Hart Art Show 2015

The Hart Art Show

I have two large and two small works in this wonderful biennial local Art Show

opening on Thursday night.

I have a soft spot for this Exhibition because way back in the inaugural Show

in August 2011,  I was given  an award for this painting 

from my 'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series....

...and another little painting awarded in 2013 .

This show has a very happy vibe ,

a contemporary and diverse collection of paintings  and prints,

and I love that it's part of the visual art program for students.

'Summer Freedom' 1 and 2
Jo-Ann Hunt ©
'Small Works' Series
H30x30cm each
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas

It's also nice and close for me to deliver work!

............now that's my sort of freedom!          :)     Jo

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'Sisters 2'... a 'Small Work'

my sister sent me this. 

I love it.

the feeling is mutual so I'm a real lucky girl  :)

'Sisters 2'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'Small Works Series
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

 this is a 'Small Work'... just 30x30cm ...

and it found a new home at the Canterbury Art Show. 

 a home with girls I'm guessing!

I'd love to know!

Jo  :)

( the scene is just from my imagination... it wasn't planned or drawn up... it just 'happened'...wondering if my sub-conscious was at play....nah, it's not me...not possible... I was a brunette!!    :)   :)

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'Summer Freedom'

'Summer Freedom' no 1 and 2
Jo-Ann Hunt©

Summer isn't just about the beach..... it's that feeling of freedom...

that time is extended...whether it's on a bike,

in a hammock reading a book to the dog,

dangling and swinging from trees,

or building cubbies from nothing.... a sheet, some branches, an old umbrella.

these little paintings capture an idea.....  the days are long,

an adventure is waiting....let's go!

'Summer Freedom' no 1
detail
 Jo-Ann Hunt©

"Summer Freedom ' no 1 and no 2
Jo-Ann Hunt ©
Small Works Series
H 30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas

It's raining again outside,  these little guys remind me

that blue skies are still up there above the grey !

                                   :)  Jo


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'Mates' no 2......

For a change of pace , I'm posting a painting from 2011..... a small one.

I sometimes do these just to give me a jolt,

to keep my hand and eye 'in the groove', or to recharge my batteries.

I first wrote about the reasons behind my 'Small Works' series 

back in July, 2012.

'Mates'  no 2
detail

You can see some of my other 'Small Works' by clicking on the Headings

 link at the left  under 'Topics and Other Babble'

Painting on a large scale is demanding.....the constant pacing up to the easel,

back to the wall, to the palette, to the canvas, back to the wall.

I walk miles!

There are a lot more brushstrokes in a large painting, and because

I paint intuitively, without much planning or detailed forethought,

there are a million decisions to be made on the go.

Truthfully I find it quite mentally exhausting!

so to vary my routine......and they say 'a change is as good as a holiday'

.....I sometimes 'paint small'

Not always is bigger better!

'Mates'  no 2
Jo-Ann Hunt ©
'Small Works ' Series....Summer
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2011
sold

looking tired!

                                               

Hart Art .....a nice surprize!

'Let's Go'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
H25x30cm
H10x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

'Let's Go'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
H25x30cm
H10x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

A very pleasant surprize....a prize!

at the Hart Art Exhibition this little painting won an award....

'Highly Commended'.....and a red dot too!.....always a bonus!

I thought it would be ideal for Father's Day .....I wonder if

it was a gift for a dad?

I also exhibited 'Swim, Surf and Sun'  .....these little nippers

found a new home as well.

'Swim, Surf and Sun'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
'The Child Within - Summer' Series
H61x122cm
H24x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

I assume they found their way to the walls of a beach house

or  holiday home.  I wonder where.....Sorrento? Inverloch? Anglesea?

.....it would be nice to know.....email me if you know :)

'Swim, Surf and Sun'
Jo-Ann Hunt©

(note change of hair colour.....you know I love to mess with colour

.....on the canvas and on my head!)


                                                         Jo   x







.

A Torquay Sunday....

cliffs at Torquay Surf Beach, Victoria

I love Torquay.

I love the beach early in the morning.

Torquay Surf Beach, Victoria

Sunday mornings seem to be 'Dad-mornings'.......

I watched this chap with his children, laden down

with their boards and gear, heading up the steps to the carpark

after a morning in the waves.

....seeing people silhouetted against the sky as they climbed the hill

 inspired me to paint "A Torquay Sunday'.....a little artistic licence....

....an imagined family.......this little painting found a new home 

at the Canterbury Art Exhibition.....

'A Torquay Sunday'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

....but I think I may need to paint this view again......

perhaps on a Saturday..... and a Monday..... a Friday.....

any excuse for a weekend on the Surf Coast is a good excuse!

                     

                                  Jo   x






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Three Best Mates....

It's no secret I am a 'dog person'.

I think you're born in one camp or the other.....dogs or cats.

Sure you might love both, but I think

everyone leans more towards one side or the other.

Kids and their relationship with their dog can be magical.....

....this painting  on it's way to the 2013 Canterbury Art Exhibition,

is inspired by memories of all the dogs ever loved!

'Three Best Mates'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

...and just one more for good measure.....

  So cute!  ...both of them!





                                               Jo    x








.and if you are not one of the 6 million people to have

already seen this on You Tube ......'Best Friends, a kid, a dog and a puddle'......

 it's worth a minute of your time and will make you smile.

'Sisters'

And the winner is....





'Sisters'
Jo-Ann Hunt ©
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold



and it was my choice too.

it was the flippers, goggles and boogie board that sealed the deal....

you gotta go with the girls that are active!



                                                        Jo    x





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choices, choices....



'Long Hot Summer'
Jo-Ann Hunt ©



I've been working on a 'pair' for this painting.

I first wrote about it on the 3rd July 2012......

'Long Hot summer' reminded the collector of her two boys,

and she wanted another painting to represent her two girls.

commissions tend to put me in a spin....

with every brushstroke I'm thinking 'will they like it....

is it the right colour....the right feel....

does it portray the right emotion....aaargh!

so to be safe with this one I painted two!

which one do you think she'll choose?


                                                         Jo   x





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'Friends'......

another little canvas.....

'Friends'
Jo-Ann Hunt©
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

Torquay Surf Beach, Australia

and before Facebook, there was the TV show.....

so  for the friends of 'Friends'......

                            "can I have the same hairstyle as that girl in 'Friends'?"
                            "which one?"
                            "um , I think she's called Rachel"
                            "no, I meant which hairstyle."
                 


                                    Jo   :)







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Canterbury Art Exhibition ....part 3

autumn yellows and blues......a favourite colour combo of mine!

Most of my paintings are large, often 122cm....(48 inches)  or more.....

and because they are so big, they are also very time consuming.

 I usually work on a couple of paintings at a time.....or three or four....

and whilst one is drying I move to the next.

this is handy for when  I get 'stuck', meaning not knowing where to put

my brush next ,or more often it's when I can see there's a problem 


with the painting but can't work out what is wrong, 


then I can move to another canvas and return later with 'fresh' eyes.

 this way , my creative juices keep flowing, and my momentum

is uninterrupted.

'Long Hot Summer'
Jo-Ann Hunt©

but there are other times, when I just need a change of pace.

I need to do something differently to recharge my batteries.....

so I work 'small!'


'Long Hot Summer' was exhibited at the 2012  Canterbury Art Exhibition

and I've been commissioned by it's new owner to create a 'pair'  for

this painting.....but with two girls.  

'Long Hot Summer'
Jo-Ann Hunt
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold

  So 'J' , if you are reading this ......stay tuned ....it's almost, almost  finished!




                                                              Jo   x
















.

Miss January!



cover artwork by Jenny Riddle 'Hilltop'
Canterbury Art Exhibition
Calendar size H44x30cm
H17x12ins





Mates
Jo-Ann Hunt
calendar image size H20x20cm H8x8ins





I'm in print!

....as Miss January no less!

pity it's taken to this age to make it to page one!

....well page three actually.

....or maybe it's a good thing that it's taken this long to make it to page three!

anyway, the Canterbury Art Exhibition Calendar for 2012 is published, and I was delighted to find out I'd been selected to be in it.




Mates
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Small Works- Summer' Series
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2011
sold

 




you can read my comments on my painting 'Mates' here,

and my posts on the Canterbury Art Exhibition here and here.

Canterbury Art Exhibition Calendar 2012
back cover

today was a good day!

looking forward to January!


                                                           Jo x










                                                                                                                                                                   .

Grab the Sunglasses

Sorrento, Victoria

Another glorious autumn day in Melbourne.

just right for a trip to the beach.

there was a time when this meant grab the sunglasses, the sunscreen , and a towel.







'Mates'
Jo-Ann Hunt
 'Small Works ....Summer' Series
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2011
sold

 

not any more!

Jo x

U-Boats and Beaches

Sorrento, Victoria
late Spring 2010

Some months back I took a day-trip to Sorrento, a favourite haunt just one hours drive from home. the day was remarkable for two things.




Remarkable Fact no 1 ....


 
I saw a submarine in the bay. excitedly I pointed this out to some elderly ( or middle-aged, or mature, or fully-grown, or ripened...whatever you fancy is politically correct) tourists happily snapping photos of the pier, the sand, the trees, everything but this torpedo shape slicing quietly through the water.

'jah, ooh-boat, oooh-boat' he said in his heavy russian/germanic accent, looking at me , puzzled.

obviously submarines in his part of the world are an everyday occurrence.........first time I've ever seen one in Port Phillip! 

Remarkable Fact no 2....

photographed with friends, same day,  at the beach, this shot has become the catalyst for a whole new series of paintings ....my 'Small Works' ....which I hope to spotlight on ths blog.

it was such a perfect day....

she just didn't want to go home.....

'Mummy, Wait'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Small Works ... Summer' Series
H30x30cm
H12x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
xxxx

and neither did her brother..... 



'Let's Go'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Small Works ...Summer' Series
H25x30cm
H10x12ins
Acrylic on Canvas
xxxx



and to tell you the obvious....neither did I !

Jo xx