Into the Light , Luna Park, Sydney Harbour

Oil on Board 7 x 5 inches (17cm x12 cm)

A small painting near Luna Park at Lavender Bay in Sydney Harbour

If you are interested in purchasing this painting click here to contact me 


         

Art on the Boardwalk, Lavender Bay, Sydney

Last Sunday I participated in Art on the Boardwalk for the first time. Despite the forecast it turned out to be a fine Sydney day. For those not familiar with Sydney, Lavender Bay is on the north shore, just west of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It overlooks the Sydney skyline and it is a fabulous location for "plein air" painting particularly on a day like this with plenty of sunshine. It is amazing to realise that this location is only minutes (or 1 train stop) from the CBD.

About 30 artists participated with musicians and mime artists, and whilst the day was about painting on location it was nice chatting to the many people passing by. Mosman Daily newspaper  reported that there was 10,000 people who walked the boardwalk on the day. It kept us fairly busy chatting and answering questions about painting, etc. The interest people had in the paintings was very heartening, also  many people talked about wanting to learn how to paint. In short it was a great fun day and very well organised by the North Sydney council.

 I did not get my demo painting finished on the day. Too much chatting , but here is the finished painting below.

Opera House, Luna Park and Harbour Bridge from Lavender Bay
Oil on Board 10 x 12 inches (25cm x 30cm)

Working hard.

Chatting to people about painting 

If you are interested in purchasing a painting click here to contact me

Royal Botanic Gardens Paginated Garden Exhibition & Sydney Opera House

Three of my paintings were selected for the Paginated Gardens exhibition & shortlisted for the Derivan prize. My Lotus Pond painting was awarded "Highly Commended".  The prize was won by Heidi Hereth

The exhibition proved very popular with 700 people attending over the weekend, & by popular demand the Royal Botanic Gardens are to re-hang the exhibition at the end of July for 2 weeks.

This week the Chronicle will run a story headed "Fred Marsh listed in Sydney Royal Botanic Garden Paginated Garden Exhibition"

The article starts "If a picture is worth a thousand words then artist Fred Marsh had plenty to say at the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden. Mr Marsh, was an artist at the garden’s Paginated Garden exhibition from April 29 to May 1 with three works short-listed for the special event.
The Paginated Garden invited artists to visit the botanic garden and sketch what they saw over a six-week period." The full article is at this link

After the sketchabout finished I did a sketch of the opera house from the gardens. I have listed it to raise funds for the Red Cross Japanese Earthquake Appeal at Daily Paintworks, which has a neat new auction site developed to sell paintings. The painting appears below & the auction is at this link

I can be contacted by clicking here , or via my website





   

Release of prints from my paintings

I have just released four prints based on my paintings

• Into the Light , Sydney Harbour
  
• Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Australia
  
• L'escargot on Rue Montorgueil, Paris, France


• Rue Saint Dominique, Paris, France

Click on the image below to see the prints

Cockatoo Island from Elkington Park Balmain, Sydney

Watercolour, Pen & Pencil on Watercolour Paper

8.5 x 6 inches (21 x 15 cm)

One of the wonderful things about plein aire painting (painting on location) is the discovery of so many great places in Sydney that I have never been to before.
Elkington Park is one of those places & located right next to the Dawn Fraser Baths. It is only a few kilometres from the heart of Sydney & provides a continious view of water traffic moving out of and into Sydney Harbour. That is Cockatoo Island at the top of the painting.
It is meditation to sit with the feel of the sun & only the sound of the birds and the sea, and peacefully focus on drawing what is before me.
This painting is for sale for Aust $100 within Australia or Aust $110 for overseas delivery (approx.US$98) click here to contact me

Keith Loutit - small films of Sydney

I enjoy reading Charlie Parker's blog "Lines & Colors" & was very interested by his post this week on “Tilt-shift photography”. In short, the technique produces photographs which give the impression that real life scenes are photos of miniatures. Click here for Charlies article

Following through a trail of links, I found Keith Loutit who is a Sydney based photographer. Keith uses the tilt shift technique in combination with time lapse to create the "miniature" effect in small films. I find this one of Sydney "The North Wind Blew South" fascinating & is a new way of seeing a city I have lived in for 40 odd years. I wonder if the technique will work in paint?

The North Wind Blew South from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Visit Keith's website to see more of his films & photographs.

The Sydney Morning Herald October 2008 article on his work "Miniature Sydney in the making"

Into the Light, Cremorne Point, Sydney Harbour

10 x 8 inches

Oil on Canvas

I enjoy the sparkle of light when it ripples across the harbour as we look past Cremorne Point to the Sydney Opera House.

At Cremorne Point there is a very pleasant walk with spectacular views around the harbour foreshore to Cremorne Point, and then continue onto Mosman Bay. More information on the walk at this link

This painting is now sold.

click here to contact

Patti Smith at the Sydney Opera House

Sydney Harbour is one of my favourite subjects to paint, & I have painted the opera house from many aspects in a range of its differing moods. The sails of the yachts on the harbour are mere appetisers for those that crown the Opera House.

It is a great icon to paint, as it yells Sydney whilst contrasting its luminous light against the deep ultramarine blue of the harbour.
A few days ago I changed my usual viewpoint & went inside to see another icon - Patti Smith play in the concert hall.

Over the years I have heard Patti's music. It was OK but apart from a few songs it never really grabbed me. So I wondered about the legendary status & went along to see who the press have entitled"godmother of punk" - with my expectations subdued.

BUT I quickly found out this was because I hadn't seen her perform live before. Patti the legend was there and she blew the roof off the opera house. It was a magnificent live performance full of energy, character, emotion & passion.

At times Patti wandered into meet the audience, & on others she left the stage to dance with them whilst her superbly musically endowed band played on. The audience just loved it.

What I saw was one of those few artists who can elevate their live performances into an artform. A recording can't capture anything like the electricity she generates on stage. My expectations were very pleasantly blown sky high.

Bernard Zuels review in the Sydney Morning Herald says it all & can be seen here

Click here to view transcripts and podcasts of her interview on the ABC 7.30 report

click here to contact me

Sailing Cremorne Point, Sydney Harbour

Oil on Canvas 5 x 3 inches (127mm x 76mm)

This small painting started out as a study for a much larger commissioned painting . I finished it off and it stands up well as a work in its own right. Yachts are leaving the bay for a days sailing in the main harbour. The view shows the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge behind Cremorne Point.

I recently took the walk with friends up to and around Cremorne Point then onto Mosman Bay. It is a very picturesque walk with stunning views of the city & harbour

This painting now sold.

click here to contact me.

Sails on Sydney Harbour

5 x 3 Inches - Oil on Canvas

The first post to the blog & its appropriate to capture a still day & the beautiful light on Sydney Harbour. Its something special.

The stock market may heading south at a rapid rate but that doesn't stop the yachties getting their priorities right & enjoying the day.