Holiday Workshops

The Studio has been a place of creativity during the short winter school holiday break. Workshops with a number of different topics have been held - an introduction to oils, experimenting with watercolour and playing with ink. 

Participants have enjoyed trying new mediums and techniques, and the emphasis has been on playing rather than producing a perfect artwork.  All too often we set ourselves such high expectations that all too frequently we find the result disappointing. I'm reminded of this video where Ira Glass talks about creativity - it's good to watch it again. 

Introduction to Oils

The workshops are a good way to explore an unknown medium without incurring the cost of buying all the equipment. The oils workshop included all the necessary paints, supports, mediums and brushes. After the workshop, I wasn't surprised to find that most of the artists are now working in oils. Perhaps my love of the medium is infectious! 

Strata - oil on canvas 760mm x 760mm ©2015 Carol Lee Beckx

Playing with Ink 

I have been collecting various inks - both those suitable for use in fountain pens as well as some acrylic inks. Previously I have used the FW acrylic inks made by Daler Rowney and my newest acquisitions are some made by Schmincke. These are intended for use with an airbrush but are wonderful when used with a dip pen. The Speedball range of calligraphy and poster nibs encourage bold use of line, as well as a fearless approach to randomly created lines - these nibs tend to be slightly uncontrollable!

Painting 'Bootcamp'

The last workshop was more of a painting 'Bootcamp'. The artists came to the studio to paint for three days running, leaving other responsibilities behind for a while. A couple of them were new to working in oils so this was an ideal opportunity to work on technique and become familiar with the medium. I must confess that I worked them quite hard and I think they were rather shattered at the end of the three days! 

Now, all too soon, the holidays are over and the regular weekly classes have started. Most days are fully enrolled but there is space available on Thursdays and Saturdays this term. Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about the Studio or if you would like to attend a future workshop.

Finding Inspiration

When I was writing the previous post about the Lethbridge 10,000 and the current theme of my paintings, I realised something. I realised that somehow, surreptitiously, I had become a landscape painter.

I hadn't been in Australia for very long, maybe six or eight months, when I drove up the coast to Mooloolaba to have a look. Previously, rocks had featured in a number of paintings and I wanted to find something here in Australia to kick start a new series. The day seemed fine when I set off but when I arrived it was cloudy and gloomy. I took a lot of photos of the pounding sea and the rocks. 

Then I wandered into a gallery - The Gallery Beneath and chatted to the owner. I explained to her that I had come up from Brisbane, having recently arrived in Australia, looking for inspiration. 

She turned to me and said: 
"You can't look for inspiration, you've got to feel it here," holding her hand over her heart.

Her words took me by surprise and I almost felt chastised, as though my explorative outing was in some way false. And perhaps it was. The couple of paintings I did from those photographs were not very good at all. I needed to do more than take some photographs to understand a place.

Riverside Trees - oil on linen 

Her words have stayed with me and I've thought about them often - she was absolutely correct. I really needed to be here longer, to live in the country and to let the special places find me rather than the other way around.

When I look at the paintings done over the last few years - Riverside Trees, Windarra Reflections,  and Bunya Riverside and  I see that the landscape has become part of me and that inspiration has found me after all.

Lethbridge 10,000 2015

Each year, for the last three years, I have painted for the Lethbridge 10,000 exhibition, and each year on the day the finalists are announced, I wait with a knot in my stomach for the email announcement. 

The selected artworks are posted on the Gallery website which is made available initially to the entrants only. The website shows photographs of all the accepted work. You have to scroll down the page to see if the photo of your work is there.

As you scroll you wonder - will I make it this year? Self-doubt rears its anxious head. 
"Oh dear, you think - everyone's work looks so good - I don't stand a chance!"
Then there's relief and delight when you see your painting! 

This year I submitted a second entry as well so I continued to scroll. It's an ink drawing called Paperbark. As I continued to scroll, there it was, amongst the online entries - wonderful! 

Pond Reflections will be exhibited in the Lethbridge 10,000 and it's the third year that I have had a painting accepted. I'm so grateful for this opportunity.

Pond Reflections Oil on linen 61cm x 61cm © 2015 Carol Lee Beckx

This painting is part of an ongoing exploration of water, ponds, pebbles, plants, light and reflections. Preparation for this painting included doing sketches en plein air and also taking a number of photographs. The reflections of the plants on the water create wonderful sinuous patterns, contrasting with the darker shadows over the river boulders. Previous paintings in this series include Windarra Reflections, Deep Ripple, Reeds Rise from Water and Still, which featured reeds, grasses and water lily pads. 

Click on each title to access the paintings and read about their creation.

Paperbark has its origin in my regular morning walk in the park across the road. As I walk, I look at the trees and marvel at the bark which is ever-changing. The layers and details of this tree hold my attention every day.

Paperbark ink on paper Image size 32cm x 32cm © 2015 Carol Lee Beckx

The exhibition at the Lethbridge Gallery 136 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington opens on Saturday 13th June and continues until 28th June.  

All the artwork in the exhibition can be viewed on the Lethbridge Gallery website.