Watsons Bay Californian Bugalow

Watson Bay Californian Bungalow

Watercolour on Arches Paper

75cm x 56cm

Suburbia

Today I had time to get to the Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney city. As I neither work or live in the city I do not go there often, so when I do visit I become acutely aware of how different the urban environment is there to the more expansive suburban Sydney. The density is significantly higher with more people, taller buildings and subsequently less sunlight. Perhaps due to its unfamiliarity I felt no desire to connect with this landscape and try to paint it. However my suburban ease was appeased in the Gallery of NSW in a large painting by Howard Arkley entitled 'Superb + solid' (1998) painted in synthetic polymenr on canvas . This is unusual as it engages with the suburbian landscape which is often disregarded in Australian landscape painting for the city or the bush. The house seems to be a more modernised take on a federation home perhaps built in the 1950s. The artist has distilled the image so that the suburban home almost takes on an iconic feel of a glossy real-estate photo. The idea of Suburbia has many connotations between a positive and comforting place to an isolating and unprogressive environment. It seems for an urban environment that is so significant  and dominant in Australia there should be more artists examining the subject-matter.

Howard Arkley, 'Superb + solid' (1998)

From a Coogee Roundabout

From a Coogee Roundabout

Watercolour, Ink, Chinese Ink and Paint on Arches Paper

75cm x 56cm

Coogee Rooftops

Coogee Rooftops

Watercolour, Chinese Ink and Paint on Bockingford Paper

75cm x 55cm

I do not know if this piece is finished, it might need something to pull it all together. It is larger than I have been working on on previous pieces. I want to find the right balance between abstraction and representation to give a greater sense of the place.

Randwick Inkscape

Randwick Inkscape

Chinese Ink and Paint on Paper

50cm x 28cm

Sculptures of Urbanity

Malabar Road Sketch

Chinese Ink and Paints on Rice Paper

52cm x 42cm

I had lots of interruptions today doing this painting so the finished piece is not what I set out to do. The scene depicted is a junction on a main road in Maroubra with traffic lights, road signs and electricity wires. It is these functional sculptures of urbanity that I want to capture.

Made in China

California Bungalows on Rice Paper

Chinese Ink and Paint on Rice Paper

42cm x 34cm

 Coogee California Bungalows

Chinese Ink and Paint on Paper
40cm x 29cm

Continuing with the Shui-mo-hau influence, I want to juxapose these Chinese art materials with a distinctly Sydney built environment.

Clovelly Cliff

Clovelly Cliff

Chinese Ink and Paint on Paper

29cm x 40cm

Shui-mo-hua

Clovelly Rock

Chinese Ink and Paints on Rice Paper Scroll

42cm x 59cm

 Clovelly Swell Sketch

Chinese Ink and Paint on Paper

40cm x 29cm

Inspired by a recent trip to Hong Kong, a place I grew up I have decided to draw on some Chinese painting influence for these pieces. With my recent use of ink and watercolour it feels like a natural progression to look at Chinese landscape painting. This genre of painting has a deep history in using ink and washes which is more specifically known as Shui-mo-hua. The idea of this form of painting is not to reproduce the subject but to capture its essence. So to paint waves, rather than portraying a static image, the goal is to express its power or movement and to reduce the useless detail.