Gaye’s Studio News

Coastal resurgence

Earlier last month with Gil’s help I set up new exhibitions at City, Huonville, Rosny and Sorell Doctors clinics. In essence, I rotate the themed sets of paintings between venues every two months. This involves moving about 40 paintings. My process has developed and now is very efficient.

Along the way I sold 4 paintings; all coastal scenes. Then another one sold online on Bluethumb.

The 2023 Wooden Boat Festival exhibition is coming up in February so I need some new work to show there.

I knew I needed to refresh my coastal set and had commenced two works inspired by a small painting in oil and cold wax which was one of those recently sold.

This large coastal work measuring 98cm x 68cm is finished I think and has been a successful scaling up exercise. It’s an early morning scene at Stumpys Bay on the far north east of Tasmania. We have had some wonderful and inspiring camping trips to this area.

Scaling up

Scaling up is not simple and often doesn’t work. No idea why. Maybe the original work has a immediacy and energy that can’t be replicated.

Creating two larger square format works from this one has been an ongoing challenge.

This is how they look now. I have reduced the busyness of the versions shown in my last news.

Latest finished work

Finished and soon to be uploaded to my website are Visceral 1 and 2, reflecting my inner turmoil(scrambled intestines) at the time of painting.

Where to now

My inclination at the moment is to work further on some larger coastal paintings and one of seagulls in flight over breaking waves is well underway.

I like the idea of plein air painting and have been doing it for a long time. The physical difficulties posed by this practice have weakened my interest. I really can’t paint sitting down, too confined and uncomfortable.

So I splashed out and bought myself an ‘easy to use’ light weight stand up easel. I tried it our recently painting in the gardens of our beautiful Government House. Even so, setting up can be fraught, having the whole set up crash to the ground is inconvenient and down right embarrassing. I also left some key components at home. So I have been practicing setting up at home. My plein air group POGO is meeting soon at Bellerive; another opportunity to test my equipment.

In November, I have enrolled in four days of en plein air painting with Rick Crossland at Richmond. This might develop my skills and confidence more.

Exhibitions

This week I set up my second exhibition at Sandy Bay Doctors titled Carnivale. Mostly new paintings in this lovely space on two levels. I chatted to some people in the waiting room and had some very positive feedback but one man said he liked the back view best. I said with a laugh “well not everyone gets abstract painting so that’s fine”.

The Kingborough Art Prize exhibition is on over this weekend and the Hobart Show exhibition Art on Show is coming up soon in the Hobart City Hall.

The challenge of a painting for the Art Society in December with the theme Urban Light has me thinking hard.

Plenty to do and think on.