Sketches – strange garden, fearless girl and an Escher pie

G’Day!

I’ve still been slack updating but have been very happily making. Can you believe summer has ended ( but has it really ) and now we are plowing our way through March. Such a productive summer holidays, I like to keep activities – the schedule – open for some nice relaxed times together. Life is to be enjoyed, creating together the most heart filling things I have ever done with my time. Though, Daughter still gets cross at me because I don’t draw from my imagination ( and I don’t use colour and why does everyone have to be naked in your art all the time? )

Look, kids will always highlight the flaws, right?

Here’s some sketches mostly from drawing with my daughter but also one time with a drawing group here..

Daughter and I went to Melbourne to see the Escher exhibition.. I saw that the Fearless Girl by Kristen Visbal sculpture had been installed at Fed Square so I took her to see it and draw.

I made an Escher pie to celebrate!

 

 

This is a couple of the many sketches I made of the Brett Whiteley and George Baldessin exhibition a number of months back. I was approached by security and told off for using a pen and when I was polite he let me off of the hook but also said had of I not been so nice he would have thrown me out. Very odd. I left and went to the front desk to borrow a pencil because when I am at exhibitions alone, I want to be left alone.

 

Here’s the one from the drawing group – at the Eureka memorial gardens, it really was a lovely time. ( Gene scanned this one in, look at the wonderful job he did. Jeez he’s good 🙂 )

 

Here are some quick ones from a few art days at the Art Gallery of Ballarat with daughter. We both drew and crafted HEAPS. It was when Eliza Jane Gilchrist’s Strange Garden exhibition was on.

Then cafe snacks and tea time, of course, at Kittelty’s

 

I look forward to more drawing with my daughter days, but for now – school pick up calls..

BYE

bird of paradise

Earlier in the year I ran an observing nature drawing work shop at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Each class I would bring in seeds, flower and leaf samples. In the end, as it was getting colder and my flowers were not flowering I was sourcing from florists.

Teaching drawing is pretty amazing, but it’s also a battle as I just really want to sit down and draw too. I took in two birds of paradise flowers to the final class and decided to also draw it – after the class, of course 😛

This was months ago but I forgot about it and just came across it in my sketch book last week. I think it is pretty good.

Observing nature with Lily Mae Martin

I begin teaching next week, here are the details and at the bottom are some handy links 🙂

Observing nature with Lily Mae Martin

Wednesdays, 25 April to 13 June (eight weeks), 4pm to 5.15pm

Have a look at Lily Mae Martin’s work at www.lilymaemartin.com — want to know how she can draw like that? Well, she’s coming along to share a few of her secrets! This is an entry-level course, introducing you to ideas of observation and breaking objects in nature down into simple shapes. Learn the basic skills for translating your observations from your mind onto the page. Ideal for students looking to further their studies in VCE.

Recommended Ages: 10 to 18 years

To book go here: FOLLOW THIS LINK

Also I might add that you should really go see the BECKLER’S BOTANICAL BOUNTY: THE FLORA OF MENINDIE – 24 Feb to 27 May, LINK

And you also must see EUGENE VON GUÉRARD: ARTIST–TRAVELLER – 24 Mar to 27 May, LINK The paintings are interesting but what makes it for me are the sketch books and small drawings, they are really, really wonderful so go see them!

Goodbye!

Rick Amor Drawing Prize 2016

goldenpoppet

Morning Song, ink on paper, 76 x 56cm , 2016

Morning Song, ink on paper, 76 x 56cm , 2016

Friday night was the opening and announcement of the winner at the Rick Amor Drawing Prize at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Peter Wegner took out the prize with his beautiful drawings of a friend who had gone into palliative care.

PW

If you have ever seen anyone at the end of their lives, this work truly captures this time. The line work is delicate – it’s so beautiful and it’s so sad. You should see more of his works on paper at his website here: Peter Wegner works on paper

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Today I got to take my little girl to see all the drawings, she was very keen to see mine even though she saw me make it. I felt like she was proud of me, that was super special.

The Rick Amor Drawing Prize is on until the 2nd of October.

Next week – National Works on Paper at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and then my kidelt turns 6!

News~

Morning Song, ink on paper, 76 x 56cm , 2016

Morning Song, ink on paper, 76 x 56cm , 2016

Hallo!
I am really pleased to say that my drawing Morning Song has been shortlisted for the Rick Amor drawing prize and my drawing Wrestling Three has been shortlisted for the National Works on Paper prize.
These are both really amazing exhibitions and I am really, really proud of the work that I have going into these exhibitions.

The Rick Amor opens July 9th at the Art Gallery of Ballarat and the National Works on Paper Prize opens 16th of July at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery.

Hope you can make it down to see the works while they are on display. Good luck to all the shortlisted artists!

 Wrestling three, ink on paper, 75 x 105cm, 2015

Wrestling three, ink on paper, 75 x 105cm, 2015

Artists ‘In Conversation’ at the Art Gallery of Ballarat

in_conversation_lily_mae_martin

( Blind continuous line drawing of Prudence Flint and Fiona Watson in conversation drawn by me )

The Archibald Prize has made it’s way to Ballarat and there have been many events in and around this exhibition. I must admit that I am not one for openings and parties, however I have enjoyed the In Conversation series that has featured artists Juan Ford, Carla Fletcher and Prudence Flint. I think this was a really fantastic thing to do as bringing artists to the gallery to have a chat about their works within the prize as well as their overall careers and practices makes exhibitions relevant.

The audiences were made up of locals, artists and visitors – I garnered this from the Q & A sessions at the end of each conversation.

Exhibitions that are created around a prize are so interesting – sometimes they are not very good, sometimes they are mind blowing and often they are a mix of the two. The Archibald is no stranger to controversy and criticism. I often hear artists scoff that it isn’t a ‘real’ portrait prize ( I didn’t have the courage to ask what that actually meant – I mean, it’s not like there’s a fake portrait prize? ) But I think it is exciting, there are so many people I admire or studied with that are often shortlisted. These prizes really help artists but also, and possibly most importantly, it’s an exhibition that gets people from all walks talking about art.

Each artist talked about their own piece in the prize, all three works are so very different within subject and style. I enjoyed hearing their reflections on painting as a practice, and learning that Carla’s piece is a collage. There was talk about the ‘rules’ for works that are submitted to the prize. The court case that occurred in 2004 when an artist sued the Art Gallery of NSW over a winning portrait being a ‘drawing’ and not a ‘painting’ was mentioned and this got people musing about what is painting and what would constitute a painting within the context of the Archibald and does that even matter? What relationship does photography have to painting? How to keep painting relevant in this day and age.

It was interesting to hear them all talk about their studios. Juan likened his to a science lab; he has two areas – one that is messy and the other that is clean. Carla referred to her practice as being a bit ‘witchy’ and Prudence talked about the whole process being rather mysterious. She has a couch in her studio so she can sit there and knit and problem solve. I love that, I think I will get a nice comfy chair for my new studio because that sounds right to me; The idea of giving yourself a chance to step back from actively making, but still being amongst your work and giving you time to problem solve. Try and create more of an objective space, if one can!

I feel invigorated and really inspired after these talks. All the artists were very generous and had a lot of interesting things to say. It’s made me reflect on my own practice as well and made me realise a few things that I think will keep me going for a good long while.

Here are the websites of the artists mentioned, just click on their names:
Juan Ford
Carla Fletcher
Prudence Flint

Here is an article about the court case I referred too :
A brush with controversy By Carolyn Webb

The Archibald is on for another two weeks at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, information is here:
Archibald 2015

News!

This blog has been a bit quite, my apologies. I have been very busy with installing an exhibition, meetings as well as looking after my beautiful daughter while my husband has been working and living interstate.

I have an exhibition up at the Art Gallery of Ballarat – it is in the windows of the gallery. I was interviewed for Tinderbox radio by Amy T who will post an audio link to it soon, so I will post that with some photos from the hilarious day of installing the show.

And it was hilarious.

Thank you Amy T and Julian for the help and Nathan Curnow for the game of pooh sticks.

Also, I am very pleased to announce that I am now a represented artist of the Scott Livesey Galleries! There is an exhibition on at the moment with a few of my works, information here: LINK. It’s on until the 15th of December.

This is Matt.R.Martin and I at the book launch of The Art of James Davis by Ashley Crawford.