Showing posts with label france. Show all posts
Showing posts with label france. Show all posts

Monday, 11 July 2011

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








,,

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

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

















Monday, 2 May 2011

Ancient Villages


'Village Ancien'
detail'
Jo-Ann Hunt






Hilltop villages delight me.


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




since 2005 I've painted these medieval towns....with one foot based in reality, and one foot in my imagination.



I love to imagine the lives of the people that live in these homes.... a birdcage on a balcony....put outside to sing in the sunshine....soccer socks and shorts  on the line to dry....



it's a fascination that continues to intrigue me, and this 'Series'.... 'Travels with my Paintbrush' ....
is one that I return to every year.



for me , there's always one more village, one more balcony.....



always more 'Travelling with my Paintbrush' to do !


Jo x





'Village Ancien'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Seies
H132x132cm
H52x52ins
Acrylic on Canvas
2007
sold


Thursday, 28 April 2011

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









Thursday, 7 April 2011

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










Tuesday, 29 March 2011

A Room with a View

A Room with a View
detail
Jo-Ann Hunt




favourite meal:  risotto con piselli (risotto with peas) in Padova with             the relatives....all of us at home, around the table....grazie Paola
favourite drink:  blood oranges, freshly squeezed
favourite sound:  the buzz of the vespas in Florence
favourite scent: the smell of saltwater on the oysters in Marseille
favourite song:  whatever it was he sung....the man that sang as he walked, on his way to work, through the narrow streets, singing just for himself, at 6am, his voice resonating off the stone walls and cobblestones, in Amalfi
favourite purchase:  my hand-painted plates from Positano
favourite view:  way, way, way too many to mention.....



so this one is for the memories...




'A Room with a View'
Jo-Ann Hunt
'Travels with my Paintbrush' Series
H122x122cm
H48x48ins
Acrylic on Canvas
xxxx