Studio Work ABOUT my art & others

i enjoy a #getaway now and again ... a break from the studio and daily household /garden activities, no cooking! (unless its a boiled egg). Just back from a week of #artretreat, as #getaway, with contemporary artist Tim Allen . Love his work and i found him to be most generous in working with each individual to achieve what they were aiming for, one-on-one - over 5 days.  This is my second time with Artable at Winnaleah in Tasmania.  Gillian , Steve and all the staff always do a fabulous job at making everyone feel comfortable and united providing great food, art discussion and comaraderie. This group of girls was particularly fabulous - so warm, kind, all inclusive with interesting, intelligent conversations.  i enjoyed it immensely.  I was lucky enough to be next on the wait list so i got the "Barn" along with a lovely housemate for the week.  We felt so fortunate to 'get' the Barn which was lights, airy, warm and beautifully situated just a short walk from...

On a recent trip to Hobart and i ducked into TMAG (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery) to find an exhibition of Oliffe Richmond (1919-77) - a Tasmanian born artist who built a distinguished career in Britain as a sculptor and educator. I particularly loved the sketchbook drawings. and i loved this vehicle in the pottery & ceramics room

UPDATE:  an article in Art Guide Australia 2 October 2025. It wraps up with this thought " “Wright’s works are not easily reduced; they draw you in with beauty, then unsettle and provoke with layered meanings.” Shapeshifting: The Art of Helen Wright Queen Victoria Museum and Gallery: Art Gallery  at Royal Park Until 1 February 2026 This article was originally published in the September/October 2025 print edition of Art Guide Australia." Helen Wright - I  have loved this artist's work for years. And how fortunate we are to have an exhibition of her works showing in Launceston at the QVMAG Royal Park .  Do yourself a favour ! a few of my favourites here that are representative of the diversity.   and i love the titles she comes up 

  Swiss Miss (Implosure) 40″x34″; collage on a print of a collage on rag paper; 2015 published  KOLAJ February 2018 On a trip to Switzerland to visit my lovely daughter and future son-in-law in 2013 I was creating collages in between sight seeing.  The final piece above started with this original that came together from Swiss magazines in my collage journal.  Stage1. Stage2. - once i was home again i scanned the original collage and added the red background, smoothed around the image and heightened the contrast in areas.  The image (above) was printed on 40x34" rag paper and I went to work on it - adding more collage elements, stencilling and pastel accents. The final piece, framed in a lovely hardwood, was exhibited in Tasmania in 2017.  See a short (silent) video here  exploring the details. 

On many drives up to, and during 2 residencies at Cradle Mountain   it was the gum tree that became my focus and ultimately a solo exhibition.... I love these shapes and noticed the impermanence of some of the trees as i travelled the road back and forth from Devonport, over an 18 month period. see some of the exhibition artworks here. explore limited edition prints here

 Well that took me back - updating my sites I came across the one i created 18 years ago.  The site is called FOUNDart series. The idea and thoughts as it evolved into different travel experiences. and it goes like this.  the first post titled 'the idea - 2007 Foundart Switzerland'  and says : i am travelling to Switzerland in August to spend a month with my daughter and her partner who live there and my initial idea of 'doing' art clicked finally this weekend ... i had been thinking for a while i would like to make a 'found art' series where i take small bits of art that look like finished pieces - small as in business card size - and have my website details on the back that tells the story of the 'found art' series and then to leave one at places along the way on my trip to switzerland and other places - so create and take 30 pieces and 'lose' one a day telling the story on the website. Perhaps even contact from the founder telling me of thei...

  I started this piece a year ago, picking it up now and again.  The small squares were created first  The small squares are of eco dyed silk, indigo on cotton, indigo on blockout curtain materials and a very old hardanger which was an embroidery I began in my teens.  That is a long time to hold onto cloth. My mother and father used to visit their friends and play cards while my sister and i would read or listen to the radio.  More often than not I would take some embroidery to do. Now it is  woven into a whole of newer memories. It sat like this, in this format a very long time because, as happens more often than not, I didnt know what to do next. On one of the many creek walks i take from the studio to the bridge in our front yard the idea came to me as i was musing on the sun reflecting on the water.  And so the stitching began - my way of working is mostly intuitive and in this case, apart from drawing the circle on the back,  The stitches are...

This was my second trip to Boat Harbour , an idyllic spot to regenerate and fill up my cup again. It is also a time to mark yet another birthday and take the opportunity to go on another #getaway for a few days. Vince came to visit which is unsual as he needs to be dragged away from home and his business.  We spent a lovely day of beach walks, lunch right on the beachfront and the afternoon was spent watching US elections for Trump take the Whitehouse for a second term. lunch at  Seekers Bar & Cafe   beautiful ocean, quaint book exchange & drawings en plein air For art photographs of my time at BOat Harbour go to fyneimages note to self: explore  further afield ,still close by, next time.

Very happy to have my images published in Free Expressions No.82 - February 2024. Free Expressions is a publication of members' work of the Contemporary Group within the Australian Photographic Society. I met Anne, an artist working in the photographic realm, many years ago at a local photographic club and years later we met up again via the facebook group. About four years ago she introduced me to The Denison 5 minutes out of Bicheno , Tasmania and stay at accommodation right on Denison Beach . We have visited together a few times and stay here for 3 nights choosing summer and winter over the years. This has culminated in a joint submission to Free Expressions tackling two perspectives of this wonderful place. My challenge was not to have the same images as Anne as we do have similar perspectives in going for the micro and inevitably, potentially would have similar imagery. So with this in mind we never saw each others contribution to the magazine until the article came out !...