Paintings of the Arrivals Hall of the former cruise ship terminal Wharf 8 at Barangaroo.
These are unfinished oil paintings on canvas of the interior of the deserted former cruise ship terminal at Darling Harbour Wharf 8.
My first day of painting this canvas:
My first day of painting this canvas:
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| 'I saw the number '8' in red... ' oil painting on canvas 61 x 91cm Sold Private Collection : Sydney Enquiries about similar paintings |
The title is my homage to the 1928 Charles Demuth painting "I saw the number 5 in gold..", an icon of American Modernism. Like Demuth, I never let go of reality.
Though not a physical likeness, Demuth used imagery from William Carlos Williams’ poem "The Great Figure," to create an abstract portrait of his friend. The intersecting lines, repeated "5," round forms of the numbers, lights, street lamp, and blaring sirens of the red fire engine speeding down the street infuse the painting with a vibrant, urban energy.
Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city
"The Great Figure" William Carlos Williams
The 2nd day of this painting- nearly finished, but needs glazing to emphasize the reflections and the dramatic shafts of light from the doorways.
I saw the number '8' in red" 2010
oil painting on canvas 61 x 183cm
Sold
Private Collection : Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings
1.situated at or forming the end or extremity of something...
2. occuring at or forming the end of a series, succession, or the like; closing; concluding
7.pertaining to or placed at a boundary, as a landmark.
8. occuring at or causing the end of life: a terminal disease.
9.(Informal) utterly beyond hope, rescue or saving...
10. a terminal part of a structure; end or extremity.
13. a station on the line of a public carrier,as in a city centre ... where passengers embark or disembark...
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| 'I saw the number '8' in red... ' oil painting on canvas 61 x 91cm Sold Private Collection : Sydney Enquiries about similar paintings |
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| The completed painting: "I saw the number '8' in red... "2010 Starting my 2nd painting of the interior of the Arrivals Hall: Setting out a rough idea of the composition: |
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| "I saw the number '8' in red" 2010 oil painting on canvas 61 x 183cm Sold Private Collection : Sydney Enquiries about similar paintings |
Starting work on a large panoramic interior of the Arrivals Hall.
This is a Saturday, and apart from the bored security guards on the gate I have the whole place more or less to myself so it is eerily silent.
For a change I have managed to get here early.
I've been battling a killer bout of flu for over a month and I've had to push myself to keep working. My throat has been so sore that I can only eat jelly and chicken soup for the last week.
I've taken in a thermos of icecubes to numb my throat and they seem to help. Whinge, whinge. This is totally self inflicted- I've been painting outdoors in the middle of winter on a freezing cold wharf in a howling gale and to misquote Alice in Wonderland it is bound to disagree with you sooner or later. However I wouldn't swap what I do for anything; it keeps me endlessly fascinated.
I only wish that I wouldn't get ill just at this crucial point in the history of Sydney Harbour - this is the last wharf on the historic Hungry Mile, which has been the fountainhead of Australia's maritime industry since settlement over 200 years ago, and it will be demolished in less than a fortnight!
No other artist in Australia seems to have an MSIC or a greencard; so I am the only person permitted to paint any of this.
Half way through my 1st day of painting :
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"I saw the number '8' in red" 2010 oil painting on canvas 61 x 183cm Sold Private Collection : Sydney Work in progress on the easel at the end of the first day. |
I saw the number '8' in red" 2010
oil painting on canvas 61 x 183cm
Sold
Private Collection : Sydney
Enquiries about similar paintings
I have used 'terminal' as part of the title of paintings in this series as a play on words. The following nuances of meaning I found particularly apt :
1.situated at or forming the end or extremity of something...
2. occuring at or forming the end of a series, succession, or the like; closing; concluding
7.pertaining to or placed at a boundary, as a landmark.
8. occuring at or causing the end of life: a terminal disease.
9.(Informal) utterly beyond hope, rescue or saving...
10. a terminal part of a structure; end or extremity.
13. a station on the line of a public carrier,as in a city centre ... where passengers embark or disembark...
(Courtesy of Dictionary.com)
Take your pick!
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See more at my Millers Point page
