Recent Artwork

2D Sculptures?/3D Drawings?

Recently I have become more interested in the possibilities of the line, partly because of the recent Matisse exhibition of drawings and prints at QAG/GOMA, and partly because of the Picasso exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW.  Matisse created form, volume, and depth with just the simplest of combinations of lines, and Picasso drew in the air onto film with the point of a small flashlight.  In these structures I have been trying to combine these ideas – simplifying a drawing down to a few connected and self-supporting lines, and then realising the images as freestanding drawings in mid-air.

Paintings

Usually, I create a rough acrylic underpainting and then draw/paint over the top of that – sometimes with paint and a fine brush, sometimes just in charcoal, sometimes with conte crayons as well.  Since I have been experimenting with the simplified line wire sculptures, I have been exploring a similar approach in real 2D, painting on canvas with a reduced palette of only two or three colours to create an image that despite its stylised simplicity, is still true and aesthetically pleasing.

Woodblock Prints

I’ve tried editioning an identical series of copies from the same blocks, and I recognise how difficult and skillful that is, but I find the process tedious.  I’m finding it much more interesting to start with a carved image and then experiment with realising it on paper in all sorts of different ways, using different inks/paints and different degrees of damp/wet paper.

Linoblock Prints

I have been starting to explore linoblock printing again.  Partially inspired by Matisse’ beautifully simple linocuts, where he simply drew with a gouge, but also with more conventional reversed relief cuts.

Life Drawings

I’ve never understood how, with most artists, all their drawings look pretty much the same.  I don’t know how they don’t get bored drawing in the same recognisable style all the time.  As if there was only one way of seeing something!  To me, drawing is a continual process of visual exploration and experimentation, and every drawing I do is different depending on what I want to achieve, what I’m looking at, and what tools I have to play with.

Modern Classics

Here I have taken some classical art themes and reworked them with a contemporary approach.

Earlier Artwork

Brush Drawings

There is no forgiveness in a brush full of ink. You get it right first time, or you reach for a fresh piece of paper.  Some of these brush drawings needed many failed attempts before I got an acceptable version.

Tone Drawings

In the early 1880s, pointillist Georges Seurat stopped painting to concentrate on drawing.  Using just massed areas of charcoal on rough textured watercolour paper, he produced a body of monochrome drawings that explored light and form without using line at all.  This novel approach of gradually building an image with layers of darkness on a textured surface is like mezzotint – but in reverse.  These drawings are my exploration of Seurat’s technique.

Mixed Media

These works use various combinations of wet paint and dry media, pastels or charcoal, usually on canvas.

Pastels

Unlike ink, pastel is the most forgiving medium, very controllable and reworkable, and capable of great subtlety.

Other Drawings

Here is a selection of life drawings from the last ten years.

Commercial Shows

In 2006, I had a solo show at Watling Galleries in Newstead, Brisbane, and contributed to a group show at the same gallery in 2007.

Contact Me

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