A Wedding

William and Catherine

married 29-04-2011

....stay true to yourself ....and to each other....

and know that this truth will make everything right.

best wishes from all of us in Oz....




...and me ... xx

ps : I still think it should be William and Katherine.... ( with a 'K'  ! )

From 'Vision' to Canvas...

My painting process begins with assembling all sorts of visual ideas.



often I know what 'look' I want for the painting....
if it's to be abstracted, intimate, detailed, monochromatic, bold, calming....etc



then I start 'to gather'....
like a Satin Bower Bird ....
collecting all sorts of 'stuff' to inspire me, to flesh out my ideas.
I love this part! 



visual stimuli, visual inspiration, visual 'stuff'.
stuff such as photos....

  

and sketches from my sketchbooks.

 then I do some more sketches of the details...

for the overall composition, I may do a series of rough....VERY rough.... thumbnails....

then I mess around with some colour schemes....'mess' being the operative word here!

then.... 'prep' over....

I just dive right in....








'The Trattoria'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt






'The Trattoria'
Jo-ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H102x102cm
H40x40ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold





 before the 'vision' evaporates!








for more on the fabulous Bower Bird,  just click here..... with Sir David.....

and here, for some funny, very determined 'pilfering' in the Top End.



enjoy.....

Jo  x

Easter Tidings!



St Dominics Priory
Camberwell
(built 1888 ...originally built as a Queen Anne style house on the Estate known as 'Holyrood' )



Happy Easter my friend!

Jo x

Out and About




Brighton Salt Water Baths

 

Another day.

autumn in Melbourne.

a tad windy, plenty of sunshine.

just ideal for hanging out ....

under the tram lines....

just jamming....just perfect!

Jo x

Grant me the Grace

Please grant me the Grace to grow old like this!

Margaret Olley at home in her studio
..Steven Siewert...The Age Newspaper
June 2006

Margaret Olley's ( b1923) passion for her work and for life is an inspiration to us all.


known for her colourful , sensitive still lifes of fruit, flowers and vases....you can see some here... she has been immortalized once again as the winning subject in the 90th Archibald Prize, beating nearly 800 other entries.


this is the second time she has been the winning subject.....


in 1948 William Dobell caused an upset when this painting won the Archibald Prize .......





Margaret Olley
 painted by William Dobell
 Archibald Winner 1948


I found some fabulous images here at 'a hazy moon'....have a look.....


And as for the artist.... this work by Ben Quilty is utterly delicious.


he slathers on paint as if it's butter....


you just want to stroke his canvases , and scoop up the paint with a finger and pop it into your mouth!


many of his previous works are quite dark and macchismo.... he paints about 'the darkness of being a young man in today's society '....and  he cheerfully admits Margaret has asked him constantly for years to stop painting ugly skulls , to paint something beautiful......'why not paint the beauty of living in the world?' And as he said on radio...he thought 'it's a very valid point.... why don't I try that on.'


but this portrait is gorgeously understated.


concentrating on the intelligence behind the eyes, on the friend and mentor he knows and loves,  he has left much of her face unpainted, ignoring the obvious signs of age that bedevil us all, daubing only the essentials, and used a higher key, lighter, cheerier colour palette in respect to Margaret's work and life.








Ben Quilty with his son and  Margaret Olley
Archibald Winner 2011


a worthy winner, utterly gorgeous, and my pick of the bunch!

Jo x

Artist Statement...'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series

I want to capture the optimism, the romanticism, the tenacity inherent in the old buildings and medieval towns of Europe.

These paintings are a combination of my imagination and evocative memories from my travels to places such as Amalfi, Positano, San Gimignano, the Cinque Terra and the hilltowns and villages found on the back roads of Italy, Germany, England and France.

I love the way these hilltop villages improbably cling to the most impossible of cliff faces, and the higgledy-piggledy, almost playful nature of their construction.

When I start a painting I quite lose myself in imagining the lives of the people who built these homes, and their descendants who live in them today.

I think of it as painting from inside my head and my heart, with one foot in reality, and one in my imagination. It is this essence of a place, its lifeforce which finds its way onto the canvas.  

At the same time I want to compose an image that means something to the viewer- that brings a smile, and perhaps triggers a memory that leads to them creating their own story, to their experiences of life giving an entirely new dimension to my painting.  

And that’s Ok - it means my work has life, it has humanity, it has possibility!

I believe art should enrich our lives, enhance our wellbeing, our homes, and our visual awareness.

In the past few years my work has moved away from traditional realism,

to a more personal, stylized interpretative art.

People often tell me that my paintings 'make them feel good'. I think that is because I can only paint that which makes me feel good, that which gives me pleasure......to be painting is to be in my 'happy place.'

And I think it is this shared response to a happy memory that connects.

I want people to enjoy living with my art.

 I believe art should be felt, as well as viewed!

.

Camberwell Rotary Art Show



Artwork by William Linford









Later today I'm heading off here.


I have work exhibited in the Camberwell Rotary Art Show.


this show has been running for 45 years, and is one of Australia's largest and best known indoor Art Competitions and Art Exhibitions, with work from established and emerging artists, and $55,000 of prizes.


the Show was always restricted to "traditional, representational art", and the prizes were/ are always awarded in this area (not my "contemporary art" offerings...)


however I've always had good  results at this show.... twice I've ended up on the stage ( read "in the spotlight, above the masses, with the show-ponies.... yay! go me! ) because , I guess, my artwork has a different look and appeals to a different market segment... a more 'contemporary' market.



but this year the poster is far edgier, more contemporary than its  ever been.... way more 'in your face'.... literally! ....and I suspect there are changes afoot!



I'll just have to go and see!



maybe I'll see you there!

Jo x

A Progression

hmmm ....that was easy......I did it......I've 'imbedded' videos......go me!!...that will come in handy when I get a new camera!

note to Blogger and the 'help community'.....you guys rock!

Bassano del Grappa

now to get back to this post.....





I paint in 'Series'.... different themes, different ideas....
I follow them through until I need to stop/ change direction/something else draws me away.





I figure if it was OK for Picasso to have his different periods......his Blue Period, Rose Period, Cubism and more.....
and for Brett Whiteley.....
you can't argue with perfection....
then it is OK for me.






some series are a closed book.....finished....won't return to that one....
for example.....my  'Music of the Mind' Series.....








'Song of Venice.... The Grand Canal'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Music of the Mind' Series
H12x138cm
H44x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2005
sold







some series have a series within themselves....like a mother ship with smaller versions of itself berthed ( birthed?) to its perimeters.... eg: 'The Child Within ' Series...
'the Child Within...John and Betty '
'the Child Within.... Myths and Legends'

'The Red Pedal Car'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'The Child Within....John And Betty ' Series
H125x125cm
H49x49ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2003
sold




 

'The Sisters'
Jo-Ann Hunt
Commission Portrait
'The Child Within' Series
H122x107cm
H48x42ins
Acrylic on Canvas
 2005
sold



'Soul Mates'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'The Child Within...Myths and Legends ' Series
H140x140cm
H55x55ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
xxxx

....they  change over the years....they evolve....
and you should see what theme in this series I'm working on now!
......(but not today!)




and then there is the series that I always seem to have time for....
there's always more to say....
more to paint....

that series is 'Travels with my Paintbrush'....

'The Farmhouse beyond the Vines'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H93x78cm
H36x30ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2005
sold



'The Olive Pickers'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H112x138cm
H44x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2005
sold









'Paradise Found'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H132x132cm
H52x52ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2007
sold




series..... a sequence, string, progression....
my way of working....
why deny yourself all that fun when you can paint it all!
....just one series after another...
there's always another!

Jo x

My Honey Bees




'The B'






The 'B' has a bee suit.

sad but true!

she wears it only when she's been clipped..... they're just her pj's for bed....

so she doesn't get embarrassed....and she doesn't freeze!





my other favourite girl also had her hair cut....

just two girls with ' new do's' .....

these two make me laugh every day....




and so does this...









Paul Mc Dermott and Tim Ferguson
June 29 2009 episode of 'Good News Week'







you've gotta love YouTube....and Paul Mc Dermott....

enjoy today....

Jo x



Above the Shop



Studio Door
I'll paint this one day!
I'm thinking a rich dark aubergine purple!








My studio is a light and bright space five minutes from my home.
two rooms and a bathroom above a shop, with a large front window looking down onto a tram line.




Inside it's so much brighter than it looks!
Just pure natural daylight pouring in...





I can hear the laughter and boisterous noise of the teenagers as they call to their friends on their way home from school,


so I don't need a clock to know that the afternoon is flying past and I need to keep moving and not waste a minute.


it is my private retreat, my haven,
with cafes, patisseries and the bustling, hustling noise of traffic, fire trucks, buses and trams just outside the glass to add both distraction and stimulation.




view from Room 2
 this is where I paint....
lots of distractions...




and if I feel the need to stretch my legs and get those blood corpuscles moving, a beautiful natural park with the tallest of gumtrees, a creek, and a huge array of native birds....kookaburras, parrots, lorikeets and cockatoos....is across the road.






sounds too good to be true?


well , yep, it's real.


For me it's like a  'cubby-hole',
somewhere precious and safe and inviting and full of wonder....




view of rooftops from Room 1
another huge window!


and I can't wait to get there every day.



I feel so fortunate to have found it.

Festival Lights

A town  lights up.....

  .....some lights are just made to dance under!









Padova , (Padua)  Italy

Ah...... Sophia.....

 

Sophia Loren





I'm often asked where the inspiration for my paintings comes from.....
what sparks an idea.




I enjoy foreign films....and some months back I saw a few old, black and white Italian films starring Sophia Loren.
the designer in me adores these stunning portrait photos....



all photos : tophollywoodtop.blogspot.com

the woman in me can't resist the rhythm and nuances of the dance....













and the romantic artist in me produced this!







'A Place to Dance'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

....a place to dance....beside the sea....under the stars....inspired by Sophia Loren....

'A Place to Dance'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
xxxx

so now you know.....

bet that wasn't what you thought!

Jo x

Small but Beautiful

The Canterbury Art Show is over for another year and exhibited some fabulous contemporary Australian paintings....so many of which I wanted to add to my collection....




but I couldn't resist these two tiny works by Sheryl Lewis.
she is an artist whose work I've admired for so many years.
and now I own two!






Sheryl  Lewis
 'The Artist's Kitchen' 5 and 6
10x10cm
Canterbury Art Show 2011


I love the looseness, the barely 'there-ness', the scratchiness, almost scribbled look of these two tiny 10x10cm paintings.




in the past I've tried to put this nonchalence, this relaxed but energetic , calligraphic linework into my own paintings, but I always get bogged down by the detail and my desire for more 'completion.'




I struggle to get this 'casualness'.... this rawness....in fact I can say that I 'just...can't...do...it!'




it looks easy but for me it's not!




and Sheryl makes this look so effortless.




just love them!

Canterbury Art Show

Jo x



Canterbury Art Exhibition

this weekend I have work in the Canterbury Art Exhibition....



I love, love this show.



it is curated by a group of design-savvy, visually aware girls, and every year I find at least three or four artworks that I want to add to my own collection!



if you love Contemporary Art, and are in melbourne, go along and have a look, you won't be disappointed.





                        Jo x