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.
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
Hours: | Tuesday – Friday Saturday & Sunday |
8:30 am – 4 pm 9:30 am – 2 pm |
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.
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.
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.