Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery: Ken Smith, Arthur Boyd, Richard Simpkin

Last week I went to the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery (MPRG) to see three exhibitions, 'Ken Smith: Walking by water', 'Arthur Boyd: An active witness' and Richard Simpkin’s 'Richard & Famous'. All three exhibtions run from 5 December 2014 to the 15 February 2015.

I was also able to attend the artist talk by Ken Smith about his exhibition and method. I have been following Ken’s career for a while now (long before he was my supervisor at Monash). As an art collector (okay I only have few pieces), I get very excited when I see artwork that is amazing and I get even more excited when I find out that the prices are quite reasonable (because the secret of the artist's awesomeness isn’t out yet). So if you want to get a hold of his work I highly recommend to do it sooner rather than later.

So a few key things I took from Ken’s Artist talk:

– It is okay to use black when mixing paint especially if it is for the Australian landscape (you can’t get the right colour otherwise)

– Digital screen cannot interpret as many colours as the naked eye

– Ken worked in an artist paint factory (where they create and mix paint) when he was younger which taught him a lot about how to mix colour.

– Everyone has a different level of colour perception (the ability to distinguish between different colours and tones)

So what did I take out of this wonderful show/talk? Yes, colour is not the same on the screen (*sigh* the difficulty of photographing this show… the photos just don’t do the work justice) this show must be seen in person to see the subtlety of the colour and light he creates.

Also, Ken will be running an exciting painting workshop on January 28th 2015, see here for details.

Please enjoy the following photos from the exhibitions:

'Ken Smith: Walking by water'

Ken Smith _ 9 headlands 2013 oil on canvas (5)_ art and artists blog

Ken Smith,  '9 headlands' 2013, oil on canvas (detail)

Ken Smith 9 Headlands 2013 oil on canvas (4)_art and artists blogKen Smith, 9 headlands, 2013, oil on canvas (detail)Ken Smith _ 9 headlands 2013 oil on canvas (7) _ art and artists blogKen Smith, 9 headlands, 2013, oil on canvas (detail)

Ken Smith _ 9 headlands 2013 oil on canvas (9) _ art and artists blogKen Smith, 9 headlands, 2013, oil on canvas (detail)

Ken Smith _ 9 headlands 2013 oil on canvas _ art and artists blogKen Smith, 9 headlands, 2013, oil on canvas

Ken Smith _ Six times Six days 2007 oil on paper _ art and artists blog

Ken Smith, Six times Six days, 2007, oil on paper

Ken Smith 10 days 10 horizons 2012 oil on panel_art and artists blog

Ken Smith, 10 days 10 horizons, 2012, oil on panel

'Richard & Famous'

Richard Simpkin _ Richard & famous _ art and artists blogRichard Simpkin, 'Richard & Famous'

'Arthur Boyd: An active witness'

Arthur Boyd Jonah on the Shoalhaven - outside the city 1976 _ art and artists BlogArthur Boyd, Jonah on the Shoalhaven – outside the city, 1976,oil on canvas, Bundanon Trust Collection (Image provided by the gallery)

Mr Turner Movie

_89U3166I have long been a fan of Joseph Mallord William Turner artwork.

I was recently invited to see a preview of the new movie 'Mr Turner' about Turner's life and work. What I found most interesting about the movie was the insight into the history of how the art world was run (so much has changed yet so much is still the same) . There was also surprising little bits of humor through out the movie. 

If you love art or if you love Turner, you should see this movie when is comes out in the cinema 26th of December 2014. View the trailer below…