The months seem to be going by all too quickly as the second half of the year gets fully underway. By the time you read this I will be in Hong Kong, participating in the Asia Contemporary Art Show! It's the first time I have exhibited in this amazing city...such excitement...I am even hoping to slip in a little plein air painting on the side! The show runs over 4 days from September 15-18 at the prestigious Conrad Hilton Hotel...an unusual format in which the exhibitors occupy a hotel room which then becomes their private gallery by night as Asia's top art collectors peruse all the work on offer. Sounded a bit strange when I first heard about it but apparently the collectors love the informal atmosphere and the chance to chat directly to the artists. I will be taking a selection of my Paris works and also my Australian landscapes as I'm really not sure what the Hong Kong market will best respond to. Immediately following the Hong Kong show...ooh la la...I will be heading to Paris and France for 3 weeks! The prospect of 3 weeks plein air painting has got my artistic juices near fever pitch...it will be a lovely reward after the busyness of Hong Kong. In other news this month I am over the moon at having proceeded to the stage of being one of the 42 finalists in the NSW Parliament Plein Air Prize...this is rapidly becoming one of the state's premier art events so I am thrilled to have gotten this far...fingers crossed for the announcement of the winner on October 12! Below are a few of the pieces I will be showing at the Asia Contemporary Art Show.
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What a treat it was to exhibit my work at L1 Studios last week and meet some of my fantastic followers for the first time. I had not seen the gallery before but when I turned up on Friday nervously clutching my paintings under my arm, thankfully the exhibition space was a real treat...a large open plan warehouse with a great inner city feel to it...down a lane and up a flight of stairs so it had that sense of mystery. It was a great opening on Saturday afternoon with many paintings going to new homes in the Melbourne and Geelong area.
Now I'm back in my studio and busily preparing for my Hong Kong show in September...a hectic 4 weeks ahead and then the opportunity to show my work to some of Asia's top collectors. I've never been more inspired or motivated! Just wanted to thank all the amazing people who came to the show and helped make it such a success. For those who weren't able to see the show, there are still some paintings available in the exhibition catalogue at http://www.richardclaremont.com/melbourne-catalogue.html Well the last month has seen me painting like a madman for my first Melbourne exhibition at L1 Studios in Little Bourke St, Melbourne. The show will run for just 2 days over the weekend of July 9-10.
All stops have been pulled out in a prolonged and frenetic preparation for the show which will feature some of my latest South Gippsland pieces, painted plein air and also from my memories and recollections. So excited to be visiting this vibrant city again and I hope to see all Melbournians at the show! Well hello again folks...that time of the month again for a little update of my recent activities. In April I was fortunate enough to take some time out to visit family in Korea and then stop in Tokyo on the way back for some cherry blossom painting in Shinjuku Gyoenmae National Garden...what a treat! As well as having the fastest internet in the world, the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita, and being able to get McDonalds home delivered...there's a lot to love about Korea. I was impressed by how seamlessly the parks and rivers have been integrated into the urban environment. The monorail in Daegu is seriously cool. I don't know how it knows, but every time we passed an apartment block the windows turned opaque so we couldn't see in. Wish I'd paid more attention in science... Then on to Japan. What a privilege to paint in an authentic Japanese garden. The Japanese believe strongly in the maxim of 'sumi', or balance, and the seven principles of garden design - simplicity, asymmetry, naturalness, subtlety, break from routine, stillness, and austerity. What great artistic principles to learn from! I learned that ponds in a Japanese Zen garden represent negative space, or the "nothingness" that is essential to Zen meditation. In addition, the sound of dripping water is meant to remind you to exist in the moment with each drip. Then finally...the vending machines. I thought I could resist it, but it returned... on arriving in Japan the overpowering urge to paint vending machine cans came back with a vengeance. Japan has 5.52 million vending machines and in my ceaseless search for quirky cans to paint, I've inspected them all. Selling everything from hot noodles and umbrellas to flowers and fishing bait...In a land renowned for the kitsch, the wacky and the bizarre these were some of the coolest cans I've come across so far... As I prepare for the next phase ahead I have learned so much about the design ideal of 'shibumi'...Elegant simplicity. Effortless effectiveness. Understated excellence. Beautiful imperfection. Worthy ideals well worth striving for...Sayonara! Hello again everyone! Another month seems to have gone by and as usual it's been a fairly busy one. A trip down to Victoria at Easter enabled me to kickstart a series of landscapes I have been planning for some time, in and around the beautiful South Gippsland countryside. And how lucky was I to score my very own plein air studio in an old equipment shed at the rear of the wonderfully rustic Glentress farm! Several glorious days were spent touring the undulating valleys and rolling hills of this unique area, pausing for roadside sketches and then returning to my fabulous studio for some oil painting.
We stayed at the beautiful property of 'Glentress', located at Kardella, the site of what used to be a village with its own church. Our lovely host Lynda made us comfortable in her characterful home as we spent a wonderful evening chatting all things art and life in general. Happy days! These and other paintings will be featured in my upcoming exhibition in Melbourne in July... Well hello again everyone...hope you are all well and settling into 2016. That sounds like such a big number...wow.
I would have to say that over the last 3 weeks I have certainly had my fair share of my "15 minutes of fame", as Andy Warhol once described it. It all started when a local journalist, Michele Tydd, contacted me in December and asked if anyone had ever written a story about my dual career of being both an artist and a postman. I had had a few little mentions in the local rag and in the Australia Post newsletter, but Michele, with her newshound intuition, thought that we could probably go a bit further afield...so on January 17th, lo and behold, Michele's very well-written story came out in the Sunday Telegraph! For those who haven't yet seen it, here's the link... http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/the-artist-who-always-delivers-postman-carries-makeshift-artists-studio-on-his-motorcycle/news-story/7de1142d0aeef90c777f524ada95fdcd Well within a matter of days Channel 9's Today program contacted me and said they were keen to have me live on the show, so here's the link to this, my very first TV appearance! http://www.9jumpin.com.au/show/today/today-takeaway/2016/january/the-postie-with-a-dream/ . I would have to say the Channel 9 staff were all super friendly and professional, from the guy on the front gate right through to the presenters, and I immediately felt at home. Next was a story on Channel 7 Today Tonight (hasn't been shown yet) followed by a little feature on the Sunrise Show called "The Story of My Life", compiled and edited by the lovely Edwina Bartholomew, who really was a delight to work with. You can see that one here https://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/watch/30802738/story-of-my-life-richard-claremont/?cmp=st Then today a call from the Illawarra Mercury wanting to do a writeup as well. It's all been a lot of fun and I am truly grateful for everyone's time in coming down and filming me (you wouldn't believe how much tape ends up on the cutting room floor...like 90%!) but I really am looking forward to everything settling down a bit so I can get back to the business of doing what I do best...making art! Art-wise this month I have been continuing my Remembered Landscapes series...charting my memories as a little tacker driving into the country with my parents and visiting my grandmother in Bathurst...looking out the window, counting telegraph poles and asking that age old question...ARE WE THERE YET?? Well as 2015 comes to an end I will be putting my feet up after a hectic and exciting December. My exhibition "Remembered Landscapes" at Depot Gallery ended up being nearly a sellout with 25 paintings in total sold, and many commissions generated as well. I always look forward to exhibiting at Depot...in my opinion a world class gallery with exceptional lighting and space...I can't wait to return next year! The flurry of sales went way beyond my expectations, not to mention the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful people who have been following me on Facebook and Instagram. I truly believe there has never been a better time to be an artist with the wealth of communication tools available today...amazing opportunities for artists to meet not only other artists but interact directly with collectors as well.
So what does 2016 hold? Well I am extremely lucky to have been invited to exhibit at the Asia Contemporary Art Show in Hong Kong in September, and I am also looking for an exhibition opportunity in Melbourne as well as my regular Sydney show. Sounds like I might not be putting up my feet after all! I would just like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a joyful and safe Christmas, and to sincerely thank you for reading my brief updates throughout the year. A happy and creative 2016 to you all! Here is a snapshot of how the show progressed... Well it's finally here...my only solo show in Australia for this year! "Remembered Landscapes" starts on December 15th at Depot Gallery. Showcasing a year's work, this show will feature some local landscapes, landscape memories from my childhood and also some of my Paris works.
The title "Remembered Landscapes" refers to my technique of intuitive painting...often working from memory after a long walk along the coastline, but also actual childhood memories of trips into the country as a child to visit my grandmother at Bathurst. Here is the official invitation and also some of the paintings that will be on show. Everyone is welcome...it would be great to see you there! Absolutely thrilled and honoured to announce that I have just won the $15,000 ANL Maritime Prize, with my entry "Dusk, Port Kembla". Hosted by the Mission to Seafarers at Docklands in Melbourne, this was a great night with a wealth of talented artists who entered this prestigious award and there were clearly many entries which could easily have won.
This couldn't have a come at a better time for me with my upcoming show at Depot Gallery in Sydney from December 14th -19th. I would sincerely like to thank the Mission to Seafarers for all the amazing charity work they do for the families of those who earn their living at sea, and also the major sponsors ANL for their generous support of this event for the last 12 years. Here are a few shots from this incredible night... Well October has been all about my big trip to Paris and my exhibition at the Mona Lisa Gallery. The show was a huge success with a lot of new contacts made, the opportunity to show my work to the locals and some sales as well. We stayed in 2 different apartments...one in Montmartre and one in Le Marais, both with outstanding views over the rooftops which I so love. But probably the highlight was being able to live and work as an artist in the city of light for 3 weeks...every day was an adventure of new paintings, meanderings along new and undiscovered laneways and finally a glass of red in the evening looking out over the rooftops. Tres bon!
Below is a selection of paintings I did while over in France. |
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