Eveleigh Windows - (Very) Stained Glass Windows Part 3

Hidden Beauty

E85 Eveleigh Windows 2011 oil on canvas 51x 41cm

Sold : $2,400

Enquiries

The most apparently unpromising place can reveal unexpected moments of beauty. 

I feel sometimes that my paintbrush can act as a magic wand.

 A fleeting shaft of light can magically transform a pile of rubble or a dilapidated roof in a fraction of a second.

Image by Jane Bennett Artist via Flickr

Related posts in this blog

• Eveleigh - (Very) Stained Glass Windows Part 2
• Eveleigh - (Very) Stained Glass Windows Part 1

Eveleigh - (Very) Stained Glass Windows Part 2

Flaws in the Glass

E84 Eveleigh Windows 2011 mixed media on paper 76x 56cm

Available for sale : $4,500

Enquiries

I have painted in the Large Erecting Shop for many years now, and usually I have concentrated on the trains rather than the building itself, as the trains were there for only a short time. 
However the fabric of the building itself is to alter soon, so my focus has shifted.
I completed a lovely little oil on canvas of a nondescript corner of the building, but then I decided to concentrate on the play of light, as so little colour was visible. Then I thought, why not paint a series of works in black and white.
I was reminded of some of my favourite Lloyd Rees paintings, his series of the medieval stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral.

Painting E78 'Window, Large Erecting Shop' 2011ink pastel acrylic on paper 115 x 75cm

Tools of the trade. Large bottle of black acrylic paint and a small bottle of water spray.
I paint with black and white acrylic paint, alternating with black Indian ink to produce areas of thin wash or impasto.

Painting E78 'Window, Large Erecting Shop' 2011ink pastel acrylic on paper 115 x 75cm

Then alternately tilting the enormous work from side to side to get the effect of the cracks in the glass by spraying the ink with water until it freely drips, then quickly laying it on the floor when I have the effect I want. 

High risk technique - really working without a safety net.

Painting E78 'Window, Large Erecting Shop' 2011ink pastel acrylic on paper 115 x 75cm

Then I take soft white Schminke pastel - so soft that it crumbles into powder- and broadly sweep it down the ares of the most intense light. With the palm of my hand I briskly smear it across highlights on the brickwork, then partially rub it off ink lines where I want cracks in the shattered panes to appear. 
Also a high risk technique, and very messy.

Painting E78 'Window, Large Erecting Shop' 2011ink pastel acrylic on paper 115 x 75cm

This is next to the old signal box where I sometimes keep my easel. 
I have heard a rumour that they will paint the floors white!
I can't believe this!  They will still be using this area for trains - possibly even steam trains! There will be oil, diesel, soot all over the floor by the end of the first day! A white coloured floor will aid visibility only as long as it stays white, which probably won't be for long, whereas fixing the electricity and replacing some of the broken lights will go much further to reducing OH and S problems.
Well I had better make the most of working "wet in wet" with ink and pastel while I'm still able to put my painting on the floor before it all becomes too gentrified.

Painting E78 'Window, Large Erecting Shop' 2011 ink, pastel, acrylic on paper 115 x 75cm

Most people looking at these works thought at first glance that they were actual stained glass windows from  St Mary's cathedral. 
But they are just windows with a lot of stains on them. Stains made by decades of hard work, accident, even a little vandalism.
The light transforms them into visions worthy of Chartres or Sainte Chapelle.
My dealer, Frances Keevil, only half-jokingly suggested that I enter one of these works in the Blake Prize for Religious Art. 

E78 'Window, Large Erecting Shop' 2011 ink pastel acrylic on paper 115 x 75cm

Available for sale : $7,700

Enquiries

' Eveleigh Window 1' 2011 mixed media on paper 131x 115cm.
Available for sale : $11,000

Enquiries: janecooperbennett@gmail.com

The completed drawing.

Related posts in this blog

• Eveleigh - (Very) Stained Glass Windows Part 1 

Irons in the Fire - Part 5 'Playing with Fire'

Paintings of the Blacksmiths at Wrought Artworks,

Bay 1/2 Australian Technology Park,

Eveleigh Railway Workshops

'Lok forging at Wrought Artworks' 
2010 oil painting on canvas 
36 x 46 cm
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings

It was hard to catch Lok on his own without Dave (who was centre stage in the previous painting) from the viewpoint I had, but worth it -he looks quite heroic! I didn't want to move my position in case I got in the way.

I feel that the movement implied in the pose and the glow cast by the light from the furnace capture the element of danger of this ancient craft.
I've always loved the paintings of Caravaggio,  Georges de La Tour and the 18th century painter of the early days of the Industrial Revolution, Joseph Wright of Derby. As well as his most famous masterpieces about the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, the 'Orrery' and 'Experiment on a bird in an Airpump', Joseph Wright of Derby had painted a wonderful series of canvases of blacksmiths at the forge.

I stayed in Derby while I was on my Marten Bequest Travelling Art Scholarship, and frequently visited the Derby Art Gallery, where most of Wright's work is displayed.
My paintings of the blacksmiths are painted from life, but also pay tribute to these masters of the effects of light and shadow.

 More Eveleigh paintings

Related posts

Irons in the fire
Watching the forge fires fade
Macdonaldtown - A Station without a suburb
Strike while the iron is hot
Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work
Time for Safety 
The slow return from the fire 
The fire within 
En plein air with street cred (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)

The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)

Irons in the Fire - Part 4 'Strike while the Iron is Hot'

Paintings of the Blacksmiths at Wrought Artworks,

Bay 1/2 Australian Technology Park,

Eveleigh Railway Workshops

'Strike while the iron is hot'  is a very old proverb, and like the phrase 'irons in the fire' comes directly from blacksmithing.

It means when you have an opportunity to do something, do it before you lose your chance.
Plein air painters and blacksmiths both need quick reflexes.

Forging,Wrought Artworks 
2010 oil on canvas 20 x 25cm

Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings

I grabbed the opportunity and caught a dramatic moment in a small canvas.

I don't know whether the small white hot bit of metal is supposed to be on the floor and is part of the process, or whether it was a bit of accidental run off. We're all wearing safety boots anyway, and it looks spectacular.

More Eveleigh paintings

Related posts

Irons in the fire
Watching the forge fires fade

Playing with fire

Macdonaldtown - A Station without a suburb

Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work

The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)
Time for Safety 
The slow return from the fire 
The fire within 
En plein air with street cred (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)

Irons in the Fire - Part 3 'Hot'

Paintings of the Blacksmiths at Wrought Artworks,

Bay 1/2 Australian Technology Park,

Eveleigh Railway Workshops

The phrase 'iron in the fire' refers to an undertaking or project in progress. The phrase 'several irons in the fire' refers to a number of jobs or possibilities available at the same time.

A person who has a 'few irons in the fire' has a number of things working to their advantage at the same time. 

All of the above apply to me as well as the blacksmiths I'm painting.

I haven't been rushing between furnace and anvil, while juggling white hot metal, except metaphorically.

I have been painting at many locations recently - 3 separate places within the huge Eveleigh Railway Workshop complex ( the Heritage Store next to Carriageworks, the large Erecting Shop and Wrought Artworks in the Australian Technology Park); the ships moored off Wharf 7 near the Australian National Maritime Museum; the top of the Sydney Ports Corporation Harbour Control Tower; finishing a panorama of Summer Hill from the top of the soon to be renovated Mungo Scott Flour Mills; and most recently, standing out in the pouring rain on the OPT (Overseas Passenger Terminal) at Circular Quay while painting the maiden call of the gigantic luxury cruise ship the 'Queen Elizabeth'.

I could have done with a bit of fire during that last one, as despite wearing a Driza-bone, which I had thought might be overkill for February, I got soaked to the skin and froze.

I've managed to time it this summer so that I am painting a blazing forge in 40C degree heat and ships in the harbour on a chilly grey dawn.

'Hot' 2010 oil on canvas 25 x 20 cm
  Enquiries about this painting

I like the way that the forge has 'hot' helpfully written on it with a 'this way up' arrow. Another great moment in OHS (Occupational Health and Safety).

Related posts

• Irons in the fire
  

• Watching the forge fires fade
• Playing with fire
• Macdonaldtown - A Station without a suburb
• Strike while the iron is hot

• Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work
  
•  Eveleigh paintings
• The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)
• Time for Safety 
• The slow return from the fire 
• The fire within 
• En plein air with street cred (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)

Irons in the fire - Part 2

Painting the Blacksmiths at Wrought Artworks,

Bay 1/2 Eveleigh Railway Workshops

Starting the new canvas
'Chris at the Massey Air Hammer' 2011
unfinished oil painting on canvas 36 x 46 cm
Private Collection : Sydney

Art versus life!
'Chris at the Massey Air Hammer' 2011
 unfinished oil painting on canvas 36 x 46 cm
Private Collection : Sydney

Starting another new canvas - and trying hard not to stand too close to a pair of blokes nonchalantly waving white-hot lumps of metal around. I still haven't painted at the blacksmith's often enough to be absolutely certain as to exactly where I should stand or sit so as not to get in the way!

Almost finished

'Chris at the Massey Air Hammer' 2011
unfinished oil painting on canvas 36 x 46 cm
Private Collection : Sydney

They only stand in these positions for a few moments at a time - but these movements are repeated sequentially over and over again throughout a couple of afternoons. I soon decide on a couple of poses that to me are the most characteristic and dramatic of the sequence.

In this canvas, the taut expression of Chris and the tension shown in the tightness of his forearms and the strained balance of his pose add to the feeling of potential danger, and are a tribute to the level of skill required by their craft.

'Forging at Wrought Artworks'
2010 oil on canvas 36x46cm  

Enquiries about similar paintings

Related posts

• Irons in the fire
  

• Watching the forge fires fade
• Playing with fire
• Macdonaldtown - A Station without a suburb
• Strike while the iron is hot

• Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work
  
•  Eveleigh paintings
• The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)
• Time for Safety 
• The slow return from the fire 
• The fire within 
• En plein air with street cred (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)

Irons in the Fire - Part 1 'Smith Forging'

The first of several posts showing canvases painted from life during a forging.

Painting a 'forging' at Wrought Artworks,
Eveleigh Railway Workshops

Open-die drop forging is also known as smith forging.

Dave and Lok forging at Wrought Artworks 2010 

oil on canvas 41 x 51cm
Enquiries about this painting

In open-die forging, a hammer strikes and deforms the workpiece, which is placed on a stationary anvil.

Dave and Lok forging at Wrought Artworks 2010 

oil on canvas 41 x 51cm
Enquiries about this painting

It's called 'Open-die forging'  because the dies (the surfaces that are in contact with the workpiece) don't enclose the workpiece, allowing it to flow except where

its in contact.

The blacksmith must position the workpiece to get the desired shape. The die is usually flat, but some have a specially shaped surface which may be round, concave, or convex.

Dave and Lok forging at Wrought Artworks 2010 

oil on canvas 41 x 51cm
Enquiries about this painting

Open-die forging is used for art smithing and custom work.

Dave and Lok forging at Wrought Artworks 2010 

oil on canvas 41 x 51cm
Enquiries about this painting

In this canvas Dave and Lok are working hot iron, which they have just taken out of the furnace.

They are shaping the iron into curved spikes for the grill of a decorative fence with the historic 'Massey' air hammer.

Related posts

Strike while the iron is hot
Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work
 Eveleigh paintings
The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)
Time for Safety 
The slow return from the fire 
The fire within 
En plein air with street cred (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)

My Exhibition at the Eveleigh Field Day

Exhibition of my paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops in Bay 1/2 Australian Technology Park on Saturday 30th October 2010

'Wrought Artworks' Field Day October 30th' 
2010 oil on canvas 41 x 51 cm
$2,400 

 Enquiries about this painting
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

Guido Gouvernor, The blacksmith of 'Wrought Artworks' is in the centre next to the Massey Air Hammer. 'Wrought Artworks' gave a forging demonstration that afternoon. I painted about 80% of this on the day; then came back a couple of days later to complete it.

Exhibition of oil paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops painted on site by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett

Enquiries about these paintings

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

Exhibition of oil paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops painted on site by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
Enquiries about these paintings
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

The paintings are displayed in the corridor between Bay1/2 North and Bay 1/2 South - most appropriate as a few of them were painted just a few metres away.

Exhibition of oil paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops painted on site by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett

Enquiries about these paintings

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

In the background lurks the majestic Davy Steam press

Exhibition of oil paintings of Eveleigh Railway Workshops painted on site by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett

Enquiries about these paintings

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

The chairs are for the residents and former employees and their families of Eveleigh Railway Workshops, who were invited to come and share their memories of the area on the day.

'The Blacksmith, 'Wrought Artworks' ' 
oil painting on canvas 122 x 152 cm
SOLD 
$13,000

Enquiries about similar paintings
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

This is Dave, who is the blacksmith from 'Wrought Artworks' I painted in this canvas. Art imitating life!

Better late than never! I had managed to destroy the USB ports of my laptop, which cramped my style a bit when adding photos!

Related posts

• Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)
• My Eveleigh page in this blog (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)
• ATP Open Day - Saturday, 25 Feb 2012 (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)
• The village smithy (sydney-eye.blogspot.com)