Rick Amor

One of my very favorite artists is Rick Amor, born in 1948, a Melbourne artist at the peak of his career.


I find his images very moving, usually one or two figures, dwarfed by an ominous or menacing landscape; for me they express fear, desolation, loneliness, existential angst more effectively than words ever could..

Tommy Mitchell

High on my list of fruitless desires is a painting by this aboriginal artist born around 1943 from Warakurna art centre in remote country on the eastern border of Western Australia.

They are still affordable but I wonder how much longer..





























These images are from the marshall arts website ; (http://www.marshallart.com.au/aspx/home.aspx) the outstation gallery website and the blog by Edwina Circuitt, "Thriving in the Desert" who coordinates the Warakurna art centre.

Criss Canning

I am in love with her work. I tiny little 12x22 cm one ("pansies" 1983-4- bottom pic) sold at the Menzies art brands sale 2 days ago and I did not mention it earlier in case a miracle happened and I could buy it. In the end it went for over $5000 if you add the buyers premium. Don't know if it is the jewel like colours, or the black outlining, or the arrangements that are so appealing. Lately the paintings have become flatter, less textured, showing more Japanese laquerware and other reflective surfaces with abstract patterned backgrounds.

"Anemones" (centre pic) was for sale at Metro art gallery for $40,000 last time I looked..

Criss and her husband run Lambley nursery (pic at top) which explains where she gets some of her inspiration..

In memory of Bill Whiskey (1920-2008)

The first time I saw his work (In the window of Japingka gallery in Fremantle) I crossed a busy street with an infant in a stroller to get a better look. And I wasn't disappointed..

Its difficult to believe he only started painting at the age of 85.

All of his paintings represent the rockholes and country around Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and tell the dreaming story of a white cockatoo who fought with a black crow. The white dots are supposed to represent the cockatoo's feathers, the roundels are the local waterholes or the marks made on the landscape during the fight. Linear designs on the painting are tracks or dry creekbeds.

Aside from that, important as it is, this is just brilliant art.

Menzies, Australian & International Fine Art, auction preview

Just took a look at the Melbourne viewing for this auction which occurs on march 25th 2010. I LOVE auction viewings- all that great art, some never seen before and never to be seen again, all for FREE (that is unless one accidentally buys something) and this was one of the best I have seen.

The picture getting all the publicity was Sydney Nolan's First-Class Marksman 1946, estimated at 3-5 million dollars. My 4 year old son loves Sydney Nolan and is saving hard.

I was more impressed I must admit by some of the other work. Have never been all that interested in John Perceval but the two major pictures on display are brilliant, reminding me of French impressionist masterpieces. In addition there are 5 Jeffrey Smart paintings, a superb Lin Onus which I would buy in a heartbeat if remotely able, and two big canvases by Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri and Tommy Watson.

General amusement was provided by Hazel Dooney's Ever-Ready (Fresh Out of Bed) 1998, and a John Kelly painting of an overall-wearing person rummaging inside a half zebra.

Highly recommended..

Louise Hearman-my favorite living Australian artist

Anyone else out there a Louise Hearman fan?

At her recent exhibition -(an invited entry for) the Clemenger Contemporary art award at the Ian Potter centre here in Melbourne - the guide privately said she thought her work was a bit "weird." Weirdly enough thats what I find most appealing. The portraits on display were all superficially beautiful, so luminous you could mistake them for transparencies lit from behind.

But the subjects were a different matter- painted dreams. You can't get much more quietly confronting than hostile children, toddlers framed by vaguely threatening, phallic plant matter, terrified animals, disquietingly unidentifiable furry floating objects or twigs that looked like alien insects. Somehow this artist doesn't automatically block out what the rest of us do. All are titled as "untitled" and therefore open to interpretation, which just adds to the fun. The full entry plus other work can be seen on websites by Roslyn Oxley9 gallery, or Tolarno gallery.

Theres a great video about her work in the video section at right which was done around the time of her retrospective at the Glen Eira town hall in 2008- a wonderful exhibition which confirmed for me that her work is just the best..

Addendum; I understand that the pic of the boy with his head above the clouds has been acquired by the art gallery of NSW

My favorite aboriginal art centre

Tjungu Palya!

("Good together")

The colours just blow me away.

Hard to believe these are painted at a tiny settlement, 100km southwest of Uluru. These examples include paintings by Maringka Baker, David Miller, Ginger Wikilyiri (the latter courtesy Vivien Anderson gallery)

More Emma Hack..

I also really loved these ones, I think for much the same reasons. In an interesting twist in one photo, the bird on the model's wrist is part of the wallpaper design..

Beautiful body art

Was blown away at the last melbourne affordable art fair by the work of Emma Hack. Ended up buying one copy of the pictured work in a flood of tears. Emma is a bubbly, friendly blonde who once did face painting at childrens parties, who was delighted to explain how she worked; Having obtained the (exclusive) right to use designs by Florence Broadhurst, she places a very patient, naked model in front of the wallpaper, sets up the camera and then steps forward to the model, painting a few marks on her skin each time then checking its correctly aligned in the viewfinder. The process can take a whole day, and then at the last moment a trained owl ( in this case) or other animal is placed on the model's arm.

I love this one because of in spite of the need to be still, which gives some pictures a certain stiffness, I see a connection between the model and the bird which gives the effect of a quiet, holding presence.. Her most recent work, I think, is the best and is easily accessed at her website; www.emmahackartist.com

PS. Is now May 2011; just saw some more of her work which features the same owl, but three years older. His name is Wotan..

Klimt and Tiger.. Spiritual brothers?

In further reference to paralells between Klimt and Tiger Palpatja; Both painted watersnakes.., or watersnake dreaming in the latter case.

Tiger palpatja

Last week, while my husband watched Tiger Woods on the tele, I was sitting at this desk, gazing at images by Tiger Palpatja, an Australian aboriginal elder in his late 80's/early 90's who has only been painting for 5 years.

Took a while to figure out the appeal, what it was. Some of his painting is quite untidy and less appealing but the better images are sublime... Stumbled across an article by Nicholas Rothwell from the Australian which shed some light on the issue- he described the "Klimt-like sheen" of some of the canvases and it got me thinking.. and downloading.

The tiger images displayed are from the world vision Birrung gallery website, Marshall Arts and the WA premier's indigenous art award- the klimts are random images off the web..

Can you tell them apart at a glance?