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30 January 2017

Postcard from Tasmania: Gallery 81

Planning our route through Tasmania, we consulted TripAdvisor, as one does, and stumbled on this comment about Gallery 81:

Needless to say, we decided we must visit this gallery, if only to see how offended we might be by this religious fanatic. We made a note of the address: 81 High Street, Campbell Town, Tasmania. It proved to be on our route between Launceston and Swansea – perfect!

On the appointed day, we parked right outside this very modern building and went in, excited …

Gallery 81 – the space

Gallery 81 is very new; it was opened on 29 July 2016. The gallery space is stunning: a long narrow room with the most amazing view through floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s described on their website as a boutique cafe and wine bar – as well as an art gallery.

As you walk in, there’s a bar area to your left serving teas and coffees, and much else besides. Tables are arranged the full length of the room, providing a quiet space to enjoy both the artwork and the refreshments, and the view.

Luke and his wife Keryn are keen to promote Tasmanian products, so they have on offer such delights as ClearTas Sparkling Water, the Art of Tea and TasCaffe coffee. We were driving so we did not sample the Espresso 81 Martini!

The book: Gallery 81

Luke’s works are displayed not only on the walls but also within a book, a copy of which we purchased.

The pages of this book present 81 paintings and 81 reflections, which are Luke’s response to living the Tao.

Luke explained to us that, in 2009, he was in his local library and the title of a book piqued his interest: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life, Live the Wisdom of the Tao by Wayne Dyer. Reading it resulted in Luke feeling compelled to paint his own interpretations of the 81 verses.

During the painting process, Luke was then also compelled to write his own words for each verse. The net result is the 81 paintings displayed on the right-hand wall of Gallery 81, and within the accompanying book.

Tao Te Ching, Verse 64: The journey of a thousand miles commenced with a single step

This is just one of the 81 paintings as hung in the gallery.

We were particularly struck by his Luke’s tagline: Ask, Listen, Paint, Speak Words on Fire.

Luke Harvey, religious fanatic!

So, we met Luke Harvey, the ‘religious fanatic’ and found him to be a charming man.

We got into a discussion and discovered Luke is a retired teacher, passionate about living the Tao.

He writes in the foreword to his book that he believes we each have a single life path, and that this path has many intersections where we meet the people in our life. We travel with some for a while, some for fleeting moments of time. All contribute though to the framework that is your life.

For us, we shared maybe an hour with Luke, and his wife Keryn, and were enriched by the experience.

They have travelled far and wide, and his 81 paintings – and his book – are a testimony to his life path.

To learn more about Luke, and his work, visit his website.

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling.

23 January 2017

Postcard from Melbourne: Christmas brushes

Christmas in Melbourne seems an age ago, and we have seen in the New Year in style – and today I found an opportunity to spend my Christmas voucher, a generous gift from our hosts, on … brushes!

Which store did I visit?

With my voucher in hand, I made my way to Art Stretchers, a magnificent new store in Northcote High Street, walking distance from where Anne and I are staying.

I’d visited this shop before Christmas and treated myself to some A3 watercolour paper. I’d decided to paint a present for my hosts – more on that in a later post – and found myself in this magical store. They have everything!

What was I interested in buying?

I was looking for a high-quality brush, or two. With a weight allowance to respect, I couldn’t go mad on heavy items.

The range was incredible and what caught my eye was a fan brush, ideal for blending adjacent colours. The sales assistant was very attentive and offered to talk me through their extensive collection.

What did I buy?

Four brushes!

From left to right:

1: The fan brush which originally caught my eye

2: A 320S Squirrel Mop of German manufacture which loads well, but is hellishly expensive …

3 and 4: Two part-squirrel part-synthetic, cheaper options, sizes 12 and 8 which then gave me the entire range of ‘mop’ without having to take out a second mortgage!

Having tried out my three new mops, I am absolutely delighted with my purchase and so glad the voucher made a sizeable dent in the bill.

What brushes do you use? Which are your favourites? Let me know.

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling.

16 January 2017

Postcard from Melbourne: So much to see at the NGV

While Anne and a writer friend of hers chatted over afternoon tea in the first floor restaurant, I discovered just how much there is to see at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria).

What is there to see at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV)?

In addition to the wonderful David Hockney exhibition which I blogged about on 9 January, NGV has so much more art to show to the world.

Alfred Felton’s generous bequest in 1904 has enabled the NGV to be a world-leading collecting institution. There is work by Picasso, Rothko, Bacon, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Paul Nash, Bonnard, Rodin, Van Gogh, Pissaro, Renoir, Manet and Monet, Courbet, Constable and, of course, Turner.

What were the highlights for me?

(Left) Rodin’s The Thinker: it was well worth spending time, admiring his undoubtable handiwork.

Rodin’s The Kiss is one of Anne’s favorites and we’ll have to arrange a return visit to NGA before we leave Australia so she can see The Thinker too ‘in the flesh’.

Manet’s The House at Rivell was also breathtaking, and was attracting quite a crowd.

(Right) Degas’ Portrait of a Woman, identity unknown … clearly, she was known to him!

John Constable’s Study of a boat passing a Lock – wonderful!

And, my featured image at the top of this blog post, is David Hockney’s The Second Marriage. … It’s an interesting, different, study of this state of existence. I’m on mine and loving it – and the painting was great too.

You want to see some more photos?

(Left) This is a Picasso vase. Lord alone knows how much it is worth. It’s on display within a sturdy glass cabinet. Very sensible!

(Right) This is Head of a man by Van Gogh. Although Van Gogh tried to conform to the traditional approach, his passion enlivened this work so much that it has much more power emanating from the canvas than other portraits of that era.

I spent such a short time, wandering around, amazed at the collection of treasures, and now need to schedule some time for a return visit.

However, Anne and I depart for a week in Tasmania tomorrow so you can expect a report of our planned visit to MONA before I get a chance to return to see what Melbourne’s art galleries have to offer the visitor.

If you have visited Tasmania, or live there, what galleries – apart from MONA – would you recommend we visit?

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling.