Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

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Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.
Showing posts with label Baileys Marine Fuel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baileys Marine Fuel. Show all posts

Wednesday 16 November 2011

The White Shed at White Bay



Demolition of the White Bay Transit shed will soon commence.
Cardinal, who demolished the wharf buildings at East Darling Harbour, have set up in the old canteen at the western end of the shed.
I started this canvas on Tuesday 8th November.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.



















I've been told that the gantries on either side of the shed have been heritage listed, but I don't know if they will be retained. White Bay has been confirmed as the site of the new cruise ship terminal.
Sydney Ports Corporation owns and manages White Bay Berths 1-6. The berths are leased to licensees who operate independent businesses including:
Private Harbour Cruises, Road Construction, Harbour Construction and Vessel Maintenance.

plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
Starting to paint the sky of a canvas of the
soon to be demolished
'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm





















I've been allowed to paint the shed from the most eastern point, Berth 6, leased from Sydney Ports Corporation by Bailey's Marine Fuels.
Berth 5 is leased by the PB tug "Endeavour", a small and extremely cute pale blue tug with a black hull, only just over a year old.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
My half finished canvas 'White Bay Transit Shed,
from Berth 6, White Bay' 2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.


















At Berth 4, is the scary looking "Sea Shepherd", bane of the Japanese whaling fleet. They will depart for Antarctica on Friday 18th November, so if I am to paint them I need to work fast.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
 2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.


















Berth 3 houses Waterway Constructions. They are now the proud owners of the largest crane I have seen since Titan sank.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.


















Berth 2 has a motley collection of barges and a yellowish tug that looks just as battered as my station wagon. To the west are the Ausbarge tugs, the Morpeth and Coramba. Their funnels have been given a fresh coat of bright blue, since I last painted them.
Berth 1 is home to the tall ship, the 'Southern Swan', formerly known as the 'Svanen'.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.





















 
The sullen clouds overhead developed into a violent storm, known as a "southerly buster".
The day after, Baileys started to construct an awning between the two blue containers, to provide shelter for their workmen.Later that afternoon an impressive southerly buster blew up, as you can see by the ominous stormclouds above the shed in both the painting and the photo.




plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm.
The next day, Wednesday 9th November, I had to make an early start, as I had a very important appointment to keep.
In late 2009, I had been approached by some people from St Vincents Hospital to paint a block of heritage terraces soon to be redeveloped for the new Kollings Cancer Institute. Just when I had thought everyone had forgotten about this, St Vincents Hospital notified me that they had booked me to have a major solo exhibition of these paintings from 4th February - 8th March 2012.
Wednesday would be my opportunity to meet and discuss the exhibition before the organizers took their Christmas break.I arrived by 7am, unpacked and started this small canvas by 7.30am.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm.


















However, to arrive at my meeting and still manage to look halfway human for the meeting at 1pm I had to stop painting by 11am and scrub myself clean.
The weather looked a bit dodgy, so the people from Bailey's kindly allowed me to store my half finished canvases in one of the toilet blocks in case it rained while I was away.
As I was going to take my collection of paintings of the Victoria terraces in to see how they would look in the exhibition space at Xavier level 3, I wouldn't be able to pack my wet canvases and easel on top of these earlier works without risking disaster.
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
Painting the White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay.

plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.
The meeting was a great success, and I'm very excited about the forthcoming exhibition at St Vincents, even though my last exhibition at the Frances Keevil Gallery has only just ended.
I'll barely have time to catch my breath between projects. 
plein air oil painting of the White Bay Transit Shed, White Bay Wharf by industrial and maritime heritage artist Jane Bennett
White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.


















The tanks and containers are reflected in the pools of water left over from Tuesday's violent storm.
 
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