I have had the last week off work to concentrate on paintings for the upcoming LEGATO exhibition in Italy. So of course my new museum-grade canvases took a while to arrive… I used the time to do some more Patea Freezing Works paintings. Here is the latest to get a signature and coat of varnish. I love the rusty old red pipes against the purple buildings and mossy old walls.
Old Pipes IV is 16×12″ in acrylic on gallery wrap canvas and is for sale on my website and on Etsy. 
This is the latest in the Patea Freezing Works series. I haven’t done much on the series for a couple of weeks as I have been busy with work for the LEGATO exhibition in Italy. Tony and I are both going over for the exhibition as it is such an exciting opportunity. Anyway, back to the Freezing Works. This painting is based on a shot by local photographer Phu Tran; you can see his amazing photos on Flickr.
This work is 40×40″ in acrylics on gallery wrap canvas and is for sale on my website and Etsy.
The Freezing Works as I knew it is no more! The demolition work has been going on for over 3 months now and most of the above-ground buildings have gone. Most significant of all, in terms of the look of the site, the chimney has gone. This was quite controversial, for reasons I won’t bother going into, for now at least. You can see in the photo below, taken by Sandra Robinson, just what a mammoth structure the chimney really was.
So, increasingly, this series of works is from photos and from memory, rather than from photos and a daily view of the works. This isn’t a bad thing; the point of the series was always about the “remembered landscape”.
Derelict XI, one of the Patea Freezing Works series, has been sold to a local couple. They both enjoy walking down round the river area and love the old cool-stores. She recognised the buildings instantly in the painting and decided they had to have it. I sent it home with her for a ‘test run’ to see if her husband approved and he was back within probably half an hour – sold! I hope their new artwork brings them much joy. I certainly had fun painting it.
After a bit of a break to attend to other things, I have photographed another painting that I finished 10 days or so ago. As with the others, it is based on photos of Patea Freezing Works. This one is a bit different. I was unsure about it, so was letting it sit for a while. People who have seen it have been really positive so I think I’m calling it done. It is 16×16″ acrylic on gallery wrap canvas and is for sale on my Etsy.
The demolition of the works is progressing quickly; most of the major structures above ground are no more. Except for the chimney, whose fate has yet to be decided…
Although I finished this one last weekend, I haven’t had time to blog about it. So here, we are, back to Saturday – I’m up nice and early and into it. The photo this is based on was taken some distance from the site by Phu Tran. One of the reasons I like this shot is the strong lines of the chimney and power poles through the centre of the scene. As I keep painting the freezing works over and over again I can feel what I am painting, the how I am painting it, is becoming more focused. The color palette remains the same, even how I apply the paint has stayed the same, but the lines and final marks are becoming much more of a focus for me. Some of the earliest works now feel a little ‘soft’ to me and may yet get some tweaking.
It is the middle of summer here; hot and muggy most days. I am not using my art room at the moment because it is far too hot out there; the walls are iron and there’s no ceiling, just the roof, so nothing to deflect the heat. I use our third bedroom as an office for the newspaper we publish. I have commandeered the desk for painting. I have a table-top easel, a roll of paper towels, old wash clothes, a small box of paints, a jar of brushes and a giant bucket of water. Oh, and my color theory notebook with all my color experiments in it and a pile of canvas – I’m about to move from 16×16″ to 20×20″.
So, this one is 16×16″ acrylic on canvas, and is for sale on here on Etsy.
Cath Sheard Art 