Started this painting at Jane’s studio
Sat and watched it today
Still a way to go with colour oil pastel & paint
It’s been good getting back to larger paintings… 140x120cm.
Posts Tagged ‘contemporary artist Melbourne Australia’
Dungeness Trekking. The Seine.
Monday, May 12th, 2014Hand drawn mapping and aerial views of the world
Dungeness Trekking
fragments from the landscape using marks and signs left behind in natural and man-made environments.
a day trip to Dungeness in England with my family in 2005
Notations
Quick observations of found numbers and signs ephemeral and permanent, on the Seine river in Asnieres- sur- seine, France in 2007.
Please click on images to enlarge or if you wish to purchase!
Yellow. VMH & Mapping. Drawings.
Monday, May 12th, 20143 drawings on Australian acid-free drawing paper 2013.
Click on each image to see a larger view!
Acrylic paint graphite and thread
Yellow Yellow Yellow
graphite oil pastel felt pen
Mapping
mixed media with collage
VMH
Each drawing approx. 42 x 29cm. / 16.5″ x 11.5″ in size.
Handmade Books. Recycling.
Monday, April 14th, 2014
I love to recycle packaging, junk mail and advertising materials into books
I like the freedom of designing my books as I make them, discovering ideas along the the way
Its amazing how much packaging can be saved over time
For this book I used cereal packaging with a peephole and pasta boxes with acetate windows for the interior pages
and sealed the pages with white Gesso
only on one side because I liked the dark look of the cardboard ( later I painted them with Parisian essence to age )
On the cover I used double sided tape to stick down the tabs
to make it more sturdy
The little window will have something inside
Taking a load of baguette bags I bought back from France
I scrunched them up into balls and wrinkled them
opened them up and stuck them to the cover packaging with pva glue
This gave the cover an oldish feel with a lovely rough texture.French text shows through the window
I covered the inside with some French text from a 1900’s magazine, stamping and my hand drawn doodle drawings.
I didn’t like the brightness of the gessoed pages so aged them with washes of Parisian essence
When dry I cut off some of side flaps from the inside pages saving them for tags and pockets later
I didn’t have an awl to make the holes for binding the book, instead I used a hammer and nail. It worked fine
I punched 3 rows of holes weaving in and out with cotton mop thread
leaving a tail inside I then plaited the threads and added a piece cardboard for a bead thing
The extra holes seen were a mistake and can be covered up with more baguette paper and glue later
Side flaps on some of the pages hold piles of water colour papers for collage and drawing
They are tied with cotton mop thread
The loose water colour papers are white and hand dyed with Parisian essence
See through windows add more interest
Pockets and string hold found papers and tags. The book is still not finished and I will probably add more tags and pockets
Toggles were sewn on the front with a string to close
This book has a Japanese feel to it and measures 24 x19cm. 5 pockets hold 40 pieces of water colour paper with another 12 pages. Some have windows.
I try to keep on top of my collecting by making something with the packaging every few weeks.
What do you make from your junk?
Drawing & Collage on Vintage Index Cards.
Friday, February 7th, 2014
Shadow Play. Photography.
Sunday, February 2nd, 2014playing with shadows
broken camera
heatwave
wall
melting
iceblock
empty
soundless
chandelier
shadow
Preparing for a site specific artwork
Sunday, January 24th, 2010Every artist has their own way of preparing before creating. In this blog entry I would like to share with you what I do, before creating a site specific artwork.
A BIT ABOUT MY CREATIVE PROCESS
Capturing the wholeness of a space is most important for me.
For creating the work, or idea, I need to physically spend a lot of time in the space where I will be creating the work. Not only, do I need to consider the site visually, I also have to feel it, hear, the silence, the noise, touch the textures, and take in the aroma of the surrounding layers of the environment . This helps me to capture the realness and essence of the space.
All random ideas and thoughts are recorded. This may take the form of written notes, quick drawings, paintings, photos, taken at different times of the day and night. I may also use video and sound.
Sometimes my response is so strong, I will have a basic idea working around in my head before I get back to the studio. I then work out how Im going to take my idea into reality. Working with the creative process allows me to be more spontaneous in my approach to the making of the work. The materials I use can be randomly chosen as I go along or, I will purposely choose a material that will express my ideas.
How do you kick- start your creativity?
ART FOR LIFE: bushfire appeal
Friday, March 20th, 2009
ART FOR LIFE: Art Auction Bushfire Appeal
What is Art For Life all about
The Art for Life Bushfire Appeal has been established to raise money for the rebuilding of communities tragically affected by the recent bushfires in Victoria.
It is a grassroots “community for community” effort to raise funds but we also want it to be a celebration of our communities creative spirit and provide exposure and recognition for Australian artists and their works.
100% of funds raised from the sale of works will go to the cause. As well as that, within our best efforts, every aspect of the event will be donated to maximize the amount that can go to the cause. All involved in making this idea a reality are volunteering their time, this includes the entertainers and function volunteer staff who we gratefully acknowledge.
Art For Life bushfire appeal is an auction of donated art works to be held in the Melbourne Town Hall Supper Room on 27 March from 6.30pm.
We look forward to seeing you there.
The event is sponsored by Melbourne City Council under the auspices by The Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation
Some of the contributing artists include Lisa Roet, Heather Shimmen, Angela Brennan, Debra Rhee, Jamie Daddo, Jenny Davis, Thomas DeKessler, Elisabeth Sands and Mary Newsome.
Letters from the Border
Sunday, March 8th, 2009
Letters from the Border Jenny Davis
The flower rose from the desert floor
Pushing its way through the dry hard crust like a white rag flapping its surrender into the dust
Time slowed to a halt for one soldier he clicked the camera.
An interruption to the vile slaughter he had witnessed earlier that morning
The image arrived penetrating the depths of her soul for she knew the little desert flower from the border would change the fragility of humanity forever
Finally after all the fires in Victoria I’m starting to create again and catch up with my work in the studio. Pictures above show images of the hubcap I created for the Landfillart project in US.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
LETTERS FROM THE BORDER is actually a series of many pieces I have been working on for years…..This piece is a collage of images taken from my collections.
A copy of an original Imperial letter from Berlin I own dated early 1900’s
A piece of writing I created in 2003 in connection to Iraq Photos and emails I received from a US soldier when he was on the border in Kuwait waiting to invade Iraq.He described to me what happened to his troops on that day and night.
They were bombed 30 times as they crossed the border.
We conversed with emails for a few months then nothing .I don’t know what happened to him I haven’t been able to find out.
The bomb like image is a photo of a plastic toy I have that sits inside one of my box sculptures.The soldier images are from the photos he sent me of himself and his crew. I had made a few zines out of these images then I tore one up for this work. It was all originally on stretched canvas but I cut it out for the hubcap and sealed it….
The desert flower refers to a photo he sent me as he was entering over the border into Iraq…a little flower a glimmer of hope in the dry dusty desert
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Landfillart is an international effort encompassing one-thousand-forty-one (1,041) artists to claim a piece of rusted metal garbage and create fine art.
The ultimate goals of this project are twofold. The first is to compile a book with the story and photos of the evolution of http://www.landfillart.org and the coming together of 1041 artists worldwide for a common cause, making great art out of rusted refuse. Only artists could lead such a charge. The other goal is to select 200 of these metal canvases to travel and inspire other such movement
Latest things I’ve been up to…….
Thursday, January 8th, 2009VIDEO OF A PAINTING CREATED LAST WEEK plus other projects on the go I don’t sleep much at night as ideas keep cramming my head. I have to get up and go to the studio. If Ive been up all night like the mad professor in the lab creating monsters……you may catch me in bed during the day sleeping.
MY LATEST CHALLENGES….. No one can do everything but everyone can do something ….Sustainable Dave
THE ONE WEEK TRASH CHALLENGE
Collecting all my personal rubbish for 1 week I will make an installation from it and post here as well as send to Daves website.
Its amazing what we toss away without noticing.
To try the challenge yourself Go to Sustainable Daves website.
http://sustainabledave.squarespace.com/ THE LANDFILL PROJECT
Ive been invited to create art from a used metal hubcap and send it to Landfillart in US.
Landfillart is an international effort encompassing one-thousand-forty-one (1,041) artists to claim a piece of rusted metal garbage and create fine art.
www.landfillart.org