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| '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'.
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| '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.
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'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. |
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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! |
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