March at the studio was purposely quiet and perfect for painting with the kind of focus I'd not enjoyed in a long time. Moving last year and the period of 6 months without a studio meant starting again in September was slow and gradual... although I held a major Launch and was making the most of the new space. See the post I wrote recently at Visual Eclectica on new work.
This year I've loved the feeling of feeling of being much more at home in my studio ... and gradually getting into my strides again. I toyed with running workshops but in the end felt it beneficial to focus quite deeply and simply paint whist the chance was there for uninterrupted hours.
Now I am a month away from a residency at PLANTBANK in NSW, south west of Sydney at Mt Annan. I'm really looking forward to this ... it always brings so much input and new material that is takes a while to integrate all that in my work so to have have a quiet period beforehand has been ideal. More on Plantbank here and here.
Here are two images from the studio...
Above is work carried out for a deadline on the weekend... it was for a Local Art Prize that I entered... the first time I've had time to actually enter an Art Competition in the last 8 years. I started work in January on these 2 works above and had to send images and local them in as the entries before they were resolved works... so it was interesting last week completing them with a deadline...
and wondering if they were the best choice.
In the end however I enjoyed the process as the work I carried out in February and March was on a greatly subdued and limited palette... as seen in most of the work below.
The January work provided the impetus for the work that followed in the limited palette... yet when I went back to the more colourful canvases it felt easier to tackle the challenge of resolving the work given the routine of focus and opportunity to discuss work with several people.
Weekend after next, April 12th and 13th I will have an OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND ... so watch this space if you wish to know about that... or contact me here.
Back soon I hope!
