A Bit of Background

Among my friends they all know that I'm an artist and I've been interested in imagery as art for a long time.  Now days most people I meet think I'm a photographer.  I come to an event, I take photos of it, then put them up on my website and they can purchase a copy of it if they want.  I have been taking photos on and off for many years, not cycling, but I used to do a lot of photography.  I loved buildings that were falling down.  I loved looking at decay.

A few years a go I went back to school, or TAFE really and start a diploma in Visual Art at NMIT.  I enjoyed the drawing and painting and printmaking.  The photography, I think, at that stage, I was over.  I wanted to see if I could, if I could paint, if I could draw etc.  At the end of the year I applied to the VCA and RMIT to get into fine arts and was accepted for printmaking at both.  I don't really remember why I wanted to go to the VCA, probably because of the prestige, oh, also the workshop and studio area were so big and light and just fantastic compared with RMIT.  Though there was a lecturer at RMIT that I really wanted to study under, but alas I went to VCA.

There, at the VCA, I studied printmaking, worked a lot on my drawing skills, and became a ceramic artist.  Who knew.  I think I ended up going down a path that was not familiar and thought, who cares, let's see where it leads.  This is what I did for my final project.

Yes, I built a kitchen.  It was a small room and inside everything was an off white colour.  The colour of the bisque fired ceramic cast items I was making.  It was certainly impressive and at our grad show got a lot of attention.  It helped me to get a solo show at a very good gallery in Melbourne, Dianne Tanzer Gallery. 

I had to come up with a new concept and then work on it for 18 months before the exhibition.  My show was called "White Trash".

A rubbish bin, that is painted, and overflowing from it was the consumption of man.  The rubbish bin is meant to represent the home and the pieces coming out over the top are all the things we buy and replace and buy more stuff.  Our homes are being turned into rubbish bins.

Again the work got a lot of attention, but no sales.  Not that this work cost me a lot to make, but it was a lot of time and then I was stuck with all these pieces of ceramic work.  This particular piece did go to a couple of other exhibitions, one in Sydney and one here in Melbourne.  The work was called "Domestic Bliss".

While doing the final preparations for that show I decided to apply for other exhibitions.  I applied to Counihan and was accepted for a show there at the end of the following year, end of last year.  The show was to be called, "I want, therefore I need".  Another show using the ceramic pieces that I was making.

While I was preparing for the show, I began to realise that I missed making images.  I wanted to draw, to go back to painting.  The ceramic work was conceptual and I wasn't really sure it was me.  It was also hard justifying putting so much money into it and not getting any back.  Hard when you have a husband who wants to support you, but also wants you to earn money.  Also hard with two teenagers whose lives seem to cost so much. 

It was while getting the show up, that I made the decision that it would be my last show with the ceramic pieces.  Possibly not the best move, especially after getting a small write up in the Age newspaper, but still not one that I minded.  I didn't really enjoy making it, and it was so much work.

The image on the right there, was the show, there are two pieces from the exhibition, and there was also one other.  Again, nothing sold, and I knew nothing would.  It made the decision so much easier and it seemed like the right thing to do.

I had started taking photos of the cycling at this time.  I bought my first digital SLR while the exhibition was one.  I was starting something new.  Whilst starting something new, I also knew that I wouldn't be happy just taking photos, that I would have to incorporate art into it as well. 

I have talked before why I started photographing cycling, and I love doing it.  I am really pleased with the photos I'm starting to take, but it is an ongoing process and I continue learning and experimenting all the time.  However, it did bring into whether or not I could use these images that I take for other things, like my art practice. 

I had also been commissioned at around this time to do a painting of a boy on his bike in a race.  Not a large one, but something manageable.  The price I gave reflected my uncertainty of whether I would be able to do it.  Though, I never thought I would finish it, those who know about the studio and the fence know that while that was going on I didn't want to work in the studio, didn't want to think about it, but now that it is resolved, I am happily working out there again and have now finished the painting.  I can't show you a photo of it right now because I don't have permission to do that.  Hopefully when I get some more paintings done I can put them all on my website.

I also started a linocut at this time.  It was from a photo of my daughter at a race in Shepparton.  It was a photo that I had taken.  I started it on a new type of lino that was very easy to carve and it made it good to do.  I have tried printing it, but I couldn't get a good print, so here is a photo of it, not a good photo, but gives you an idea of the work and what I was aiming for.

I like the way the lino helps with the movement and I like that, if you know Briony you know that it is her without me have to say it is.  I have got the press out and tried to print it better, but it won't print on that press, I think I need to find a press that presses down, rather than the type I have.

None of the following photos are very good, in that I took them quickly, but I am planning on setting up the lights and doing them properly, when I find some time.

That print spurred me on and the next one I did was from a photo at the Eildon Junior Tour that I really liked.   I think it turned out well.

It amazes me how well they show the rider and the movement.  The way the carved out bits can help to gain that movement.  I still need to print them better, but am sure if I take them into the Australian Print Workshop that shouldn't be a problem and I should be able to get better prints.

I also did another one, that I had decided to do when I first made the decision to begin doing this work.  I found a piece of lino and started cutting, or carving, not sure what you call it. 

I made the third print.

It was from a photo I had taken at the Victorian State Championships.  Like the other two wasn't especially difficult, but still gave me the courage to continue and keep trying different ones. 

There is a lot more skill to linos than I thought.  Some of the cutting is very delicate and I realised the tools I had were inadequate so got myself some new tools.  I have to admit I had only ever done, I think, about 2 linos before this and one woodcut.  Not a great background.  So lots of learning that needed to be done. 

I did another one of someone from the St Kilda Crit photos that I had taken earlier in the year.  Not sure it was as successful, as the original image was out of focus, and it seems to have transferred to this one.  Still, it is all experience and it made me realise, that I wanted to do more complicated stuff.  Something that would take me longer to do that a few hours.

I had been going through my photos from the bay crits in January.  There are lots of them, I never put them on my website, but knew that there would be shots that I liked that I could use.  I had found one to use for a painting and have started that, so I went through more to find some others.  I found one of the cyclists in Williamstown and they were moving away from me, so it is the back of them that you see.  I had a piece of lino that was 30cm x 40cm and I used that.  It had to be big enough so the detail wouldn't be too small and end up just a jumble of stuff. 

I started the lino and worked on it, off and on, for 3 days, spent about 8 or 9 hours cutting it.  Then yesterday I proofed it.

I am really happy with how it is has turned out, though I need to do a little more work on it.  I don't like the way the jerseys have turned out and want to cut away more of the lino there so they are more white.

I do like the overall affect and would really like to do a lot more of prints like this.  I will have to get myself some tools for doing the more finer detail, but that is OK. 

I will finish this image today and then start going through all my photos for more images to use.

The one thing I like is that now when I go to events instead of just concentrating on taking photos that people may or may not buy, I can now also be looking for images that I can use in my artwork.  You never know, you might just show up in one one day.