Blackwood Lane studio    

 Blackwood Lane Studio, Gembrook, Victoria

About me and my exhibition

 My exhibition, “Unmasked” followed two paths. Where the figure is central, the audience is encouraged to unmask (beneath the visual qualities of surface paint) possible interpretations of the artwork.

 

Themes are grouped around the following; notions of ideal beauty, the donning of the clown’s mask, religious commentary, and social commentary evident in personal interaction. In most works, symbolism, shape, colour and pattern help emphasize and simplify.

 

Some works are past finalists in Australia-wide competitions. One such is the acrylic on paper frieze, “The Media’s interpretation of the Death of Pope John Paul II” (Blake Prize finalist 2005) or “Sanctuary of St. Paul’s, the otherness of poverty,” (Blake Prize Finalist 2007).

 

Shop window mannequins today reflect a more multicultural society. Some works (“Mannequins and males”) reflect this. A series of canvases depict the influence of Western Society on South Sudanese refugees.

 

In another figure work, the classic profile of a young woman is reflected in the classic early-era camera she holds.

 

Genre paintings centre around travellers, weddings, contemporary youth and summer in the city. The “Westside Circus” is a non-professional teenage circus troupe, whose players were transformed into universal circus performers by their masks and costumes.

 

The second theme concerned construction sites which have been unmasked by paintings of their progress before completion. The transient nature of our visual surroundings and the “worthiness” of industrial subject matter also feature.

 

The notion of landscape is challenged when works feature vistas being moulded or created by mankind. Upon completion of the construction, the “subject” has disappeared, or is masked beneath the surface of outward appearance.

 

In these landscapes the only figures are symbolic construction workers, made equal and anonymous by their common, colourful, safety garb. Eastlink, the Eureka Tower, the Union Theatre and Recital Hall, (Melb.) and recent Dandenong construction sites are sources of subject matter.

 

Most works are executed in oils, with sizes varying from tiny studies to multi-panelled and large works.

 

In 2008, I was a finalist in The Gallipoli Prize (Sydney); The John Leslie Prize (Shifting Environment, Sale Regional Gallery); The Macarthur Cook Prize (The Built Environment, Melb.); and the ANL Shipping Line Prize (Mission to Seafarers, Melb.).

My multifaceted portrait of former M.P., Dr. Barry Jones is about to be hung in the State Library of Victoria. My   portrait of jazz musician, James Morrison is hanging in the Dandenong Town Hall where he was a featured performer at the Opening of the Drum Theatre. The painting was my entry in the 2008 Archibald Prize.

In addition I was the winner of the Cardinia Shire’s Delfin Home Based Business Award for 2008.

The photo shows a part of my Gallery which adjoins my studio in Gembrook.

You can also see a part of 4 hectares of garden with a collection of unusual native and exotic trees which surround us.