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 Rhumb Matilda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhumb Matilda. Show all posts

Thursday 26 December 2013

Painting the International Fleet Review at Barangaroo Part 2

During the recent International Fleet Review celebrations I painted on the Barangaroo wharf, close to my Moore's Wharf studio.  On Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th I completed 3 paintings of the USS Chosin, HMS Daring and the 2 Australian ships HMAS Parramatta and HMAS Perth. 
My previous post showed the stage by stage development of these 3 canvases.
In this post I show the completed canvases of these ships, as well as 2 canvases I painted on Friday 11th October of their departure from the vantage point of my studio at the Sydney Ports Corporation Headquarters at Moore's Wharf.
plein air oil painting by artist Jane Bennett of HMS Daring at Barangaroo during International Fleet Review
 IFR2A 'HMS Daring at Barangaroo' 2013
 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm
Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com
This is the completed canvas of HMS Daring, with USS Chosin just visible in the background to the right.
plein air oil painting by artist Jane Bennett of HMAS Perth and HMAS Parramatta at Barangaroo during International Fleet Review
IFR3A 'HMAS Parramatta with
HMAS Perth at Barangaroo' 2013 

 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm
Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com
HMAS Parramatta (154) and HMAS Perth (157) were tied together, making it difficult to paint the pair from the Barangaroo wharf.
Thursday was blisteringly hot, especially on the bare concrete wharf, but it rained Friday morning during the departure of the first 2 ships.
As you can see from the photo, there wasn't much difference between the grey of the sea, sky or ships - they were all of a piece.
plein air oil painting by artist Jane Bennett of HMS Daring and HMAS Perth departing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge during International Fleet Review
Starting a panoramic canvas of
Sydney Harbour from Moore's wharf
IFR5 'HMS Daring  + HMAS Perth
departing Barangaroo-painted from Moore's Wharf'
2013 oil on canvas 25 x  153cm 
 
















A few months before, I had started to paint a Sydney Harbour panorama on a stormy day. I wanted to put some ships in the centre, as it seemed a little empty, but I couldn't decide which ships to include.
The sky colour on Friday morning was so similar to this half finished canvas that I decided to use it to record the departure of the last of the ships from the International Fleet Review.

plein air oil painting by artist Jane Bennett of HMS Daring and HMAS Perth departing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge during International Fleet Review
IFR5 'HMS Daring  + HMAS Perth
departing Barangaroo-painted from Moore's Wharf'
2013 oil on canvas 25 x  153cm 

Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com

By a stroke of luck, HMS Daring and HMAS Perth departed so close together that I could place them both on the same panoramic canvas. It provided the perfect opportunity to combine the beauty of Sydney Harbour with a historic event.
HMAS Perth was flanked by 2 small black and red tugs, the oddly named 'Rhumb Melba' and 'Rhumb Matilda'.
In the left foreground is the Ausbarge Marine Services boat, from the Barangaroo North Headland Park, currently under construction to the west of Moore's Wharf.

plein air oil painting by artist Jane Bennett of  HMAS Parramatta departing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge during International Fleet Review
 IFR4 'HMAS Parramatta departing
 under the Sydney Harbour Bridge'
2013 oil on canvas 

 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com

By the afternoon, the weather had cleared, so that the HMAS Parramatta left Sydney under a glorious cobalt blue sky.
To continue my naval theme, the iconic Hammerhead Crane will be demolished early in 2014, and I have just received permission from the Navy to paint it from the vantage point of Garden Island itself.