .  
Cheers Sharon 

A blessing is, to share . . the Time to be creative.

A week of creativity. Bliss !! But, where does that time go ?

The hustle and flurry of arrivals, settling in, finding a space, looking, learning and BEING . . . . all processes that are accompanied by laughter and interesting, colourfull and informative stories . . . . of previous experiences and adventures.

Learning to LIKE brown, being comfortable in the BUSH, using a craft UNUSED, or unexplored for some time . . were all areas re-visited and in many cases re-invented.

The playfulness of Ikebana and the sharing of the breaking of bread . . . all contributed towards the feeling of community.

Sitting here in the Rusty Roo after the completion of another workshop . . . reflecting on the TIME SHARED , I am always amazed that I have been blessed, to be in a position, to have this connection with such a diverse group of creative individuals. . . . who became warm and comfortable companions in such a short time.

Thankyou. I wish for you all, a continuation of what you have found as your precious SMALL JOYs, while here at the Roo.