My Journey as an artist

I have just returned, with Pearl,  from the Maitland Art Bazaar held in the grounds of the Maitland Regional Art Gallery in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. Pearl and myself set up a stall in which we exhibited our recent works, most of which have been done over the last twelve months.
Many of these works will be displayed in the Muswellbrook Regional Art Center during August this year.

Our Exhibition opens on Saturday 4th August at the Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre from 6.00pm.  You are invited to join us for refreshments and the opening.

Fauvist Portraiture.
I simply loved the fauvist-style portraiture, and much of my work emanates from this short-lived movement. Kees Van Dongen, a fauvist artist is one of my favourites. I have a number of books about him, with plenty of colourful plates.

(Fauvism) a style of painting that developed in France in the late 1890s,

 characterized by the use of such unexpected and vibrant colours that in 1905,

 an art critic labelled its practitioners—among them Henri Matisse and

 André Derain—les fauves, or “wild beasts.”

I have once again moved back to my own fauvist-styled portraits, where Pearl and myself are doing some collaborative works. I am using the beautiful medium of oil pastels (made famous by Pablo Picasso) on archival quality heavy brown card. Pearl then mounts the works on canvas, stitching the edges.
Examples of a Van Dongen I copied, plus my own fauvist works:

My copy of a portrait by Kees Van Dongen

"Lady in Purple Hat" by Rodney Swansborough

"Amber Eyes" by Rodney Swansborough