Tower of Power- Drawings of the White Bay Power Station

White Bay, an often overlooked part of Sydney's industrial and maritime heritage will soon be radically overhauled.

'White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE

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I have painted many of its current and former landmarks, including the Unilever site, the White Bay Power Station and the notorious White Bay Hotel, (which was 'mysteriously' burnt down) ever since they were all operational in the late 70s - early 80s.

'Chimneys of the White Bay Power Station 2' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm

FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE

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This is a group of 4 small ink wash and gouache drawings on paper, which I have decided to enter in the 2012 Kedumba Invitational Drawing Prize.

'Coal Loader White Bay Power Station' 2012
ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE

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It seems a strange distortion of scale to create such small works in response to such a slumbering beast as the gigantic Power Station. Usually I paint an enormous canvas to try to capture its heroic proportions.

However there are so many exquisite details which can get lost in a larger composition that I was glad of the opportunity to focus on them. Every inch of this rusting monster is worthy of a painting, so that it is difficult to choose.

'Coal Loader and Chimney White Bay Power Station'
 2012 ink gouache on paper 30 x 21cm
FINALIST : 2012 KEDUMBA DRAWING PRIZE

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And I will have to choose quickly.

Now the White Bay Transit Shed has been partially demolished and the site re-developed as the controversial new Cruise ship terminal.

Glebe Island wharf, once used for offloading cars, has been eerily empty since the departure of ex-HMAS Adelaide to its watery grave off North Avoca in 2011.

A temporary exhibition venue will soon be built on this space to replace the Darling Harbour complex while it is being refurbished.

A road will soon be built on the empty site where the "Great Gatsby" had been filmed last year, to link all these new developments to civilization.

"White Bay Power Station after rain"
2012 oil on canvas 183 x 112cm

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PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY

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So I feel that the days of the White Bay Power Station as a hulking urban ghost are numbered. 

One day the sleeping giant will wake.... 

To what sort of future? 
Update

Chris Johnson of the much loathed Urban Taskforce has described the White Bay Power Station as a 'lazy asset' in a story in the Inner West Courier Skyscraper one of the plans for Glebe Island from Urban Taskforce  16 Oct 2012  written by Oliver Murray. 

Funny, I've always thought that about the Urban Taskforce.

Apparently the two main options on the table to decrease its laziness will be to plonk a 60 storey tower on the end of the peninsula, or 8 residential blocks ranging between 20 - 30 storeys high. 
All throughout 2013 men have been working on the roof replacing the rusty corrugated iron, so hopefully this means that the building will be adapted and reused rather than demolished. 
However I have seen sham repairs before. The CWG building in the AGL Gasworks Mortlake site  (now Breakfast Point) had an elaborate network of bright red bollards propping up the interior, looking like a bizarre set of cat whiskers. This led onlookers to believe that its facade would be retained - right up until its demolition.
So excuse my cynicism.

Also see my page in this blog :

White Bay Hotel/White Bay Power Station Paintings

Related posts

Inside Out

Power House

Artist in Residence at the White Bay Power Station - Part 2

Artist in Residence at the White Bay Power Station Part 1

Steady Rest

Rust Bucket

Painting the Tugboats of Sydney Harbour - the 'Wilga', 'Wonga' 'Woona' and 'Watagan'

Looking for suitable subject matter to paint for the Xmas exhibition at the Frances Keevil Gallery, I couldn't resist the tugs.

Now that there are fewer large ships coming in to Sydney Harbour, they are harder to spot.

'The 'Woona' passing Goat Island'
2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm

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The best opportunities are when they escort the tankers in and out of Gore Cove, and when the cruise ships come in to Barangaroo. Peak cruise ship season is from October to the end of February, so this means a bumper crop of tugboat paintings.

'The 'Wonga' 2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm
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My studio at Moore's Wharf, opposite Walsh Bay Wharves on the right and Barangaroo to the left, offers good vantage points for tug spotting.

As well as painting from the wharf at ground level when the weather permits, I have studio space on the top floor in the 'loft', which gives me a 'bird's eye view'.

'The 'Wilga' 2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm
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In this set of paintings, I have varied the viewpoint and the background - the paintings of the 'Wilga' and the 'Wonga' feature the tugs alone against the sea and are painted from the top floor of Moore's Wharf; the 'Woona' (which has recently been repainted in its new livery of Naples yellow and navy - it used to be white with a black hull) is painted in late afternoon against the spectacular backdrop of Goat Island; and the 'Watagan', one of the smaller tugs, is shown dwarfed by the giant white cruise ship it is escorting.

'The 'Watagan' with the 'Pacific Dawn' 2011
oil on board 28 x 35cm

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And a tugboat in action - 'Watagan' bringing the 'Pacific Dawn' into Barangaroo's temporary cruise ship terminal.

Sydney's new cruise ship terminal will be built at White Bay, as soon as the old White Bay Transit Shed has been demolished.

In the meantime, there are a motley collection of vessels berthed there for me to paint.  

Starting my painting of  
'The 'PB Endeavour' at White Bay 
2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm
Painted en plein air at White Bay Wharf, Berth 5
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All the previous paintings are of Svitzer tugs and painted from around Moore's Wharf.

This is the odd one out in the series, as it was painted at White Bay, and was tied up rather than out on the water. I thought that it would be a good contrast.

I fell in love with the pale blue tug PB Endeavour, one of the Pacific Basin Tugs.

I was admiring it when it has been berthed at White Bay Berth 5, next to the 'Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd'.

The PB Endeavour was launched just over a year ago, and was a bargain at $9 million or so ! I wish! But as it falls a little bit outside my budget, I'll have to settle for painting it.

'The 'PB Endeavour' at White Bay 
2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm
Painted en plein air at White Bay Wharf, Berth 5
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'The 'PB Endeavour' at White Bay 
2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm
Painted en plein air at White Bay Wharf, Berth 5
Sold

Enquiries about similar paintings

'The 'PB Endeavour' at White Bay 
2011 oil on board 28 x 35cm
Painted en plein air at White Bay Wharf, Berth 5
Sold

Enquiries about similar paintings

I'll display this set of little tugboat paintings in the Xmas show at Frances Keevil Gallery, opening on Saturday 10th December 2011

Related posts

The White Shed at White Bay

"May close without warning" Solo Exhibition,Frances Keevil Gallery

May close without warning Part 2"All that is solid melts into air"

Sea no evil? Painting 'Sea Shepherd' at White Bay

Slipping awayArtist in Residence: Sydney Heritage Fleet Part 2 'Lady Hopetoun'Painting the 'Poolya' at Glebe Island

Boat at Goat

Sea no evil? Painting the 'Sea Shepherd' at White Bay

The sign of the pirate, the snarling teeth on the bow and the spikes protruding from the helipad. 

Yes, the 'Bob Barker' from Sea Shepherd Australia was in Sydney until Friday.

I was there intending to paint the White Bay Transit Shed before its demolition, but the crew of the "Sea Shepherd", who were curious about the "Artist in Residence" on the wharf, challenged me to see if I could paint their ship while they filmed me. 

I picked up my easel and moved a bit closer to the ship, but out of the way of the crane delivering supplies for their Antarctic voyage. 

 

"Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd"

2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm 

Available for sale

The "Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd" crew challenged me to paint their ship before their departure. 

Nothing like a bit of pressure! These 2 photos of me and my canvas were taken by some of the crew.

"Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd" 

2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm

Available for sale

With my completed canvas of the "Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd" in front of the ship.

The ship's crazy paint job made it hard to discern its proportions against the blue sky and sea.

I don't know whether this helps to camouflage it or make it stand out against the backdrop of the icy Southern ocean.

The vessel didn't exactly have classical lines, and there were a lot of strange and fiddly details to cope with. Some of these I didn't really understand until after I had finished my painting and was given a celebratory tour of the ship. Strange yellow and black attachments turned out to be barricading to prevent easy boarding. Later in the afternoon more of these were attached to the upper deck helipad at a jaunty angle - giving the ship an even more raffish and piratical air.

 "Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd"  2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm

Available for sale

I had completed the canvas of the "Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd" by mid - afternoon and here it is on my easel in front of the ship.

"Bob Barker - Sea Shepherd"

2011 oil on canvas 25 x 51cm 

Available for sale

 

I started the canvas about 10.30 am and finished it by about 1.30pm, then spent a couple of hours having a guided tour of the ship. Unfortunately the next day was quite windy and I aggravated an old shoulder injury while chasing a runaway canvas that had been caught in a sudden gust of wind, so I missed their departure on Friday.

 

Related posts

Painting the 'Poolya' at Glebe Island

The White Shed at White Bay

 

The White Shed at White Bay

Demolition of the White Bay Transit shed will soon commence.

Cardinal, who demolished the wharf buildings at East Darling Harbour, have set up in the old canteen at the western end of the shed.

I started this canvas on Tuesday 8th November.

White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

I've been told that the gantries on either side of the shed have been heritage listed, but I don't know if they will be retained. White Bay has been confirmed as the site of the new cruise ship terminal.
Sydney Ports Corporation owns and manages White Bay Berths 1-6. The berths are leased to licensees who operate independent businesses including:
Private Harbour Cruises, Road Construction, Harbour Construction and Vessel Maintenance.

Starting to paint the sky of a canvas of the
soon to be demolished
'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm

I've been allowed to paint the shed from the most eastern point, Berth 6, leased from Sydney Ports Corporation by Bailey's Marine Fuels.
Berth 5 is leased by the PB tug "Endeavour", a small and extremely cute pale blue tug with a black hull, only just over a year old.

My half finished canvas 'White Bay Transit Shed,
from Berth 6, White Bay' 2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

At Berth 4, is the scary looking "Sea Shepherd", bane of the Japanese whaling fleet. They will depart for Antarctica on Friday 18th November, so if I am to paint them I need to work fast.

'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
 2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

Berth 3 houses Waterway Constructions. They are now the proud owners of the largest crane I have seen since Titan sank.

'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

Berth 2 has a motley collection of barges and a yellowish tug that looks just as battered as my station wagon. To the west are the Ausbarge tugs, the Morpeth and Coramba. Their funnels have been given a fresh coat of bright blue, since I last painted them.
Berth 1 is home to the tall ship, the 'Southern Swan', formerly known as the 'Svanen'.

'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

 

The sullen clouds overhead developed into a violent storm, known as a "southerly buster".
The day after, Baileys started to construct an awning between the two blue containers, to provide shelter for their workmen.Later that afternoon an impressive southerly buster blew up, as you can see by the ominous stormclouds above the shed in both the painting and the photo.

'White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm.

The next day, Wednesday 9th November, I had to make an early start, as I had a very important appointment to keep.

In late 2009, I had been approached by some people from St Vincents Hospital to paint a block of heritage terraces soon to be redeveloped for the new Kollings Cancer Institute. Just when I had thought everyone had forgotten about this, St Vincents Hospital notified me that they had booked me to have a major solo exhibition of these paintings from 4th February - 8th March 2012.

Wednesday would be my opportunity to meet and discuss the exhibition before the organizers took their Christmas break.I arrived by 7am, unpacked and started this small canvas by 7.30am.

White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'
2011 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm.

However, to arrive at my meeting and still manage to look halfway human for the meeting at 1pm I had to stop painting by 11am and scrub myself clean.
The weather looked a bit dodgy, so the people from Bailey's kindly allowed me to store my half finished canvases in one of the toilet blocks in case it rained while I was away.
As I was going to take my collection of paintings of the Victoria terraces in to see how they would look in the exhibition space at Xavier level 3, I wouldn't be able to pack my wet canvases and easel on top of these earlier works without risking disaster.

Painting the White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay.

White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'

2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

The meeting was a great success, and I'm very excited about the forthcoming exhibition at St Vincents, even though my last exhibition at the Frances Keevil Gallery has only just ended.
I'll barely have time to catch my breath between projects. 

White Bay Transit Shed, from Berth 6, White Bay'

2011 oil on canvas 61 x 91cm.

The tanks and containers are reflected in the pools of water left over from Tuesday's violent storm.

 

Related posts

"Tugs, barges and Tall ships"

 

"Sea no evil" 

 

"St Vincent's Art in the heart of Darlinghurst"