Back into the studio this afternoon to get on with the work for the exhibition The Experiment which is to open October 7 at Arts Space Wodonga.
When I start new paintings I always work with acrylics initially. It has been a few weeks since I have studied the photographs of the hills surrounding Albury and Wodonga. I did a few graphite sketches to get away from the photographic image and to loosen up.
This sketch is looking north towards Red Light Hill and Table Top beyond. Between my position and the distant hill lies the airport, Lavington and Springdale Heights, a big slice of Albury.
This sketch was made from another composite panorama looking south from Eastern Hill over South Albury to Huon Hill and Wodonga showing the gentle ring of hills to the south west of the city.
This is a big canvas and I like to work flat at first but also work it vertically so I can get back.
This is the first stage of the painting. Previous to this session I had coated the 1.8 x 60 cm canvas with a mixture of talc, glue and gesso to roughen up the surface and give some extra tooth. This is what I did to the 40 canvases for the series of trees. The original photo is from Eastern Hill taken late on a winter's afternoon. The foreground has much contrast between the long shadows and the pale grasses and shafts of sunlight. Then the middle ground is a long way off which then recedes a few kilometres to a broad view of the city of Wodonga and hills. The curving foreground acts to unite the vast breadth of the view and will be good. Much work is to be done but I want to keep an energy and freshness. the panoramas will need to sit happily with the 40 small works featuring the trees.
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