'Postcard Pollution' was painted in 1999 along with about 15 others paintings of the same dimensions 100cm x 150 cm. They were all painted on board with a wooden frame. The paintings were all done with Howard Arkley in mind. Howard had died the same year on his return after showing 'The Home Show' at the Australian Pavilion at the 48th Venice Biennale and a sellout show in Los Angeles. I was devastated by his death. He was a friend and an inspiration. His love of art and artist's was infectious. I was his studio assistant from 1989 to 1991 and the experience was incomparable. One of my most cherished possessions is a chair that Howard gave me on my birthday when we were tidying up his studio. I exhibited 'Postcard Pollution' with 'Tattooed Head' and most of the other paintings from the series in my show called Tribute To Howard at the Horsham' Art Gallery in 2000 |
Howard at The Espy'Tattooed Head' 1989 Howard Arkley |
My painting Tattooed Maniac 1999Chair that Howard gave to me |
'Gwendolyn's Kitchen' was painted in 2017 and is dedicated to my dear friend Gwendolyn Thorne who died in 2017. Gwendolyn was my beautiful art loving friend that I met about 10 years earlier through Dr Arthur's gallery. Not only was she a great supporter of my work but she and her husband Charles were true friends. I would visit them for a cup of tea and we would talk about our families, our life experiences and of course art. She had a dedicated painting studio attached to her kitchen and she would show me things she was working on and artwork that she owned and loved. She also kept a magnificent collection of books that she would encourage me to peruse for inspiration.
After looking through books and discussing the paintings and drawings by some great Australian artists that hung on the walls of their home, we would sit at the table in the kitchen with Charles and enjoy a cup or two of tea. I would enjoy stories of their travels through Europe and Charles always had a fascinating memory from the events during his service in the Australian Navy during WW2. There was always a vase with beautiful flowers in the centre of the table sitting on a pretty tablecloth. Gwendolyn would always sit in her chair with her back to the studio door and Charles would sit opposite her. I would sit between them facing the window as can be seen in this painting. We would sip tea and enjoy the biscuits or cakes from Darriwill Farm that Gwendolyn always had at hand. Gwendolyn Thorne was a genuine art lover and like many women of her generation she sacrificed her art practice for her family's needs. She maintained a deep involvement in art and was personal assistant to Australian art critic and historian Alan McCulloch from 1974-1982, when McCulloch was director of the Mornington Peninsula Arts Centre until she and Charles moved to Hamilton in 1982. Gwendolyn passionately loved strong blacks as used by the German Expressionists and her favourite artists included Picasso, Max Beckmann, John Percival and perhaps most of all George Baldessin Some years ago Gwendolyn and I exchanged paintings and I am the proud owner of a work that she had painted of herself with her daughter Michelle. Gwendolyn had another of her self portraits hanging in her kitchen and I included it in my painting. 'Gwendolyn's Kitchen' was exhibited in December 2017 at the Elizabeth Arthur Fine Art 30th Anniversary Exhibition and it is my great honour that it is now in the possession of her daughter Michelle. Michelle asked me to do a painting for Gwendolyn's funeral and she very generously permitted me to select some of Gwendolyn's art books to have. They are among my most precious possessions. Some people touch our lives and never leave, Gwendolyn Thorne enriched my life and I will always be grateful. |
Gwendolyn's self portrait with her daughter Michelle
My version of Gwendolyn's self portrait that was cremated with her
Gwendolyn's painting in her studio
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Dr Elizabeth Arthur returned from England with a gift for me in the form of a print of Picasso's 'Head of Woman' 1924 that she acquired at the Tate Gallery where the original resides. The simple palette used and the emphasised linearity of the drawing
appealed to me very much. The resultant painting records one one of the few times that I restricted myself to colour limitations so strictly. The colours I have used are not a subtle as the source paining and either is the drawing, The composition draws heavily on the original without being too derivative. |