Requiem for Donald Hall
Notes from my painting studio in 2021
2021 was a busy year for Plexus Gallery, with two successful pop-up shows, and it finished with two exhibitions opening in the same week. Downlands annual exhibition opened in Toowoomba on the same night as Plexus Gallery's Second Bloom opened in Teneriffe. Mostly, I was busy with commissioned works, though as always seems to be the way when one is very busy, new ideas popped up.
A Requiem for Donald
Left: Requiem for Donald, detail · Right: Eugene Gilfedder’s poetry with music by Tom Adeney for our dear friend, Donald Hall, given in front of my ‘Requiem for Donald’ painting
This painting, Requiem for Donald, was made in memory of my dear friend Donald Hall, who passed early in 2021. I was his live-in carer for his last few months while he was in the midst of a final fecund period of creative outpourings: a novel, an opera, plays, and an enormous amount of music. It featured at the Plexus Gallery exhibition, in situ opening, where our friend Eugene Gilfedder performed his poetry related to Donald, to music by Tom Adeney.
in situ
At the opening of in situ
Many thanks for coming!
Plexus Gallery’s first pop-up show, ‘in situ’ was very successful! There were 17 artists involved in the show and it was located in a beautifully renovated building that was lent to Plexus by Northshore Group.
Second Bloom
At the Bib'n'Brace Collective
282 Wickham St
From 7th June I did a 3 week artist’s residency at 282 Wickham St, Fortitude Valley! It was organised through Plexus Gallery and their ongoing sponsorship from the Northshore Group, a local property investment group who have done some quite magnificent refurbishments around Brisbane.
I developed a new series of works during this period! Many thanks Northshore Group!
Tondi & Prints
Mostly during 2021 I was busy with commissioned works. Though, as always seems to be the way when one is very busy, new ideas pop up! I started exploring routing MDF boards to make framed round works. I had some spare boards from the ‘in situ’ exhibition and this allowed me to make unique frames for each work. If MDF is completely sealed front and back, it’s an excellent, stable surface which is easily shaped.
After developing the ‘tondi’ (round) works, I decided to start printing limited edition prints of some of my favourite paintings, which are available through Plexus Gallery!
Teaching my granddaughter the finer points of the art business