Last night, my Wife, Susan and I decided to attend ‘Cultural Fusion’ which is an event put on by the local Council. It features Art and Craft stalls, Art for sale and local musicians.
Visitor numbers seemed a bit down however, this could have been caused by the fact it was the Thursday before the Long Weekend here in New South Wales. I’m sure visitor numbers will pick up closer to Christmas.
We found it delightful and had fun catching up with some of the Artists I know personally and it was great to make new connections.
It is on every month for the next five months and there is a chance for me to have a table or put some of my Art up for sale so I’ll certainly be investigating those. 🙂
Yesterday, myself and approx. 50-60 other Urban Sketchers attended the September Sketch-meet. Our destination was the Sydney Opera House, which in a month’s time will have been open for 50 years.
I remember watching the opening in October 1973 on a Black & White TV set from our home approx. 13km/8 miles from the Sydney CBD. I still remember running up to the bridge over the railway line half-way between my suburb and the next so we could see a whole mass of balloons being sent into the sky from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Of course we could not see the bridge itself, but we did see the the a mass of balloons rise in the distance.
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most uniquely designed structures in the world.
I must say I was very pleased to attend this Sketch-meet as this the first standalone Sydney Sketch-meet I have been able to attend this year.
Rather than try to sketch the whole building, I chose to do a section of it and am very happy with the result.
As you can see from the first photo, it was perfect weather and it was quite a relaxing experience. I find the whole experience of sketching/painting, meditative, particularly when I do minute details, like the tiles in the ‘Sails.’
One of the things that I really look forward to at the the Sketch-meets is the ‘Throwdown’ as seen in the photos below. It’s wonderful seeing all the different styles and mediums that people use to create their Art. So inspirational.
All-in-all it was a great morning of sketching. It is so great to get together with a group of creators.
The ‘Urban Sketchers’ are a world-wide movement which is in over 60 countries, 394 cities with over 120,000 members. For more information, check out their website https://urbansketchers.org/ so you can find a chapter near you.
Over the past few weeks I’ve discovered an ABC TV programme called ‘Everyone’s A Critic.’
The programme states that “each week a cross-section of Australians become Art critics as they discuss some of the most renowned art works in the country.”
Some of the critics are avid gallery visitors, whilst others are going into a gallery for the first time…
So far, I have watch four of the episodes and it is thoroughly fascinating to watch.
I’m sure that we are all aware that all of us have:
different points of view
grown up in different environments
have been subjected to different influences
Have different belief systems
A single piece of art can effect different people in dramatically different ways and often we judge the image and the artist based on what is there in front of us. How often do we see what we think the image is about, only to find that what the artwork is about (in the artist’s mind) is completely different.
One such image is “The Cripples” Arthur Boyd -1943. Pictured here, most who saw it were aghast that it was an image depicting those with disabilities in an unflattering way.
It wasn’t until they heard the Artist’s backstory and the Artist Statement regarding the painting that they could begin to appreciate and understand why it was painted and what the painting was about. It was influenced by World War II and the fact that they kept sending previously injured soldiers back to fight again.
When I go to a Gallery I will look at the image first and see how it effects me then I will read the Artist’s Statement.
How about you? Do you read the Artist Statement first then look at the Art?
One of the Towns that we visited whilst we were away recently was Canowindra, which is pronounced ‘ka-NOWN-dra’ and is a Wiradjuri Aboriginal word for ‘Home or Camping Place.’ It is located 307km West of Sydney, Australia.*
It is often referred to as the ‘Balloon Capital of Australia’ due to a Hot Air Balloon Festival that is in held in April every year.*
We stopped in there on the way home from Wyangala Waters and found it to be a delightful town with a small but enchanting main street dotted with many historic buildings and friendly town-folk.
When we are away touring it is a delight to come across the local Art and Craft Gallery or indeed a second-hand bookshop. It’s also good to have a friendly chat with the locals.
We were indeed delighted to come across a display of the Canowindra Arts Society who are currently displaying their creativity in a B & B (Bed & Breakfast) which happens to be in an old two-story Bank building.
They have a wide range of creative ventures on display such as: Oil, Watercolour, Acrylic paintings, Drawing/Sketching, Pottery, Sculpture, Textile and Wood-related Art/Craft.
The Canowindra Arts Society are currently looking for a permanent home (a challenge that a few Art Societies have) to display their Art and Craft and they hope to grow their Society along the way.
If you are visiting Canowindra, make sure you drop in and experience their creativity and have a chat with some friendly locals.
Click on the link below to find out about more of the things that you can see and do in this lovely little Town.
Communicating Creatively 