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 drill rig. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drill rig. Show all posts

Friday 15 April 2011

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

Marine Art-plein air oil painting of ex HMAS Adelaide at Glebe Island Wharf by marine and industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Ex HMAS Adelaide arrives at Glebe Island wharf' 
2009 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Available
















The HMAS Adelaide had a varied career-  the Australian response to the 1987 Fijian coups d'état, Iraq invasion of Kuwait, Indonesian riots in May 1998, the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, the War in Afghanistan, and the United States-led invasion of Iraq.
She rescued 2 competitors  in the 1996–97 Vendee Globe solo round-the-world yacht race when in January 1997, the yachts of Thierry Dubois and Tony Bullimore capsized. 
Her most notorious moment was in 2001 when she intercepted a boat known as SIEV 4 carrying suspected illegal immigrants, now known as the 'Children overboard affair'.
Marine Art-plein air oil painting of ex HMAS Adelaide at Glebe Island Wharf by marine and industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Action men' 2009 
oil painting on canvas 31 x 31cm

The men from 'Action Cranes' start to remove railings in the first sign of the flurry of activity to come.
I painted close up details of the men at work, as well as a panorama of the ship positioned between the pillars of the Anzac Bridge, with its strings providing a dramatic counterpoint to the mast. 
Marine Art-plein air oil painting of ex HMAS Adelaide at Glebe Island Wharf by marine and industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'Action men' 2009 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm
Sold
COLLECTION : ACTION CRANES
Enquiries about similar paintings- janecooperbennett@gmail.com

At this stage the ship was at the southern end of the wharf.
At the northern end, I had been painting Baulderstone Hornibrook's construction of a screed and shear leg for the Port Botany Expansion Project. I became  frustrated at middle management's mindless onerous conditions while painting this project, which seemed designed to prevent me painting anything interesting without  helping anyone's health or safety.

Marine Art-plein air oil painting of ex HMAS Adelaide at Glebe Island Wharf by marine and industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
 'Action cranes with the Adelaide' 
2009 oil on canvas 38 x 76cm
Available
As a plein air painter who has been used to painting under conditions that would scare most artists out of 10 years growth, it takes a lot to annoy or frustrate me! Coping with Baulderstone's minions was too much like beating my head against a brick wall for me to continue painting their project, but it was a blessing in disguise.
I had no idea how gripping the saga of the ex-HMAS Adelaide would become.
On the extreme left hand side of the last painting in this post is a strange contraption with white columns. This was a drill rig starting exploratory drilling for the ill-fated Sydney Metro project, which was finally shelved in early 2010 after a great deal of controversy.
Soon the controversy surrounding the scuttling of the ex-HMAS Adelaide would even rival the debate over the Metro!