Duststorm sweeps over Eastern Australia

The most extraordinary dust storm travelled across the Australian continent over the past couple of days. It descended on Brisbane this morning and we can just see stars coming through again now...  over 12 hrs later. This image above comes from Yuki's Art Blog and is of New Farm Park next to the Brisbane River (on the right). If you wish to see more images do visit her blog. She is a Japanese illustrator /photographer living in Brisbane and her post today - SEP 23 - titled  Sandstorm in Brisbane has other images you can view. I did not get to take photos and was ensconced in my studio with windows all shut to keep out the red dust. Many people reportedly suffered breathing problems and there were huge disruptions to normal services in many centres.

two coats of paint

 Mark Mullin : " A growing time", 2007 Oil on canvas 72" x 72" x 5"

        

Paintings by Sharon L Butler and the icon for Two coats of paint on twitter.

Two coats of paint is a 'must see' blog for those interested in painting. Sharon L Butler created it in 2007 and you can read more about that at the top left side of the blog. Basically she talks about the fact she was very interested in reading art commentary and reviews over many years and decided to share this pursuit  and significant store of material with others she felt may be interested. And yes, people were found to be very interested and the blog continues to prosper, not that any money is made from maintaining it she points out. Rather it has become a place where the dialogue and thinking and even emotional growth  has proved considerably rewarding.

Here are 2 posts from Sunday:

 Kandinsky's influence - Posted Sunday, sept 20, 2009

Heidi Pollard, "Honey"  2005, oil on canvas,  48" x 48"

Pollard's painting is included in the Kandinsky post, a very good read for those interested. After the show I saw yesterday this painting caught my eye straight away. The Peter Plagens slideshow from Newsweek -  "Kandinsky's Heirs"  features Terry Winters, a favourite of mine, amongst a series of other painters. The painting at the top of this post by Mark Mullin is also from this Newsweek slideshow of painters.

The other post from Sunday, 20th sept, 09: "I think once I stopped caring quite so much about where I fitted in, and whether it made any sense to be painting, I started getting more and more absorbed in it".

I think this is a familiar kind of reckoning that occurs for one wishing to continue painting long term but facing severe doubts. If this registers with you...READ THIS POST! The quote comes from Cecily Brown and this is her painting:

Cecily Brown, "Indian Tourist", 2008, Oil on Linen

Lost Bees in the Biosphere

Art installation: Lost Bees in the Biosphere by Anna Cooke and Rozina Suliman

Rozina Suliman with the booklet put together by the 2 artists to accompany their work.

Today I met an innovative young artist,  Rozina Suliman,  who co-ordinated Brisbane-based Environmental Art Collective's  ART / PLAY  / SCIENCE 2009 - a  4 day Art Exhibition at White Canvas Space at 26 Church St, Fortitude Valley. If you are in the area you still have till 6pm Tuesday to see this show...2 full days viewing left  (10 am - 6 pm MON & TUES). The space itself was wonderful and the show freshly conceived with a concentrated effort over some months of meetings with artists to develop a dialogue out of which the work was realised. This produced some noteworthy results avoiding it  becoming a mish mash of random works with a unifying title. Instead Rozina's co-ordination and curating skills are to be praised for successfully bringing viewers a rewarding experience, well worth  the effort of seeking out this rather new art space.

Discussing the process behind the show itself as well as Rozina's work was most engaging. Anne Cooke, her collaborator with the installation, is a PhD student in Social and Environmental Psychology. Lino printing is just one of the art forms she works with and has utilised in this work with Rozina who focuses on media and installations in her art practice as well as being Art Curator at Brisbane venue Top Floor.

Around 16 artist were involved in this show...I would have liked to mention the work of these artists as well...unfortunately ...early start in the morning!

Paint: the language UNA REY

The title above is from an article Una contributed to Art Monthly Australia in July this year whilst completing post grad studies. Una has managed art centres at Haasts Bluff,  Milikapiti and Balgo. We met at Newcastle University when she was half a year into her studies and I was starting out. Dialogue with Una is always layered and rewarding, grounded in the gritty experiences of a well-lived life far from the cliched images of travel brochures and ads for the 'good life'. This was the kind of dialogue I was seeking through post grad work. Before the year's end events had catapulted me into unplanned changes. Reluctantly a few such connections went by the wayside due to interstate relocation - but not for long with Una - ever the communicator, skilled at poignant one sentence emails ...the conversation flowed. Today  I wish her well for a wonderful opening night of her Final show on completion of her study.

More of Una's work can be viewed through Place Gallery, Melbourne and through her newly launched blog.

PARK(ing) Day

Brisbane PARK(ing) Day is on this Friday, 18th of September. I was sent a Newsletter from Bliss Ecowear today, a great local store in Paddington, full of eco-friendly clothing and accessories, from fair trade sources and local designers....like the talented thea and sami ...hi Thea!

A group of local stores is getting together on friday to claim some parking spaces on the street and have comfy seating, coffee, food, magazines, free massages and free bicycle safety checks available from 7.30 am onwards. I wonder where i'll be friday morning for an hour or so! This event is taking place all over the city and locations are marked on maps, plus  all the details you will need available on the website...just click on the magic words at the beginning of this text!

I love hearing from artists I find on my travels on the net..

Last night I really should have been tucked up in bed... B u t ... a series of stepping stones led to too many wonderful places for me to even begin to share them all with you! My good friend Una Rey is about to have her final show at the close of her PhD. That needs celebrating with a post ASAP...and I want to tell you about the fabulous Slow Muse before this week's out!

But quickly...while the last layer of paint I applied dries ...I just had a lovely email from Linn Meyers whose work I added to my post on Data Is Nature last night. Here (above) is an image I particularly liked from her website and below is the artist at work. I noticed Linn has connections in both East and West Coast US cities... and seems to be engaged in some fascinating projects. 

See Data Is Nature in 1st post I did for Wednesday 16th, 09!

I've still got my first Derwent colour pencils...

But I dont think Jen Maestre does... I imagine they may well have ended up in an art work and be long gone. Then again...its curious what people save - I should talk! Here is a sample of what  Jen does with off-cuts from her work as a sculptor. I found her on the Data Is Nature blog feature on the post below. When she returned my email she reported having visited Australia 10 years ago and said she loved being reminded of the Indigenous woven forms she had seen then when reading about the 'Floating Life" exhibit I posted on 3 days ago currently at Brisbane's GoMA.

Sunshine oculus pencil pendant  shown at  jenmaestre.etsy.com

Artists the world over are often to be found innovating something in their studios that is a sideline to their main Art Practice, making the most of left over material where possible, or utilising hard won skills into something streamlined to sell at affordable prices. Its a bonus when the by-product of the larger work bears fruit in this way...and does not diminish, but enhances the other work. There is a strong element of fine craftsmanship in producing work over a life-time and sometimes the application to producing smaller fine works can be the discipline that can add significantly to an Art Practice - of course depending on the nature of the work and artist's intention.

Perhaps in one's student years, when cash may be in extremely short supply - corners are cut - but it is gratifying to see the shift in awareness of materials that is part of the Artist's maturation process, despite the ongoing need for thrift that is often the case for a great many practitioners..