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

My photo
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 Glebe Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Glebe Island. Show all posts

Tuesday 16 June 2020

Isolation Gallery on the deck - Ex HMAS Adelaide on Glebe Island

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, my wings have been clipped.
I'm caring for my elderly and very frail mum at home, so even when restrictions are relaxed, my obligations as a carer mean I'll still be very restricted in the amount of plein air painting I can do.

Oil paintings of 'ex HMAS Adelaide' painted en plein air at Glebe Island Wharf, by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Paintings on the deck

I've used my enforced downtime to repair old paintings. When canvases are taken to exhibitions and handled a lot they can get scuffed at the edges.
I'd spent the start of the Covid season putting up a pergola over the front deck so it would be a nice breakfast nook. But it's been really useful as.a studio extension as it's sheltered from rain and all but the fiercest winds.
I started putting some large canvases out there to dry after repairs, just to get them out of my way so I don't trip over them.
Down the side of my garden is a walkway to the local park and I noticed a few people staring at the paintings. I did this for a few weeks, but when I didn't have anything on the easel for a couple of days they asked me to put some paintings back up.

Oil paintings of 'ex HMAS Adelaide' painted en plein air at Glebe Island Wharf, by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
A3 Ex HMAS Adelaide late afternoon panorama
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm                            
A25 'ex HMAS Adelaide sinking'
2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51 cm


The galleries are shut, so I thought 'Why not? At least it gets them out of my studio'
Since then I've had a different painting every day on the deck gallery. Sometimes two if they have a connection to each other.
I choose at random - it's a chance to wander through my past.
Enjoy.

Oil painting of 'ex HMAS Adelaide' painted en plein air at Glebe Island Wharf, by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
A3 Ex HMAS Adelaide late afternoon panorama
 2011 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm









This is a sort of before and after pairing.
The Ex HMAS Adelaide on Glebe Island being stripped of most of her interior fittings before scuttling, and a small painting of her scuttling off Terrigal.

Oil paintings of 'ex HMAS Adelaide' painted en plein air being scuttled at Terrigal, by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
A25 'ex HMAS Adelaide sinking'
2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51 cm












See the posts about these paintings
"Two ships in dock"
"Ghost Ship Part 2" 
"Ghost Ship Part 1"

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Painting the 'Poolya' at Glebe Island

This was the 60 year old work boat known as the Crane Lighter 'Poolya', up on stumps, waiting forlornly at Glebe Island Wharf.


plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
Starting my canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Enquiries about this painting
Despite being added to the State’s Heritage Register in March 2009 by the then Ports and Waterways Minister Joe Tripodi, here the “Poolya” is waiting to be broken up.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
Starting my canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 

The 'Poolya', formerly known as the 'Kahibah', was built in 1949.
For a long time she was based at Goat Island.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
Starting my canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
Enquiries about this painting



















She was one of the vessels deployed to recover oil with her brush skimmer from the notorious 'Laura d'Amato' spill at Gore Cove on Wednesday 4th August 1999.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
Half finished canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
Enquiries about this painting



















I had been painting the renovation of the Walsh Bay Fingerwharves at the time of the Laura d'Amato incident. The smell of the spilt oil was utterly indescribable! I couldn't cope with the fumes and it was one of the few times that I had to go home without finishing my painting. I don't know how the men on board managed to handle it.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
Half finished canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
Enquiries about this painting



















Until 2012 the 'Poolya' was on standby at Moore's Wharf. 
When she was taken out of service with Sydney Ports Corporation the 'Poolya' was then given to the Sydney Heritage Fleet, who had originally intended to preserve her.
However the "Poolya" is a timber vessel, and all timber vessels are a lot of work. Eventually they get to the stage of requiring significant repair to keep them serviceable. This can rapidly spiral out of control. The 'Poolya', despite being regarded with great affection by the workers from Sydney Ports and the Sydney Heritage Fleet, had become commercially uneconomic.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
Half finished canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 

Enquiries about this painting
Sydney Ports Corporation have replaced her with a steel hulled vessel of a similar design concept, the 'Manns Point'.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat at Glebe Island by artist Jane Bennett
The finished canvas of
"The 'Poolya' at Glebe Island waiting to be broken up"
 2013 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 

Enquiries about this painting
I was given the heads up by a couple of people at Sydney Ports who had a sentimental attachment to the 'Poolya'.
I arrived at the Glebe Island Operations Centre on Monday about noon and had this medium size canvas finished by the time the blokes wanted to knock off at 5.30pm.
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat near the Sydney Harbour Bridge by artist Jane Bennett
'Poolya' from Moore's Wharf'
2013 oil on canvas 12 x 12cm
Enquiries about similar paintings
Sold
PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY
I had painted a couple of small canvases of the 'Poolya' in her glory days while she was still operational. A few of these were painted from my loft on the top floor of Sydney Ports Corporation's Emergency Response Headquarters at Moore's Wharf. These canvases usually have a spectacular view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well as the historic workboat.
Some of my paintings were in the "tondo" format. A tondo is a canvas stretched over a round or oval stretcher frame.
Some of the Sydney Ports Corporation wharfies would jokingly ask me "When will you be painting another pizza, Jane ?"
plein air oil painting of the 'Poolya' work boat near the Sydney Harbour Bridge by artist Jane Bennett
 'Poolya' from Moore's Wharf'
2013 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
SOLD

PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY
Enquiries about similar paintings
When the 'Poolya' was broken up, a couple of contractors managed to souvenir the portholes.
So these 2 'Poolya' tondos ended up being framed behind these portholes and are now cherished trophies in some canny collector's living room.

Related posts

Storm warning, Goat Island (barangarooartist.blogspot.com)


Monday 8 October 2012

Tower of Power- Drawings of the White Bay Power Station

White Bay, an often overlooked part of Sydney's industrial and maritime heritage will soon be radically overhauled.
ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm

FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE




















Enquiries

I have painted many of its current and former landmarks, including the Unilever site, the White Bay Power Station and the notorious White Bay Hotel, (which was 'mysteriously' burnt down) ever since they were all operational in the late 70s - early 80s.

ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'Chimneys of the White Bay Power Station 2' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE
Enquiries
This is a group of 4 small ink wash and gouache drawings on paper, which I have decided to enter in the 2012 Kedumba Invitational Drawing Prize.
ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'Coal Loader White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm

FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE





















It seems a strange distortion of scale to create such small works in response to such a slumbering beast as the gigantic Power Station. Usually I paint an enormous canvas to try to capture its heroic proportions.
However there are so many exquisite details which can get lost in a larger composition that I was glad of the opportunity to focus on them. Every inch of this rusting monster is worthy of a painting, so that it is difficult to choose.
ink wash and gouache drawing on paper of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
'Coal Loader and Chimney White Bay Power Station'
 2012 ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE


And I will have to choose quickly.
Now the White Bay Transit Shed has been partially demolished and the site re-developed as the controversial new Cruise ship terminal.
Glebe Island wharf, once used for offloading cars, has been eerily empty since the departure of ex-HMAS Adelaide to its watery grave off North Avoca in 2011.
A temporary exhibition venue will soon be built on this space to replace the Darling Harbour complex while it is being refurbished.
A road will soon be built on the empty site where the "Great Gatsby" had been filmed last year, to link all these new developments to civilization.
oil painting on canvas of White Bay Power Station, Rozelle by artist Jane Bennett
"White Bay Power Station after rain"
2012 oil on canvas 183 x 112cm
Sold 
PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY

So I feel that the days of the White Bay Power Station as a hulking urban ghost are numbered. 
One day the sleeping giant will wake.... 
To what sort of future? 
Update

Friday 5 October 2012

Under the Bridge

Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Starting my painting commission at dawn,
under the Anzac Bridge, looking at Sydney City Marina over to the western side.
'Under the Bridge 1- early morning' oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
The Anzac Bridge has always held a special place in my heart.
Even before I was given the amazing opportunity to paint it from the top, I had painted the progress of the construction of its pylons in the background of many of my Pyrmont paintings during the early-mid 1990s.

Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Under the Bridge 1- early morning' oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings

Many other people also love this bridge.
Recently I was given a very special commission to paint the Anzac Bridge.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Under the Bridge 1- early morning' oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings

But not from the top this time.
From underneath.
The "Underbelly".
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
So now I'm painting on the other side of Blackwattle Bay.
Behind me are the dragon boat teams, and beside me are the construction sheds of the people doing maintenance work on the Bridge.
My canvas is 76 x 76cm and has been primed with black acrylic paint to help me gauge the colour values against the glare of the morning sun.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney

I've started to paint in the pale blue morning sky.
The building in the background is "evolve", part of the Jackson's Landing development, which was built on the site formerly occupied by the 'Caneite' building of the CSR Refinery.
The mysterious 'great balls of Pyrmont' which now adorn the park in front of this building were digesters originally used in the Caneite factory to turn sugar cane waste into masonite and similar building products. They still bear the scars of marine worms and barnacles that they accumulated after rolling off the wharf and spending a few years underwater.
One of the men from Waterways Constructions took a fancy to them and fished them out.
Now they are "works of art".
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
6.30am 'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney

The morning sun lights up the Glebe Island silos and the old Glebe Island swing bridge.
At the moment Glebe Island is almost deserted, but soon this will change when they start construction of a new temporary exhibition space while the Darling Harbour space is undergoing refurbishment.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
A promising start 'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings

After 2 hours, the silos and the bow legs of the pylons supporting the Anzac Bridge are starting to take shape. The Anzac Bridge is a beautiful, elegant and supremely functional piece of design, but from certain angles it can sometimes look a bit bandy-legged.
There are several bridges around the world of similar design. I remember walking across a huge version in Rotterdam, and being very surprised when they rang an alarm and people walking across started to scatter to either end. The bridge appeared to 'break' in the middle and a huge container ship moved through the gap in the centre.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
At the end of the first session 'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney

However my first painting session was cut short unexpectedly.
At 8am I got a phone call from the hospital saying that after reviewing some of my mum's blood tests they wanted me to bring her in so that they could operate on her, so I stopped painting and rushed to get her.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Stage 2 Half finished -'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney

During the next painting session, I made sure to paint the green and yellow Devine tug berthed at Sydney City Marina, as I knew it would soon move away.
Next week it was on the other side of the old Glebe Island swing Bridge, so I was lucky to catch it.
To the far left is one of the chimneys of the White Bay Power Station, and on the right are some rotting stumps belonging to the old Glebe island swing Bridge.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Stage 3 Nearly finished -'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings

This painting is nearly finished, but the colour and shadows need a bit of adjusting before I'm happy with it.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Stage 4 Nearly finished -'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney

Almost finished.
I was a bit on edge as I had to make sure that I didn't get locked in with all the dragon boats.There are several clubs but nobody seems to know when the last club will leave. My painting site is hidden by the construction area, so I have to keep checking to see if there are any cars left.
There are lots of different clubs. Some of the rowers say that it will close about 2 - 3pm, and some say as early as 11am.
I don't want to be locked in!
I'm working fast!
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Under the Bridge 1- early morning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney

I needn't have panicked about being locked in.
The construction guys have promised that if I get locked in they will let me out, and there are constant security patrols.
Tuesday to Thursday mornings there is a boat repair course for unemployed people, so I have a bit more access than I thought I would.
I was worried about completing this commission as I thought that my access would be restricted to very early on Saturday mornings.
As my mum has been so ill, I can't predict when I'll get any free time.
A bit of glazing to add colour highlights and some rose pink early morning clouds will complete the painting.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Stage 2 Half finished -'Under the Bridge 2- storm warning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Sold : Private Collection Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings

But even though it was so close to being finished, there were a few twists before it was finally complete.
The weather has been variable - sometimes very windy and a couple of wild storms.
One morning I turned up and it was so cloudy that I almost decided to head back home again.
I'm glad I didn't, although I couldn't paint for long before it started raining.
I always take a couple of spare canvases just in case, and luckily I had one the same size as the one for the commission.
The sun crept out from behind the clouds every now and then - playing across the bridge pylons and the last vestiges of the working harbour beneath.
The colours changed the mood so much that I had to start another painting rather than add to the one that I was half way through.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Stage 3 Nearly finished -'Under the Bridge 2- storm warning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Available for sale
Enquiries
Exactly the same time of day as the earlier painting , but the stormy conditions give such a different mood, and a complete change of palette.
One of my favourite paintings is "The Tempest" by Giorgione. I love the sense of foreboding he has created by such simple means - a few clouds, shadows and highlights, and the resulting painting has a mysterious poetry that defies analysis.
Plein air oil painting of the Anzac Bridge and Glebe Island painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Under the Bridge 2- storm warning'
oil on canvas 76 x 76cm 2012
Available for sale
Enquiries

At first I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time to complete my commission - and now I have 2 canvases!
I don't know which canvas my client will choose.
I've emailed both and she's said that I've made it difficult for her - she loves both of them! This is her birthday present to herself, and very important to her, so I wanted her to be very happy with the result.
The big decision is tomorrow.

Update

She finally decided on the early morning painting.

Thursday 24 November 2011

Ship to Shore - the 11th annual exhibition by the Australian Society of Marine Artists at Mosman Regional Art Gallery


Related Posts

Ghost ship - ex-HMAS Adelaide at Glebe - Part 1






See my Hungry Mile page in this blog

For more paintings and information about the ex-HMAS Adelaide:

See my White Bay Wharf / Glebe island Wharf page in this blog