Eastern Suburbs Art Group

I went to the framers to pick up some items and picked up this painting with a bull theme by Rozee Cutrone that I'd picked up in a swap some time before (see relevant post). I got it done without mat board in order to minimise cost but it doesn't really need a mat board I think. When I got it home I went to the garage and found an old cardboard box and brought it upstairs and assembled packaging. I had to take it out at one stage even after it was packed away to check that the hooks had gone on the correct side. I did some other things of my own that I'd had framed as items the same way and drove down to the shopping centre to where there's parking, finding a spot near where I wanted it. Then I went to the postal shop to despatch the items to Japan.

Ahead of time I popped down to Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf on Wed night to see a show featuring trees, a group show Bernadette Smith (who I met there) was in. I’ve written before about Bernadette’s work as I’ve been to a few openings by this artist, who often uses photography. Strangely two of the artists whose work I also chose to feature have the same surname, Louise Fowler-Smith (see below) does these glossy shots of trees at night. On the other hand Jude Fowler-Smith (see below) does some of her shots out-of-focus. This especially appealed to me as it consones with aspects of my own practice. Still using green (we’re talking about trees, after all) is Elizabeth Gervay (see below). This time sculpture. I’m sure this would look stunning in a large room but you’d need a fairly big house to accommodate it. Also requiring space is Miho Watanabe’s work, a sort of loose scroll of what looks like film stock (see below). Watanabe’s vision was impressive as I felt that she captured – as did...

On Fri evening I went with Johnny to see Guy Chapman’s delightful little paintings at Comber Street Studio, we got parking nearby on the street and had delicious conversations with nice people. Above is ‘Titokowaru I Te Ngutu’, one of Chapman’s fabulous pictures about the frontier wars in New Zealand animated by his discovery that he had a natural father different from his regular parent, and this man had Maori heritage. I loved the way that Chapman is able to pack so much in, these red-and-black paintings especially with their long sticker explanations are full of life and history.