Buried Treasure 2013: Making Friends - Online and in Real Life.

Four years ago, Seth Apter from The Altered Page - started Buried Treasure. It’s a way for bloggers to re-post a favourite post to share with the blogging community. A list of  Buried Treasures will be posted on his blog.

The online community of artists is a source of so much support and encouragement to artists in all parts of the world. Artists are incredibly generous with their talents, sharing tips or doing video demonstrations of techniques often with no tangible reward.

My participation in Buried Treasure last year has resulted in the formation of a wonderful, talented group of artists here in Brisbane - and I am privileged to be part of cARTwheel collaborative brisbane.

This is the story….

Last year while reading the blogs on the Buried Treasure list, I came across an artist who lives in Brisbane. I wrote her name down on my notepad next to the laptop and thought no more about it.

The following weekend I visited the Brisbane Art Fair. One booth in particular caught my eye and I spent some time chatting to the artist and admiring her work. We exchanged cards and I came home.

When I sat down at my desk, I saw the name I had written down - and stopped…this was the artist I had just met in person. 

The rest is history - eight of us will be exhibiting together in October.

My re-post this year is about a commission that I loved painting called Memory Wall. 

Another commission that was a great experience was painting a Paris street scene for my local coffee shop Deja` Bru Cafe`. You might also enjoy Magic and Fantasy about a wonderful exhibition at GoMA, Brisbane.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Memory Wall

Memory Wall - 40 canvases 8" x 8" oil on canvas Carol Lee Beckx 

A recent commission to create a wall of paintings proved to be an inspiring experience. 

There is an album of some of the paintings on my Facebook Fan Page. 

Some years ago, I took part in a  project called The Artist's Blocks. Each artist received wooden blocks, all the same size and approximately the same dimensions as the current work. My work consisted of ink drawings on carefully prepared gessoed blocks.

Some of these botanical elements were used in the commission and painted in oils instead of ink.  Replacing the wooden panels, the supports are 8" x 8" canvases.

As the work progressed, the client found various images from their family album that were then incorporated into the installation. There is a small part of the wedding dress and veil; a grandmother's Paragon China teacup; the family crest and some family silver. 

Since the work was to be large - installation size 1.85m x 1.15m some abstract elements and single colour blocks were used to balance the composition. 

The Wedding Dress - oil on canvas 8" x 8"- Carol Lee Beckx

Brown Spotted Eggs - Oils on canvas - 8" x 8" Carol Lee Beckx 

You can commission your own Memory Wall. More details about ordering these can be found on the stand alone Page - Memory Blocks. 

They are the ideal gift for many occasions - birthdays, weddings, a new baby in the home. At my Etsy Store (see the side bar for the link) you will find some of the blocks as stand alone paintings or as the basis for a group of Memory blocks.