Our regular blog is designed to help you learn more about our culture & also how to choice & look after paintings or other art works that you may purchase. The link at the bottom of this page will take you through to our archives to learn such things as how to choose investment art.
Our Current Blog:- Conservation - How an Aboriginal Sees It
Australian Aborigines have for thousands of years considered themselves caretakers & guardians of the land & its animals. As an indigenous Australian I am concerned about what ‘modern man’ is doing to the whole world & particularly my beautiful home Tasmania. This painting illustrates my concerns. I also use my art is to educate people about my homeland Tasmania. Most people have heard of The Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia. Unfortunately few have heard of the great underground forests that exist off the eastern coast of Tasmania. Not only are they places of great beauty and diversity of plant and animal life but also they play an extremely important role in the health of the oceans of the world. Depicted here are the great kelp forests that have been described as being underwater rain forests. Despite the size of these kelp forests their existence came as a great surprise late in the twentieth century. Paradoxically just at the time scientists have realised the importance (and in some cases the existence) of these vast kelp forests comes the news that climate change is having a devastating effect on them. Previously nutrient rich currents from Antarctica fed the whole ecosystem, now global warming is causing the cold southern currents to be replaced by the barren hot waters from the tropics. In recent years vast amounts of kelp have died. This is causing considerable concern among scientists who compare its effect to large tracts of rain forest being logged and warn of serious effects on the food chain in the oceans. When will man learn? “Civilised man” has caused much havoc in the past 200 years. I am especially proud of the fact that my people, Tasmanian Aborigines, never as far as it came be determined ever caused the extinction of a single living species. (That cannot even be said of our mainland cousins.) Yet we were almost hunted to extinction by invaders who considered themselves to be a superior human species to us & who in barely 100 years exterminated unique species of mammals & birds!
Among the many creatures that live in the kelp are sea horses. It seems many people are as fond of them as I am. Watercolour was the ideal medium to blend together the many different shades of brown found in kelp and create the effect I was after. This painting is in the traditional “earth” colours used by Aboriginals and painted in a traditional, though not so common style. Another objective of my art is to illustrate the many different styles used by our peoples Australia wide. I hope I have achieved both my objectives with this set. As always you are the judge. Click to enlarge.
Little Head in the Kelp - 3 x set watercolour on paper, professionally framed.
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This modern elegant set of three paintings would look good in any room or office. It is beautifully framed with three matts rather than the usual two. The two minatures together are the same height as the larger, giving several ways of hanging the set. These paintings have been widely viewed & admired.... These paintings are done entirely with watercolour paints, which is quite unusually for Aboriginal art. The measurements of the larger paintings are 54cm x 34cm. The two smaller are both 27cm x 27cm. All three on drawn on watercolour paper & professionally matted with colours chosen by the artist.
Horses in Kelp - Triple Matt minature.
Lovely little painting. Done with acrylic paint - compare with other 3 for the difference in look. This was a successful entrant in a major art competition which is way it is so well framed. Suits modern decor.
