A couple of weeks ago I posted the art blog 185 PAINTING KINGS CROSS, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA and featured the first half of my acrylic on board painting of Kings Cross.  This time here is the second panel of that painting and as you can see the night life in this street never stops!

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

There are pimps and prostitutes, Rastafarians yes people from every class and culture, an eclectic mix of police, brothels, strip clubs & girlie reviews, pawn brokers, thieves, Salvation Army playing the tambourine, fire breathers, gays and straights, cafes and restaurants and a bakery.

THE ART OF A MASSAGE

Among all that if you look really hard you will find me and my hubby and our two kids as well.  Just on the left of the middle underneath the Swedish Massage sign you will find Chinese Massage and there on the footpath sitting on chairs in order from left to right are Kai (our son with ice cream) me (in the pink dress with hearts, I had long brown hair then) and my husband (curly blond hair and moustache) We are all enjoying a neck massage by the Chinese masseurs whilst our little daughter is standing on the footpath in front of Kai with an ice cream in her hand.  There is another random lady on the other side of hubby but we don’t know her!!

ART & CURIOSITY

We did have a lovely massage and an ice cream before going down to Circular Quay and catching the ferry to Bundeena and our little holiday house where we were staying whilst in Sydney for the wedding.  As an artist I find I get inspiration from just about anything and am curious about nearly every topic under the sun.

ART & THEATRE

Next time we go there I would like to see a play at the Griffin Theatre Company where they showcase Australian playwriting and contemporary theatre.  Several famous actors got their start there like David Wenham and Oscar winning Cate Blanchett.  The Cross Art Project has a wide range of contemporary, international and Aboriginal art on show there too with events such as workshops and film screenings.

UNDERBELLY ART

As I told you last time the illegal alcohol trade as featured in the Underbelly series was called sly grog and was infamous in The Cross led by the rival brothel owners Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh back in the day.  So if you are an Underbelly fan you must do the Kings Cross Razorhurst Tour.  It comes highly recommended and features the sordid tales of the criminal mastermind Kate and her war in the 1920 against the infamous madam Tilly and that dreadful razor gang.

COCA COLA & ART

Of course you must also have a photo taken beneath the iconic coke sign, which is just referred to as “The Coke Sign” and the red and white neon billboard was erected in 1974 and is located above the intersection of William Street and Darlinghurst Road.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Pearl Buck,

“If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday”.

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

Last week a new edition of ART COLLECTOR magazine went on sale, they have 4 issues each year and are a real quality art magazine with the issues having close to 300 pages each full of interesting articles and images of great art.

The new issue going on sale is themed “Undiscovered” NO. 64 (April – June) so the emphasis on this issue will be the emerging artist, but with more established artist thrown in as well.

I was very thrilled to be asked to participate in the issue and flattered that my art appealed to them and that the Deputy Editor called me personally to arrange all the details.  Here are the 4 mock ups they prepared for my art, I won’t tell you which one they used, you will just have to go and buy the magazine to see that.

AUSTRALIAN ART COLLECTOR

The magazine used to be called Australian Art Collector but as it is now sold both in New Zealand as well as New York and LA with more places to come so they have just changed the magazine name to “Art Collector”.

The quarterly Art magazine has several annual features such as this one “Undiscovered” the last issue was called “50 Things Collectors Need to Know”  which covered topics such as Cool hunter predictions, Artists collectors love, On the world stage, Debutantes, Curator’s radar, New directions, Remarkable collectors & philanthropists, Agenda setters.   Plus – How not to compromise on artists’ work and did art world purists get what they wished for with the GFC? (Here is an article that I have written on the topic of GFC is you fancy a look 170. The ART MARKET and the GFC )

ART UNDER $5000

Another regular issue they put out is; “Art Under $5,000” which is a feature of smart buys for the art collector starting out.

They have a team of journalists, art writers and profile key figures in the art world, such as curators philanthropists, dealers and collectors to draw on for inspiration and facts.  There is also a section where they profile leading artists from Australia, New Zealand and beyond.  The art featured seems to be from all genera’s, the only stipulation is that it is good art.

ABORIGINAL ART

Do yourselves a favor and get a copy today as it is full of informative articles on collecting Australian Aboriginal Art and contemporary art. It prides itself on being the most informative and up to-date coverage of the Australian art market.

I leave you today with a quote by Robert Brault, which I think fits both artists and collectors;

“The artist gazes upon a reality and creates his own impression.  The viewer gazes upon the impression and creates his own reality.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and maybe also art collecting to you all!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

This acrylic painting was the cover of Artlink Magazine for the summer edition 1992-1993, and I was absolutely thrilled.  I had only been painting for about 5 years at the time but was already working full time at it and loving every minute.

PLAYBOY MAGAZINE COVER

In my previous career as a model I had of course appeared on quite a few covers over the years, among them this Playboy Magazine cover.  Oh I know what you are thinking, lol but there is no need for anyone to go out and order any back copies of the magazine as I only appeared on the cover and it was a head shot too, bad luck, lol!   I was overseas modelling when the Playboy cover came out and had broken off with my boyfriend (whom I later married) and he said he got the shock of his life when he walked into a shop and saw it.  His mate that was with him promptly bought the magazine and “hubby to be” was apparently mightily pleased I wasn’t a centerfold!

ARTLINK MAGAZINE COVER

So to be commissioned to do a cover of a magazine in a completely different profession pleased me very much.  The brief was to create a cover that had something to do about art.  So I painted 2 paintings (the other, I will tell you about another time)on the art theme, if you look closely at this painting, “The Artist Camp” you will find a lot of the different forms of art represented.

FROM TOPIARY ART TO BODY ART

Starting from top left and going across you will see; Topiary– which is the art of clipping and training bushes and trees into different shapes, a form of living sculpture.  Then there is a Landscape artist and the nude model posing for a Figure painting, a small detail from Picasso representing both the Cubism and Abstract Art, followed by Body Art.

FROM FABRIC ART TO TATTOO ART

Next row down the lady is doing some Fabric Art and the stereo typical Outsider Artist, Art Brut or Art Raw with the Physiatrist and the patient in the straight jacket.  With all this political correctness my portrayal of that may offend however as I count myself in that bracket too as a Naive or Naif Artist I hope it is met with the humor I intended.   Next we have a so called Sunday painter with a Portrait of a cat and Aboriginal Art followed by a Graffiti Artist, Art for Therapy in prison and finally the Tattoo Artist and the little girl being inspired to love art by all of them!  I think the Bull Terrier is up to no good with the bike though,lol, not sure he has art in mind.

ARTISTIC TALENT

Whilst I do appreciate art schools and the skills they teach to art students, I do believe that a lot of the time they turn out artists who paint just like their teachers and sometimes their own fresh ideas are belittled.  My own take on the matter is that EVERYBODY has an artistic talent of some sort, some find that talent early whilst for others it may be a life time exploration.  However what I think matters most is the passion and enjoyment of creating and not necessarily the final result.  I would encourage everyone to find the inner child, to borrow from Mark Twain – explore, dream and discover but this time in relation to art and not travel.

Here is some lyrics from a song I really love called The Cape by Guy Clark which I think fits well here;

“He’s one of those who knows that life
Is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath
Always trust your cape”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting or whatever turns you on,

Love Marie xxx      (c)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.