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My Grandmother would have described it as a “dirty day”…. and I can’t think of a better way to describe the miserable rain we endured this morning as artists from “all over” trudged dutifully into the Tanks Art Precinct for the third day of ArtEscape.

Southern artists must have been wondering where the heck they had escaped to… as the expectation of a warm and balmy “Winter School in the Tropics” dissolved into a quagmire of mud… and dripping downpipes.  At least the rain was warm... and the wet feet and frizzy hair didn’t seem to dampen the creative spirit!

Mercifully the sun peeped through around lunchtime… and the humidity dropped just enough to allow some of the wet media to dry.  It’s been frustrating… waiting waiting waiting for pictures to dry so that we can continue working on them.

I got a wet “derriere” sitting here this afternoon waiting for my ride home!

Classes started in earnest with our small group applying our burgeoning abstraction skills to painting a life model.  I love life drawing… so this was nothing new… except that this time round we were expected to look beyond the figure to abstract shapes and opportunities to exploit newfound concepts and techniques.  It was hard.  There is always the tendency to revert to what we already know.

 

 

You can see the inescapable watercolour influence here…even in acrylics.

Here I enjoyed the spontaneous approach to mark making

… and  that something of the “spirit” of the sitter was captured in both these 3 minute poses.

This was rather fun too… using a print making approach. I loved the white… but no surprises there… as a dyed-in-the-wool watercolourist! LOL

Madness clearly setting in… as “newspaper” is prepared with acrylic gel varnish by a fellow artist!

The crowd gathers for a discussion of “those who’ve passed this way before us”

Followed by a fuller discussion of more complex processes

The well stocked on-site shop for all supplies Art related.  There is virtually nothing these guys can’t or won’t supply! LOL It’s a great place to meander between bouts of inspiration.


 

Ingrid Douglas – official photographer extraordinaire and talented award winning artist

whom I also managed to capture the day before…

capturing me! LOL

Thanks Ingrid… clearly your photographic skills far surpass mine… no surprises there… I hope you will forgive me?  :-)

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Escape Artists

July 14, 2008 · 10 comments

Today… artists from all over the country gathered here in Cairns, Tropical North Queensland, Australia for the annual Winter in the Tropics  “ArtEscape” event.

Organised “by artists for artists” the ArtEscape is a weeklong workshop conducted by invited guest tutors from all over the country. In the past I have helped with the organising… but this year I decided to join in and try my hand at flexing the creative muscle in Peter Griffen’s “A Line Takes a Walk” abstract workshop.

The Tanks Art Precinct – converted WW2 oil storage tanks

Day one was great fun. We did indeed take a line for a walk! (and then a run)

By day’s end… it was fully out of control!

That damned line was lost and then found… over and over again… as Peter led us through a myriad of ways to express ideas in the abstract form.

“Decorate… echo… and destoy” was his constant mantra… and we didn’t let him down!

Inside Tank 5

By days end… the ground was littered with mutilated examples of his process… albeit bent and twisted into shape by each artist… in their own particular way.  We tried.

My early efforts – rather Zen I thought… (chuckles)

Tomorrow… we shall see if anything is retrievable from our day’s endeavours.  If not… it matters not… because we have all week to get it right… if in fact there is any such thing as right!  (laughs)

 

Artists taking a break from taking a line for a walk!

Until tomorrow!

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