Studio News & Occasional Blog
“It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.” – Louise Bourgeois
MAY 2022
Beneath the Canopies, collaborating artists Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison, Kerrie Warren and Darryl Whitaker
It has been an extremely busy, exciting, exhilarating (and at times exhausting) period of time since my last entry… I wasn’t quite sure where to begin, but decided that ‘right here’ is a good spot…
Beneath the Canopies with two of my friends and collaborating colleagues,
Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison and Darryl Whitaker.
We were thrilled to be awarded an Artistic Project Grant funded by the Frankston City Council late last year.
It provided a truly wonderful opportunity to work outside our normal parameters (literally outside the square), allowing the concept to evolve organically and take shape within the process itself.
The end result? Well, I think we surprised ourselves!!
After instal at the Frankston Arts Centre – Darryl Whitaker, Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison and Kerrie Warren
Exhibition Dates: 6th May – Saturday 25th June 2022
Frankston Arts Centre Venue Open: Tues – Fri 11am – 4pm, Sat 9am – 2pm
Another exhibition which I’m extremely excited about is Hazelwood currently on show at the Latrobe Regional Gallery in Morwell.
The exhibition features a triptych – an older series of paintings commissioned by the Hazelwood Power Station in 1998, and donated to the gallery by Engie Hazelwood Power Station and Mine in 2020.
HAZELWOOD
2 April to 10 July 2022
Gallery 4
The exhibition also features an 8 metre painting by Jenardiy Arkadi Zabenko which provides a valuable record of a now lost icon of the Latrobe Valley.
Historical material is also included in the exhibition with the kind assistance of the Morwell Historical Society, PowerWorks and Gippsland Regional Studies Collection, Federation University Gippsland Library.
And further east, portrait of Black Swan 2021 features in an exhibition at the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale.
Gifted is a celebration of the culture of giving that has defined the Gallery since its inception, enabling it to grow and to truly represent the art of Gippsland for today’s and future generations.
GIFTED
5 March to 5 June 2022
Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison with Black Swan at the Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale
As you can imagine after all this art activity I needed to stop for a good coffee…
and visited a painting of mine (no longer mine) Drop Nets 2013, which is now installed at
FRANKIES 62 Hotham Street Traralgon. Ahh fabulous xxx
DECEMBER 2021
Kerrie Warren in the studio with a work in progress… ‘In Flow’ Image by Darryl Whitaker
Dear Art Lovers…
Looking back I can see that my previous notes were jotted down during the last Victorian lockdown and I’m pleased to be typing away on the other side of it. The road beside us has become busy once again and surrounding towns are abuzz with both locals and visitors – excited to be out! For the moment, life on the surface seems to be bouncing back…
Many of us are wading through a ripple effect, trying to sense the undercurrent in order to establish a new or altered course of direction. In a previous newsletter I had alluded to an up and coming exhibition in December which was then cancelled during yet another lockdown. The change of events presented a mix of emotions as I was in the flow of creating my largest painting to date.
A shift in paradigm rolled through, quickly followed by a great sense of relief… I had more work to do!
Black Swan 2021, Portrait of Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison, 180 x 300 cm. Image taken by Kerrie Warren in October 2021
What an experience it was to paint another artist, my dear friend Aunty Eileen Harrison. Black Swan was selected to be shown in the 2021 Hidden Faces, Victorian Salon des Refusés which is currently on-line (thank you to Jacqueline Taylor OAM, Curator) and in Our Entries exhibition in Rosedale (thank you Sue Coppock) to coincide with the Archibald Prize hosted by the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale.
Thank you also to Wayne Foenander, Gippsland Art Couriers.
Black Swan 2021 has now become a permanent collection of the Gippsland Art Gallery.
Eileen and myself will continue to work on a project together in 2022, along with another colleague and friend, photographer Darryl Whitaker. I was fortunate to receive an Artist Project Grant for a collaborative project through the Frankston City Council which will be highlighted in the Southside Festival next May!
Stay tuned as our project evolves Beneath the Canopies.
The First Hit 2017, finalist in the 2017 Pro Hart Outback Art Prize
The First Hit 2017 currently installed in the boardroom at Committee for Gippsland, Innovation Centre, Morwell.
Committee for Gippsland is an influential voice for Gippsland who engage with government and regional stakeholders to foster and encourage opportunity, innovation, investment, development and positive outcomes – inspiring vibrant communities.
Thank you to Erin Lord for providing an image – it’s always exciting to see a large work out of the studio and positioned in a corporate space.
JUNE 2021
"The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art." Junot Diaz
I find myself writing another newsletter during lockdown in Victoria. Thankfully the situation has recently eased in regional and rural areas but I truly feel for my Melbournian friends and family. I can only imagine the enormous stress that so many will be under…
Within current circumstances there has been some good news – Portrait of Guy Warren at 100 by artist Peter Wegner has been chosen as this years winning portrait in the Archibald Prize 2021. Congratulations to both artist and sitter!
My own entry Black Swan 2021, a portrait of Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison (featured above) will now make it’s way back to the studio but might just reappear somewhere else in the near future, stay tuned.
Once again a big thank you to Aunty Eileen for being my subject xxx
A short while back (in the days before Covid), I had the great fortune of meeting another creative soul… John McGeoch of Arts in Motion.
John, a video projection artist based in the Highlands of Scotland popped in to my studio (on the opposite side of the world in Crossover Australia) and invited me to collaborate on a project… which became two.
The base concept sparked when John viewed a painting Interwoven Systems 2017. The layering of paint and silhouettes (bush rats and fish) caught his own creative eye… enjoy INTERWOVEN (below left).
One idea led to another, more images were taken, filming of the abstract mark making in action, and images from another piece were incorporated and digitally layered as conversations took place in Messenger.
Numerous ideas were spoken about during this creative period which inspired John to work on the second video UNIVERSE (above right).
It has been a great pleasure from my perspective, an exciting collaboration where elements of the work have been brought to life on screen – arts in motion.
These videos can be viewed on my YouTube channel, the webpage, or look up John McGeoch ‘Arts in Motion’ on Vimeo to enjoy many more of John’s wondrous creations!
While I’m on the subject of ‘arts in motion’, in my previous email I featured a small clip to showcase snippets of the layering process behind a painting titled Enchanted Gully 2020. This piece has since been collected and is now displayed on a wall in Vue at Jindivick – a warm and welcoming Eco Bed & Breakfast with an absolutely sensational view! Yes, this is the same client who purchased the ceramic ‘Bud’ which now rests proudly upon a beautifully hand-crafted plinth made by artist Keith Graham of Serigraph Gallery. Thank you Anita Day for the photographs below!
MARCH 2021
Dear Art Lovers,
I’ve finally been able to draw myself away from the studio long enough to write some news!
I must admit that it’s become increasingly difficult to leave the paint and clay and the drive to continue creating has resulted in increasingly longer days… and nights.
I do have news to share though – and I’m embracing the opportunity to step away from the studio for a moment or two to reflect, and make contact again with those who have followed me on this winding path.
Firstly I would like to thank my very dear friend, artist Dr Aunty Eileen Harrison, for agreeing to be my sitter for the Archibald – our time together has resulted in a painting which has taken my focus over the last couple of months, soon to be wrapped and transported to the Art Gallery of NSW in April for judging.
The Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale are very excited to be hosting the Archibald Prize exhibition this year from the 8th of October to 21st of November and are already working very hard behind the scenes!
I’ve been busy here behind the scenes too, but for a bit of fun I created the short clip below (25 seconds) which reveals a selection of images taken in the lead up to the finalised painting ‘Enchanted Gully’. A smaller painting on linen, 120 x 160cm, currently here at the studio.
More to read below…
Congratulations to the Heide Museum of Modern Art and curator Kendrah Morgan for presenting a major survey exhibition which celebrated the work of artist Joy Hester: Remember Me. As I wandered through the progression of Hester’s portraits earlier this year I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to experience such an inspiring, intimate and memorable experience – thank you very much to Anne at Avec Pleasure Art Tours for organising such a special day.
Another powerful exhibition experience I enjoyed was Lisa Roet: 30 Years of Drawing at Finkelstein Gallery A selection of Roet’s large scale, vigorous studio drawings and sculptures of our simian relatives hands and feet were imposing and magnificent to walk into. Individual pieces drew me close, and closer in again to inspect their finer details which evoked a sense familiarity and in some way a sense of longing – I felt the impulse to reach out and touch, a desire to connect or reconnect?
Art inspires many soulful journey’s both in and out of the studio. I feel very fortunate when I meet others who feel the same – artists, beholders, curators, gallerists, collectors. Just recently I was invited to a collectors home in Melbourne to view my own work insitu and to enjoy a selection of other works whilst having tea and cake. I felt truly honoured to be part of their collection and to see my paintings so thoughtfully curated within such beautiful surroundings – thank you!
I was also delighted to deliver Bud, a large stoneware ceramic sculpture to Anita and Paul Day, Vue at Jindivick – an Eco Bed & Breakfast set in a truly stunning location not far from my studio. Check out their website and spectacular views of West Gippsland! Thank you Anita for the image of Bud in situ (left).
Life continues to unfold and evolve as does an artistic practice. I have a new website but have less time to update it. I have more friends on social media but less want to be on-line. This creative journey has once again brought me to a point of juncture – an invitation to step up and work even harder has been offered, and in many respects it represents a time to let go.
I look forward to sharing what’s around the next corner soon… watch this space xxx
