art in life

A few weeks ago I went to the Newcastle Art Gallery for a sushi and sake night, and while I was there I fell a bit in love with the works of Del Kathryn Barton. This is one of them - gorgeous isn't it?

The artworks are based on the classic Oscar Wilde story The Nightingale and the Rose. In real life they're just extraordinary. The saturation of hues, and the incredible dots that Barton uses in her work make for a work that's so extraordinarily tactile I had to view everything with my hands behind my back. Just gorgeous.

I was naughty and snapped off this pic - I love the way that people interacted with the pieces - up close, far away, head cocked to the side. They're not glance and move on pieces.

Today Del Kathryn Barton was in conversation with the Associate Director of the Art Gallery, and it was a fascinating insight into how the works come about. And how she works. I'm intrigued by how creative people work - and Barton's no exception. She fits her work into long 10 to 12 hour stints at the start of the week - trying to knock the top off of as much as possible in this time.

Because these pieces were devised as artwork for a book the question was asked, "Why not just do a series of drawings? Why work on large scale paintings that took up years?". I loved the answer. I'll be paraphrasing, but Barton effectively said that she worked on each piece and gave it the space she needed. She had 10 canvases, all different sizes and shapes - and that each painting just evolved.

I loved this answer. I think that's why these pieces work so well - they're individual.

Here's the book that resulted. Isn't it just glorious? The exhibition is on display until February 17 - go see it.

I love supporting the Art Gallery, and today I finally signed up for family membership. I adore these events they come up with to share art with a wider audience - today's talk was packed with art-lovers of varying ages and interests (and one fabulous pair of leopard-skin legs).

What a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon, particularly when it's with a friend and it's sandwiched between coffee and a spot of shopping on Darby Street.

Life's good huh?

French word of the day: poser (po-sehr) - to put.

ps: art gallery peeps, don't get mad, I found the shots of the artwork online, I didn't take them myself! Well, you know, aside from those two that I obviously took, but hey, that's not *really* of the artwork is it? And I didn't use a flash, and had my volume down, so, you know, not like doing anything at all really!

pps: two official images from here.