Industrial Cathedral

Industrial Cathedral
"Industrial Cathedral" charcoal on paper 131 x 131 cm Jane Bennett. Finalist in 1998 Dobell Drawing Prize Art Gallery of NSW Finalist 1998 Blake Prize Winner 1998 Hunter's Hill Open Art Prize

About Me

My photo
Sydney, NSW, Australia
I'm an Industrial Heritage Artist who paints "en plein air".If it's damaged, derelict, doomed and about to disappear, I'll be there to paint it.

Thursday 1 March 2012

The slow return from the fire

On the ATP Open Day I had to be in 3 places at once.
I was to exhibit my paintings of Eveleigh in the Exhibition Hall and simultaneously paint while the blacksmiths of Wrought Artworks gave their forging demonstrations.
I would be displaying 38 paintings on 20 easels in the Exhibition Hall.This included 2 works on paper framed under glass, that were so large that they could only just be crammed into my station wagon. Some of the paintings were from my home in the north-western suburbs and some at the Frances Keevil Gallery in Double Bay.
In addition to this, I was exhibiting another 8 paintings of the blacksmiths in Bay 1/2, as well as some large half finished canvases. I also needed to bring my French box easel, palette and paint so that I could give the onlookers an insight into the process of painting from life.
The 20 easels required a separate journey, as I have learnt the hard way that trying to transport paintings and easels in the one trip always ends in tears.   Unfortunately all of the deliveries and all the setting up of the exhibition had to be on Friday, the day before, so this resulted in 5 trips.

Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
With my team of helpers,
Ron, Fay and Tony!
On the Open Day I was helped by the directors of the Frances Keevil Gallery, Frances Keevil and Lynn Westacott, who both came along to look after the exhibition and stayed to pack up and deliver works back to the gallery.
I also received a great deal of help from a most unexpected source. A couple of weeks before, I had been invited to talk about my work at the inner-western Sydney branch of Rotary. Despite my total cluelessness about Powerpoint ( I managed to disconnect my laptop, but I fortunately had brought some canvases with me in case I messed up the technology), I must have done something right. Fay Thurlow, Ron Bottrill and Tony Bastow from Rotary all turned up, full of enthusiasm and energy.
I was so grateful for this as it freed me to be able to paint as well as exhibit my work.
I think the relief and gratitude showed in my face as I painted!
Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
This shows me starting a medium size canvas of the
blacksmiths hand forging and hammering. 
Chris Sulis, dreadlocks flying, is a whirl of action in the background.


The blacksmith in the background is Chris Sulis, who is also the subject of the very large half finished canvas displayed next to me in the photo below.

Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
Art and life. 
I'm starting a canvas of Chris hand forging,
next to my giant canvas portrait of
Chris forging chisels on the Massey steam hammer.

Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
No makeup, no sleep for 2 days, no breakfast and totally knackered!
But finally all the hard work of preparation is over
and I can relax and get back to painting.
 On my easel is the start of my painting of one of the furnaces,
while on my table is a quick study of the master blacksmith,
Guido Gouvernor, hammering.



I quickly started the largest spare canvas that I had. As well as giving the onlookers something to see, it helps just to break the ice. It's important for me to start quickly - to get something on the canvas even if I later paint out every mark I make. If I sit there deliberating too long I can get paralysed with fear that I will make the wrong brushstroke and make a fool of myself in public. There is no time for fear or second thoughts on a day like this.
I have to make every moment count. I make cryptic scribbly marks in paint on a dozen small canvases at my feet, as I try to commit the nonchalant balletic grace of the blacksmiths to memory. They are swift and economical with their movements, as only men who are waving around large pieces of red hot metal in a confined space can be.
 Their gestures sometimes bring to mind echoes of half forgotten classical poses from art history. The tense crouch of quenching a chisel in a trough is briefly transformed into the stance of a Roman about to spear a dying Gaul.
Although their movements are swift, once I pick up the rhythm and sequence of their routine I can isolate gestures that will make interesting paintings
The blacksmiths rarely fire their furnaces now. Most of their work involves welding rather than traditional blacksmithing techniques. This is as much a treat for them as it is for their audience.
There were 2 locations to paint on the Open Day. At the northern end of the Blacksmith's enclosure, Guido and Chris had lit a furnace for a more or less continuous demonstration of hand forging and hammering techniques. About every 2 hours they would open the gates to let people in for the spectacular steam hammer forging sessions. I would then carefully balance my brushes on my palette and scamper past the barriers just in time to set up. I spent all day running from one site to the other in a sort of mad artistic relay race. 
I find painting in these circumstances exhilarating, as much sport as art.

Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
This was painted during the first steam hammer forging demonstration. 
I have just started a small canvas of the master blacksmith,
Guido Gouvernor with Chris Sulis at the Massey steam hammer.
Guido (wearing a festive pair of red earmuffs) is in the foreground.
Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
This shows the same canvas
after the next forging demonstration.
I have painted in the face and arms of Chris,
who is holding the object being forged.

In the afternoon, I visited my exhibition in Bay 12, and was very impressed with the way that it had been arranged by my friends.

exhibition of paintings by Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
Some visitors in front of my painting of the 
"BHP Goods Yard, Newcastle" 1998.


exhibition of paintings by Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
A young train buff taking photos
of my paintings of the lamp trikes
of the Paint Shop of North Eveleigh.

One of the features of the Open Day was the inaugural Eveleigh Film Festival.
The photo below shows two of the heroes of my favourite railway film "Darling Island Shunters".
Darling Island  was ending its days a a working goods yard, just as I was starting to be serious about my project of painting Pyrmont.
I'm so glad that I had included a tiny little painting of the Darling Island Goods Yard which I had painted in the 1980s, and a book of photos of my other paintings of Pyrmont. 
They also used to ride the ancient lamp trikes that I had painted in the canvases behind them.
exhibition of paintings by Jane Bennett, industrial heritage artist at the Australian Technology Park Open Day, Eveleigh
"Darling Island Shunters"

   I have just read Julie's wonderful post about the Open Day Singing the body electric.The Walt Whitman poem chosen to accompany her photos has always been one of my favourite pieces of writing. It manages to put into words the feelings that I have when I paint far better than I ever could.

Friday 17 February 2012

To a Good Home- St Vincent's in the Art of Darlinghurst update

A few of the paintings in my exhibition at St Vincent's have found good homes. In fact, the best homes I could have imagined!
A couple of days ago a man walked past the Frances Keevil Gallery and saw the printed article, that I had cut out of the Sydney Morning Herald, on the door. He then went to the hospital to see the exhibition as he recognized the street and houses from the tiny photo of my painting. His parents had apparently lived in one of the houses. 

I'm not sure whether it was 372 Victoria Street, which later housed Diabetes Australia, or 374 Victoria Street, which later became the R.M.O. He then purchased these 2 paintings as treasured memories of his family history.

"Victoria st terraces Nos 372 - 374
- the Diabetes Centre and the RMO"
2009 oil on canvas 51 x 41cm
SOLD Enquiries about similar paintings


"Victoria st terraces - Diabetes Australia"
2009 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm
SOLD
Enquiries about similar paintings

'Victoria Street mural and the clinic'
2010 oil on canvas 38 x 76cm
SOLD
Enquiries about similar paintings
 

Now I have heard that the purchaser of "Victoria Street mural and the clinic" intends to bequeath it to the hospital, where it will stay in the office as "an important reminder of our past".
Often I never get to discover the reasons why someone buys one of my paintings. I love to find their story about the place that has such meaning for them.
When I painted these works, I had received so many lovely comments from the patients and staff of the terraces and clinic, who had loved the World Aids Day mural and the surrounding buildings.
It means a lot to an artist for their artwork to be appreciated by someone with a personal connection to the subject matter. 

What I do really matters to me, rather than being some intellectual painterly exercise.
Often I have been asked "why do I paint the particular subjects that I do?". I struggle to find the exact words to describe the feelings that I have, as I am a much better painter than I am a writer, but the fate of these paintings goes right to the core of my reasons.
The first two paintings have filled in a missing chapter of someone's lost personal history. The painting of the mural and the clinic will now hang forever as a symbol of hope and recovery.

Related posts


St Vincent's- In the Art of Darlinghurst 


Both sides of the street - My new exhibition "St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst"

To see another photo from the opening night by Julie of "Sydney Eye" see "Craggy"(sydney-eye.blogspot.com.au).


Strike while the iron is hot

 
Pyrmont paintings past and present- My Exhibition in the Australian National Maritime Museum

 
'From the Hungry Mile to Barangaroo'

 
Storm warning, Goat Island

 
Eveleigh Community Heritage Day

 
Another one bites the dust

Tuesday 14 February 2012

ATP Open Day - Saturday, 25 Feb 2012

Just wanted to let you know about the forthcoming Open Day, to be held at the Australian Technology Park on 25 February, 2012 from 10 am - 4 pm which includes a large range of heritage related events.
The inaugural Eveleigh Film Festival will commence a little earlier at 9.30 am with a tribute to JP McGowan, the son of an Eveleigh Railway steam locomotive driver who made many railway related films in Hollywood in the early 1900’s.
oil painting of blacksmith from 'Wrought Artworks' at the Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
“Blacksmith of 'Wrought Artworks',
Eveleigh Railway Workshops” 

2009 oil on canvas 100 x 75cm
                                  
In Bay 1 / 2 I will be exhibiting a selection of my paintings of the blacksmiths of Wrought Artworks on the very site on which they were painted.
The blacksmiths will be giving hand forging demonstrations on the anvil every half hour.
At 11 am and 2pm the Master Blacksmith Guido Gouvernor will give a spectacular demonstration of forging using the massive Victorian era heritage power hammers. I will be painting canvases to record these exciting events as they happen.
oil painting of blacksmith from 'Wrought Artworks' at the Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
"The Forging Demonstration - All fired up"
2011 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm

Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com

oil painting of blacksmith from 'Wrought Artworks' at the Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
My half - finished canvas of the
blacksmith forging a chisel. 

oil painting of blacksmith from 'Wrought Artworks' at the Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
My half - finished canvas of
the blacksmith forging a chisel. 

This shows the entire canvas against the background of this atmospheric time capsule of a bygone era.

oil painting of blacksmith from 'Wrought Artworks' at the Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
My half - finished canvas of
the blacksmith forging a chisel.

Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com

 This shows  even more of the interior and the fascinating relics of the Industrial Revolution. Most of the machines are still in working order, as they have been lovingly cared for by the blacksmiths of Wrought Artworks.
These photos show my half finished large canvas of Chris Sulis, one of the blacksmiths quenching a chisel which he had just forged with one of the majestic Victorian era power hammers, which can be seen lurking in the background of the horizontal photo.
The forges of Bay 1/2, Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh Railway Workshops have been kept glowing for over 140 years!


plein air oil painting of the heritage steam locomotive 3801 at the Large Erecting Shop, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
The 3801 steaming” 
2008 oil on canvas 36 x 28cm
 Enquiries about this painting:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com 

plein air oil painting of the heritage steam locomotive "18" at the Large Erecting Shop, Eveleigh Railway workshops by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
'The 'SMR 18'-interior of Large Erecting Shop' 
2007 oil on canvas 51 x 76cm
Enquiries : janecooperbennett@gmail.com
There will be a steam train, SMR 18, displayed near Channel 7 by the volunteers from 3801 limited
 I will also exhibit a selection of my paintings of the steam trains of the Large Erecting Shop nearby. 

Friday 10 February 2012

Both sides of the street - My new exhibition "St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst"

Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com
exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com


exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com


exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com
In this exhibition I have hung 16 paintings of Victoria Street.
As the Xavier Art Space is a long corridor, I decided to add another 16 or so paintings of other inner city streetscapes.
Most of these other paintings whether of Pyrmont, White Bay, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst or Waterloo seem to be of pubs or former pubs. Derelict pubs like the Terminus, recently closed pubs like the Hopetoun, pubs that were burnt down in the dead of night under mysterious circumstances like the White Bay Hotel, or pubs that had a narrow escape from these fates and are enjoying a precarious Renaissance like the Iron Duke. There are also 2 paintings of the half-demolished Carleton United Brewery.
A minor irony was that Dr Robert Graham, who had kindly agreed to open my exhibition, was the head of Drug and Alcohol Treatment. Another minor irony is that I am (and have always been) a teetotaller.

exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com


exhibition of plein air oil paintings of Sydney by industrial artist Jane Bennett
Hanging my exhibition St Vincent's -In the Art of Darlinghurst
Enquiries about these paintings:
janecooperbennett@gmail.com

All of the paintings in this exhibition were painted "en plein air". Most of the art of other plein air painters concentrates on the natural environment and seems to be painted in a field or a wood. I prefer to paint inner city urban landscapes and all my art that hasn't been painted on a wharf, a ship or a demolition site, is painted by the side of the road.
"By the side of the road " is the common idiom, however this road was actually a street. "On the road" sounds almost romantic, evoking the ghost of Jack Keroac, whereas "on the street" has an air of desperation. I am often "on the road" when I paint - my car is a mobile studio with a fold-up table and chair and a French box easel in the boot at all times. I am not a "street" artist in the sense of a graffiti artist such as "Banksy", as I take my paintings home when I have finished painting them, although I bet that I spend a lot more time actually painting in the street. According to one definition Street Art  is traditionally unsanctioned  as opposed to a government funded initiatives . The artist attempts to have their work communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes by placing their work in non-art contexts. In that sense, my art is definitely "street".

Many years ago a witless journalist stunned me into silence during a radio interview. After hearing a description of how I explored Sydney's urban landscapes outdoors instead of painting in my studio from photos, he turned the interview into farce by describing my art as  "streetwalking".
English can be a dangerous language full of traps for the unwary.
The word "street" I discovered has some odd quirks of meaning aside from its obvious use as a word for a paved thouroughfare. Some of these carry a lot of pejorative nuances.

Definitions of "Street"
  1.  a situation offering opportunities ("He worked both sides of the street")
  2.  as a depressed environment in which there is poverty and crime and prostitution and dereliction ("She tried to keep her children off the street")
  3. The people who spend a great deal of time on the street in urban areas, especially the young, the poor, the unemployed, and those engaged in illegal activities.
  4. (slang) Street talk or slang. 
  5. (figuratively) a large amount ("He's streets ahead of his sister in all the subjects in school.")
  6. (poker slang) Each of the 3 opportunities that players have to bet, after the flop, turn and river.
  7. Illicit, contraband, especially of a drug:e.g. "street drugs". 
  8. not in prison, or released from prison. ("He's on the street again after leaving Long Bay jail")
  9. Without a home; without the means to afford good shelter.
  10. without a job or occupation; idle.

The term "street" is used with the preposition "in". Something is "in" the street, but "in" or "on" the road. To be "on the street" means to be living an insecure life, often one associated with homelessness or crime. To "hear something on the street" means to learn about something through rumor.
In the Middle Ages, a road or way was merely a direction in which people rode or went, the name street was always reserved for the built road.
The "Man in the street" meaning the ordinary non-expert person, is first recorded in 1831. Street-car is first recorded 1862. Street-walker "common prostitute" first recorded 1590s. Street people is first recorded 1967; street smarts is from 1972; and street-credibility is from 1979.

  The good and bad points of the urban environment are captured by the many meanings of the term "street" . It carries a feeling of fast-paced opportunity, reality and authenticity - but also uncertainty, edginess, decay and even a whiff of danger.

All the photos in this post were kindly taken by Frances Keevil, Director of the Frances Keevil Gallery, who also did most of the work hanging my show
Update

The redoubtable flaneur and photographer Julie of "Sydney Eye" took some great photos at the opening of my exhibition which can be seen at "The poof factor"

Monday 30 January 2012

St Vincent's- In the Art of Darlinghurst

Plein air oil painting of terraces in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett

 














Victoria st 2009 oil on canvas 75 x 100cm

In December 2009 I was asked by some people who worked at St Vincent's if I could create paintings of some terrace houses on a Darlinghurst block adjacent to St Vincent’s Public Hospital. Almost an entire block of Victoria Street between the Garvan Institute and the Green Park Hotel would be replaced by the construction of a new 11-storey medical centre.
Plein air oil painting of terraces in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett

'Victoria Street mural and the clinic'
2010 oil on canvas 38 x 76cm
Enquiries
The structures on this side of Victoria Street included the RMO, the Diabetes Centre, the Rankin Court Clinic for Drug and Alcohol treatment and a bright green mural which honoured World Aids Day.
For another view of this now destroyed mural see the post "Monday Mural" on the fascinating blog of Sydney Eye
Plein air oil painting of mural in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett
"Victoria st -The World AIDS Day Mural
between the Green Park Hotel and Rankin Court"
2010 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm

Enquiries






















By the time that I started this series of paintings, these services were in the process of being relocated to neighbouring buildings. By mid 2010, the breakthrough new cancer treatment Centre, the Kinghorn Centre, was already under construction.

Plein air ink & gouache painting of mural in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett

 













Victoria st terraces-The Mural to honour 'World AIDS Day'
2009-10 Ink, gouache on paper 43 x 61cm
Enquiries 
The Kinghorn Centre, which will be opened in June 2012, is a joint Garvan Institute and St Vincent's Hospital project. It will pioneer a revolutionary method of customizing patient treatment instead of the previous one-drug-fits-all approach.
In early December 2011, cancer survivor Delta Goodrem, who is the patron of the Kinghorn Centre, spoke to assembled staff and construction workers at its launch .
See articles:"Delta Goodrem helps break ground on cancer centre" ; Article in Daily Telegraph

'A Corinthian column, St Vincents' De Lacy wing'
2011 oil on canvas 20 x 20cm
My aim was to paint the exciting transition of the area from past to future. I painted all the works in this exhibition on site, sheltering under the awnings of the local restaurants and coffee shops, whose staff would keep an eye on my easel and belongings.
From the Green park Bandstand, I painted the classical facade of St Vincent’s heritage De Lacey wing framed by ferny canopies of lime green trees.

'An Ionic column, St Vincents' Public Hospital,
De Lacy wing' 2011 oil on canvas 20 x 20cm

Some of these buildings have heritage value, and all of them are regarded with genuine affection by the locals. Most of the architecture of this block has been compromised to a greater or lesser extent by tasteless modern extensions, but taken as a whole, they express the character of a colourful and unique area of Sydney street-life.
 
Plein air oil painting of terrace of RMO in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett






















"Victoria st terraces-The RMO "
2009-10 oil on canvas 46 x 36cm

Enquiries 

The area is colourful and picturesque with a great diversity of buildings: from garish to subdued; from shabby to plush - and the characters who live, work and visit this area, rival the buildings for diversity and raffish charm.
Plein air oil painting of terrace of RMO in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett






















"Victoria st terraces Nos 372-4 -
the Diabetes Centre & the RMO"
2009 oil on canvas 51x41cm.
SOLD
Enquiries

Victoria Street is a peculiar mélange of architecture ranging from the charming, to the quirky, to the downright hideous.
Hole-in-the-wall coffee bars contrast with the sleek corporate steel and glass of the Victor Chang Institute in the background.
In between a few examples of faded glamour it's scruffy and noisy but the place feels busy and vibrant.
An oasis of calm in all this frenetic activity is Green Park.
 
Plein air oil painting of terrace of Diabetes Australia in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett






















"Victoria st terraces-Diabetes Australia"
2009 oil on canvas 31x31cm.
 SOLD
Enquiries
English colonial grandeur rubs shoulders with crumbling terraces overgrown with vines and painted in brightly sub-tropical hues.
Plein air ink & gouache painting of terrace of RMO in Victoria Street Darlinghurst painted by industrial heritage artist Jane Bennett






















"Victoria st terraces-The RMO"
2009-10 Ink, gouache on paper 63 x 41cm
Enquiries 

My paintings of the buildings of this demolished block of Darlinghurst terraces honour the memories of the past, while celebrating the exciting possibilities of the future.
My exhibition will be held at the Xavier Art Space, Level 3 (which is the ground floor entry level) in the foyer of the St Vincent's Public Hospital. The Exhibition period is from 4 February - 8 March 2012, with the official opening on Tuesday night the 7th of February from 6-8pm. The works will be able to be viewed during the general hospital opening hours.
I am represented by the FRANCES KEEVIL GALLERY mob: 0411 821550

  info@franceskeevilgallery.com.au
The Director, Frances Keevil will be curating and hanging the exhibition.

For more information about my paintings of the Victoria Street Terraces see my Urban Landscape Page