It should be an interesting year. Wife Sharon and I are away caravanning to various parts of Australia at different times of the year and my Presidency at Marion Art Group continues after a busy 2018. Some delegating and training at MAG will be needed. To start things off this year the Victor Harbor Rotary Art show was a success with several of us at MAG selling paintings. I sold one of five. I have four left over to find a home for.

‘Gull’s Travels 2’, Acrylic framed behind glass, 600 x 300 mm. SOLD

I am now preparing for Flagstaff Hill Rotary Art Show in April with some fresh new paintings with some developments in my subject matter and style. I hope to have  6 new paintings ready in time. More details to follow soon.

A successful venture for the Marion Art Group to hold thier first SALA event at the Marino Community Hall. I sold 3 miniatures and a couple of paintings off screen. As a group we sold 37 paintings and 30 miniatures.  We recorded 300 visitors through our doors over the four Sunday afternoons of August and through some sponsorships and some canny advertising made a good profit for MAG to keep us going. The first painting below was a large departure from my usual style completed as an experiment after a Roe Gartleman demonstration on contemporary ideas with mixed media in July this year.

‘Petrified Tree’ mixed media, 600 x 400 mm, SOLD

‘Jacana’, coloured inks, miniature 10 x 10 mm, SOLD

‘Duo of Pelicans’, acrylic, miniature 10 x 10 mm, SOLD

‘Rain forest’, coloured inks, miniature 10 x 10 mm, SOLD

‘Yellowstone Cottage, Kangarilla’, acrylic, 400 x 600 mm, SOLD

I am amazed that this last painting ‘Yelowstone Cottage’ sold after it was given one last try.

As an individual artist I entered a couple of paintings in the Royal Adelaide Show Art Prize Exhibition early September. No sales but an interesting experience.

I have not produced much art this year as I have been so busy with the Marion Art Group. Once creative juices have been regenerated on a three week caravan holiday with Shaz who has been waiting patiently for me, I am planning to start on a new series of acrylic paintings later in October. Watch this space.

Success!!! At the Flagstaff Hill Rotary Art show I sold 5 paintings and all 4 of my miniatures. (I only have a photo of one of the miniatures shown here)

‘Feeding time at Airlie Beach, Qld’ acrylic on canvas. 45 x 30 cm. SOLD

‘Black Kites’. Pen and brush and ink. 28 x 22 framed. SOLD

‘Lorikeet’ Miniature watercolour. SOLD

“Fallen Bough”. watercolour. 32 x 22 cm framed. SOLD

‘Milang Shacks’ Acrylic on canvas.
32 x 25 cm framed. SOLD

‘Bower Bird’. Watercolour.30 x 20 cm framed. SOLD

At the Bayside Village Exhibition, I sold 4 paintings shown below.

‘Cumberland Lagoon Qld.’ Watercolour. 32 x 25 cm framed. SOLD

‘Life on strathalbyn Road’ Acrylic on canvas. 33 x 45 cm framed. SOLD

‘Robe Coastline’ Acrylic on canvas. 32 x 25 cm framed. SOLD

“Jacana at Cumberland Lagoon Qld”. acrylic on canvas. 35 x 35 cm. SOLD

I have entered a couple of paintings in the  ‘Royal Adelaide Show Art Prize’ for the first time this year. Open in the Goyder Pavillian 31st August to 9th Sepember…..and I am now preparing for our SALA Exhibition at the Marino Community Hall where we will be presenting ‘MAG meets SALA’ each sunday of August, 12 noon to 4 pm . Opening on Sunday 5th August at 1.30 pm. SEE YOU THERE.

This has been a very busy year so far, but I am enjoying it all a great deal.

Working hard preparing for two exhibitions both as part of the Exhibition program for Marion Art Group. We are in a partnership with the Flagstaff Hill Rotary Art Show at the Flagstaff Hill Primary School Hall, 145 black road, starting on Saturday 21 April and finishing on 28 April. I am entering 6 paintings in the main exhibition and a further 12 ‘unframed’ paintings which will be in our MAG basket to leaf through.

I also have a few miniatures in our collection of 100+ for sale from $15 to $25. We are hoping that this new idea will be popular with patrons.

The Flagstaff Hill Rotary exhibition will be followed soon after by our first venture at the Bayside Village Shopping Centre, corner of Brighton and Jetty road, Glenelg. We will be there for 2 weeks from Monday May 7th to 20th.

More details to follow. Sneak preview below

‘Abandonned Cottage’ for Flagstaff Hill Rotary Art show.

of a new painting done for the Flagstaff Hill Rotary Exhibition

NEWSFLASH!!

Jim Green was very pleased to sell four out of five of his paintings at the Victor Harbor Rotary Art Show. “I was surprised”, he said, “I sold one early in the exhibition and then towards the end of the last day, I recieved notification that three others were taken.”

“It was a surreal feeling to be watching the cricket in our TV room, with text messages announcing each sale coming in one after the other throughout the afternoon.”

And Jim how are you now feeling about starting your newly appointed position of President of the Marion Art Group?

” It is a big responsibility, but I have a great team of dedicated artists around me who can guide me and work with me, so, I feel good about it but a little nervous”

The Four paintings sold below.

‘Walleroo Rocks’
Acrylic on canvas,
30 x 40 mm SOLD

‘Busy Butcher Bird’
Acrylic on canvas.
30 x 40 mm SOLD

‘Gull’s Eye View’
Acrylic on canvas
300 x 400 mm SOLD

‘Escape from Standley Chasm Too’
Acrylic on canvas
400 X 600 mm SOLD

….I am now ready to provide 5 Paintings for Victor Harbor Rotary Art Show. This event will take place Saturday 13th  to Saturday 20th January…….

…..and my new role as President of the Marion Art Group will keep me off the streets. I am looking forward to working with our committees and members to maintain the good reputation of our group in 2018.

2018 should be an interesting year. I am about to see if I can maintain an artist’s page on facebook as well as this web-site. It may be that this blog may end and continue on my website page soon.

I am also venturing into a series of tiny miniatures as an experiment. They will be 10 x 8 and 10 x 10 centimetres in size. Here is the first that is good enough to reveal. It certainly requires some thought about how to approach working so small.

Lorikeet 1

Happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year to all.

The Marion SC exhibition this year, was again, a great display of high quality art. Experienced MAG exhibitors and new members combined successfully for a very diverse collection of stunning and thought provoking original images. Unfortunately sales were way down in numbers reflecting the current economy.

I sold two small pieces shown here. The Magpie was $35, the teenage camel, $65. We did not sell many beautifull, bargain priced pieces, from all our artists. Has the time come to attempt selling on-line!!!?????

‘Watchfull Magpie’, brush and ink, 200 x 150 mm, SOLD

‘Whatdoyermean..the last straw’, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 150 mm, SOLD

Starting Monday 18th  and ending Sunday 24th September, the Marion Art Group displays its latest exhibition. This promises to be another high quality display and can be found on the top floor of the shopping centre adjacent to ‘Mr Minute’ during normal shopping centre opening times. This time, the painting donated to be raffled for ‘Grow SA’, is a gorgeous warm sandhill-scape by Liz Maxted. Looking forward to seeing many members of the public at the exhibition.

I have eight pieces on a half-screen and four in the ‘un-framed’ basket for the above exhbition. One of my pieces, “Wallaroo Rocks” below, has been freshened up with the addition of a shell in the forground to provide more depth to this piece.

‘Wallleroo Rocks’, Acrylic on canvas, 400x 300 mm.

I am now starting to think about preparing for a couple of end of year/early next year, exhibitions: The City of Marion Exhibition at Gallery M and the Victor Harbor Rotary Art show.

I am hoping to provide some insight into preparations for these two exhibitions via these posts, in the next couple of months.

Oh and I did sell a painting way back in May at the Colonnades Shopping Centre.

‘Pioneer Cottage Gate’ Acrylic on canvas, 300 x 200 mm. SOLD

A very successful experiment. Marion Art Group entering as a group at the Flagstaff Hill Art Show 2017. To be part of such a well organised and run exhibition and play a significant role in its success was a feather in our cap. As a group, we sold 66 paintings, two thirds of which were from our very successful, ‘un-framed’ basket.  I was also part of the team of 12 artist from our group which staged a ‘Group Demonstration’.

Personally my sales were more than I could have hoped for. 3 out of 4 acrylics on the screens sold. These acrylics were a new development in my theme about Australian wildlife’s ability to camouflage themselves in their surroundings. Now I am trying to concentrate on one creature in the composition, in proportion to its habitat.  I am working on achieving some realism and believability to the finished work. My aim is to create a mood through use of colour and technique of the different habitats I am painting.  The inclusion of fine details of the habitat are intended to draw attention away from the ‘hiding’ creature.

‘Wading in Karijini Ravine, WA’, medium sized acrylic on canvas board, SOLD

‘Resting at Arkarra Lagoon’, Qld, medium sized acrylic on canvas board, SOLD

‘Escape from Stanley Chasm, NT’, small acrylic on stretched canvas , SOLD

I was very pleased to sell 8 out of my 11 small paintings from our ‘un-framed’ Basket. These were mostly watercolours using very intensely coloured inks. I have been experimenting with this medium lately. I have discovered that if I use my many photos to get started with the focal point of the composition ( A tree, a bush, a bird, a wrecked car etc) and then use very soft wet on wet techniques to make up the backgrounds I can complete these small pieces in one or two hours. Ideal pieces to add a mount-board to and sell for $40-$60 !!!!! (And very enjoyable to create!!!). I was surprised that they sold so well.

‘Abandoned Thames’, small watercolour using Schmincke inks, SOLD

‘Moody Range’, small watercolour using Schmincke Inks. SOLD

‘Wild Scrub’, small watercolour using Schmincki Inks. SOLD

‘Hidden outcrop’, small watercolour using Schmincki Inks. SOLD

‘Fraser Island Tree’, small watercolour using Schmincki inks. SOLD

‘Storm Lit Beach’, small acrylic. SOLD

‘Stately White Ibis’, small watercolour using Schmincki ink. SOLD

‘Proud Wedge Tail’, small watercolour using Schmincki inks. SOLD

My fourth year at Victor. This year 1110 entries. Down in numbers from previous years. With two days to go approx. 400 paintings sold. All 3 of mine included. This is the first time I have sold all three!. I think this means that I will be invited to submit 5 paintings next time???????

‘Abandoned Cottage’: Acrylic on canvas, 700 X 450 mm, SOLD

‘A Nostalgic Retreat’: Acrylic on canvas, 700 x 450 mm, SOLD

‘Timeless Elegance’: Acrylic on canvas, 700 x 450 mm, SOLD

My painting at the City of Marion Art Exhibition at Gallery M did not sell….but…..a very discerning young lady and her husband wanted to buy it off me to help decorate their newly painted dining room. Of course I didn’t accept payment from flesh and blood!!

‘Renmark Back Waters’: acrylic on canvas, 700 X 450, GIFTED.

This has been an amazingly profitable start to 2017. I now need to get down to some serious creation so I have material for other exhibitions this year.