Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Exhibition Images

Thanks to everyone who made my exhibition opening a wonderful night. We had about 50 people there and we all enjoyed the evening.



Refills $3.55 Absolute Matte on canvas, 25 x 30cm


I have occasionally used Atelier Absolute Matte. I find it is difficult as the colours don't mix easily, and some colours just don't mix at all. But for some subjects this paint is the perfect medium. The matte effect combined with the way this paint makes the colours leap off the canvas with a vibrancy that is difficult to get otherwise, was perfect for this night image.




Roll-Up III Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50cm


Always coming back to the 'double image' in my paintings, this is another wallpaper and clown image where they merge. This one evokes memories of my Nan's curtains.







Clown Skeletons I, II and III Absolute Matte and acrylic on canvas panels, 60 x 60cm each.

These were inspired by the vivid memories I have of the flock wallpaper in the "Marigold Chinese Restaurant", Bridge Street, West Tamworth circa 1975. As a child I remember 'seeing' images in the wallpaper, lino floors, tiles, curtains, the persian rugs on our floor, just about everthing held faces to me. I was also captivated by the cartoon gag (seemingly repeated endlessly in the late 60's and 70's) of the patient being x-rayed behind a screen that showed their head and feed unaltered, and a stylised skeleton in between. The flock wallpaper seemed to be all pelvises, sinuses and collar bones to me, so I turned it into 'clown' skeletons, just for the fun of it.




Roll-Up IV, acrylic on canvas, each panel 10cm x 10cm, 7 panels.

The smallest works I've ever done, capturing the sweep of the clown heads at the side-show clown game.




Roll-Up II, acrylic on canvas, 200cm x 60cm.

And a large one, again with the double image of the clowns and wallpaper.

5 comments:

Anastasia said...

These are wonderul - great clowns!
I like the painted wallpaper backgrounds.

Penny said...

I agree with Anastasiac these are wonderful clowns and the wall paer backgrounds are really interesting. Sounds as if it was a success I hope so.

Alison said...

The atmosphere of the top one is amazing - spot on - really exciting. Well done on your exhibition.

Jana Bouc said...

Wow! Your work is really amazing and unique--that one clown coming out of the wall paper looks so three-dimensional. I had to look at it several times to be sure it was just painted in there. Congratulations on mounting your show--I hope it was a grand and well-deserved success. I loved reading about how you saw the patterns in everything as a kid and that they seemed like skeletons to you. I was fascinated with skeletons as a kid too. 50 years ago my grandfather had a shoe store with a machine that you could stand on and see an x-ray of all the bones in your feet in glowing green light. Now that's really scary--thinking about all the radiation!

Linda said...

These are amazing images! What a wonderful exhibit this must have been!