ANOTATION

Forming a relationship between the viewer and gesturing a mark. It is a necessary process and reflection in my practice; it is one of trial and error. There is always a moment of the unknown where it slips through design possibilities, where artistic sensibilities take over the idea of representation. For me making a quantity of work, whether it is an immediate recording of my own throughs drawing, is quick and shorthand of such then more permeant through painting choosing an object to stand out from the background. Painting comes from a pursuit of frustration at times. There is always a constant struggle, be it the environment constraints we are in or intimate surroundings finding the balance between the academic and pushing myself with and against while being true to what I want to represent in some ways it can go against the academic system. The world is full of so many complications. I am endeavoring to be clear and concise. The challenge is to represent these ideas as purely as possible for my reflection process. I always drawback on my heritage and family upbringing, and throughout my work, you can capture a sense of romanticism.

MY NONNA

 

It's the weekend, and I've been sent to my Nonno and Nonna's house in town. Their home is a distinctive white brick two-story with concrete lions on the front gate and a water fountain adorned with mythical figures and cherubic angels. The veranda is tiled in blue and white geometric and floral patterns.

Inside, I'm greeted by a brown, black, and gold paisley carpet that sets the scene amidst a plethora of religious and Italian iconography. The living room, adorned with wallpaper of repetitive designs, features chandeliers with faux crystals. It's here that I'd spend hours, captivated by the surroundings, often trying to sketch every detail.

I vividly recall one night catching "The Exorcist" on TV and being thoroughly spooked.  I would occasionally sneak a chair to grab one the " crystals" off the chandeliers to draw when my Nonni were out.

Then, there was the sewing room—a treasure trove of markers, needles, threads, fabrics, and the giant black scissors. The old manual Singer sewing machine not only served as a place for sewing but also housed treats in one drawer and loose change in another.

Growing up and spending countless hours at my Nonni's house allowed me to explore and express myself. While my Nonno spoke a bit of English, my Nonna didn't speak a word, often requiring me to translate phone conversations. I fondly remember my Nonna teaching me how to draw flowers, a skill that would shape my artistic journey.

As I grew more aware, I began to see Picasso, Matisse, and Warhol's works and couldn't help but think, "Hey, they copied my Nonna!" She had immigrated from Italy shortly after the war, finding work as a dressmaker in Melbourne while my Nonno had settled in Mildura earlier. They spent much of their lives working the land, imparting sincerity and honesty into everything they did.

Looking back, I now appreciate my Nonna's artwork without needing to translate or understand the technicalities; it speaks to me in my own artistic language. Her pieces have become teaching aids in my own practice, offering me comfort in my mistakes and teaching me to embrace and be proud of them—there's no need to conceal imperfections.

GIANNI VESARCE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWtaRvqvw9s

I remember in 1997 getting ready to go to school, the morning tv in the back round, Versace is dead. My father mentions he his Calabrese like us. A man from humble origins. Gianni hails from the Province of Reggio Calabria. The same part of Italy were my family are from. The area is rich in history particularly of the classical greek era. His mother being the greatest influence on his life. She was a dressmaker. He did not excel academically and spend the the best parts of his childhood in his mothers atelier . I admire his use of colour there all mixed together. bordeaux with yellow colours that you wouldn’t normally see together but he works it with his form being the clothes and makes it his own. In a sense I use it with my imagery. 

LACK OF FAILER = LACK OF TALENT

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YryiZX2bhmE

The words of Eugene Hutz is a constant reminder when faced with the struggles with what I am creating, be it with my own studio practice or within the academic space working against something being true being fearless of the chance of failure. " The lower you are going to fall. The higher your going to fly."

MIKE PARR

 Mike Parr says of his work in his exhibition Volte Face “100 self portraits seem to say that there is no self-portrait, there is just a sort of process” I find this an essential realization within my own practice. For me the discovery of theory is through the act of making a mark, and the reflection it then presents. This is the process I am taking to represent myself through my series of ‘portraits.’ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ddIreXQMlw&list=PL5uUen04IQNm5bUDiUDb15uYEa5WDNYtt&index=232

Charline von Heyl is a German abstract painter who works with various mediums, collage, drawing, printmaking. I often talk about if the viewer captures what I am thinking from immediately looking at my painting, then I am doing my job as a painter. The space between me and the painting has been activated. Charlene captures this. "What I want to do in a painting is establish this relationship of now, you know that you are actually in the moment in front of a painting and something happens, what I want to happen is that space between the painting and the viewer gets activated, and it activates a viewer to form a relationship. So the painting almost homeless in front of itself, between the viewer and canvas". I like that Charline has the idea of paintings being born out of a design, but to break it from design, you need to or come to a point where you build it work it break it and from the frictions arriving at a point where the painting is done. Then out of know where you come to a point where you stand back, take a look at the work, "and think how the fuck did I come to this". Gosh, this painting is good. 

ANONTATION

I want to convey the importance of  personal connections in my painting . Throughout my painting practice I have been concerned with representing a sincerity within my work in rendering these through painting. They're a symbol, a signifier of an identity, a mark, a sign, or word that indicates or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating links between otherwise opposed and unrelated concepts and experiences. The painters i chose show remarkable consistency through out their art practice and in many ways their work is a reflection of their immediate lives. Morandi says about his work; As he himself put it, ‘I’m a painter of the kind of... composition that communicates a sense of tranquility and privacy, moods which I have always valued above all."  I admire the humility of his values and how he they are reflected in his work. I Also chose two personal segments to post. My Mother being interviewed about her approach to cooking and growing food, and the film Pinocchio. My Mother placing the importance of a genuine personal connection to what you create and Pinocchio a symbol of true nature, material self and real self. He then transform into real boy after going through many trails. He is in some sense my alter ego. 

For me the discovery of theory is through the act of painting. Painting is the material I use to discover and explore the ideas. My work is a visual language of collected attitudes and ideologies. My challenge as a painter is finding and establishing my position within these ideas. I feel that the ‘art world’ is full of so much academic gibberish language and concept, through my practice I am trying to rid of that. I can go down a rabbit hole deep into the darkness and bring up enough so as to keep it simple and tangible for mostly me more so than the viewer. 

Morandi Giorgio

 

Giorgio Morandi was born on the 20th of July 1890, in Bologna, Italy. Affluent for his simple and contemplative still life's of every day objects; bottles, jars, boxes. He was considered a modern master, who couldn't be closely identified with a particular school of painting.

Morandi deliberately painted the unremarkable, he centred his practice on intense concentration and compositional balance, developing an intimate approach to art.

I draw influence from Morandi's work as he paints the familiar, yet purposely stripped bare. His style resonates with the functionality of these objects- objects that were designed to be used, rather than admired. Many of his still lifes have a weighty. chunky appearance to them, and where the perspective is always looking straight on.  I also admire his technique of painting, where brushstrokes are visible. he had no concern with hiding them to create a smooth looking surface. instead Morandi painted in such a way that the handling of the paint had just as much a contemplative importance as the objects. 

LE AVENTURA DI PINOCCHIO

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDHXo3hifOc

The story of Pinocchio has an emphasis is placed on a personal experience. I remember listening the story of Pinocchio on a 7 inch record in the family lounge, sitting on a shagpile red carpet when my father pulled out the book from the study and read the story of Pinocchio to me in Italian, concreting my Italian roots, looking at these paintings years later and in hindsight I realise I have not connected with the Disney version of the story thats first image that come to mind with most people when they think of the story. At the age of eight I travelled to Rome with my father and this is where I bought my wooden Pinocchio, with my pocket money, whilst walking up to visit the Vatican City. 

Returning to Australia I shared my ‘Italian Things’ for show and tell. For school plays I was chosen to be Pinocchio; running across the stage and pulling laughs from the audience and my class mates. I always knew that I was first an Italian kid and secondly an Australian. I understood that I was made in Australia with Italian parts. Whilst painting I am trying to empathise with this when painting Pinocchio. Am i painting a truth or am I painting a lie. I can see what is front of me but when I paint it becomes something else. 

https://vimeo.com/35974379 

My mother has by defualt has taught me the importance of having a direct personal connection to a story in respect to what your making and putting out in the world.

Michael Craig Martin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz_tEn98UjU 

Michael Craig-Martin was born on the 28th of August 1941. He is a contemporary conceptual artist and painter. He has developed a distinctive style over the past 50 years through the compilation of a whole vocabulary of objects realised through a variety of media including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and animations.  Martins work has been very consistent throughout his years as an artist. I find Martin's work interesting as his subjects are object based void of an environment, similar to my own ideals of painting.  Martin is fundamentally concerned with recording everyday things.  "I like the idea that the painting is the object, that i've tried to make an identification between a single painting and a single object. there is nothing else. one is in place of the other."

KEEP IT SIMPLE

 

Raw and base materials blunt and oozing to deceptively naive but sincere instinctive expression . My work is born with base materials. Remembering that felling of the fresh new crayola castle for Christmas, brand new set of 12 pack of derwents keeping them always in colour order and sharpened then slowing progressing up to 72 pack for my birthday and sneaking in a pack of twister crayons in a pencil case from the supermarket when my mother said I had to choose between the two. The returning army solider that was sharing a cabin with when I was 8 on the train from Calabria to Rome giving me his set of textas when he saw me drawing the world cup Italia 90 logo.  That fresh smell of the stationary store. When I work the materials the smell the the fell of them in your hand take me back to a place of innocence that allows me to empty my mind.

ANNONTATION

Painting in ATTITUDES

Nomadic fantastic man Im here in Melbourne Im born in Mildura but yearning for Italy . Colourful with brushstrokes. Exploration I look at a painting and I am like sure but then after what makes me want to paint more is trying to make the last painting better than the one before to be more sure. I think probably the moment that I look at the painting and think it perfect is the moment I should stop painting all together. Once I get to a point of my practice were comfortably and assurance comes from. I know its time to stop because with out uncertainty what do I have to paint for. Pinocchio a puppet an inanimate object . Perhaps my job as an painter or artist is how to make the transformation from a drawing ( the unreal ) to a painting ( the real  ) . I am blessed with countless ideas every day and the challenge is how do I make these Ideas reality Paul Smith is the master of this. How do I keep track of these Ideas with going on the distracted Matisse says something along the lines of just do it and it probably wont come out as you like . Giving my Landrover my painting a sense of fun . Thinking about its purpose . Its a car that has been engendered and not designed thinking about what it is famous for and its famous for its use on farms and through my own use of the vehicle I can bash it and easily replace a part as I paint it I can mess it up but easily paint over it and start again. Pinocchio can be used as a metaphorical object, symbolically used as a representation of the liar but there is more to this fella he docent follow the crowd but he goes off on adventure it docent work out but he learns from it and moves beyond. He begins as a peace of wood, yet delicate . All this whist constantly question my self am I sincere ? Drawing in from Clemente watching Fellini and Kubrick the masters of translating the story. Grabbing on to the brush strokes of Rosie Wylie another champion of the story translator. Paul smith the colour master the attention to detail and the humble ability and then of course there is the work of my Nonna a constant reminder and assurance that painting is my blood.

THE PAINTING I ALWAYS REMEMBERED BUT NEVER KNEW THE NAME

© Peter Blake 2020. All rights reserved, DACS License this image

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-self-portrait-with-badges-t02406

WORKS BY MY NONNA / ITS IN THE BLOOD

BARRY LYNDON / A KUBRICK MASTER PIECE OF A UNFORTUNATE SCOUNDREL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwXa1n8jcNQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ3rHd5lPkE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWSe0Mkzjg

PAUL SMITH ON FUNCTION FORM AND INDIVIDUALITY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZYs0tQ9Gr0

ROMA PRIMO CRISTO. DOPPO FELLINI

https://youtu.be/8i9Z7r8dAFo

Our Australian experience is built on stories of cultural dislocation . I am looking to unpack not knowing where one stands... ‘I am here (Australia) ... Am there (Italia)’ or anywhere else globally; exploring the individually and collectively felt displacement as a way of sharing experience and bringing together through conversation. 

Youtube digging is a key part of my research remind me of a time were the video rental Suzuki mini van would come to our house or going into a video rental joint looking for a specific title or finding a tittle buy chance. The importance of a direction connection to the subjects that I am dealing with expressed through the the ethos of my mother but being reminded by Stefan Sagmeister not to get carried away with being a “ story teller “ I am a first and foremost a Artist a Painter and with this comes success and failure. The lower you going to fall the higher your going to fly as Describe by Eugene Hutz reciting a passage from Friedrich Nietzsche. With all this naturally for me at least comes waiting and patience lessons leaned from Francesco Clemente. My works use raw and base materials, blunt and oozing to render a deceptively naive but sincere instinctive expression. I work with graphite, chinagraph, charcoal, crayons, acrylics and aerosols – the bread and butter of materials on paper, canvas and board to depict images of human virility and bravado and a scrawl of unedited but concise thought in text. Drawing inspiration from artist like our Australian heavy hitter Sidney Nolan. , oranges and grapes disclose both a lusty Mediterranean respect for food and sex, as well as revealing the importance of strength cultivated from childhood growing up on a vineyard in Mildura. 

My current works Landrover's the fish that I have never caught and the faceless pulled apart Pinocchio waiting to be connected are powerfully expressed suggesting the importance of essence rather than specificity. Compositions often revolve around symbolism or Icons revolved  around An assault of bold colours on black, or etched with sgraffito and monotone render unabashed Italo-Aussie pop imagery laden with mischievous fun and gusto while being firmly planted in the tradition of picture making.

HOW TO BEND NOT BREAK RULES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3AovUZgvo

I CAN GO FISHING BUT IM NOT ALLOWED

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTi2xEhyUYc

Letters of correspondence regarding fishing advice from Simone Pierre of Ulladulla, New South, Whales Australia . 

Pierrolo = Piero

Vicco = Victoria

" You are entering some sacred rainbow and brown trout paradise. Also nearby is the Rubicon River don't know if Pierrolo knows his Italian heritage but Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in early Roman history and took over Rome. Google up Fishing the Archean, as I have done. The style of fishing will be depend on how much water flow is in it.If river is up live worms suspended under a bubble float is one way, if water is flowing into a pool, maybe spinning. Regardless, you will need a short slender, medium action rod with a spinning reel.

Line should be around max 2kilo breaking strain and be monofilament. No colour, only clear or semi clear. You can also go onto a Youtube site regarding knots for trout fishing and the techniques for all of above. Usually for the bubble float , for to carry the live worms is weighted according to the current/or no current. Minimum  weight always best.For spinning, only the lure or spinner is used. Best one I have used has been imitation brown trout lure,10/12 mm max in size.

Trout will eat each other at that size. Also good if using the float apart from worms are cicadas,(probably none as season is gone.) or grasshoppers. They can caught early morning as  mist is rising near the rivers edges. All the live bait should be Live, worms wriggling, Grasshopper trying to fly. Rangers from Vicco Fishery often patrol the Rubicon as some sections of it are for fly fishing only. You will need a fishing licence and that I think you can get at Marysville, also live worms and if you are super nice to staff they will give you some hints. I am not sure re COVID19 if have travel restriction in Vicco. Maybe fishing tackle store not open in Marysville ? Be aware that if you do, travel without good reason you may be risking a fine.

Regardless, have fun and be always careful and mindful of the river. Hope this helps. "

ARTSIST PROVOCATER

Image courtesy from the harry at Large

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I181RKgtPs0

Julian Assange a person who has a strong why. A person who has strong convictions who knows the significants of his importance. As an artist and perhaps more unfortunately as a painter each day I look at why self and can only attempt to reach to the convictions of Julian.

SIDNEY HAS HIS NED KELLY. PIERO HAS HIS PINOCCHIO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhTXX3qBUh0

Place and environment have always been of importance to me. And that's just what I'm going to keep on doing, and not worrying too much about why or when. Sidney found his Ned Kelly and me Piero I have my Pinocchio playing the part as my my protagonist or alter ego  frivolously dancing as the conductor of each painting . You cant do this you cant do that. Yes sir no sir three bags full sir. Then only way to know is to find out. Sidney through his painting conveys emotion and connection to his subjects with a sense humour and boisterous sentiment. The need for Sidney to live in between London and Australia and my need to sit between Mildura Melbourne and Italy. I sense that one day I will return to Italy to continue this dialogue.  

Search Results

Web resulhumor and sentiment to his subjects. The need for Sidney to live in between London and Australia and my need to sit between Mildura Melbourne and Italy. I sense that one day I will return to Italy to continue this dialogue.  

WORDS OF WISDOM BY STEFAN SAGMEISTER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlkIVIau1Nk

BORDEM = PATIENCE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbIZ8bAWK2c