I got interested in finish line images from horse races recently, as they are contradictory, in that they define what part of a horse crosses the line first but the images created stretch and distort the animal in motion.  I was reminded of the late 19th century Muybridge photographic sequence studies of horses in motion, which was the key analysis and proof of the placement of horses legs when running.

I then built a canvas form to mirror the length of the finish straight, and the image. 

Now the fun bit, as I built up a series of paint layers to form a deep surface in cross section.  I toned the surface to build colour similarity and stripiness, from the camera images with texture to accentuate that.  That gives me empty grass. 

The difficult bit is getting the images in in some way- so I didn’t take up a paint brush but instead a scalpel and excised sections, much like a woodblock print leaving dark areas and creating a white space below  (painting by subtraction):

 I have then done a few more horses to capture the racing field and the distorted forms, the next image is a bit more of the work in progress (with scalpels in foreground):

 The work in progress was then finished with cutting around the back corner to add following horses and cutting in a finish line.  The next step is to complete the painting, with a finish line sliced in and then adding a glaze and wax to give different sheens to areas and to fill the cut horses with a gloss glaze to emphasise them and make the whole cohere.

Now I have been thinking about the title for the work- my art history suggested “Ucello wins the Muybridge handicap” but I feel that’s a bit obscure as most won’t know the “Battle of San Romano” by Ucello and his hobbyhorses like horses.  An old family joke about a telegram from Grandpa from the race track also suggests a title of the punch line: “System working well. Please send more money”.

I am pleased to let you know my paintings have been in an exhibition entitled A flight of ducks in echo of the 1950′s icon of the three ducks on a wall.

a shot of the ducks on the wall....

oil on linen -shaped canvas

It is on from 5 February 2012 to 6 March 2012.  Ends today, Tuesday 6 March 2012.

It is a cameo show of a small number of paintings in the intimate setting of Kinross House, Manse Gallery Cafe.    Their website link is http://toorak.unitingchurch.org.au/indexu.htm .  The paintings are on show, with coffee and cake available from 

now that I’ve told you the when, a little where is needed:

Kinross House and the Manse Gallery Cafe are at the rear of Toorak Uniting Church, 603 Toorak Road, which has Irving Street on the other side of Toorak Road.

and the works:

A Flight of Ducks

Title:                 Duck Paddle 1                                     

Size:                 41cm by 41cm

Medium:           Oil on Canvas

About the work:

I did a small ink and wash drawing in sepia of a swimming duck in a muddy river in 2009.

Duck - ink and wash drawing 2009

From that I developed this small series of three paintings, echoing the 1950?s icon of a flight of three ducks on a wall. I worked from this little drawing to this painting which adopts the use of white space in the drawing.  The wake has greater mass as it pushes down into a negative space, which is implicitly a calm water surface.

Title:                 Duck Paddle 2                                     

Size:                 46cm by 46cm

Medium            :           Oil on Linen

About the work:

The same drawing was used in this painting but the glazed colour is used to allow a textured and coloured wake to shine out.

Title:                 Harlequin Duck                                   

Size:                 89cm by 96cm (variable)

Medium:           Shaped Canvas: oil on Linen

This painting is most evolved in terms of shape, colour and form, with the duck pressing into a formed space, on a textured eau de nile toned surface. The shaped canvas used is based on an curving form and is lifted at each edge by ply forms making a space  into which the image surges.  This is a highly textured oil on linen, on a shaped canvas form, offset top to bottom edge, riding an arc down.

Title:                Native Posy 2003                     

Size                  59cm (h) x  69cm (w) (picture area) – overall 71cm x 101cm

Medium:           Pencil, watercolour, ink and wash on watercolour paper

About the work:

I bought Elizabeth a native posy one day (and I adopted this despite it containing proteas).  The shapes and colours of the flowers, in a conical vase with a blue glass swirl on it,  led me into this drawing (which has lasted a fair bit longer than the flowers).

Still lives – Figs

Title:                 Four Figs  2006                                   

Size:                 24.5cm(h) x 33cm(w)

Medium:           Pencil, Gesso and Ink on canvas

I drew some lush ripe figs sitting on a tablecloth at a winery in the Adelaide hills while enjoying lunch with friends.  A lovely afternoon and a nice little watercolor on rough watercolor paper about the size of an A4 sheet. 

watercolour and pencil drawing

 From that a couple of large paintings came as well as inspiring these little ones.

Wet on wet watercolour technique is used in the execution of this work, with fluid lines and colour contrasting with the rectangular form giving the image life. 

Title:                 Figs on a plate 2006                            

Size                  35.5cm(h) x 35.5cm(w)

Medium                        Oil on Canvas

This work is executed in a minimalist and colourist manner, relying on glazed and textured coloured areas to convey a sense of space and object.

Still lives – Tea and fruit

Title:                 Quince and pomegranate tea #1 and #2 2003

Size                  49cm (h) x 27cm (w) (each)

Title:                 Teapot on the Diagonal 2003          60.5cm (h) x 91.5cm(w)

The drawings for this series were done one afternoon with the teapot and fruit sitting on a Japanese desk we use as a coffee table.  I wonder if that subconsciously influenced me as when I look at the paintings now the diagonal in the composition and the use of over patterned colour calls Japanese art techniques to mind.

I was going through some sketch books and came across some drawings I had done as preparation for one of my xmas cards some years ago.  As I have already commented on the process I thought I’d just set out the drawings here.

our cat Eclair took to a decoration from the tree

this developed into a sketch with more action and drama

an evolution, from the early days when they were of our cat, and now of our cat with our children.  Originally I did them as wood or lino cuts and hand tinted them but now I have not the time to carve and then print the number of cards so I do a watercolour and have the cards printed.  I still start with a concept sketch:

now the idea was that the children were co-operating to catch the cat in the tree, but there was not sufficient drama or movemnet so I reworked it in the left of the first drawing, then redrew it to add movement and more drama and did a watercolour:

 and other years underwent similar development: