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I started this blog back in the early 2000’s as a sort of diary, to document my work and creative life and to give something back to others.
Going through some of my old posts recently, I was able to pin point, some pivotal moments in my life, of where my ideas and artworks originally came from, why my work and arts practice has changed and how, it’s evolved over the years, to where it is today.
After visits to Europe, UK and an arts residency in Spain, in 2005, I especially noticed some changes in the way I was working. Though I have always worked between disciplines, painting was always my main form of expression. I was becoming more dissatisfied with just painting and found it hard to do any creative work for awhile. Then, after a 3 month stay in France 2007, I realized I could no longer, only use paint, to express my ideas.
This led to a series of experimental installations, videos and a book of photographs. Touched by Dada and Surrealist ideas, I had to re-access what I was doing as an artist.
The installation and video below “Parisgrit” was shown at Tilt Gallery, in Melbourne in 2006. I can see quite a few interesting elements in it, but it’s way too long and very noisy. Maybe someday, I will get around to re-working it and revamping it into something else.
https://youtu.be/qUp3r-oEa-I
By looking back over my old blog posts or (diary entries) I find it helpful, to reflect on the areas, where I can make improvements and expand on previous ideas. I can also see where, my ideas have come from. I get a glimpse of how & why, my artwork, techniques and materials have changed over time and maybe where I could be heading in my arts practice.
3 new paintings, well, it’s actually one painting, a triptych, I did for a recent art prize. Each painting was made with acrylic paint and small areas of oil paint on birch cradled boards.
I love using boards for painting. The surface is much more forgiving than canvas. Perfect for the spontaneous, mark-making and material layering I tend to do. I can scratch, sand, scrape back, engrave and it won’t tear, or break like canvas.
If I could get larger cradled boards and still be able to lift them, I would be very happy. The size of these boards are 50 x 50cm. each. Overall size 150cm. x 50cm.
About Crut
Communication to the masses. Text in the environment can mark territory, give control and can validate those, who don’t have a voice in the mainstream order. Through mark-making in the environment everybody can be heard. I see beauty and at times, desperation in the messages, found in the streets, and in the abandoned, underground and derelict spaces. Layers of tagging, graffiti and found marks on weathered surfaces tell stories about the past, present and future. Aesthetically they can be beautiful, even though they may have been painted illicitly on a wall, or other surface’s. My abstractions are investigations into, marks, traces and messages, left behind, in the urban and rural environment.
Couldn’t get out of bed this morning after a rough night’s sleep.
Instead, I grabbed my old Pilot mechanical pencil and did some little drawings on an old book cover I rescued from hard garbage.
My drawings are intuitive and spontaneous. Using construction type marks, I like to pull apart things and go back to the beginning to find the essence
leaving traces of where I’ve just been, like traces left behind in the environment from nature, human beings and all living creatures.
Sometimes, when drawing, I remember my childhood when watching my older brother draw plans for buildings, real and imaginary. When he was at work I would go into his room and look for ages at the drawings on graph paper and lined exercise books.
Today, my brother is a very creative builder, cabinet maker and teacher. 50 years later, I still love to watch him draw his plans and architectural ideas on bits of paper. They are so precise, detailed and unique.
Wherever I go I like to have all my art materials in one place encase I need to jot down an idea, or for when I get that creative burst.
So, when I found this old case I knew exactly what I would do with it. I made myself a personal art kit for when I go out and about. I keep this case in my car and it goes everywhere with me. I also have a smaller kit for when I travel overseas. This kit is much lighter so I can collect art materials along the way
It has everything I need for drawing, painting, collage, photo transfer, stamping and writing
Black and white study for the collage course I’m doing. We were asked to create a collage using only black and white materials. I loved this exercise and found myself wanting to add some colour…I couldn’t resist and made 2 collages.
I collected 2 canvas boards, black and white vintage papers, wallpaper and newer paper
As in abstract painting, I like to work quickly and not worry too much about leaving marks and splotches as I’m doing. In some areas I made marks with felt pens and white gesso paint trying to blend the different textures and areas.
I also explored Stephanie’s idea and used some glitter paint mixing it with gesso so it became a greyish colour. I like the end result but may go further and sand back the whole lot, giving it a worn-out appearance.
It was Melbourne Cup Day so this was a good excuse for me to grab a (naughty snack attack) stash to help me along with my artplay day. I gathered all my paints , crayons, salt, tapes and began.
The first lot of images are the process using, paint with salt, glue , tape, pastel and more…The second lot of images are the finished result.
What a fun way to get a big bunch of gorgeous papers together for creating collage and books !
and a few more papers felt pen, masking tape and water
I love creating collage and think this course will help me to free up to experiment and play instead of being so serious and restricted when creating collage. I want to feel free to play with the process without worrying about the end result. Just like when creating my abstract paintings
I love Stephanie’s Art and thought her course would be perfect for this.
Image copyright Stephanie Levy 2013
I’m really looking forward to the interviews with 10 top collage artists from around the world who will share their tips and give us peeks at their art and arts practice.
We will be creating our own collage materials and learn how to decorate and paint our own unique papers. As well, I get to recycle and use up, my huge collection of vintage papers, fabrics, wallpapers and junk to make beautiful artworks and make room in my studio for new art projects.
Surface quality is very important to me and my paintings consist of many layers of paint and line making. During my process I continuously scrape, wipe and sand back layers until only a trace remains of my previous mark making.
Sensor Ship 2
Jenny Davis
Acrylic on Canvas
120 x 60cm
In both paintings you can see little tears and pockets of bright grainy colour pushing through to the top layers. I wanted the ghosts of my past marks and texture to sit just below the surface, still and silent. Waiting to be discovered.
Sensor Ship
Jenny Davis
Acrylic on Canvas
120 x 60cm.
My favourite artist of the month is Anselm Kiefer. A German artist who creates paintings and monumental installations with crusted surfaces, incorporating, lead, concrete, ash, acid, earth, glass and gold, broken glass, oil, emulsion, shellac, acrylic and raw materials from nature.
I particularly like Kiefer’s ambitious project of transforming an old derilict silk factory in La Ribaute France into a monumental studio art complex where he created his monumental works. He dug out underground chambers, tunnels, to create living and working spaces set amongst strange, reinforced, concrete towers and bunkers, woods and caves. There was even a crypt, an amphitheatre and underground pool.
A trailer from the movie “Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow” about Kiefer’s last days at the studio.
Artists Jenny Davis Charles Farrugia
John Martin
Mark Story
Exhibition dates: 17th April to 24th May, 2012 – Mon-Fri 9.00 to 5.00 or by appt. Address: Gippsland Centre for Art and Design
Building 6S Monash University Gippsland Campus
Churchill 3842
“Silent Momento – Paris Venice & Spain” Links to found surfaces from the streets of Paris, Venice and Spain. Weathered, worn surfaces, old peeling papers with glimpses of the past, slashed with scrapings of whitewash.
Passages in time, forgotten marks and scribble usually left, unseen & silent.
How to Make a Large Studio Easel in 6 Easy- Peasy Steps
When I built my studio years ago, I needed to have a versatile easel. I couldn’t find anything suitable in the shops and my budget wouldn’t allow for much. So, I went about creating one from my left over pieces of timber. I needed one that would take small to very large canvas’s all at once. I needed lots of space too. Being an abstract painter, I slosh paint and work very quickly, sometimes on many canvas’s at once. I wanted a permanent spac,e where I could work on small canvas’s 30x30cm up to very large ones 4 x 2 Meters . My easel ended up being 9 meters long x 4 meters high and after 12 years of daily use, my rough and ready easel is still going strong.
My simple Plan
Materials & Equipment
Cut yourself, or buy 2 equal lengths of hardwood or pine, however long you want the easel to be. This is for the floor and wall runner that will hold all the upright struts.
Cut yourself, or buy equal lengths of hardwood or pine for the uprights. Decide how many uprights you want to hold your canvas .To get the length of each piece , measure from floor to top wall at the angle you want the easel to be.
Bolts, nails or screws
Wooden dowel lengths of wood for pegs
Drill with a “spade” drill bit the same circumference as the dowel pieces you have
(Spade bits are used for rough boring holes in wood.)
Tape measure
Hammer
Drill
Method
1.Everything will need to be measured and cut for the area your are working on.
2. Grab the floor runner piece, lay it perpendicular to the wall on the floor, judging the best space between the floor runner and the wall . Screw, bolt or nail to the floor at intervals to secure. (Note) Remember to allow enough space from floor runner to wall for a slight angle for the upright pieces of wood so your painting canvas can to sit without falling
3. Grab the wall runner piece and screw, bolt or nail to the upper wall at intervals and make secure.
4. Lay all your upright pieces of wood together on a flat surface together (floor )and take your drill with the spade bit and make holes from bottom to the top on all the lengths of wood. The spacing has to be equal across the whole lot.
(If painting the easel do this now before attaching to wall)
5. Take your pre- cut lengths of wood with the holes and sit each one so the bottom is sitting behind the attached floor runner and at the top against the wall runner with the holes facing you. Screw bolt or nail the upright struts to the floor runner and to the wall runner at top. (Note) Go along the floor runner at whatever spacing you want with the upright struts to be.
Almost done. Cut lengths ( 6inches) of dowel for the pegs that will hold all your canvas’s
Note: If the pegs don’t fit in the holes… Round off one end with sandpaper by hand, or with an electric sander.
All done!!! Now grab your canvas and paint to your hearts content
Layers layers layers. Did you know? many of my paintings, especially oil paintings, have layer upon layer of pigment and glazes. Each painting can take many hours,weeks even months to complete.
What is a Glaze?
A glaze combines two or more transparent layers of paint, which have been applied over an opaque underpainting. Each transparent layer builds on the ones under them, creating new colors and added richness depth and interest to a piece.
Rembrandt would paint in layers, building from the back of the painting to the front, by using coats of glazes. He would use at least 15 layers of transparent glazes in many of his paintings. That is why they seem to glow and emerge from the darkness of the background.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with natural dyeing processes for fabrics and papers. I’m trying out rust dyeing at the moment. I want to build up a collection of natural and rust dyed fabrics and papers so when my next creative spurt comes around, I’ll have plenty to work with.
Over the years I have collected heaps of metal for welding my sculptures so have plenty bits hiding on my property just rusting away. The gathering of the metal objects, wrapping them with the fabric spraying with vinegar and binding with rope and wire is quite relaxing. I call it mummy wrapping.
It only takes a couple of hours for marks to appear but I like to keep mine for up to a week or two so I can get deeper impressions and colours. I discovered if I wrap fabric around old pieces of copper pipe the amazing green and red patinas are transferred to the fabric as well.
I’m happy with the end result and see connections to the abstract marks I create in my paintings. There are paintings in themselves
