Cath Sheard Art

Category: Uncategorized

  • Patea Freezing Works – Where’s my knife?

    I am back to my Freezing Works series; I need to have 3 works finished and sent off by the end of the month. They’re heading to the “One Size Fits All” exhibition at the Thornton Gallery in Hamilton in August. Each work has to be 10″ square and that suits be just fine for this series. I always enjoy working at that size anyway as it suits the way I work in winter – sitting down at my office desk with the heater on. In winter it is simply far too cold to go to my outside studio and stand at an easel. The studio used to be the caravan shed so it has corrugated iron walls, a concrete floor on dirt, and no insulation at all. Freezing in winter and hot as heck in summer. What a wimp, I know!

    These three works are loosely based on photos by New Zealand photographer Aaron Cubis. You can see some of his amazing work here on Flickr. I started with loose washes and runs of Golden Fluid Acrylics; Napthol red medium, Quinacridone magenta & crimson, and Phthalo green (blue) and Permanent green light. From there I have just played around, trying to capture the feel of years of peeling paint and rusty metals. What I loved about Aaron’s photos was the vivid contrast of the red and green paint on the walls and this is what I have tried to capture. This is probably going to be the most realistic of the three works as I tend to loosen up as I get into a subject painting by painting.

    Photo by Aaron Cubis

    The clean-up of the Freezing Works following the fire a couple of years ago is 95% complete now; the landscape looks so different with all those buildings gone. I guess the biggest impact on the landscape was when the chimney came down. I am happy to see it all gone; as I come down the hill into Patea the view out to the Tasman Sea is spectacular. Of course the landscape will never be as it was 100s of years ago, because of power lines, house sat the beach and so forth, but it does give a better idea of just how beautiful the untouched landscape must have been here pre-settlement.

    Where's my knife? 10×10" acrylic.

  • Crusade #42: Strip Ease

    It’s not long since I completed the last Crusade and I was determined to get in early this month. The task for the month really appealed to me; basically, rip some paper or fabric into strips and stick it down. You can read all about it here. I have done two layouts in my newest journal already.

    The first is about deforestation and the impact it has on the world. It’s a topic I studied when I did my Post Grad Diploma and something I have remained interested in. I found some pictures of trees being turned into wood chips, and tore some of the picture into strips like the wood chips they were making. Around the edge I have written down all the different paper I use or receive every day, and I am sure there is more to add yet – I used a green Sharpie for the text. The background is Twinkling H2Os over gesso.

    The second page is a tribute to all the history we saw while in Italy, the illuminated manuscripts and the amazing buildings. I found photos of some illuminated texts I had saved from a library book that was being deleted. I tore them into strips and overlapped them in a semi-weaving pattern. I was thinking about the way the trip has woven so many of Tony and my different interests together; royalty, religion, history, architecture…

    Thanks for the inspiration Michelle. It is always such fun doing a Crusade then checking all the other blogs to see what everyone else has come up with.

  • Bloom revealed

    A while back I showed you the piece I did for this year’s annual collaborative work for the NZ Art Guild. Finally, after much anticipation, the finished work has been revealed in its entirety. I think it is our best work yet. “Bloom” is a unique artwork which comprises of 64 individual artworks by 62 artists from all over NZ. The theme of this artwork is New Beginnings and Growth. This artwork will be auctioned on Trademe from July 17th with 100% of the proceeds donated to the Mental Health Foundation. (Keyword search is NZ Art Guild). The finished artwork is 1.3m x 1.3m – Mixed media – wood frame. You can see a full list of participating artists here.

    I am proud to be part of this venture each year; it’s a great way to work with other artists on something bigger than any of us. The Mental Health Foundation is a very worthwhile charity and I am pleased to be a small part of supporting their work. Can you spot my piece below?

  • Crusade No. 41 – Grid Lock

    Most months I try to do Michelle Ward’s Crusade over at the GPP Street Team site. Crusade 41 is entitled Grid Lock – Michelle’s tips include a very cool way of marking out a grid on paper or in your journal. I decided to use this Crusade for a practical purpose. I have started dong a scrapbook of our recent trip to Dubai and Italy; I decided the album would be black and white cardstock only, with a little black and white patterned paper here and there. My favorite scrapbook shop sent me some lovely supplies but I hate cutting into “good” paper – silly I know. So, I have cut a sample of each piece of patterned paper and stuck it in the grids in my visual diary. Now the sheets are not “good” any more and I’ll get on and use them.

    If you haven’t been to Michelle’s sites before, why not pop across and have a look? And if you lurk but don’t join in, why not grab some supplies and have a try. Then have a look at all the other entries this month, they’re sure to inspire you. Don’t forget to leave a comment everywhere you visit, you’re sure to make their day 🙂

  • Edith Collier @ the Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui

    One of the things Tony and I realised while in Italy and Dubai is that we enjoy spending time together, but rarely do so. We have come back with a firm plan to go out once a fortnight, taking turn and turn about organising an outing. Today was my turn; we headed off to Wanganui and our first stop was the Sarjeant Gallery. It’s just re-opened after a bit of a do-up and is looking very smart. They have a wonderful shop with jewelery and glassworks by some of Wanganui’s many talented artists; Wanganui is well known for its glass artists and it is easy to see why.

    The Sarjeant Gallery in Wanganui
    The inside has beautiful wooden floors, high ceilings and lovely light.

    There are two exhibitions on at the moment as two areas are still having a bit of work done to them. The first was “Edith Collier: a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the artist’s birth”. Edith Collier is undoubtedly the most significant painter to have been born in Wanganui. From 1912 to 1921 she spent time in England studying at art school and with distinguished artists such as Frances Hodgkins and Margaret Preston. Since 1985, the Sarjeant Gallery has been fortunate to be the caretakers of her significant artistic output. This exhibition celebrates the 125th anniversary of the artist’s birth and features work spanning the breadth of her career.

    Collier – the Spanish woman

    I admire her work in a technical sense, but can’t say I’m a huge fan of much of her painting. They are just too dark and sombre for me – the exception would be some of the watercolour landscapes she produced while in England, which have a much lighter feel.

    Also on was “Colour”. This exhibition brings together artworks and objects from the collections of the Sarjeant Gallery and the Whanganui Regional Museum and is on display in both venues.  By mixing up artworks and objects – from the thickly painted surface of an oil painting, to the plush fur of a stuffed animal – this exhibition looks at what each colour means to us, how it shapes our response to the environment, to each other and to the things that surround us in our everyday lives.  The exhibition includes photography, printmaking, painting and sculpture and a diverse range of objects including an x-ray machine, an impressive pair of peacocks and a tiger skin rug! Co-curated by Greg Donson and Damian Skinner.

    I loved this exhibition; I love colour and I love variety and this had both in abundance. They even featured orange, my favorite colour and topic of ongoing explorations. One of the highlights for me was seeing a Philip Clairmont work in the flesh. The colours are wild and the image is so chaotic. Not an image I could live with, but that’s not the point.

    Colour exhibition

    From the Gallery we headed downtown for a spot of shopping, finding some lovely slippers on sale for my Aunt who I have Power of Attorney for (she has a form of Dementia and is in a secure unit, so I shop for her). We had a chat with the car dealer we always use, then lunch at a lovely cafe before heading slowly home. It was a lovely outing, great to spend relaxing time together, and wonderful to see some quality New Zealand art.