ESP Gallery Sydney

I am sending 6 small works to the ESP gallery in Marrackville.
The 69 Smith St group has arranged a group show there - it is called Dialogue -  another good reason for being a member of an Artist Run Initiative!
I have been working all hours to get them finished
20cm x25cm Mixed media.

In the Spotlight: Anton Bruehl 1930s - 1950s

On Sunday I went to see In the Spotlight: Anton Bruehl 1930s - 1950s at Monash Gallery.
I was not familiar with Anton Bruehl's work, so it was a very pleasant surprise to discover it.
He was a pioneer of colour photography, working mainly on commercial commissions - but this was at a time when there was not a distinct line between 'fine art' and 'commercial' photography.
He had a keen sense of humour and he created some very witty advertisements. He did the copy as well as the art.

There is a good article on the Harvard Business School  about an exhibition in 1934. The theme is "The High Art of Photographic Advertising" see it  here .

Bruehl's images are technically briliant - and often amusing - the pictures of talking corn (for a Bird's Eye advertisement are very sweet). He also did publicity shots for stage shows - and these are exquisite.
There is a good range of varied works on show - and I needed more time than I had allowed to see the exhibition.

Refocus Exhibition at 69 Smith St Gallery

Yesterday (Sat 18th June) was the opening event for the Refocus exhibition at 69 Smith St Gallery. The show is made up of images contributed by members of the photography interest group which meets once a month.
These are the images that I submitted. They are A3 size on rag paper.
The exhibition runs until Sunday July 2nd.

Anglsea Queen's Birthday

Wonderful winter light in the afternoon at Anglsea.

Brunswick St Gallery Small Works

These are my entries for BSG Small works exhibition open from  June 14th - 30th June.
Opening night June 17th 6pm.

These are etchings which I have been working on for some time

Bundoora Homestead - NMIT Visual Arts "common place" exhibition

Earlier this year students from NMIT Visual Arts went to Bundoora Homestead for an excursion. The homestead has a rich history, and students were encouraged to use the excursion as a stimulus for creative responses.

The works that were created are on show at the homestead in the Access Gallery at the Bundoora Homestead Art Centre  from June 2 to June 19th. The exhibition is called common place.

It is open from 11- 4 Wed to Sat, and 12-5 on Sundays.

Students created drawings, paintings, lino prints, collages and photographs.

I submitted these  photographs of the staircase - trying to capture the ghostly feeling in the homestead. The memory of thousands of people who have climbed these stairs is hazy - and many of these people would have been lost in their own dreams.

The photos were framed by the NMIT Visual Arts Department in large frames with generous white mounts. I was thrilled to see them looking so well presented.

Many thanks to Kirsten Perry the teacher who had the idea and organised the show, and the people who helped her mount the exhibition,

The City of Darebin has acquired these images - so they will be on display around City of Darebin properties in he future. This was a lovely compliment.

Robert ParkeHarrison The Architect's Brother

Yesterday I was shown a book by this photographer.
I had never heard of him, but was immediately captivated by his whimsical  images. He works with his wife, and their book The Architect’s Brother was named as one of 'the Ten Best Photography Books of the Year' of 2000 by the New York Times. He explains his work:

My photographs tell stories of loss, human struggle, and personal exploration within landscapes scarred by technology and over-use…. [I] strive to metaphorically and poetically link laborious actions, idiosyncratic rituals and strangely crude machines into tales about our modern experience.

Pinhole images

Assignment for Photography at  NMIT has been to use a pinhole camera .
I have used the school's Zero 120 Camera to create these images.

Took a while to get the exposure right as I forgot to over expose one stop - f90 is missing from the conversion dial.
The aperture  fixed at f138 so some calculations are required.

Printmaking - small works

At last I think I am making progress with my printmaking assignment.
I have been stuck at a point not knowing how to combine images to incorporate mixed media into the printmaking process. Today I created some small prints that seem to resolve this issue.
These are works in progress - ... at last. Progress.

Portraits of Lina

 Practising portrait shots with Lina

Painting again - in progress

I have been finding printmaking rather frustrating - things are not working out as I would like. So I have started 2 paintings that make me feel happy and cheerful. I can see a trend with earlier works.