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 Sydney Olympic Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sydney Olympic Games. Show all posts

Saturday 31 July 2010

Ships that pass-Painting Sydney Harbour from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead Part 2.

I painted this panoramic canvas of the western side of Sydney Harbour from the bridge of the "Maersk Gateshead".
Plein air oil painting of Sydney harbour and the tallship James Craig from the bridge of a cargo ship docked at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, now Barangaroo, painted by marine artist Jane Bennett
DH258 'Pyrmont and the James Craig
from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead'
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 153cm
Available

This was the last cargo ship to be docked at wharf 5, of the former East Darling Harbour Wharves, which has now been redeveloped into the Barangaroo precinct.
It wasn't unloaded there, but was waiting for repairs and finally left at 3pm Monday 14th June 2010.
The captain watched me painting from the dockside, and was intrigued. After a bit of negotiation I spent the next 4 days having the run of the ship. I painted a series of canvases, from the bridge of the ship itself.
 
Plein air oil painting of Sydney harbour from the bridge of a cargo ship docked at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, now Barangaroo, painted by marine artist Jane Bennett
DH258 'Pyrmont and the James Craig
from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead'
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 153cm
Available




















During my previous 6 or so years as 'Artist in Residence' at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, I had often been invited by various captains to paint from their ship.
This is a view of my 'studio on a ship, with the unfinished canvas on my French Box easel.
Plein air oil painting of Sydney harbour from the bridge of a cargo ship docked at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, now Barangaroo, painted by marine artist Jane Bennett
DH258 'Pyrmont and the James Craig
from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead'
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 153cm
Available




















This shows a close up detail of the left hand side of the same canvas, showing the former wharves of Pyrmont in the shadow of the towers of Jackson's Landing and the Anzac bridge.
Plein air oil painting of Sydney harbour from the bridge of a cargo ship docked at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, now Barangaroo, painted by marine artist Jane Bennett
DH258 'Pyrmont and the James Craig
from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead'
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 153cm
Available




















This close up detail shows the containers of the Maersk Gateshead, and in the distance is the 'Pacific Jewel', the last time a cruise ship would dock at Wharf 8, the 'old' cruise ship terminal. I've put 'old' in inverted commas because it was only built in 1999, as part of the Sydney 2000 Olympics building boom, and now redundant after just over 10 years. Sydney's urban landscape makes 'dog years' look languid.
As soon as the 'Pacific Jewel' left, the fences enclosed the perimeter of the Cruise ship Terminal, and demolition began.
I contrasted the boxy lines of the modern white cruise ship with the lovingly restored tall ship of the Sydney Heritage Fleet, the 'James Craig' making its way back to its home next to Wharf 7, Pyrmont.
Plein air oil painting of Sydney harbour from the bridge of a cargo ship docked at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, now Barangaroo, painted by marine artist Jane Bennett
DH260 'Millers Point from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead'
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 103cm
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings or prints
I'd often record the bustle of a working wharf beneath me, as well as the workers' terraces perched on High Street and Merriman Street directly opposite and almost at my eye-level.
But this time, everything had changed.
Forever.
The wharf has been scraped to the bone. Wharf buildings, cranes and forklifts have gone, and there is a vast empty void framed with a randomly curved blue line supposedly echoing the original shoreline. A couple of security guards bored out of their tiny minds, walk aimlessly up and down. At least they're getting fit.
I was glad to be on the bridge of the ship and not on the wharf, because on the bridge I was mostly left to paint in peace as the crew had work to get on with.
On the wharf, the guards were nice, but driving me bonkers, because they had no other distractions to relieve their boredom. As it was obvious that the days of painting on the Wharves were numbered, I didn't have time to waste.
The sandstone escarpment and Millers Point workers terraces glow in the reflection of the setting sun, as does the doomed Harbour Control Tower, which was still my studio.
Compare this to a similar panorama of the wharf painted from a similar vantage point of the bridge of another ship, the 'Taiko' only 4 years before.
Plein air oil painting of Sydney harbour from the bridge of a cargo ship docked at the East Darling Harbour Wharves, now Barangaroo, painted by marine artist Jane Bennett
DH33A-B'From the Bridge of the 'Taiko' Diptych''
2006 oil on board 20 x 40cm each
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The lines on the wharf in the 2006 diptych are not random or imposed by a landscape designer. They are pedestrian walkways, and grids to designate parking for trucks, freight or cars, but create a complex interplay of arrows and lines worthy of Jeffrey Smart.
I knew this would be the last cargo ship to ever dock here, and the last time it would be a working wharf. So it was my last chance to see and paint the harbour from this vantage point, and I made the most of it.
After the Maersk Gateshead left, a temporary Cruise Ship Terminal was set up in a large white tent (ok then, a marquee) marking time until the new terminal was built at White Bay. 
As soon as that opened developers were free to literally cut along the dotted line, and the 200 year history of the East Darling Harbour Wharf, aka the 'Hungry Mile' would end.

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The mother art is architecture 

Tuesday 27 July 2010

May close without warning

Paintings of former cruise ship terminal Wharf 8, Barangaroo.
This building was demolished in late August 2010.
It had only been opened in July 1999, for the expected influx of cruise ships for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
This painting shows the entrance to the loading dock, normally off limits to the public.
The door is open to the view north towards the Sydney Harbour Control Tower on the right and the new temporary cruise ship facilities in the marquee to the left.
Poignant reminders of the site's previous function create ironic, even surrealist undertones.
plein air oil painting of now demolished cruise ship terminal Wharf 8 at Barangaroo by industrial heritage and marine artist Jane Bennett
"May open without warning "
2010 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm
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Painted from a similar viewpoint as "May close without warning..."
I changed the title from "Inside the loading dock of the former Cruise ship Terminal at Darling Harbour 8" to the more catchy "May Open without warning".
I had painted the sign on the ground but hadn't really noticed how it made a neat bookend to the other painting until my gallery pointed it out!
Through the doorway is the Sydney Harbour Control Tower and the marquee used for the temporary cruise ship facilities by Sydney Ports Corporation.
plein air oil painting of now demolished cruise ship terminal Wharf 8 at Barangaroo by industrial heritage and marine artist Jane Bennett
"May close without warning "
2010 oil on canvas 56 x 76cm
Enquiries about this painting

The title of this painting could double as my motto!
"May close without warning" says it all.
I never need to make jokes - the truth is quite adequately hilarious.