Oil Painting

Inspired by Kandinsky.

Oil on canvas. 8 x 16 in.

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Oil Painting lesson with Gregory Smith - Day 4

I'm still drawing. Today's theme was 'hatching'.

I don't think I did good drawings. I'm not used to pencil drawing and I've never done hatching technique.

I usually use a charcoal and I smudge it to create a 3D effect.

He told me how I should think about volume and tone, whether the shapes curve away from us or towards us. That determines not just density of hatching lines, but also the angle of them.

I really enjoy his teaching. He keeps asking me a question, and I have to come up with my answers one after another. 

That's really exciting, I feel like having a discussion with a philosopher.

He is in a sense, a philosopher of art. 

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Oil Painting at Last Peek Studio

For a three hour painting, I'm reasonably happy with her body, but, there's still something wrong with her head.
How to render skin tone is still my struggle.

Oil on canvas. 14 x 18 in.

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Oil Painting

Oil on canvas. 11 x 14 in.

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Artist Talk - Cyprien Gaillard

Capital Theatre in city is a wonderful place. Very classy interior creates true cinema experience of the past.

As part of Melbourne Art Festival, there was a talk by this young Paris born, New York based artist.

I've heard of his name before and seen some of his video works, but, didn't take much notice.
So, I was very looking forward to this opportunity.

Two films really stood out during his talk.
'Pruitt Igoe Falls', and 'City of Gold and Mirrors'.

He put it beautifully what he wanted to achieve, that is, "to romanticise isolated acts of destruction".

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Oil Painting

I don't know what I'm doing kind of painting. I like bottom half though.

Oil on canvas. 12 x 16 in.

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Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize opening night

No wonder my entry couldn't make it to this exhibition.

There're 31 paintings in this beautiful building in Eltham, and they're all very high standard.

Tom Alberts was announced to be a winner of this inaugural self portrait prize. Beautifully rendered work that captured his personality.

I bumped into a gentleman who works at art supply shop in High Street, Northcote. I know he paints, but, Stephen Armstrong is actually a finalist.
Very thickly applied paints flows in the canvas.

Sometimes, very strange thing happens.
I happened to meet a girl in the gallery, whom I had met at Margaret Lawrence Gallery earlier in the day in South Bank. She was sitting next to me during an artist talk.
And she also turns out to be a finalist.
Cassandra Rijs is an amazing painter. She creates very realistic figurative paintings.
Her work in this prize is a very painful one. She said that she was going through a difficult time in her life at that time. Well, she captured it brilliantly.
It's a great pleasure to meet people like her, and have an opportunity to talk about her work.
Her website is here.

It was a great night.

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Drew Pettifer, Marco Fusinato, Kate Shaw,

I was lucky that when I walked in Margaret Lawrence Gallery in South Bank without knowing what's on, artist Drew Pettifer was about to present a talk on his new video work, 'Mapping the interior: In search of an inland sea'.

This is a very thought provoking work concerning with history of post-colonial Australia, people and landscape.
The video below is his profile.

'Mass Black Implosion' by Marco Fusinato at Anna Schwartz Gallery.
A series of fascinating drawing works that are inspired by avant-garde musicians.

'Fjallkonan' by Fiona Show at Fehily Contemporary.
Beautiful and serene landscape paintings fill this calm space with chill out soundtrack from her video work. Inspired by her stay in Iceland, this sold out exhibition shows her diverse talent.

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Oil Painting

I gave her a cosmetic surgery, but she refused to smile :(

Oil on cotton panel. 9 x 12 in.

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Gravity

Am I missing something?

After reading all positive reviews, I finally went to Westgarth.

I have to say, this is the best 3D film I've ever seen, and its visual effects are really astonishing.

Although internet is abuzz with picking up scientific inaccuracies of the film, that doesn't diminish the greatness of this film's technical achievement.

Well, I noticed it myself that Sandra Bullock's hair in the space station shouldn't have been sitting still on her head.

However, no matter how visually stunning this film is, I can't help but feel its plot was too simplistic and predictable, and not deep enough to sustain my interest during the film.

I'm far much more interested in character development and human story than visual sensation.

I'd rather watch a documentary film about astronauts, or Carl Sagan's classic 'Cosmos'.

As much as I admire George Clooney as a fine actor and a film director, I think his role in the film is a miscast.
The moment I saw him in a space suit, I thought this is not so convincing.
Ed Harris would have been better, I guess.

If this technically superb 3D film is in any way the indication of future direction of Hollywood films, I fear there will be lots of computer graphics and not much stories.

I hope it won't happen.

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Louise Paramor, Andrew Potter, Euan Macleod

'Emporium' by renowned artist Louise Paramor at Glen Eira City Council Gallery.

Her distinctive 'found assemblage' sculptures and paintings oozes optimistic and happy environment.

This is her monumental 'Panorama Station 2012' in Peninsula Link Freeway.

'Beautiful Jarlings' by my friend Andrew Potter at Obscura Gallery. 

His new foray into surrealism paintings are all beautifully rendered. I'm always amazed by his expansive imagination.

'Colossus' by Euan Macleod at Niagara Galleries.
This New Zealand born artist creates very powerful paintings of figures in imaginary landscapes.

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Oil Painting

Quick sketch from a magazine photo.
Not so good :(
Her right eye should be lower than the left one.
And forehead! It looks like she's got a brain tumour.

Work in progress. 9 x 12 in.

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Oil Painting

I'm reasonably happy with buildings, but, trees and grass are not convincing.
And, sky holes. Very difficult.

Oil on cotton panel. 12 x 16 in.

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Oil Painting lesson with Gregory Smith - Day 3

I had a marble cast today.

He really forces me to think about proportion and tone, keep measuring distance and angles all the time.

Another thing I've found it difficult is, I stand well behind my easel to measure, and walk forward to the easel and draw.

I've seen this way of looking at subjects by tonal painters, and it all makes a good sense.

I'm not used it yet, but, I'm learning a lot.

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Oil Painting

Oil on linen panel. 12 x 16 in.

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Oil Painting

Small study from a magazine photo.

Oil on canvas. 8 x 12 in.

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Oil Painting

Small study.
Still, struggling with skin tone.

Oil on canvas. 9 x 12 in.

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Oil Painting lesson with Gregory Smith - Day 2

Greg's method is all about tone, not line.

I really like his approach.

Drawing as an initial sketch for oil painting is different from, say, illustration or architectural draftsmanship.

Today, I focused on measuring a distance and angle with relation to each other, not as objects but tonal shapes.

It's really amazing how much I change the way I see nature around me.

Well, that's the whole point of painting, he said.

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Life Drawing -- Frank -- impossibly elegant

This is why Frank is the best male model.

Pastel on paper. 60 x 80 cm. 20 min.

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Australian Synchrotron Open Day

This year's Nobel Prize for Physics was co-shared by Peter Higgs, for whom Higgs Boson was christened.

There's a bit of controversies as to who really deserve it.
There's no doubt of his enormous theoretical contribution, but, there're some other scientists who, I assume, should be recognised.

This is always the problem of this prestigious prize.

Also, thousands of experimental scientists at CERN who confirmed its existence. How do you recognise their hard work?

The point is, this huge endeavour is really a collective effort.

I really don't understand Particle Physics at all, although I studied it at Uni.
It's amazing some human beings develop such brilliant brains as to understand these things, theorising them, confirming their validity by building monster machines such as particle accelerators.

It was really great to have a chat with some scientists working in this Synchrotron.

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Andrew Potter 'Beautiful Jarlings' exhibition

Andrew is a great friend of mine. He was a finalist of Sulman Prize in 2012.

I see him at Princess Hill life drawing class, or at Last Peek Studio in Thornbury.

Watching him create a great work of art with my naked eyes is always a great pleasure and learning opportunity for me.

This exhibition at Obscura Gallery is a big step forward for him. His painting style seems to have changed a big time since last exhibition.

I can't make it on the opening day, but, definitely check it out.

Opening: Thursday 17 October  6:30pm
Until Thursday 14 November

"Andrew C. Potter is a surrealist painter based in Melbourne.
A former US marine, Andrew offers an unusual unique perspective to his craft.
Drawing from his experiences in the military, Andrew adopts a literal interpretation to the term 'jarhead'.

Andrew's current series embodies the jar morphed with the human figure, which he has termed, Beautiful Jarlings.
Through his paintings, Andrew explores themes of sexuality, greed and masculinity."

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Oil Painting

Small study from a magazine photo.

Oil on canvas. 8 x 10 in.

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Oil painting lesson with Gregory Smith - Day 1

Today is the first lesson with Greg.

I'm going to do just drawings for the next couple of weeks, then, monochromatic paintings, and finally using colours.

He's a brilliant tonal painter.
Everything he said today is all about tones.
Tonal relationship from one space to another.

I've never had a formal art training, so it was really a revelation.
It's how we see things without interference of our brain.

I really like his passion, perfectionism and hands-on approach. 

He's very strict when it comes to art, and I like it a lot.

It's just like learning how to cut a hair.

And, this is what he does. Awesome paintings, really. 

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Oil Painting

Small study from a photo.
There's still something wrong.

Oil on cotton panel. 9 x 12 in.

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Darebin Art Show 2013

I'm taking part in this exhibition.
I'll be at the opening after work, so, come along and have a look if you're interested.
And, if you're generous enough, please vote for People's Choice Award!

Friday 6 December @ 6 pm.
Bundoora Homestead Art Centre
7-27 Snake Gully Drive, Bundoora


"My artistic practice focuses on expressing human psychological state in the form of photography, painting and haircutting.
In this work 'Melancholic Solitude', I tried to capture this man's existential vulnerability through a lens, which I hope resonates in viewer's mind as well."


Exhibition
6 December - 16 February
Wednesday - Friday 11 - 4pm
Saturday - Sunday 12 -5pm

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Euan Uglow - The Complete Paintings

One of my friends in a life drawing class at Princess Hill has a very distinguished style.

His geometric, almost architectural approach to drawing human body always fascinates me.

It reminds me of a sculptor chiseling marble from different angles, creating three dimensional structure with many planes left unpolished.

It's a very unique way of rendering a soft, sinuous female nude.

Euan Uglow was introduced to me by him, and what a wonderful painter he is!

I had never heard of this British artist, and after googling him, I was immediately fascinated by his beautiful paintings.

This hefty book by Yale University Press reproduces all his known paintings, more than 400, with superb colour rendition.

There're many great landscapes, still lifes, but, more than anything else, it's nude that really shines.

They're just beautiful to look at, very different from Freud's rather brutal brush works.
Beautiful not in a just 'pretty' sense.
I love his strong sense of construction, three dimensionality of human body.
He's measuring every single precise angles, distance and proportions.
You can clearly see these marks on his paintings. Awesome.

And of course, colour!

I'm really in love with these paintings.

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