Clarice Beckett

Here in Sydney we have had little rain for months.  The wet weather that caused floods up north arrived here and we have had 3 days of precipitation filling our dams, rain tanks and moistening our gardens.

When I think about an artist who beautifully portrayed the weather I think of Clarice Beckett.  When I first saw her work, I thought it was contemporary, but no, she was painting in the 1920’s and 30’s.  Beckett was born in 1887 in Victoria (Australia) and she studied with  artists, Fredrick McCubbin and Max Meldrum.  Meldrum strongly influenced her use of tone and restrained colour.

Clarice Beckett never married.  She lived with her parents and fulfilled the family expectation that she would care for them.  Beckett painted several thousand paintings but had no studio and worked she could, that being when her parents did not need her.  She painted early in the morning or late in the evening presumably when her parents were asleep. She painted the landscape and water in her neighbourhood capturing the atmosphere of time and place.  She said she was a realist, painting what she saw.  If a car drove through when a painting was in progress, it then became part of the landscape.

Beckett exhibited regularly but sold few paintings in her life time.  She died, prematurely,  in 1935 of pneumonia.  This was related to being exhausted by her caring role and then being caught in a storm while out painting.  After her death her paintings were taken to her sister’s farm where they were stored in an open shed.  They were discovered in the 1970s but unfortunately a large percentage of  the work was in ruin. The weather that was part of her inspiration to create was what also destroyed it.

I love Clarice Beckett’s paintings.  How good was she to go out with her cart of paint and canvas when it was cold and wet and, likely, miserable.  She's an inspiration. 
 Below are some of my tries at  capturing the weather.  Here on the left is a view from my front balcony on a cloudy/stormy day. It is oil on canvas. The other one was painted from the doorway looking into my backyard when the rain was teeming down.  It's gouache on paper.                                                                                      

Where are you in the picture?

This is a painting by me of Claire

A number of years ago I was lucky enough to go to The Slade for a few weeks for an Advance Drawing class.  The Slade is an art school in London, England, part of University College.  This was such a  thrill as it is a place where many famous artists learned their craft and to me is a holy place.

Anyway...when at The Slade the teachers would continually ask the artist "where are you in the picture".  I wasn't sure if this was a philosophic question or a literal one but for ever since it is something I think about.

Sometimes we see the artist's shadow, their reflection or their foot in an art work and this would be a literal interpretation of being in the picture.  Drawing the environment directly around the artist as well as the scene they are looking at also lets the viewer know where the artist is. 

 An artist being true to himself also places him in the picture.  Drawing with  my wiggly lines the stuff that I enjoy looking at makes me part of the work.   That's probably as philosophic as I get. 

Oil by me

Purply Black Eggplant


I was reminded the other day that right now in Sydney it is peak season for summer fruit and vegetable.  Nature’s bounty is so darn good looking that I find I want to buy stuff just to enjoy it’s splendour.   At my local supermarket I was particularly struck with how beautiful the eggplant were, not a blemish on them, purply black, dark, dark skin and stems that were nearly florescent green.  A branch of little tomatoes too,  so very sweet in taste and in appearance.

I have painted them in gouache  these past few nights and now, like all good things, it is for the pot they go.  This is a recipe that my  daughter, Claire, and I love and recommend highly.  It came from Inside Out magazine a number of years ago.

 

Tian of Eggplant, Capsicum (red pepper) and Zucchini

Olive oil-to cook the eggplant and to put on top before the oven

2 med eggplants, sliced lengthwise into ½ cm slices

375 ml tomato pasta sauce

8 bocconcini, coarsely grated

1 tbsp chopped marjoram, also black pepper

125 g finely grated Parmesan

4 med zucchini, sliced lengthwise into ½ cm slices

2 med red capsicums, roasted, skin removed and cut into 8ths

 

Preheat oven to 175 C.  Pan fry or bake eggplant slices until golden brown on both sides.

Lay single layer of eggplant on bottom of baking dish.  Smear a little of the tomato sauce, a tbsp of grated bocconcini, pinch of marjoram, a scattering of Parmesan and a few grinds of black pepper.

Repeat the layering process using the uncooked zucchini and capsicum until all the vegetables are used.  Best to finish with the zucchini because they look the best.  Drizzle over a little olive oil and a generous sprinkle of the Parmesan.

Bake in the oven for about 40 min or until the veg seem tender.  Leave to rest for 20 min before serving.  Good to transport and great with bread.

Draw a sparrow from a tear drop



Phil and her notes.  Ross does not look like that.

As mentioned in the last post we met the delightful Phil at the White Rabbit Gallery.  She gave us a mini tour and was very enthusiastic, often pulling folded pieces of paper out of her voluminous apron pocket.  The papers were photocopied articles that provided extra information about the art work.  I was fascinated with her habit of sorting through the many bits of paper in order to find the right one.

 I loved hearing about the artists  and Phil was able to provide first hand knowledge
of them . She spoke of the artist, Liu Zhuoquan who is exhibiting at the White Rabbit Gallery.  She told us about Liu's father who was a tailor but was sent to a farm during the Cultural Revolution in order  to drive the sparrows off the crops.  Liu's father was Buddhist and would not harm a living thing.  He and his family had an extremely difficult time and Liu's art responds to this.
Liu taught Phil how to draw a sparrow from a tear drop.  Phil taught Ross and I the same and this is how you do it. A tear drop makes a charming sparrow, cry it yourself .











White Rabbit Gallery

The White Rabbit Gallery, 30 Balfour St, Chippendale exhibits Chinese and Taiwanese art.

Judith Neilson  opened this gallery so the public can see, enjoy and appreciate contemporary Asian art.  She started collecting it after a trip to Beijing in 2001 and opened the White Rabbit in 2009.  Only part of the collection can be seen at any one time so there is a new show twice a year.  The current show finishes soon and a new one is up in early March. None of the artwork is for sale and it is free for the public to see.

Ross and I have been to this gallery 3 or 4 times and each time we come away very impressed.  Only a small percentage of the art is framed on the wall, most are installations, sculptures or video.  It certainly nods to Chinese culture, politics and history.  It is multilayered but accessible to all.  What I love about so many pieces is the humour. The works are so often amusing and I assume this says as much about contemporary Chinese and Taiwanese artists as it does about the collector Judith Neilson.

Chocolate Shop with a difference

There are many pieces in the current show that appear to be one thing but on close inspection are something different.  For example, Gao Rong’s recreation of her old homes’ entrance with sewer pipe, fuse box and door all looking very authentic until look closer to see they are made of fabric and the scuff marks and rust are embroidered.  We also enjoyed the installation of what appeared to be a chocolate shop in which all the confectionery are chocolate arms dealers inventory.

The gallery is a bright and airy space with helpful staff who are pleased to answer any question and provide supplementary information.  We met Judith’s sister, Phil who was so generous with her time and knowledge (more about that next post).  The gallery also has a delightful shop and café.

White Rabbit Gallery is fantastic and everyone should have a look, you will enjoy it

Martin Sharp

In 1990 or there abouts I was at North Sydney Markets and saw the famous  Australian artist Martin Sharp and his friends selling his posters.  I was very attracted to them but did not buy  any. Over the years I have often thought of that lost opportunity.

Fast forward to summer 2012, this time at Rozelle Markets.  Having a wander around Rozelle markets is one of my usual activities and although many treasures can be found it was a particularly lucky for me on that particular day.   I was passing a stall selling Indian products and on top of some fabric were a number of rolls of paper.  I don’t usually dig around looking at stuff but this time I started to unroll the tattered rolls.  I questioned the young woman and she explained they were Martin Sharp posters that her mother was given in 1982 by the artist himself.  The mother and Martin Sharp were friends and he gave her the entire set of 7 Nimrod Theatre posters and signed, numbered and dated them.  There were 6 posters at the market that day, one had been taken by the girl’s brother and he had it framed.   I was happy to buy those remaining 6 posters and  Ross regards this as my BFE (best find ever).

The Nimrod Theatre posters were originally designed  and printed in the 1970s.  In 1982 they were printed again at the same silk screen printers but with better paper.  There were 1000 printed of each design.  My posters are from the second printing and  all numbered 142/1000

Martin Sharp was born in 1942.  He was a successful painter, cartoonist, songwriter and film maker and is particularly well known for his posters and record covers.  In London Sharp designed album covers for Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan.

In 1969 he returned to Sydney, setting up the Yellow House in Kings Cross. He was involved with the Nimrod Theatre at this time working in set, costume and poster design.  Some of the recurrent  themes  seen in his artwork include Luna Park, Tiny Tim, the word eternity which was often seen in chalk on the sidewalk  in the 1940s.  Martin Sharp continues to work and it is not uncommon to see his work at the Archibald.

I am chuffed to bits with my 6 posters, some of which you can see here.  I am missing the Ginger Meggs one so if anyone has it and wants to let it go, please leave a message.

 

Sightseers

Ross and I saw Sightseers recently.  This is an English film from the makers of Hot Fuzz, Paul and Shaun of the Dead. To say Sightseers is a black comedy is an understatement!!!
The main characters are Tina and Chris who are a young geek-ish couple off on a weeks caravaning holiday as they get to know each other.  They plan on exploring "Chris's world" which are places like a Pencil factory and an obscure Weir.
We are introduced to the main characters and connect with them, feel sorry for them, get to like them.  Tina knits, has a diploma in dog psychology and cares for a horrible mother.  Chris is sweet and is kind to Tina's mother. They appear to make a lovely couple.
We like this cute pair and then they start....... murdering people.  This, of course, puts the viewer in a difficult position. Should we still like them?
This is a film which caused me to shake my head and laugh long after we left the cinema. 
Ross and I saw it at the Dendy, Newtown and gave it 4 stars (out of 5).  Loved it!!

Pomegranate Salad

Gouche painting on map directory pages by me

The first time I ever saw a pomegranate was when I was a kid.  My cousin Kerry was eating one and the information I obtained from her was that you sucked the red jelly off the seed and then spit out the  seed.  This was too much work and trouble for greedy , lazy moi. 

 Nigella Lawson has been waxing lyrical about pomegranates  for years and  I didn’t rise to the bait.  Nope, didn’t even try them. However, In recent times I tried pomegranate, didn't suck off the jelly, just ate the seed and the jelly, and loved it!  This recipe is from Greg and Lucy Malouf from their cookbook about Turkey called Turquoise.  I served this at my Christmas Eve soiree and a few times since.  It is very, very good in taste , texture and colour.  mmm

Green olive, walnut and pomegranate Salad

¼ cup walnuts

½ cup pitted green olives, washed and coarsely chopped

This is a colour pencil drawing by me.  Pomegrates are about colour in my mind.

¼ cup unsalted shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

½ cup pomegranate seeds ( one pomegranate)

2 small shallots, peeled and finely diced

1 bullet chilli, seeded and finely diced

1 tbsp shredded flat leaf parsley

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp walnut oil

Splash of pomegranate molasses

Juice of ½ a lemon

Sea salt

Finely ground black pepper

Roast walnuts in 180 degree oven 5-10 min, chop coarsely.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently.  Leave to stand for 5 min before serving.

McLaren Pottery

As you may know, I have a great interest in mid century design .  McLaren Pottery has been making these very stylish animals since the 1950/60s and they remain in production by Mrs McLaren today.

Gus McLaren was born in 1923 and he was an Australian artist, animator and potter.  He began potting in 1955, his wife, Betty, assisting with the slip casting and decorating of the pieces.  Gus went on to creating one offs, sculptures and abstract stone ware.
A bit of trivia: Gus created  the "Freddo Frog" character for MacRobertson chocolates in 1962 and this is a creature well known to Australian chocolate lovers.
Gus died in 2008 but Betty continues to create McLaren animals now at her studio in Merimbula in southern NSW.
I am lucky enough to have one of the horses, one of the cats and the King and Queen.  They are a gorgeous addition to my mid century collection. Check out the McLaren Pottery website. The drawings are a result of using ink and a stick on sheets of statistics or map directory.

Alexander Girard Dolls

iv> I first saw Alexander Girard dolls in a magazine while in a waiting room.  I jotted down the name and investigated on the Internet later.  I talked about them for months as felt they would be an ideal edition to my mid century collections and loved their whimsy and colour.  I had only ever seen them on the net or in that first magazine before I got my own for Xmas recently.
Ross gave me the first doll of the series and there are 16 altogether.  The dolls are all different sizes and have different characteristics.  They come in a wooden box which is also special.
These dolls are now made by Vitra in Italy but originally they were made by Alexander Girard for his own home.  Alexander or Sandro as he was known, was born in 1907 in New York.  He studied in London and Rome and was an architect and designer in the US.
He was interested in folk art and this was his inspiration when he made these dolls for his home in Sante Fe.
Girard was friendly with Ray and Charles Eames and also with George Nelson.  For years he worked for Herman Miller as Head of the Textile Dept.  Eames furniture was upholstered in the fabric designed by Alexander Girard.  He loved colour and his textiles celebrated this.
Of course the dolls are colourful too and pattern abounds.
I am pretty chuffed to have my own Girard doll and hope over time my collection increases.
In Sydney you can buy them at Space Furniture in O'Riorden St Alexandria.  There are probably other places to buy them  and of course, the net.
My drawings are made with a stick and ink on maps and pages of statistics.  Although the drawings don't include the characteristic colour, I think they do show the doll's amusing character and whimsical nature.