At Camp Creative

Bellingen, 2013

Our brief was to choose an artist and a subject of our own and to connect the two: not to make a slavish copy but to use the artist's style as a springboard and to see where it took us.  We had a lot of Impressionists in the class, especially Cezannes.  I was taken by Matisse's simplification and his pattern motifs, especially as I'd read that he used to work towards them on top of skilful representational paintings.  I took along a collage of photographs from my visit to Bali last year; I thought I could assemble them onto a patterned canvas.  My work is not finished so I'm only showing a detail.  I can see that Matisse encouraged me to simplify and to crowd my composition, but I'm not certain that his influence is obvious.

Balinese Guardian.  2013.  Oil on canvas, detail of unfinished work.

The best part of the camp was spending five continuous days with other people who enjoy painting as much as I do.  Here is the class of '13:

I am fourth from the right, standing, holding a very incomplete canvas.