art-in-residence

This series of works are from collected works held in Sydney in two different homes recently visited where it was possible to take these fresh images.

Collection I

 Untitled:  Oil on canvas, 80 x 80 cm from 2002

From 'Continuum' series , oil on canvas, 80 x 50 cm - 2003

From 'Continuum' series , oil on canvas,  120 x 40 cm - 2003

Collection II:

From 'Fluidity' series, Acrylic on canvas,  40 x 50 cm 2007

 from 'Fluidity' series, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm 2007

From 'Fluidity' series, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm, 2007 

From fluidity series, acrylic on canvas, 560 x 60 cm, 2007

Seeing these collected works again in Sydney after this recent post titled "Time to reflect' was indeed  timely. The post gave a detailed overview of the 'continuum' and 'fluidity' series of works and the era in which they were the focus - the sudden disruption in 2007 and major relocation in 2008 that necessitated the work being suspended awhile ...  then the gradual way in which the themes have deepened, and expanded and gone on to embrace a wider perspective whilst maintaining the essential imperitive of the former work.

added images from Embiggen Show at Noosaville.

'blue quandongs, Mt Coot-tha'

'Melodorum Leichhardtii- zig zag vine'

'Sophora tomentosa'

close up

Homage to the Seed Exhibition at Noosaville

Exhibition opening April 17th.

More images to be added plus details about work Read more here.

Preparations for Noosa exhibition

Photographs of small works - (mostly) 10 x 10 cm square canvas boards with acrylic and ink.  I like to employ these small squares whilst playing around with ideas, colours, imagery and so on, The need to slowly muse over ideas and work things out becomes more fluent as a result of doing numerous such small works feeding directly into the process of painting the larger works. All these are seed forms, with a few cross sections of fruits showing seeds... otherwise they are from research on Australian seeds which has preoccupied me the past month in particular. Time spent in the seed lab is  both refreshing and highly stimulating - with the necessity of careful observation heightened whilst taking in the extraordinary diversity of plant life that produces such variation in capsules and seeds in all manner of distinctive ways.
The upcoming show will include some of these small works with medium to large works  as well - some  more abstracted than others.

Ideas seem to be multiplying with only a week  to go before the show goes up so this material will go  straight into further work on this theme over this residency year.

More images will be posted after the opening on April 17.

Information re the show is available at both other weblogs- links can be found at the top right hand sidebar on this blog.
Email : sophiemunns at iinet dot net dot au
Click on image to enlarge for full viewing.

Under the microscope - recent work

In the past 2 weeks considerable time has been spent in the Seed lab at Mt Coot-tha and studio at home. Click to enlarge any image below for a better viewing. The first image is illusive - it is the same seed I have drawn in the quick journal sketch on the right - image 4. Scleria Ciliaris is roughly a third the size of a peppercorn. An experiment with camera pointing down the microscope led to this 1st shot. I was seeing something quite a bit larger than this though, with the shiny white appearance and texture of a golf ball - with stem attached. Quite a challenge for the uninitiated to draw whilst staring down a telescope. What a treat however to see what the naked eye doesn't. Ever since I have been keen to view all kinds of seeds this way...even if not so keen to photograph them in this haphazard way!

Working on the verandah at home on large work for upcoming exhibition next month. In the process of building layers of acrylic and archival inks. excellent afternoon light makes for pleasant working now the summer has passed. Winter is the best time of year for this space... being such a moderate climate.

Still in progress, layers are gradually added and worked over, scraped back till the composition and rhythm of the work gels.

The motif is actually the cross-section of a fruit with seeds shown in 3 variations - this motif has been worked with repeatedly in the ovoid painting below in acrylic paint and archival inks.

Its been a highly productive couple of weeks going between the Botanic Garden Seed Lab, Garden Library, dialogues on seeds, collecting and conservation work, additional related research and concentrated studio time.