Beyond the Sea

Invitation to an exhibition:

'Beyond the Sea' 

: an exhibition held by the Sydney Heritage Fleet and ASMA, The Australian Society of Marine Artists.

Opening night : Friday 26th November 2010 6 - 8pm

Wharf 7, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont 2009

Opening night admission : $10

RSVP Friday 19th November : please call (02) 9298 3888

The exhibition continues until 12th December

Hours 10am - 3pm

Admission free on all other days except for opening night

 Donation to the Sydney Heritage Fleet
I am donating this painting - it will be raffled and all proceeds are being donated to the Sydney Heritage Fleet

'The Tall Ship 'James Craig' at Darling Harbour' 
2003  oil on paper 48 x 37 cm

This is painted opposite Wharf 7, the  headquarters of the Sydney Heritage Fleet.

  My Paintings will be for sale in the exhibition at Wharf 7, Headquarters of the Sydney Heritage Fleet

I will be one of the featured artists in this exhibition as my paintings depict historic moments in the development of both Pyrmont and Barangaroo.

"Pyrmont and Miller's Point from the roof of Pyrmont Power station"  1993 

oil on canvas 91 x 122 cm

Enquiries about these and other Pyrmont, Millers Point, East Darling Harbour Wharves and Barangaroo paintings:

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

This canvas was painted from the roof of the old Pyrmont Power Station, now replaced by Star City Casino.The pile of rubble in the centre is an old signal box in the Pyrmont Goods Yard, the 'Spanish Cafe' in Baz Luhrman's classic Australian film 'Strictly Ballroom'. The bright red ship in the background is the notorious 'Tampa'! 

In the early 1980's,when I first started to paint in Pyrmont, the building in the centre of this painting was the site of Pier 13, where so many immigrantss first set foot on Australian soil. It was still connected to Jones Bay Road by an elegant land bridge. Later Pier 13 became the temporary casino, was painted a hideous shade of yellow and the land bridge was demolished. Pier 13 has since been replaced by 'Workplace6', home of 'Google' and Paul Signorelli's restaurants 'Gastronomia' and 'Biaggio'.

 Curving under the bridge is the old Pyrmont goods line, built in 1916, which looped through Darling Harbour and around Pyrmont across Wentworth Park and beyond. At vast expense, this goods line was torn up and replaced by the dubious benefit of light rail.

I have painted Pyrmont's metamorphosis from an industrial wasteland to a media and entertainment hub over a 30 year period. I painted from dozens of business and residential premises, painting panoramas of the dramatically changing urban landscape from rooftops, chimneys, demolition sites and even the summit of the half completed Anzac Bridge.

I will exhibit some of my Barangaroo paintings in this venue,showing the area's exciting transition from a working port to the preparations for its transformation into Sydney's new cultural and economic hub. I have been 'Artist in Residence' at Barangaroo since the early 2000's, compiling an archive of all the changes and so far I've maintained my position throughout the area's change of owners. I was granted unprecedented access to paint this area as a working port by Sydney Ports Corporation, Patrick Corporation and P & O. Now I am starting to paint the demolition and construction activities at Barangaroo South.

'Barangaroo when it was a working port-The yard from the port captain's office'

2007 oil on canvas 91 x 122 cm

Enquiries about these and other Millers Point, East Darling Harbour Wharves and Barangaroo paintings:

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

This is Barangaroo as it used to be as a working port. Compare this painting with the empty wharf paintings that follow. Jeffrey Smart, eat your heart out!

'The empty wharf'2007 oil painting on canvas 100 x 122cm

Enquiries about these and other Millers Point, East Darling Harbour Wharves and Barangaroo paintings:

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

The 2 horizontal paintings were painted from the same viewpoint exactly 1 year apart.

'The Harbour Control Tower from the Hungry Mile' 
2008 oil on canvas 183 x 122cm.

Enquiries about these and other Millers Point, East Darling Harbour Wharves and Barangaroo paintings:

janecooperbennett@gmail.com

This canvas was painted as soon as the wharfies had left.
While the wharf was still operational I would never have been allowed to paint here as it was far too dangerous. Forklifts used to constantly whip in and out, and there was a deafening alarm that would go off when they did. I had earmarked this spot for an iconic painting as soon as I arrived. 
The doorway frames the Sydney Harbour Tower, the bond stores and the quirky architecture of the heritage Palisade Hotel perched on the golden sandstone escarpment to perfection.

Related articles

• Pyrmont paintings past and present- My Exhibition in the Australian National Maritime Museum
• We like sheep - Waite and Bull Building 137 Pyrmont Street

• My exhibition at the Sydney Open (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)
• Something old-Something New- Some paintings at Barangaroo (barangarooartist.blogspot.com)

Watch Paint Dry : My painting of the 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show'

'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 
2010 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
$2,000
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

I started painting this 'en plein air' at the 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' at the Australian National Maritime Museum' on Saturday 16th October despite the having to huddle up to a garbage bin to shelter from the gusts of wind. 

It was more of a demonstration to help direct notice to the exhibition of marine art inside the Museum by the members of ASMA (the Australian Society of Marine Artists) than a serious attempt to produce a work of art in public. 

By Sunday, however, the weather had settled down enough to actually get some paint on the canvas instead of myself and passers-by.  

I had to add details like some of the flags at home, and spruce it up a bit by removing hairs and lumps of grit that had stuck to the wet paint.

I didn't have much choice of subject matter, due to the gusts of wind that threatened to send my easel cartwheeling up and down the wharf.

 As I couldn't find a position to be able to paint one of the boats in all its glory, I decided to paint the atmosphere of the festival itself. This was challenging as the canvas became dotted with little unrelated vignettes as people who I had started to paint moved around.

The result was that I ended up painting mini portraits of some of the stall holders, as they moved around a bit less.

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010 
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 'The Boat Builders ('Denman Marine')'
$2,000
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

These are 'Denman Marine'a trio of boat builders from Tasmania. 

 

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
'The Musicians' 
$2,000
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

A trio of jazz musicians in lairy fluoro suits were milling around.

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010 
oil painting on canvas 31 x 61cm 
'Hydralign Feathering Propellers'
$2,000
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

A customer inspecting one of the 'Hydralign Feathering Propellers' on display.

Detail of 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show' 2010
oil on canvas 31 x 61cm 
'Seatow'
$2,000
Sold
Enquiries about similar paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

The team from 'Seatow' demonstrated rope tricks to impress the customers.

Related posts in this blog:

• Marine Art Exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)
• Artist in residence at Maritime Museum (janebennettartist.blogspot.com)

The Navigator and the King

These 2 paintings will be exhibited in the Laperouse Museum until January 2011.

They were inspired by meditation on the unpredictable nature of history, exploration and the fate of nations.

They are memento mori paintings in the tradition of 17th and 18th century still life 'vanitas' paintings.

The portrait of the gallant yet doomed La Perouse receiving his commission from his equally ill-fated monarch is doubly ironic.

The antipodean voyage of La Perouse was personally planned by the king together with the explorer. The loss of La Perouse and his expedition caused Louis XVI both personal grief and political humiliation.

'La Perouse - the navigator and the King'
2010 oil on canvas 46 x 46cm
Enquiries about this painting

Louis XVI sought to reinvigorate the stagnating French economy through trade and had invested a great deal of the government finances into improving the French Navy.

This was both a personal and a political goal.

His private study was filled with nautical charts and the burnished brass of mathematical instruments, telescopes, sextants and the locks which the King himself designed and made.

Louis XVI desperately wanted to regain the colonial power and prestige lost by his grandfather in the Seven Year’s War. Most of the debt burdening his government was from French involvement in the revolt of the American colonies against Britain.

A radical program of naval reconstruction was undertaken by first Turgot, then Sartine and finally de Castries. These brilliant, though fiscally irresponsible men attempted to transform the French navy into the equal of the British fleet, but heroic projects such as the transformation of Cherbourg harbour came at a ruinous price.

La Perouse - 'The Art of Navigation'
2010 oil on canvas 75 x 100cm
Enquiries about this painting

It was a real 'Sliding Doors' moment.

If Governor Philip and all his ships had been lost at sea and instead La Perouse had made a triumphant return to France after adding the continent of Australia to France’s extensive colonial empire, what could have been the outcome?

Would Australia have been settled by French colonists or become a battleground between the French and British Empires as Canada had been?

If La Perouse’s expedition had ended in a blaze of glory, would the good publicity have sufficiently enhanced the reputation of the monarchy to withstand the economic and social pressures that resulted in the anarchy of the Revolution?

Now that the exhibition in the LaPerouse Museum has finished, I'm going to enter "The Art of Navigation" in the Camden Art Prize.

It's far too strange to win, it'll just confuse the judges.

But I feel like being brave.

And it will certainly stand out in the crowd.

Update : It was runner-up!

See my blog post "Keep your eyes on the prize and your finger off the trigger!"

Related posts

My New Still life Paintings of Antique Navigation Instruments

The Art of Navigation

The Art of Navigation

The Navigators : Captain Cook and La Perouse

These paintings were created to celebrate the life and achievements of the famous navigators Captain James Cook and the Comte de la Perouse, in exhibitions held by the Australian Society of Marine Artists.

The paintings inspired by Captain James Cook were exhibited at the Kurnell Museum from June 2009 in “Where cultures meet’ Exhibition at the Visitor’s Centre, Captain Cook Landing Site, Kurnell.

The paintings inspired by La Perouse are exhibited in"Windows on History - Aspects of the Story of La Perouse" at the La Perouse Museum.

I had to do extensive research to create these paintings.

Instead of painting historical re-enactments of the events and the ships, I decided to focus on their mastery of the art of navigation.

The Lunar Distance Method

'The Lunar Distance Method' 
2009 oil painting on canvas 20 x 25cm
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
 

Before John Harrison’s Chronometer No. 4, which Cook successfully tested on the “Resolution” during his 2nd great voyage of exploration, the best way to find longitude was the lunar distance method.

The reflecting quadrant (also called an octant because its curved scale formed the eighth part of a circle) helped sailors find both latitude and longitude, and was invented in 1731 simultaneously but independently by John Hadley in England and by Thomas Godfrey In America.

Previously, astrolabes had been used to find longitude and local time by estimating the height of the sun or a star above the horizon.

The reflecting quadrant allowed direct measurement of the elevations of 2 celestial bodies such as the moon and the sun during daylight or between the moon and the stars at night, as well as the distances between them. When the horizon disappeared in fog or darkness, or the ship pitched and rolled, the readings weren't affected as the quadrant provided an artificial horizon.

The quadrant was improved by adding a telescope and a wider measuring arc, becoming an even more accurate instrument known as the sextant.

The navigator measured the lunar distances from the deck, then consulted tables listing the angular distances between the moon and the sun or stars for particular times of the day as they would be observed from London or Paris.

The angular distances are the degrees of arc - the size of the angle made by two lines of sight from the eye of the observer to the 2 chosen objects. Then the navigator compared the time of his observation with the time that particular position had been predicted for his home port. If the observation was at 1am local time when the tables predicted the same configuration over London at 4am, the ship’s time was 3 hours earlier, so this meant the ship was currently sailing at longitude 45 degrees west of London.

Diagram of lunar method  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The lunar method required considerable mathematical skill.

As well as measuring the altitudes of various celestial bodies and the angular distances between them, the navigator would have to factor in how near these objects were to the horizon as the steep refraction of light would put their apparent positions considerably higher than their actual ones.

There was also the problem of lunar parallax, as the tables were formulated for an observer at the Earth’s centre, and the deck of a ship is of course many feet above sea-level (Hopefully!)

Some days the moon is too close to the sun to make lunar distance measurements, and other days the distance between moon and sun is too great so that during these times the navigator would have to plot the moon against the stars, often with lesser accuracy. 

Navigation Instruments

'The art of Navigation' 2009
oil painting on canvas 25 x 20cm
Sold

Enquiries about similar paintings 

 

The instruments of navigation : sextant, compass, telescope, hourglass, nautical charts and gentleman’s pocket spheres are fragile and exquisitely wrought relics of the heroic age of exploration. They now look quaint but the life or death of hundreds of men once depended on the captain’s skill and  judgement in using them. The mythological emblems on the celestial sphere are a reminder that not long before, navigation was an esoteric mystery, more an art than a science. I hadn’t realized how much things like accurate timekeeping and  knowing exactly where you are at sea, we now take for granted.

It is so difficult in our age of “Google Earth” and mass communications to appreciate the isolation and danger of such a journey.

The hourglass and the skull are ‘memento mori’ emblems, common to still life "vanitas" painting of the 17th and 18th centuries. "Vanitas" paintings are warnings against pride and indicate the transitory nature of life, power and fame.

My paintings were inspired by reading :

“Citizens” by Simon Schama

“LONGITUDE" by Dava Sobel

“SEA OF DANGERS ” by Geoffrey Blainey

Related posts

2012 Classic & Wooden Boat Show,Australian National Maritime Museum

 
Artist in Residence Sydney Heritage Fleet Part 2 :'Lady Hopetoun'

My New Still life Paintings of Antique Navigation Instruments  
     
Out of Time  

The Navigator and the King

Keep your eyes on the prize & your fingers off the trigger

Eveleigh- Industrial Heritage Artist at Work

Eveleigh Rail Yards Community Consultation Open Day

Saturday 30 October 2010

'Ned Kelly at Eveleigh' an Eveleigh still life
oil painting on canvas 91 x 61 cm
Enquiries

 This was an invitation to share the passion for this important part of Sydney’s industrial heritage and be part of an exciting opportunity to shape the Eveleigh Rail Yards Interpretation Plan.

Rail Songs and Films
Creative Soundscapes in an old workshop
Heritage Artist at Work
Venue: Innovation Plaza, Australian Technology Park, Locomotive St, Eveleigh 10:00 am-3:30 pm 30 October 2010

You can also download the RWA Eveleigh Interpretation Plan Consultation Invite and pass it on to people who might be interested.
(I was the "Heritage Artist at Work", and also exhibited paintings of various parts of the Eveleigh Rail Yards )

'Blacksmith ,Wrought Artworks'

Bay 1/2 Australian Technology Park,

Eveleigh Railway Workshops

2010 oil on canvas 122 x 152 cm
SOLD
PRIVATE COLLECTION : SYDNEY
Enquiries

See my Eveleigh paintings in this blog

Related posts

Irons in the fire
Watching the forge fires fade
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)

My exhibition at the Sydney Open

An Architectural Adventure

The 'Sydney Open' -

presented by the Historic Houses Trust

My paintings will be on exhibition at several venues during the Sydney Open, a biennial event presented by Historic Houses Trust that showcases Sydney’s architectural icons.
On display for one day only on Sunday 7th November 2010
A Blast from the Past at Workplace6
I will exhibit some of my early Pyrmont paintings at Workplace6, Pirrama Road opposite Star City Casino.
I painted in Pyrmont from the early 1980's until now. These paintings show how far Pyrmont has come since its dark days as an industrial wasteland.
I have witnessed many historic moments in Pyrmont’s metamorphosis. The site of Workplace6 was then occupied by Pier 13, where so many immigrants first set foot on Australian soil. One of the paintings of Pyrmont in the early 1990's, a 'bird's eye view' painted from the rooftop of the old Pyrmont Power Station, ( now replaced by the Star City Casino) shows a big red ship in the background - the now notorious 'Tampa'!
 I have already sampled the delights of Workplace6, as I was invited to the opening of Paul Signorelli's new foodie haven 'Gastronomia' as a member of PUCC, the Pyrmont Ultimo Chamber of Commerce.
Pyrmont has certainly changed - I used to have to take my own lunch for a start! The pubs were then a 'no go' area for anyone who wasn’t looking for hard core trouble! I only experienced the odd bit of bother from the local larrikins, and as the locals got used to having an 'Artist in Residence' they would even keep an eye on my belongings and drag my paintings under cover for me if it started to rain. I felt as though I had been adopted as an honorary resident! I used to leave all my stuff lying around in the middle of Jones Bay Road (now called 'Pirrama Road) - there were few cars and the only strangers were from the cruise ships that still docked at Pier 13.

My paintings are a narrative of the abandonment, decay, destruction and reconstruction of an inner-city landscape – a metaphor for deeper changes within Australia. The mood has changed forever, and only my works remain as testament to the passing of an era.

P112   Pyrmont Goods Yard from
top of Pyrmont Power Station 
1991  ink on paper105  x131cm
Available

Pyrmont Goods Yard, Darling Island and Pier 13 from the roof of Pyrmont Power Station. The old Pyrmont/Darling Island goods line has only just ceased operations and the gleaming white Australian National Maritime Museum has only just been built. Cruise ships still docked at Pier 13.

The cluster of sheds under the land bridge to Pier 13 were old signal boxes later refurbished to be sets for the filming of the flamenco scenes of the iconic Baz Luhrman film 'Strictly Ballroom'.
The East Darling Harbour Wharves, often known as the 'Hungry Mile' and now re-christened 'Barangaroo') are in the background. 

'Construction of Star City Casino
from the top of Pyrmont Power Station' 1996
oil painting on board 40 x 89cm

Available
The long narrow building on the left, Pier 13, was once connected to Jones Bay Road by a land bridge.
Then Pier 13 became the temporary casino, painted bright yellow and the land bridge was demolished. Jones Bay Road has since been renamed Pirrama Road and now leads to the steps of Star City Casino, which is now being extensively renovated.
Workplace6 now occupies the site where Pier 13 once stood.
The brilliantly coloured ships in the background are painted to scale; they were so immense that they towered over the buildings. One of the great delights of painting in Pyrmont used to be watching the ebb and flow of ships–sturdy ferries chugging past, enormous cargo ships and majestic tankers.
I will also be exhibiting some of my Barangaroo paintings at '30 The Bond', the LendLease headquarters as part of the 'Sydney Open' on Sunday 7th November 2010 from 9.30-5pm.

Related posts

 2014 solo exhibition "Under the Hammer"
2011 solo exhibition "May close without warning"
Barangaroo : Red Square, the Drill Rig and a little archaeology

My Paintings at the Sydney Open Part 2

Recently sold paintings at Workplace 6

Recent paintings of Barangaroo

My New Still life Paintings of Antique Navigation Instruments

I'm exhibiting these miniature still life paintings in 'Shelf Life' at the Trinity Delmar Gallery
Saturday 13th November- Sunday 5th December 2010

Reflecting quadrant and map

2009 oil on paper 10 x 10 cm

John Bird's sextant 2009

oil on paper 10 x 10 cm

Celestial Globe 2009 oil on paper 10 x 10 cm.

 

"Shelf life"

Trinity Delmar Gallery

144 Victoria St,
Ashfield NSW 2131
Tel: (02) 9581 6070
When: This exhibition opens 3pm on Saturday 13th November 2010
The exhibition continues to Sunday 5th December 2010

Gallery Hours: Open Wednesday to Sunday, 12-5pm

Enquiries

Related posts

Keep your eyes on the prize (and your finger off the trigger)

Artist in Residence at the Maritime Museum

Watch paint dry!

 Plein air painting 
at the 'Classic and Wooden Boat Show'  
Marine Art Exhibition 
at the Australian National Maritime Museum,
16 - 17th Oct 10-4pm

An Update 
 

As well as exhibiting a few paintings, I'll also have some cards and small cheap works on paper available for sale.

Also - I shall bravely attempt some plein air painting at the Maritime Museum, close to the exhibition!

I will be there all weekend, Saturday and Sunday 10am - 4pm, rain, hail or shine.
Actually you will have to watch for quite a while, before the paint dries - I work in oils!  

I don't know how much serious painting I will achieve, but everyone is welcome to come and watch and ask me questions. I know, this just proves that artists are crazy. It would be just as sensible to set up my easel in the middle of Victoria Road in peak hour.(which I have nearly actually done- it was on the median strip not on the road itself, and it was on a Saturday morning, not actually a weekday peak hour. But it was in the middle of a rather lively anti- Metro rally, so near enough. The result was chaotic yet interesting.)

I expect to do as much talking as painting.

Most people haven't seen an artist at work - one little boy said with wide-eyed wonder that it was like seeing a real live dinosaur! Quite. 

Come along and say "Hi !"