Vernazza floods

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One of the most special places on the planet is in trouble.


on October 25, 2011, many lives were lost when Vernazza and Monterosso and surrounding areas in the Cinque Terra were severely damaged by mudslide and flooding. 



from this....

to this........

you can find more information over here

and here.

....absolutely heartbreaking.....do what you can.




                                                     Jo   x





                                                                                                                                                            



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painting a 'Series'....

My mind is never 'Closed for Business.'

why?

because I paint many different subjects and themes.....whatever takes my fancy!

I am constantly drawn to new topics and ideas, and instead of fighting 
or feeling awkward about this, I trust my creative 'gut', pick up the brush and start painting before this latest creative muse abandons me.

many modern artists often pursue only one idea for most of their life....

and many galleries expect their artists to do this because it gives them an 'identity' ....

translate 'makes them easier to pigeon-hole / promote / sell......

you want a painting of a dugong ....she is a 'dugong-painter'.....

you prefer purple trees?....he's a 'purple-tree' painter.....

you get the picture! ( pun intended!)

well sorry, that's not for me!

I want to do it all!

even at university I took the course with the most diversity, the most sweeping, comprehensive topics,
the broadest range of artistic subjects...that of an "Art -Teaching' degree.

now I've learnt to manage my explorations and creative curiosity by working in 'Series'.

I follow a theme through until I feel I've exhausted all my interpretations and ideas.

but usually long before I've finished all the paintings I've started, I'm off in another direction, with sketches and ideas piling up in notepads, sketchbooks,  the backs of envelopes, all over my studio desk and kitchen bench.

when this happens I'm at my happiest!  bits of paper and scribblings...all that chaos....all that inspiration just waiting to be to launched onto canvas.

but there is one series that has been a constant since February 2005.....

my "Travels with my Paintbrush' Series.








this is my first "Hilltop Village Painting'.....

The Green Shutters
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H135x135cm
H53x53ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2005
sold

and this is one of my latest....






His Cousin's Village
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48cm
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
sold






....a lot changes in five years.


.....wonder what changes will be wrought in the next five!








                                             Jo x














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the Essence of Place

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The Lobster Pot
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

 

Many of the art-lovers that choose my paintings tell me that my art reminds them of time spent in far-flung places around the globe.....


.....Sicily, the Cinque Terra, Positano, Portugal, Greece and Dubrovnik....you name it, my paintings are reminiscent of their special place.


and the very same painting may stir up  memories  of a very different place to someone else!


people often tell me they are surprized at the depth and suddenness of their response to these imagined , amalgamated places of mine.


but I know that it's the 'essence of place' that they relate to.


 ....the 'essence' of times happily spent.

The Lobster Pot
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

I too am amazed , and always delighted, at the reactions and emotions my paintings evoke.


...at the smiles, the jiggles in the body language, the relaxing of the shoulders, the crinkling of the eyes.







The Lobster Pot
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x102cm
H48x40ins
Acylic on Canvas
2009
 sold



this is the 'emotional content' of my art..........

this is the 'essence of place'!

Jo  x

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Ta Da!! best acrylic!

A new Art Show in town , and guess who won 'Best Acrylic' ?

Moi!

Yes...I'm so excited!





'A Place to Dance' was awarded 'Best Acrylic' in the show.....

...there were so, so many really wonderful paintings,

from traditional to contemporary, that I feel very pleased but

also very humbled.

A Place to Dance
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
xxxx

you can read more about my thought processes behind this painting ....

it won't be what you think!

just click here

It was a great opening night, with champers, fabulous nibbles and music.

                         and a very happy chappy....me!




                                                          Jo x








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Sea Change




Restaurant by the Sea
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

 



Like many people, I've always been drawn to the sea.



I can't imagine a life inland....to me summer means the beach, with hot sand and cool turquoise water... and winter means grey skies and choppy grey seas, with whitecaps disappearing to the horizon.
....the heady scent of salt water and seaweed is my favourite perfume, the feel of wet sand between my toes my favourite massage.




so I don't think it was surprizing that in 2006, my first sea -village painting appeared, quickly followed by others.

Island Carnival
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2006
sold

some of my happiest memories involve the beach, boats, fishing and saltwater..... both here in Australia and in many parts of the world.

Restaurant by the Sea
 Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x137cm
H48x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2006
sold

I've always wanted to make that seachange....so I guess it's only natural that if I couldn't have the real thing, I would paint it.

Restaurant by the Sea
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

what about you?

how drawn are you to the sea?

can you see yourself making a seachange?

....see you there!

                                                                                                  Jo x








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neglected but thriving!

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lovely lovely agaves!



 The ruggedness of the climate and the surrounds of many of the 

hilltop-villages throughout Italy, France, Greece and Spain

lends itself to the planting of Agaves and Yuccas.

the neighbourhood agaves

I have a soft spot for these plants....

strong, tough and resilient, they are able to cope with dry conditions,

heat, cold and neglect .




                            ...... remind you of anyone?   :)




 in pots on balconies,

beside rocky clifftop tourist paths,

and growing wild beneath crumbling stone walls,

the agave is an international survivor.






Tide's Out
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

 

I love the spiky, architectural shape of this plant...

it pops up in many of my 'Hilltop Village' paintings....







Tide's Out
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H132x132cm
H52x52ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2009
xxxx





I have even been inspired to research its shape and that

of similar drought loving plants in the local landscape....

but have you ever seen anything this magnificent?

Agave Attenuata  in flower

I saw this stunner a few minutes  from my studio.

also called 'the foxtail agave'

 .....the plant from ground to tip would have been about 6 metres long.....





but I've since discovered that this agave flowering was not a happy event....

agaves are monocarpic....

meaning they die after flowering.

no wonder I couldn't find this gorgeous beast to rephotograph a couple of months later!

I hope the elderly owner of this plant took some photos.....




maybe I'll print these and pop them in his mailbox.....it might be gone but it's not forgotten!






                                                            Jo x











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Free to Roam

'Free to Roam'
Jo-ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush ' Series
H122x112cm
H48x44ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2009
sold

I'm living in a suburb where everywhere you look, the bulldozers and developers are moving in.





beautiful old homes are flattened in hours, and as the rubble is loaded onto trucks to be hauled to the rubbish dump, I can't help but feel really sad  for the loss of the memories, the history, the connection with the past.





it's not that I'm against modern architecture.

it's not that I'm against change.

'A Gentle Life'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2006
sold

it's just that I love old buildings.
.....and I love new  buildings.....
I love DESIGN....good design, brilliant design.
I love the dichotomy of when people restore, reinvent an old building, and choose to insert a new shell inside an old skin to bring something old into the modern era.




this belief in the power of blending the old with the new was sparked  by a trip to Italy many, many years ago, when we visited a relative in Padova, Italy.




the external appearance of his apartment was definitely 11th Century, but inside was the epitomy of the absolute latest in the best of Italian design.
.....I was gobsmacked, won over....oh boy!




 I realised then that one can honour the past, but still acknowledge the present, and definitely look to the future.




His was a  building that was half 11th century , and half looking towards the 21st century....even though technically it was in the 20th century !
combining the old with the new, for me , that's the way forward.




 to respect those who've been before us, and to honour the knowledge that we're only guardians of this patch of ground where we live and build our lives.





more power to the renovators!





I guess I've always been nostalgic for the past.....not that you could tell!








                                                     Jo x








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The Olive Basket

I love olives!

in the yard at my studio I have an olive tree.

its bounty has been a little irregular over the past three years, but with the rain we've enjoyed these past months this tree is so laden with olives it's branches are almost touching the ground.

 last season I tried the 'salt' method....unsuccessfully I might add....so now, as these change colour and turn that beautiful purply-black,  I 'm looking forward to experimenting with a different technique to bottle these beauties.

 Any ideas anyone?



The Old Olive Grove
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt



The Old Olive Grove
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x137cm
H48x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2006
sold




....I'm told it's easy, but everyone seems to use a different method and different recipe!





The Olive Basket
Jo-Ann Hunt
detail







The Olive Basket
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush'
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
sold

 





if you have a foolproof technique....and it doesn't fool me....I'll give you some!



                                                                                     Jo x

Hey Mum check this out! ..meow!



The Waterfront Chapel
Jo-Ann Hunt
 detail





I've decided to start an occasional segment called 'Hey Mum check this out"..... or HMCTO for short!

....it will showcase some of the amazing stuff my offspring bring to my attention.

these little gems have probably been seen by millions of you already, but I'm sure there's the occasional odd-bod like me, lagging behind, who will find this amusing/amazing/fabulous or just downright uplifting.

 so here's to the genius  and wonder of our fellow-travellers on this planet.... just wow!

Escolania de Montserrat, a Catalan Boy's Choir 

just imagine hearing this choir rehearsing here....

The Waterfront Chapel
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x137cm
H48x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2007
sold

 ....their glorious voices echoing through the alleyways and stone arcades.

                                                  ....just purr-fect!!

Jo x

Vintage Memories and Vespas

Have always wanted one of these... though in my mind I'm tootling around the cobbled back streets of Italy , shopping basket filled with olives, some cheese, fresh crunchy bread...... skirt flapping...and not battling the traffic and the maniacs on the streets at home!





Vintage Memories
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt



detail



Vintage Memories
Jo-Ann Hunt
 'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
61x61cm
24x24ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold







                                                   Jo x

Wash Day .......Encore

at my house everyday is 'wash day'!

I had no idea but I have been painting laundry since 2005!



....true!.....



and thankfully there are a lot of Art Collectors out there who must share my subconscious delight with the sight of a line of clean washing, flapping in the breeze, absorbing the smell of the sun.....( how is that possible?.... washing does have that 'breathe-in-deep-and-fresh-smell-of-the-sunshine'...doesn't it??)



I'll show you just a few more paintings from my series "Travels with my Paintbrush'....









'The Balcony Gardens'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush'Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2006
sold










'The Blue Check Cloth'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush'Series
H76x76cm
H30x30ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2009
sold








'Wash Day'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H96x122cm
H36x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2010
sold



'Wash Day'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

....and that, as they say, is just the 'tip of the laundry pile!'



                          ....now that's an awful lot of laundry!




                                           Jo x

Sox and Stockings



Wash Day in the Cinque Terra

It seems I have a fixation with washing!



but come with me here.....if it was you.... hanging washing from the windows  of a home like this....




 

'Sox and Stockings'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt

 


a warm breeze....


a hint of spring coming.....


with this view....

'Sox and Stockings'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x138cm
H48x54ins
Acrylic on Canvas
xxxx

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the smell of a good pasta sauce on the stove.....mmmmm....



what's not to love about laundry!!













 ....you can tell the apron never gets washed!!

Jo x

Market Day Rhythms



'Market Day Rhythms'
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt






I love discovering the different pace to life in different parts of the globe.

but a market has a similar pace and tempo wherever it's situated....

...the set-up in the early hours....

...the business-like, brisk beat of the first shoppers homing in on the best produce....

...the hub-bub and noisiness of the mid-morning crowd....

more casual....

 more chatty....

with socialising and purchasing taking equal priority....

and then the pack-up, down-shutters....

trolleys and vans departing....

...all quiet now....

...until next time....

when the rhythm of the market is played again.










'Market Day Rhythms'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H107x122cm
H42x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
sold





....this is making me hungry!




                                                                                    Jo x