Cath Sheard Art

Blog

  • My mapping went “awol”

    As you saw a few posts back, I am fascinated with the way modern Aboriginal artists map the land, often from memory. I had a play a week or so back and at the weekend found time to have another shot.It’s not as easy as it looks! Why? Because my brain automatically decides to do “western perspective” landscapes instead, and not very well at that. I think producing something that satisfies my idea of ‘mapping’ the land around me is going to be way more of a learning curve than I had imagined. Bring it on I say…

    In the meantime, here are just four of the many I did at the weekend, all on Fabriano Artistico140lb 5×7″ watercolour paper with Golden Fluid acrylics. It was interesting to see the work got looser and more abstract the longer I had a brush in my hand.

  • Latest NZAG challenge

    Here’s my entry in the latest NZ Art Guild challenge, which had to involve memory in some way, and only use two colours plus black and white. I drew the pears from memory, so that’s the inspiration part.
    Title: Purple and Yellow Pears
    Size: 20cm w x 23cm deep
    Medium: Acrylic on white AS Modigliani paper. Black, white, Windsor Purple and Deep Cadmium Yellow acrylic paints.

    Purple and yellow pears

  • Mapping the land; experimenting with paint

    Mapping 2As you know from a couple of posts back, I have become increasingly fascinated with Aboriginal art, especially the idea of mapping the land. I’ve cuts lots of pictures out of magazines, downloaded art and maps from the net, made some sketches. Generally just started to build up some reference material in my new visual diary.

    Today I started in using some paint in my visual diary. Thinking about the shapes of Taranaki where I live, edges and boundaries, about topography and how we represent where we live. One painting I am happy enough with as a starting point, the other doesn’t even begin to express what I was looking for, it’s too – hang on, that would be giving the show away. It’s okay that I’m not happy with one of them, because the diary is just my sandpit for messing round in. Can you guess which one pleases me?

    Mapping the land 1

     

  • NZ Art Guild Challenge – winner, most creative

    The NZ Art Guild runs regular challenges and I try to do all of them as a way of stretching my artistic wings. The most recent challenge was to use one of 5 suggested songs (all by New Zealand musicians) as inspiration for an artwork. Here are the details of my entry:

    Title: My husband, my hero
    Media: watercolour and digital. Watercolour portrait, then hand lettered lyrics in black. Scanned and added semi-transparent white text in my own handwriting font over the top. Size: 10x13cm
    Inspiration: Dreamin’ by Scribe. One of the verses says “And I wouldn’t of made it if it wasn’t for you. You picked me up every time that I fell. When I was going thru hell, you told me that I would prevail“. My husband Tony really is my hero; he uplifts me, he understands my need to shut myself away and do my art, he sticks with me through all lifes up and downs.

    This piece was voted “most creative” entry for the challenge, and got some lovely feedback, with one person saying they could see my love for my husband shining through – I am so glad it shows. Tony, this one really is for you.

    My husband, my hero

  • Delving into an obsession

    I’ve been interested in modern Aboriginal Art for the last 5 years or so, since being exposed to it as part of the theory side of my art study with TLC. Being in New Zealand, there’s little to be seen in the flesh,  and really only the internet for exploration. Any books available tend to be about older, more traditional forms.

    And then along came this – a beautiful new glossy magazine dedicated to Aboriginal Art and Artists. It has lots of beautiful full-colour photographs, scholarly articles, gallery adverts and more. Completely stunning. The second issue has just come out, that’s the one shown here, and it’s every bit as good as the first.

     aaa mag cover copy

    Did I mention that it’s around 180 glorious pages? And that I’m not on commission! Anyway, it has got me thinking about why I like modern Aboriginal Art and the short answer is – I’m not sure. The easy answer that springs to mind is joyful, colourful abstraction. But then I love some of the simpler, tonal works that have a Rothko feel. So it’s more than just colour, or abstraction or joy. I also love the aerial map feel of many of the works.

    In the last few years I have worked on numerous series, obsessions really, such as the full moon, orange, shadows and pears. Only a tiny fraction of that study and obsession has ever been shown to anyone, even via my blog. And much of it is ongoing.

    Now I think I might have to put all that aside for a while and delve into this obsession. Not that is is new, because it is not, but because suddenly I have this resource that I can study, pull apart, replicate, dissect and pore over. I suspect I’ll end up sewing, painting, drawing, collaging etc my way through the images until I begin to understand just what it is that draws me. I don’t want to produce Aboriginal Art – how can I when I am not an Aborigine? That would be mere copying. But if I can understand what draws me to it, I can transfer that joy to my own art practice.