Built environments can also be depicted in paint.
These works are in oil, and depict my home.
There is a warmth and coziness about these scenes that is very different from the starkness of charcoal.
All posts by Sandra Graham
2018 Art Projects – Part 2
A Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you have had a happy and safe festive season.
Getting back to drawing… It’s not just about organic subjects. In contrast, the built environment is a different beast.
All those straight lines may appear restrictive.
But there is always a way to break loose, as these scenes from Cockatoo Island attest.
2018 Art Projects – Part 1
Determination Cap segues very nicely into the work the other work I’ve been doing in my art studies.
A large part of it was the very essential skill of drawing. No hiding behind colour here – it’s all about form. Thse organic subjects may be difficult to draw but since there were no straight lines I felt free to mark-make and add my own interpretations of light and dark.
2018 Knitting Projects – Part 3
The third project of the year was for my TAFE art studies (multi-disciplinary art) and was exhibited in the Bravery Unmasked exhibition at Casula Powerhouse Museum, an art centre in Sydney’s south-west. In the exhibition radiation masks, used to immobilise the head in cancer treatment, are turned into artworks by patients, their family and supporters.
The work is called Determination Cap and consists of a cowl and a balaclava-styled cap.
Cancer patients confront physical and mental challenges akin to those faced by generations of explorers, soldiers and mariners. To protect them from the elements, they wore woollen ‘caps’ knitted by their loved ones.
This cap has been hand-knitted in orange Australian wool to portray both the determination of those who journey with cancer, and the loved ones who support them along the way.
2018 Knitting Projects – Part 2
The second knitting project completed this year was a much quicker project than a jumper. This past winter had been so long and at times exceptionally cold that I was compelled to make myself a pair of convertible mitts using this pattern.
A very clever design, it’s toasty and warm and yet enables access to your fingertips for those times when you need it.
2018 Knitting Projects – Part 1
This year’s main project was a jumper for Hubby. We agreed on this lovely pattern by American knitwear designer Jared Flood. Knitting started in February and I casted off the final stitch in September! Thankfully, it fitted well.
It wasn’t quite winter by the time I finished but the cool Spring meant that Hubby managed to get a handful of wears out of it. Hopefully he’ll wear it a lot more next winter.
Autumn in the Mountains – Part 8
To end the trip, I visited one of my favourite places in the Blue Mountains – Leura Falls.
A challenge to photograph, but always a pleasure to visit this place.
Autumn in the Mountains – Part 7
It’s easy to forget while viewing a garden that Mount Wilson was in the middle of the wilderness. I just needed to get off the main road and there it was.
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This lookout was called Du Faurs Rocks Lookout, and it certainly had some interesting rock formations.
Autumn in the Mountains – Part 6
Next was a visit to Mount Wilson, a hamlet about half an hour away from Blackheath. It’s known for its gardens, and the tour buses were out in force on the main street and the bigger gardens. I chose to visit Windy Ridge Garden, which was away from the main drag.
The garden was superbly landscaped though, with a pond and formal gardens.
There were places to sit.
And of course some autumn foliage to view.
I liked how it was quiet and private and beautiful. Worth a visit.
Autumn in the Mountains – Part 5
Last stop of the day was the Campbell Rhododendron Gardens. I found out about them from the brochures at my accommodation, and the signs around town led me to the garden that was tucked away in a sleepy corner of Blackheath.
It was the wrong time of year for rhododendrons, but I was quite enchanted by this place. Set in a dell, the garden was a very peaceful place to be on a weekday.
There were some autumn leaves to view.
And a few flowers were in bloom to add to the colour.
All in all, a lovely day out.
Static and Silence 