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)

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 2 :Fire and Water

'The ship parade Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour'
 oil painting on canvas 31 x 61cm 
  unfinished plein air painting
Enquiries about this painting

 

By about 4 I'd started to move from the Endeavour jetty down to the pontoon in Darling Harbour. I had to make a couple of trips for my chair, table and easel, and it was still quite hot and humid.
I was worried that I'd flake out before the fireworks which weren't due to start until 9pm, but the lead up events were so exciting that they kept my energy levels up.
After some music, the Australian of the Year, Senior and Junior Australian of the Year, and the Local Hero were introduced with short but moving speeches.
Then the old heritage Pyrmont swing bridge was opened to allow the ship parade to sail through led by the 'Ted Noffs', usually berthed at Moore's Wharf, next to Barangaroo.

This canvas shows the start of the spectacular ship parade.

Some spectators are on the right, and in the background is the brilliant red and yellow 'Ted Noffs' Emergency Response vessel of Sydney Ports Corporation.
This canvas got badly smudged during the long trek back, but enough remains of the initial impulse for me to be able to rescue it.

'Firetruck Barge Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour ' 
oil painting on canvas 15 x 30cm
Enquiries about this painting

A great highlight of the ship parade was when the firemen on the barge sprayed the enthusiastic crowd with water from their hose.

The crowd loved it as it was still so hot.

As many areas can be more accessible by water than by road in an emergency, the people on the fire barges are the great unsung heroes of the emergency services.

'The ship spectacular-Red Sails in the sunset-
 Australia Day 2011'
oil painting on canvas 25 x 25cm
unfinished plein air painting
Enquiries

 As the firework barges began to fizz and crackle with sparks of light, graceful yachts, with their sails tinted every colour of the rainbow began to circle them.

'Fireworks Barge Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour' 
oil painting on canvas 10 x 10cm
unfinished plein air painting
Enquiries

A quick impression- just a few blobs of colour smeared on with my fingers, as I'd  dropped my brush in all the excitement.

The area where I had been working suddenly became open to the public. They were very well-behaved (I got quite a few compliments on my work) but I thought I'd better move so as not to get in the way while I was painting.

This tiny canvas got badly smudged but is still useful as a memory. I had to stuff it in the back pocket of my jeans to carry it back home- it was too small and kept falling out of my canvas carrier.

Helpful people kept picking it up for me during the long walk back after the festivities.

'Fireworks Barge Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour ' 
oil painting on panel 30 x 34cm 
Enquiries

This plein air painting of one of the fireworks barges gives a much better idea of the beauty of the reflections of the light on the water.

'Spectators- Fireworks -Australia Day 2011 Darling Harbour' 
oil painting on canvas 61 x 41cm 
unfinished plein air painting
Enquiries

The silhouettes of people looking up in wonder at the blaze of glory above.

They are emergency services workers and their families, the honoured guests of the day.

Related posts

2012 Classic + Wooden Boat Show, Australian National Maritime Museum

Boat at Goat

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 1: Endeavour

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 1: Endeavour

1. endeavour - a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that     requires effort or boldness)

2.	earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something

3. a sincere attempt.

4. persistent activity

5.To work with purpose

Definitions courtesy of the free dictionary

'HMB Endeavour' on Australia Day
 2011 oil painting on canvas 23 x 31cm
  Enquiries about similar paintings

The word 'endeavour' seems appropriate to me on several levels as a theme for Australia Day.
Plein air painting on a popular public holiday, at the hub of all of the festivities, certainly requires a fair bit of 'effort or boldness', is hopefully 'a purposeful or industrious undertaking' and is definitely an 'earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something'.
It's also the name of one of the most famous ships to visit Australia, one closely associated with our recent Australian history.

'Endeavour' on Australia Day
 2011 oil painting on canvas 23 x 31cm

  Enquiries about similar paintings

A very short tall ship!
I started my painting of the small canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011, a bit after 9am. She is docked at her customary jetty for the Australia Day festivities and to give her many fans a last opportunity to explore her for quite a while.
Tomorrow the HMB Endeavour will go to Garden Island to be prepared for her next heroic voyage - the circumnavigation of Australia. This is the reason why her masts are a lot shorter than normal, as prior to this, she had some work done over at Glebe.
One spectator irreverently referred to the ship as 'Mrs Stumpy'. I think I saw her figurehead wince at this indignity.
I was able to finish this small plein air painting on the day, by just before lunch-time, despite the general craziness of the Australia Day celebrations.
My 'endeavour' had paid off!

Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
I had chosen a good spot at the end of the jetty where I could observe and paint without being trampled.
Now the big decision- do I stay put ? Or move in search of the spot promised to me on the pontoon?
The ship parade was not due to start until after 5pm so I decided to push my luck and start a large canvas. This might be my last chance to paint the Endeavour for a long time, so I might as well make the most of it.
My family motto was "You might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb". (This could have had something to do with how some of my ancestors came to Australia in the first place!)


Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings
In the background is another tall ship, the James Craig, which was sailing throughout Australia Day, but had returned by the afternoon, in time for me to include it in this canvas.
This is still unfinished, but most of the ship has been completed, leaving only the lighthouse, details of the Australian National Maritime Museum and some of the rigging to finish.


Detail of 'The 'Endeavour' Australia Day 2011 ' - 'Cannons'
'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
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This is quite a large canvas for a plein air painting.

I have included some close-up details.
Because the other end of the jetty was taken up with queues of people waiting to tour the ship, I had a fairly empty foreground which set off the bold colouring of the ship.

On my left were a magnificent pair of cannons, one apparently aimed at the Endeavour and the other at the distant James Craig, and I couldn't resist including them.
Every now and then a face would peer at me from the dark hold of the ship, squinting against the glaring afternoon sun.

When the shadows began to lengthen, I started to pack.
The Australian National Maritime Museum would be closed by 6pm, and I had at least 2 trips to make to put all of my painting stuff- folding table,chair, easel and canvases, some of it heavy and all of it awkward, on the pontoon. The pontoon wasn't that far away, probably about 400-500 metres, but the heat was stifling, and it is tricky transporting still-wet canvases around through the crowd without smearing the paint. Or getting paint on any of the onlookers! (I didn't)

People were absolutely wonderful all day long. I was handed bottles of water by perfect strangers, and volunteers or even passers by would keep an eye on my things while I moved to the new location.

Detail of The 'Endeavour' Australia Day 2011 - 'Old mate'
Painting the large canvas of the 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
An unfinished plein air painting
Sold Enquiries about similar paintings

The original HMB Endeavour, launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, was renamed 'Endeavour' and commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of exploration 1769-1771.

This voyage was partly a scientific mission and partly a journey of discovery and exploration. Cook set out to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun, intended to help scientists discover the size of the Earth by the parallax method. After the transit of Venus, Cook searched the seas of the still largely uncharted Pacific Ocean for the legendary 'Terra Australis Incognita' or "unknown southern land". After circumnavigating New Zealand,  Endeavour reached the east coast of Australia at what is now known as Botany Bay in April 1770.

Colliers had a flat-bottomed design well-suited to sailing in shallow waters, allowing them to be beached for loading cargo or for basic repairs without requiring a dry dock. This would later prove to be a very useful attribute, when despite Cook's consummate skill , the ship narrowly avoided disaster on the treacherous shoals of the Great Barrier Reef and had to be beached on the mainland for seven weeks for repairs to her hull.

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

The original Endeavour was scuttled in Narragansett Bay in 1778.

In January 1988, as part of commemoration of the Australian Bicentenary of European settlement of Australia, work began on the Endeavour replica.

She was finally launched in 1994 and is usually berthed in Darling Harbour.

 'Endeavour' on Australia Day 2011 
oil painting on canvas 76 x 102cm
Sold  Enquiries about similar paintings

The completed plein air painting.
In the background is the James Craig, which was sailing throughout Australia Day, but had returned by the afternoon, in time for me to include it.

Related Posts

Beyond the sea  Painting the James Craig

Marine Art exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum

My earlier painting of Endeavour  painted on Australia Day 2007

My new still life paintings of antique navigation instruments 

My paintings of 18th century sextants, celestial globes and antique navigation charts.
The Art of Navigation 

Australia Day 2011 at Darling Harbour Part 2 :Fire and Water

2012 Classic and Wooden Boat Show at the Australian National Maritime Museum

Links

Facebook page - HMB Endeavour Circumnavigation 2011-2012 


Facebook page - Australian National Maritime Museum