I have just finished this 88 page coffee-table book which sheds light on the past one hundred years of this distinguished building. It profiles some of the remarkable people that had the fortune to call Darnley Hall and Gurrajin / Elizabeth Bay their home.
The cover of my book.
The introduction.
The architects.
The king’s ‘God-son’.
The society artist.
Further to the previous post and the ancestry tour, we also went on a cruise to the Shetland Islands, Norway and Iceland, I produced two 240 page coffee table, books so the photos didn’t just sit on my phone being forgotten.
The covers of my latest photo books.
Incredible Norway.
Loch Ness monsters.
Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire.
Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik.
Oborne, Dorset, our ancestral village.
I researched, wrote and designed this magazine to help us as we travelled around Scotland and England, visiting our ancestors villages and cemeteries. We started in Glasgow and and drove all the way to Dorset and then on to Heathrow for our flight home.
The cover and a few pages of my magazine.
After three years of hard work, we had our Grad Show.
In October 1024 I was part of a small group show for NAS third year artists of a certain age. I also designed the poster.
In August 2024, I was asked to give lessons at a country estate in southern New South Wales. It was over three days and included drawing, colour theory and painting techniques.
This is the first time I have attempted to paint the illusion of a frame as part of a painting. It is known as tromp l’oeil from the French “deceives the eye”. To add to the illusion, I extended a leaf beyond the frame.
I named it Paint Faster as a reference to a painting lecturer at NAS who, when asked to explain her instructions, she told me to paint faster.
Just delivered the largest painting that I have ever done and my largest commission. It only just fitted in my studio.
I’m enjoying setting up systems and digitising NAS’s impressive collection of artworks.
At BT, we are celebrating #wearitpurpleday today to raise awareness on the issues affecting young LGBTQIA+ people. It’s also an opportunity for us to celebrate the diversity of our people at BT and the communities that we serve. #empowertogether
A couple of photos taken by Usama Alnassar.
This year I only booked for five days because I just wanted to finish the sculpture of Lucy I started last year. The form is closer to what I was aiming for, with more detail and depth in the eye area. The nose and mouth was reduced and remodelled. The neck and beard were modified a lot too.
Two years ago I attended this course, hopefully this time around I was able to improve on my previous efforts.
Elizabeth Bay from Darnley Hall 2017
My first attempt at etching a raven, I have done an oil painting of these amazing birds.
The copper plate.
This work by Chiharu Shinoda was just as good as her work at the Venice Biennale that I visited last year.
I meet Emma McNally, the artist of these sensational graphite on paper works.
This year I became a Friend of the Biennale. There are many events for the Friends, this was a guided tour of Cockatoo Island.
Some preparatory sketches for Lucy's sculpture.
An unfinished bust of Lucy, I will complete at the next course in January 2018.
Marble from Carrara
A portrait of Tom Bass looking over my shoulder.
This was at the Tom Bass Sculpture School with special guest teacher from Carrara, Alnassar. This was my first attempt at carving marble however I managed to complete two sculptures. It was hard and dirty work but I loved it.
This is the dove I carved.
After carving a torso in limestone it was logical to try one in marble.
I have just completed a four week course (Monday evenings) at the Tom Bass Sculpture School. Limestone is easy to carve and I was reasonably happy with the end result for a first attempt. I'm hoping my next attempt at carving in marble will be more successful.
I was invited to give feedback about the course which resulted in an appearance on the SIA's testimonials page on their website. This was about the Curator's course I attended last summer in New York.
This course taught me how to work with acid, hard ground, soft ground, drypoint, aquatints, chine collé and other techniques and I acquired the skills to transfer my printing plates onto paper using a printing press. I have always been curious about the range of results that are possible through the etching process.
Angus Fisher was a good teacher and under his guidance I produced a couple of aquatints, and an etching with sugar lift.
