Encaustic Workshop

Today I started a 2 day encaustic workshop run by the Papermakers of Victoria.
The tutor is Daniella Woolf from the USA - Santa Cruz and is an expert in this field.
You can see her work and business information here,
http://www.daniellawoolf.com/
http://waxworkswest.com/

Already we have learned a great deal and all of us have been inspired.
Here are some samples from today

 Collages

 Transfer of pastel and metal leaf (below)

American Dreams- 20th Century Photography

On the weekend I went to see the American Dreams- 20th Century Photography exhibition in Bendigo.
The exhibition featured 80 prints from the George Eastman House collection,
There were prints by Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman and a stunning image by Richard Avedon of Natasha Kinski.
What is remarkable about it is the size and perfection of the image. It is over a meter long and incredibly detailed.

I have learned from seeing the exhibition at Monash Gallery and this exhibition at Bendigo gallery how lovely platinum photographs are.
Seeing them - the real prints and not reproductions, made me understand the subtlety of the medium - beautiful ranges of soft delicate tones - quite different from black and white of silver gelatin prints.
The platinum tones range from warm black, to reddish brown, to expanded mid-tone grays that are unobtainable in silver prints.
The image here is by Anton Bruehl - not part of the Eastman exhibition, but a beautiful example of the range of chocolaty tones available using the platinum process.

Portraits of Vicki and Gail

Portraits of Vicki and Gail using only natural light, using my Canon 450D.
I think that these capture the essence of these two good friends.

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.