Some great shows on in Sydney

Images: Euan McLeod "Oarless" and "Snow Storm" both 2010 and Oil on Canvas

Finally! My lament about the state of Landscape painting exhibitions in Sydney is no more! On show this week are a number of excellent exhibitions which have returned my faith in the state of art in Sydney

At Watters Gallery, Euan McLeod follows in the footsteps of the great Sydney Nolan in an extensive and also excellent exhibition of works, "Glacial" made in the Antarctic. Large emerald rocks drip with ice, snow and heavy, cold clouds; an abominable snow man/artist stares at his bare canvas in a snowy landscape with mittened, dumb hands ; hikers are chained together to summit a towering Iceberg; whilst a lonely, nude and tired ghost pulls his "not-quite there" rowboat ashore an impossible glacial edge only to be confronted by a huge mountain of white. Vintage McLeod which was an almost sold out exhibition although it only opened last Wednesday night.

Plein Air Painting with Euan McLeod, Imants Tillers, and Michelle Hiscock

A friend alerted me to this interesting video (also in vodpod selection at left) in which Euan McLeod, Imants Tillers and Michelle Hiscock give insights into the process of Plein Air Painting ie doing it tough with the flies, the sun and the ants on your back, whilst kneeling on the hard ground with an aching back, trying to paint something remotely worthwhile, before the light changes too dramatically!

Artists Camp-Bega

Images: Gabrielle Jones: top Bithry's Inlet; Sunset from the camp; Euan Painting; Ann Painting; Euan, Ann and Idris talking about their work at Bega Regional Gallery

Just back from two days painting en plein air at Bithry's Inlet in the beautiful Bega Valley on the Far New South wales Coast. It was an artist's camp with Euan McLeod, Ann Thompson and Idris Murphy, organised by the Regional Gallery there.

I had a wonderful time- great to chin wag with like-minded people, see how differently everyone works and the varied resulting paintings from the one environment. One of the best things I learned was that we don't have to try to find "our thing" - if we let go of trying, maybe it will find us! Such varied paintings proved that we are all individuals and that will manifest in our work once we let the intuition have reign, listen to the voice within regarding the "what" to paint, ignore standard wisdoms ("realism" means "old fashioned" and no one will want what I paint, for example); stop trying to be someone else and work, work, work.

So...looking at these pics, are you jealous????