The epic life of a world-class artist, jammed into six minutes. Narrated by Tom Waits.
A video from two of my favorite artists John Baldessari & Tom Waits . Awhile ago I took part in a John Baldessari project at the Sydney festival and still love my very first Tom Waits vinyl record Blue Valentine from 1978. Enjoy!
I really enjoy finding a new purpose for something that would otherwise have gone into the trash and saving it from landfill. In my art I try to reuse, recycle and upcycle materials where I can. Although upcycling seems to be the current trend in art, fashion and design today, it has been around since the 1900’s and is not a new concept.
In 1917 Marcel Duchamp turned a urinal upside down, scrawled the letters “R. Mutt” on one side, and titled it “Fountain” (more…)
I miss Paris today. I miss the homeliness of Paris …I woke up feeling a longing for the white snow on the rooftops outside my little studio window in the cubicle.
I miss my dark dungeon, with its odour of oldness and mold and even miss the creepy feeling that lashes me when I go there to work on my never- ending arts project.
I miss the fresh no- nonsense food, the culture, the artists and especially, the realness of Paris.
I miss not knowing the language and guessing what people are saying.
I miss seeing something new and the ordinary down the streets of Asnieres with my daughter.
I miss the walk to the park with its topiary trees, gardens and boulie men.
I miss the newness of the place plus the old familiar places I like to go to.
I miss not being able to play and sit in the gardens around the corner where Vincent sat and created.
I miss the little art/design ateliers down in Bastille with their windows full of high design handmade, one- off pieces of jewellery, glassware, sculpture, furniture and funky home-wares.
I miss knowing that every time I stroll through the Louvre I still, haven’t seen it all and will need to come back.
I miss not being able to visit Camille , Manet Doré, Degas, Cézanne, Rodin, Monet , Picasso, Renoir, Rousseau ,Gauguin, Lautrec,Valadon, Bernard,Matisse, Rouault,Brâncuş’, Dufy, Picabia, Braque, Metzinger , Delaunay, Arp , Chagall, Duchamp, Ernst ,Soutin,e and Masson for the day.
I especially miss the closeness to Modernism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Symbolism , Art Nouveau, Primitivism (art) Modernism, Cubism, Puteaux Group, and my favourite ,Dada, and Surrealism The art squats, street art and local artists with avant guard ideas. I miss my most loved Pompedou gallery.
I miss the trips to Dave’s parents. I even miss,the rattly old one person lift we squeeze into,going up to the apartment. I miss their welcome and sitting at the table eating delectable foods with the now, familiar Eiffel, out the window .
I miss Champs. Montmartre, cemeteries , beautiful old buildings and new places I haven’t seen before.
I also miss the things I haven’t done, or seen yet, in Paris.
I miss the smells ,textures and sounds when living,in Paris. Even, the nightmare trains I don’t mind anymore.
I miss the nostalgia of Paris. There are triggers in Paris, that send me back to my childhood in Australia. It’s usually only something small that will set this feeling off, like the simplicity of design in the everyday domestic object, or the rawness and feel of a well made cotton dishcloth or tea-towel.The aroma and taste of fresh foods straight from the farms and markets.
I especially get this nostalgia when Dave and Amy come home from the patisserie across the road with the morning baguette or my favorite Frasier cake. All this will send me back to my childhood in Australia when everything was more authentic, honest and more, homely than it is today.
Paris is just like a comfortable old jumper to me now. I do miss Paris today and my wonderful daughter…
My French- inspired handmade shop Atelierinparis
Congratulations Mary Noonan on your exhibition and video! A wonderful artist and friend I shared an arts residency with in Barcelona, Spain.
Art Profiles – Mary Noonan
The first in a series of profiles on artists working in and around the thriving Dublin art Community. This first profile is of watercolour and installation artist Mary Noonan based in the Red Stables Studios in Clontarf.
Your invited to the opening of “LAND TO LIGHT” exhibition at 5pm on Tuesday 17th April at Switchback Gallery – Curated by Charles Farrugia and Rodney Forbes
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
Contact: gippsland@artdes.monash.edu.au
Website: http://www.artdes.monash.edu.au/gippsland/switchback/
Phone (03) 9902 6261
How to get there: http://www.gippsland.monash.edu.au/campus/getthereandpark.html
A new series of paintings from the studio…
“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
“Merci beaucoup” to my lovely daughter and partner who sent me some gorgeous art materials from Paris for my recent Birthday. A huge lot of art materials all packed in a very smart wooden case. The case will be extremely useful when all art materials are gone as well….xxx
“Everything Gains In Grandeur Every Day.”
Giacometti
“The more I work, the more I see things differently, that is, everything gains in grandeur every day, becomes more and more unknown, more and more beautiful. The closer I come, the grander it is, the more remote it is.”
— Alberto Giacometti, Giacometti: A Biography
When I was googling the other day I came upon this question.
“How many cats do you need to acquire before you can officially become an old lonely cat lady?
Ok, it got me thinking about myself and my life.
Do I qualify?
1. I have 3 naughty cats ( is that enough?)
2. I’m a baby boomer (I qualify)
3. As an artist, I enjoy my solitude and quiet life on my own. Choices I made along time ago, so I could concentrate of on my creative life.
4. I enjoy getting up everyday knowing, I can create whatever and whenever I want, or not.
5. I love that I can do what I do.
6. I love and appreciate my beautiful family and friends who understand this strangeness in me and who are my biggest support in my life and work.
7. I love to grasp life using the time I have been given, to concentrate on creative ideas, projects and thoughts.These are the things I need to get out of myself to survive .
8. I feel extremally grateful and fortunate to be given this tiny space in time to express myself, but mainly, I want to give something back…
9. Sure, I can be a bit of a bag lady and sometimes go around with unkept hair, clothes full of holes and paint and pull a little cart to collect wood and found objects, with 3 cats in tow but, I’m also a very creative, intelligent and vibriant woman who knows what she wants.
Am I a lonely old cat lady? No, I’m just an artist who happens to have cats.
Now that’s out of the way I can get back to the studio where the cats are waiting…
Are you a cat lady and an artist?
Although I didnt win the “Aesthetica Creative Works” competition in England, I feel very honoured and pleased to announce my photograph
“Rider across the Light”
was chosen to be featured for the front cover of “Aesthetica Creative Writing Journal” 2012 Edition.
I have also been awarded a feature in “Aesthetica Creative Works Annual” 2012
An anthology of new works that explore contemporary artistic practice and brings together 75 global artists who represent contemporary visual culture across a range of media, from painting to sculpture, photography to installation and more.
Big thank you!!! to everybody at Aesthetica
Website Aesthetica
To buy Aesthetica Magazines
I am very pleased and excited to announce I have been shortlisted for this years”Aesthetica Creative Works Art Award” with my photograph ” Rider across the Light”.It was chosen from over 3,000 entries. (Sorry but cant show you the photograph until judging is finished.)
The winner will be announced upon publication of the Creative Works Annual, which will be released in early December 2012. I will keep you posted…
Aesthetica is a British arts and culture magazine. Founded in 2002, Aesthetica Magazine covers literature, visual arts, music, film and theatre. It has 60,000 readers and national and international distribution. Cherie Federico, managing editor of Aesthetica was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
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.
A few good sites to find out how to create glazes in your paintings
http://painting.about.com/od/oilpainting/a/glazing_FAQ.htm
http://painting.about.com/od/oilpainting/a/Glazing_Tips.htm
http://painting.about.com/od/oilpainting/a/GeraldD_glazing.htm
Back to “Free Tutorials”
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
The Artists are taking over…If you are heading to the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia to check out The Archibald Prize at Tarra Warra Museum of Art , don’t forget to pop into the thriving township of Healesville.
Healesville is full of many quaint little cafes, restaurants, bakeries’ hotels, specialist delis, selling local gourmet foods and wines, second-hand /antique shops and eateries.
Recently the artists have taken over the town with the opening of many new spaces and galleries showcasing local artists and artisan’s wares.
One such space is “Artists Lounge” This shop is a real treat. A new corner gallery that has a Contemporary/Industrial feel to it. My favourite thing at “Artist’s Lounge” is the long black chalk wall running right along one side of the building, where you can make your mark amongst the contemporary artworks on display.
Friendly, Ali and Billy who run the space, have jam packed it with unique Contemporary art from the local Yarra Valley artists. You can browse the paintings and sculpture, but there is also an eclectic array of affordable, artsy items created by the artists.
I saw some lovely pieces of wearable art with handmade books, badges, cards, recycled arts, pottery, textile pieces, silk scarves, felting, and jewellery.
For the creative, they also sell high quality artist supplies and gorgeous papers to die for. If they don’t have what you are looking for they will order it for you.
So, grab yourself a cup of Billy’s delicious coffee and soak up the atmosphere and gorgeous things at “Artist’s Lounge” in Healesville
“Artist’s Lounge”
222 Maroondah Highway, Healesville.
Open Wednesday to-Sunday 10.30am -4.30pm
Phone 59625150
Email artistslounge.com.au
Show Map
WATCH my…
Gleaning Paris for Art Materials video. From the streets of Paris I collect stuff,junk to create with, plus other inspirations behind my ideas. Works in progress from my studio’s in Paris, Spain and Australia. Photos taken in Paris, Spain and Australia.
All artwork copyright to Jenny Davis
Thank you very much to John R. Math at Light Space & Time Gallery for choosing my painting, VM IMP. Berlin as 2nd. prize in the Abstracts Art Exhibition .My work was chosen from 550 other artists from all over the world.
All winners will now be featured on the Light Space & Time website for the month of July 2011. Thereafter, the artworks and links to the artist’s websites will remain online in the Light Space & Time Archives. Congratulations to our artists who made our Abstracts Art Exhibition so successful this month. At any time, we invite our winners and other interested visitors to link their websites to the Gallery’s archive page for further ongoing promotion.
2nd Place Winner – Jenny Davis – “VM6 IMP. Berlin”
Jenny Davis is an Australian artist, working from studio’s in Victoria Australia and Paris France, where she sometimes lives. As an artist, she enjoys working in many disciplines including: painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, collage, recycled design, sound and virtual worlds. Jenny has shown her work in many countries, including Australia, Germany, Spain, France and USA. Her work is in private and public collections across Australia, UK, Europe and the U.S.A. Outlook8studio
Latest news!
I’ve just been featured at Artsy Shark. Thank you! Carolyn Edlund for all your hard work and for doing such a great job promoting artists and getting their work seen.
Featured Artist Jenny Davis
Artsy Shark presents Australian artist Jenny Davis. Her mixed media work uses recycled and reclaimed materials. Enjoy her portfolio and see more about Jenny here.
Jenny Davis is an Australian artist, working from studios in Victoria, Australia and Paris, France, where she sometimes lives. As an artist, she enjoys working in many disciplines including: painting, sculpture, photography, installation, video, collage, recycled design, sound and virtual worlds. Jenny has shown her work in many countries, including Australia, Germany, Spain, France and USA. Her work is in private and public collections across Australia, UK, Europe and the U.S.A.
Starting out primarily as an abstract painter and sculptor, Jenny’s arts practice has evolved and crosses over into many areas and disciplines. Recycling and reusing items in her work is very important. Stuff that usually goes into landfills and gleaned from the streets of Melbourne and Paris, or wherever she travels. Street litter, food packaging, advertising materials, advertising materials and all kind of paper ephemera are collected and saved for this purpose.
“All this wonderful stuff I reclaim and use in my collage and sculpture.”
“My source of creativity is spontaneous. It can mean spending days even weeks in the studio and strange places contemplating and “collecting energy”. Once I focus and sit with that energy it can take off in all areas. I then definitely need to put down a feeling or emotion, with colour, marks, words, assembled objects, or digital images still and moving. Whatever it takes to get it out! I use various techniques, materials and tools to realize my ideas.
The same goes with my photography. It’s spontaneous and unrehearsed. I like to tell strange stories with my photography and will put myself in uncomfortable spaces to achieve this. I have a wonderful space I found in Paris, I call the dungeon. I can spend hours down there waiting for something to take off. “
At the moment, I am fascinated by the narrative we tell ourselves, when placed in unfamiliar situations. Our mind seems to fly into “spontaneous imagination” and not focus in the moment. I want to seize those imaginary stories and create something with it.
I love spaces underground. There’s a life underneath the earth, and people don’t know about it, but it’s very busy and living, I have taken photos of the Eiffel Tower but I go under it, and look at closer fragments. I’m inspired by many things: Creative minds, Science as art, varies art movements and artists, Ernst, Miro, Tapies, Surrealism, Dada, Abstract Expressionists’, Natural history, Psychology, de-construction , Chaos theory, collecting found- objects and street litter, graffiti, street art, books, vintage and antique, travel and more.
Upstairs at Duroc is an English language literary and art journal based in Paris.
The next issue no. 13 of Upstairs at Duroc will be out late 2011
Why am I pleased ? because 2 of my art pieces “Parisgrit” and “250 Degrees” have been selected to be published alongside notable writers.
I will let you know more about this exciting news when Upstairs at Duroc No. 13 magazine is out and ready to read.
