Reviews, News and Interviews..

The fine people at Stated Magazine in New York approached me recently about doing an interview as part of their arts feature.
It was an interesting exercise and I thank them from the bottom of my ego.
If you would like an insight into what makes me tick just click on the image below to get to the interview or hit this LINK

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I continue to be knocked out by peoples interest in this kind of insular, creative trip I am on and I’m finding people the world over are very kind. The arts community closer to home is no exception.

So it was with both surprise and delight that I found a short review of my most recent work on-line.

An arts blog by “The Art Hunter of SA” or “The Bearded One” as he likes to be known, popped up on my radar after he left an appreciative comment on my previous blog post (Picasso, Bacon, Warhol Photo Finish).

“The Bearded one” is an Art/Design teacher from Adelaide in South Australia who specialises in the visual arts, primarily printmaking and painting.

I have placed a link via the image below or go straight there by heading here

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Picasso, Bacon, Warhol.. photo finish.

I love group exhibitions.
I love going along to them and even better I love being a part of them.

There is something to be said about throwing a bunch of artists work all in the same room together. It  reminds me about how different we all are, and it fascinates me how creative minds interpret or express an idea in so many different ways.

So it is with this in mind that I reflect upon  an exhibition I am taking part in throughout January. The show is titled “Seeing Cycles” and is being held at the Geoffrey Stapleton Gallery in Adelaide from Jan 13th to Feb 5th. I will be joining a great bunch of gifted artists who are also presenting a single piece of art for the exhibition.

Although I’ve taken part in many group shows, this was the first where I have had to produce art that lends itself in some way to a theme. The gallery brief was to reference the world cycling event “The Tour Down Under” which will be commencing literally in the same street as the gallery during this month, in fact a couple of days after the opening.

I gave this theme some thought before eventually settling on presenting a piece that remains self indulgent enough to maintain my own interest, and also to extend my fascination with mixed media – in particular collage and textural oil paint.

During the lead up sketches to my piece, and throughout the eventual collage process of gluing scraps of paper to canvas, I thought about art as a journey.
I reflected upon my own creative pursuit and the realisation that one never really reaches the finish line. For me, like most passionate endeavors, you are never really satisfied and there is always this need to compete against yourself. How each one of us takes a very different path to the next, with equally different reasoning.
I am certainly my own worst critic and probably would end up letting my own tyres down in such a race and for the moment, for the years.. am just enjoying the ride.

Having said that, I also began thinking about some of the artists who have either influenced me or that I have enjoyed investigating their arts practice and their contribution to art history. In short, creative people that in some way changed the direction of art or people’s minds on what art is or could be.

There’s the dreaded cult of personality around Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol that probably doesn’t help them or detracts from their work as far as some people are concerned, but I really only pay attention to my own barometer. I could have chosen three completely different artists to represent what I was trying to do in the piece, but these guys for the most part have come reasonably close to reaching the metaphoric finish line and each is/was unique in their own special way.

The result is “Picasso, Bacon, Warhol. Art Ride No. 1″ an oil and collage on stretched canvas (90 x 70cm). Three paint spattered artists under the scraped words ” for some it is a race, for others a journey.. some the popular road, some the prolific”

The addition of the colour wheel came late in the painting. There is no black or white in the official colour wheel of course, but there is on mine. If you see the painting close up you will get what I mean. As much as I love using paint in thin layers of glaze, I also enjoy throwing a bit of texture into the mix and this particular work has a mix of both.

Collaged words from “The Adventurous World of Paris 1900 -1914″ written by the Gustave Dore biographer Nigel Gosling. In my continuing life of chance, coincidence and serendipity, I came across this apt paragraph which became a subtle addition to the collage underneath several glazes of burnt sienna and alizarin crimson.

Ok, about time I ended this post. Thanks so much for sticking around. I hope it has been of some interest. I’m hoping to improve my blog posts in 2012.. make them more regular. If I can accomplish that along with my other New Year resolution to no longer waste my time re-living the past and instead spend it worrying about the future, I will be a happy man.
If you would like to visit the “Seeing Cycles” exhibition, here are the details:

“Seeing Cycles”

The Geoffrey Stapleton Gallery

Janurary 13th (Opening Night 7pm) through to February 5th

95A Prospect Road, Adelaide (South Australia).

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If you’re reading this before the opening it would be great to see you there on the night. If I haven’t met you before, please introduce yourself and we’ll have a chat about all things art over a glass of wine or bubbly..

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As of Jan 8th 2012 the above work is currently available for sale.

Please contact the gallery if interested:

Ph:+61 08 83429136 or email@thegeoffreystapletongallery.com 

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat 11am – 4pm

Food For Thought..

Art and food.
I’ve always loved the combination. There’s something about experiencing interesting art over good food and wine.I’m sure I’m not the only one guilty of contemplating an abstract, landscape or figurative painting across a table whilst in conversation or waiting for an entrée or main course to arrive. Mind you, I’m easily distracted when it comes to art, particularly paintings or drawings.In what is now the second time I have exhibited paintings in a city restaurant, I am pleased to announce an exhibition of mostly new or unseen works at Celsius Restaurant & Bar in Adelaide, South Australia.It’s funny, many artists might baulk at the idea of exhibiting anywhere outside of a gallery space but I simply love the opportunity and environment, especially knowing that the works are experienced for a far longer period of time and often by a wider range of people as they study, scrutinize or simply glance over at the works during warm conversation and culinary delights. Often this is some diners first or only introduction to contemporary art, as many don’t dare step inside a proper commercial gallery space.So it is.
What I can tell you is that this particular restaurant is noted for creating art on a plate and has recently picked up a “best new restaurant” award in Adelaide.
It’s run by two charming brothers Kasim and Ayham Erkoc.

Ayham, who was awarded the title of Chef of the Year in 2008, has worked at this year’s ruling best restaurant of the year, in the world, that is, Noma, in Copenhagen, as well as Marque and Pier in Sydney.
Hopefully having my work on the walls there will be complimentary to the art on the menu, and that just for a moment they too might be distracted from their day to day lives by canvasses of thick paint.

So, want to check out my recent work over a great meal?
Here’s where to head if you’re in the neighborhood..

Celsius Restaurant and Bar
95 – 97 Gouger Street
Phone: 8231 6023
celsiusrestaurant.com.au
Mon and Sat: 6pm – Late
Tue – Fri: 12pm – 2.30pm, 6pm – Late

Here’s a selection of the works available for sale at the restaurant.  There is a close-up of the painting surface below each image.

TITLE: “FREE YOUR BIRD”
MEDIUM:  OIL & COLLAGE ON CANVAS
H X W: 75 x 40cm

TITLE: “LETTER FROM VINCENT (VAN GOGH)”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON CANVAS
H X W: 100 x 75cm

TITLE: “GIRL ON A WHITE CANVAS”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON CANVAS
H X W: 101 x 75cm

TITLE: “SAVE YOUR BREATH”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON CANVAS
H X W: 120 x 90cm

TITLE: “LETTER FROM FRIDA (KAHLO)”
MEDIUM:  OIL & COLLAGE ON CANVAS
H X W: 76 x 50cm

TITLE: “THE CROSSROADS”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON CANVAS
H X W: 100 x 75cm

TITLE: “THE YELLOW HIJAB”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON CANVAS
H X W: 101 x 75cm

TITLE: “SPEAK NO ART”
MEDIUM:  OIL & COLLAGE ON CANVAS
H X W: 60 x 50cm

TITLE: “HARD JAZZ CAFE”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON BOARD
H X W: 120 x 92cm

TITLE: “GONE FOR COFFEE”
MEDIUM:  OIL ON CANVAS
H X W: 122 x 92cm

Celsius Restaurant and Bar
95 – 97 Gouger Street
Phone: 8231 6023
celsiusrestaurant.com.au
Mon and Sat: 6pm – Late
Tue – Fri: 12pm – 2.30pm, 6pm – Late

Night of the Urban Cow

Thought I would just re-post some information about  the Nursery Rhymes exhibition held at The Urban Cow Gallery in Adelaide a littlle while ago.

“Nursery Rhymes” was an exhibition inspired by the dark point of reference of traditional nursery rhymes.  It featured a group of creatives that have chosen one nursery rhyme. Each creative built their art work around the nursery rhyme, in their chosen medium, to showcase their signature style.

 Each of the participants in the exhibition arrived from a wide range of disciplines, from art and illustration to graphics and apparel within the creative industry.  Many of the artists are multi-disciplinary and have had group and solo exhibitions of their work and have had their work emblazoned across tee-shirts, banners, books and magazines.

This exhibition at Urban Cow Gallery gave each of the artists an opportunity to demonstrate their creative passion in any way they chose, creating an exhibition of awe inspiring beauty, colour, sinuous line work, and textures, whilst expressing the creative vision of each of the participants.  To have such a diverse range of artists with distinct styles, interests, view points and focus, each creating a piece to be held together by the concept of a nursery rhyme, makes for an interesting, visually challenging and inspiring exhibition.

The artists in the exhibition were:
Anita Alcorn – Melanie Allen – Sam Barratt – Siobhán Boughton – Courtney Brims - Letitia Buchan – Peta Alannah Chigwidden – Jordan Clarke – Anna Creasy – Klaus Kinski – Milo Kossowski – Beci Orpin - Leith O’Malley – Elisa Mazzone – Suzanne McPherson – Anna Moretti – Naomi Murrell – Wendy Olsen – Lilly Piri -  Nani Puspasari – Joshua Smith – Eugenia Tsimiklis – Ella Versteege – Bec Winnel – Sally Wren – Nancy Alice Wood

My own piece in the group show was an interpretation of the nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue” and is somewhat of a return to my cartooning roots. I wanted to present a new take on it.. a different angle.What if the story behind this boy with the horn came from contemporary folk lore?
What if Boy Blue was a young jazz player who was forever on the road with his band The Meadow?
What if his sleepiness was the result of playing his horn every night in clubs like The Haystack?I wonder what music these sheep headed musicians lay down behind Boy Blue’s trumpet solos? Maybe some of it might be from Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue” album which I had playing for my own inspiration during the construction of this painting..or maybe something from Tom Waits “Blue Valentine” perhaps?

Close ups of the illustration I created for the exhibition. The reference to “Birdland” (as mentioned in my previous blog post) is a famous jazz club in New York. The final illustration is approx 30 x 42 cm (H x L) in oil and collage.

Click on the image above to see the final work. Any comments welcome below..
The original is still available for purchase along with a short run of signed limited edition prints (30 only @ 42 x 30cm).

Art is Music, Music is Art – Just ask Big Joe.

If there’s anything that can distract me from creating art it is good music.

Listening to it, creating it, being surrounded by it.. it’s something that was constantly around me growing up and I am seldom far from listening to the music I love whether I am at home, in my studio or driving my car.

All my family are musicians, I have two brothers and two sisters, all of them sing and play guitar exceptionally well. In and out of bands and also recording their originals.

My dad “Mike O’Malley” was in fact a pioneer of Australian Country Music and has been honoured more than once for his years of contribution to that genre of music and the early recording industry in this country (Rodeo Records).

In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he still has some of the cement under his finger nails from his Tamworth Hands of Fame induction a few years ago now.

Dads old guitar has taken some mighty plectrum use around the barbecues and kitchen tables of my youth and onwards. My brothers and sisiters and I would take our turn on his knee early on, but there was also a beautiful 1950’s Gibson guitar to compete with. To this day I am yet to hear a guitar with a warmer tone than that piece of family history.

So anyway I am really fortunate to have experienced a rich musical upbringing and it’s something I’m not only proud of, but also feel (like art) has enriched my life in many ways. Being open to and discovering so many incredible forms of music and ways of making music is a kind of wonderment that continues to be a fascinating and addictive pastime.

Which brings me to the reason for this particular blog posting. You knew I’d eventually get there right?!

Occasionally I get an opportunity where I can mix these two together.. art and music.

Some of you will already know about the artwork and design I provided for the Mercedes Garcia release “Cross My Heart”, but another recent and just as interesting design based project involved providing the cover art for something closer to home.

Anyone who knows me well will tell you how much I really enjoy roots, blues and jazz music so this opportunity was an easy one to say “yes, let me at it”.

Apart from the fact I occasionally play in some local blues outfits (amplified blues harmonica and saxophone), I also enjoy creating much of the promotional material (logo, posters and ticket designs) for a popular live blues night in my neck of the woods known as “Live @ Lefties”.

 

My involvement in creating the cover art for a new CD compilation I am about to speak of came about after Jacob of the studio label Stobie Sounds saw some of the work I was doing promoting these Lefties blues nights.

 

After some detail and discussion on what Jacob had in mind, I submitted a few alternate images and the result is the cover art we see below for the album.. a composite image of photo reference and hand drawn line art that has been given the simple “mono print” look that has become so indicative of the Stobie Sounds branding.

 

At that stage I had heard a little about the label from it’s growing reputation for creating quality glass bottle-neck guitar slides, as well as recording home grown (Adelaide) musicians. I was pleased to learn that my work would be contributing to an eclectic, brooding and earthy recording of blues that would feature reinterpretations of the songs of the American stalwart blues musician “Big Joe Williams”.

 

I was also anxious to not only see how my image of Big Joe turned out in print, but also hear what lay within the CD package itself.

I couldn’t have been more pleased when the postman arrived with copies of the CD. The record label has done a remarkable job with the production throughout, both in a visual and aural sense. The labels branding entails hand printed covers onto recycled cardboard sleeves and includes everything people love about buying records.. interesting liner notes, good artwork (yeah I can blow trumpet too) and good design.

The album is made up of sixteen tracks and features both Australian and US based musicians giving their own take on the Big Joe Williams originals. The liner notes have been generously provided by recording artist and ABC announcer “Lucky Oceans” (who I read actually spent time with Big Joe in his youth), and includes a 12 page booklet with everything you’ll ever need to know about the big man.

 

For music connoisseurs, Stobie Sounds is a roots record label from Thebarton in South Australia and they specialise in putting out small releases of 50-500 albums which are marketed and promoted to a small selection of independent media and record stores in Australia and the US. Real collector items just quietly.

Anyone interested in purchasing the Big Joe Williams album or learning more about Stobie sounds should head to http://www.stobieandco.com/stobiesounds/?page_id=3&category=13&product_id=29

 

No Sleep Till Birdland

So there’s this thing I do.
I always have paint left over on what ever it is I’m working on at the time.

All sorts of unused pure pigment, coloured premixes or subtle glazed medium that didn’t end up on the drying canvas. It seems such a waste to just scrape it all off into a waste bin and I don’t really like to let them mount up on the palette like some artists do.
It’s my little indulgence at the end of the painting hour if you will. My own little ritual. I use this left over paint on a separate work in progress.
So this was the beginnings of “Birdland”, the latest in a line of left over meanderings, residual after thoughts whisked off a brush or scalpel in conscious self indulgence at the end of a night.
I’m happy with the result, especially as I watched the piece over several months take on a different look, a different layer of meaning with every layer of paint.
It’s a mixed media in the true sense of the word. If I happened to be working on a paper collage drawing at the time then on would go some collage. If another night I was using gold leaf on a painting then some of this would also end up on Birdland.

I even resisted the temptation to paint over my pencil lines so the picture is a real combination of different media, an unusual jigsaw that evolved as a result of not only the materials used on its surface, but also the juxtaposition of Klee-like abstraction and colour with the roughly sketched pencil drawings of birds.
For me it is successful in that it breaks a few rules of what a painting is supposed to look like.

The birds are not new. I have made reference to these particular feathered friends in some of my other work in recent years. They are “New Holland Honeyeaters” and are a very common bird around my neighbourhood here in South Australia. My favourite bird in fact.
Several like to make their homes under the tiled roof of my studio each year and I am always hearing them scurrying about up there or feeding their young. Maybe it’s the protection that roof space provides for raising their young, but I prefer to think it is the music emanating below them that sees them return time and time again.

The title “Birdland” actually has a double meaning.
It is also a reference to the famous jazz club that was established in New York in 1949 and named after the saxophonist Charlie “Yardbird” Parker.
As much as I love many genres of music, I’m a bit of a jazz head and even play a little saxophone myself. I’m no Bird, far from it.. but being able to mix art and music does make me feel like I have some licence to fly.

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“All composition left to chance.
Technique a trap you set yourself.
To prize apart your own resemblance,
and free the bird inside your head”.

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Ok, feel free to comment below.. gotta fly…