Arbor opening

 Join me tonight at the opening of the curated group exhibition, ARBOR Wednesday 19 April, 6.30 to 8pm. Showcasing ten artists responding to the theme of 'Arbor'. I will be displaying 3 works on this theme.

The other artists showing are: Liam Waldie, Angus Cummings, Merrian Dennis, Jodie Heffernan, Chris Lawry, Shirley Ploog, Kathry Ryan, Trevor Tagliabue, and Louise Donavan. You can view associate artists' works on the Tacit Art website: Link.

Cypress on the Tioga Pass ©Linda Weil 2023

The Grandmother Tree; Bryce Canyon ©Linda Weil 2023

Sprocket Tree ©Linda Weil 2023

First Prize VAS Autumn Select exhibition

 Well, if you didn't get the hint from the last post, my work won the First Prize in the Victorian Artist Society Autumn Select Exhibition! What a thrill and surprise that was! The work is my small A4 drawing called 'The Toybox of Drama and Broken Dreams' inspired by the ArtAviso Door to Door Covid exhibition. Further information HERE.

'Toybox of Drama and Broken Dreams' by Linda Weil©

A4 size, graphite and color pencil

It was a great opening, and I was on a high - even managed to get through the thank you speech without too many fumbles. It is so nice to be recognized, and wonderful for a small, graphite drawing to win such an award. The competition was tough, do go and see the exhibition if you have the opportunity.

Linda Weil (right), Winner of the 2023 VAS Autumn Select Exhibition Mackley Art Award with VAS Council Member Meg Davoren-Honey OAM, VAS FVAS, and Richard Impey FVAS, President of the Victorian Artists Society at the Awards presentation.

VAS Autumn Select Exhibition Opening

 Come join me at the VAS Autumn Select Exhibition 2023 - I can guarantee you will enjoy!

The Opening Event and Awards presentation is Saturday, 15 April at 1 pm - all welcome. Viewing from Tuesday (yesterday), 11 April until Monday 8 May at the Frater, Hammond and McCubbin Galleries, Victorian Artists Society, 430 Albert Street, East Melbourne. Further details HERE.

The beautifully renovated VAS gallery, view from the elegant staircase towards the Hammond Gallery upstairs, the sparkling chandelier below then out to Albert Street entrance.

Upstairs Frater Gallery. My work is the small one, top row, just above the sculpture of two black heads.

Hope to see you there!

Arbor: Curated exhibition and Easter shows 🐰

 Join me for the curated group exhibition, ARBOR on opening night, Wednesday 19 April, 6.30 to 8pm. Showcasing ten artists responding to the theme of 'Arbor'. Mine is rather different to the other works shown, is this a good thing? or bad? Come to the opening or during the show and find out.

The other artists showing are: Liam Waldie, Angus Cummings, Merrian Dennis, Jodie Heffernan, Chris Lawry, Shirley Ploog, Kathry Ryan, Trevor Tagliabue, and Louise Donavan. You can view associate artists' works on the Tacit Art website: Link.

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And of course, Autumn and Easter are the time for Rotary and other shows here in Victoria!

I have cut down on the Rotary shows a bit this year, choosing to exhibit more in regional or invitational shows in preference. Here is a list of where I will be showing over the next few weeks.

Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron Art Show 7-10 April
BYS is excited to be holding its annual Easter Art Show in the Southern Waters Room - opening night event on 7 April, 6.30 to 9.30pm. I will be in attendance this night if you want to meet up for a chat.
2900 Point Nepean Rd, Blairgowrie, Vic 3942; Info

Bright Autumn Art Exhibition 1 April - 6 May
This annual exhibition is held in the beautiful township of Bright at the Bright Art Gallery.
28 Mountbatten Ave, Bright Victoria. Open daily 10am - 4pm; Info

Bendigo Easter Art Show 6 - 10 April
Held in the historic Bendigo Town Hall, this art show is a regional favorite running at the same time as the Bendigo Easter Festival. Watch the wonderful Gala Parade concluding with the world's longest Imperial Dragon, Dai Gum Loong, weaving his way through the streets of Bendigo.
Bendigo Town Hall, Hargreaves St, Bendigo Victoria
  Preview: Thurs 6 April 7 - 10pm  Exhibition: Fri 7 - 10 April
Art show Info   Festival Info

Inspired by Garner
Drawings inspired by the stories of Alan Garner. Continuing until the end of April.
Blarney Books and Art
37 James Street, Port Fairy, Victoria
Info

Paper Wasps, and Term 2 news

Hard to believe it is almost April, and Term 1 is winding down - only another week of classes. We have been doing some fun projects over the past 8 weeks, ranging from hand studies, to working on toned paper and imaginative insect drawings in color pencil. It has been quite varied and a lot of fun.

Term 2 will be returning to color pencil again. I have a few different projects in mind. Using subjects relating to creatures, still life (including botanicals) and imaginative creations students will learn and explore color pencil techniques through workshopped demonstrations and exercises. Some photographic references will be supplied or else still life materials required by the student, but other exercises will be purely imaginative. Although this class is based in realism, students are encouraged to develop and explore their own particular style and subjects through the medium of drawing.

The first project will be looking at combining water soluble color pencil washes with waxed pencil overdrawing in a nature study work. We will look at the ever-popular Blue Wren - I will supply images to work from.

If you are interested in coming to Term 1, please contact the Mentone Mordialloc Art Group MMAG - sessions run on Thursdays, 1.30 to 3.30, and 7.30 to 9.30pm. Or the Victorian Artist Society VAS, Monday evenings 4 to 6.30pm.

'Paper Wasps' by Linda Weil, 2023.
In class project, Term 1 - Imaginative Insects.
The Brief: Using reference material sourced by the student, create a drawing with related background using insects as the theme in an imaginative way.
My work, 'Paper Wasps' turns the insects into mechanical beasties, with a cut-paper background. The paper beneath the stencil cut out is Stonehenge, beige tone.
Lana Bristol paper 250gsm, Staedtler karat color pencils and Staedtler graphite pencils.

Further Exhibition Information

After a busy few days finalizing and prepping, I took the 4.5 hour drive up to Port Fairy, delivered the works, stayed the night and then drove home the next day. Jo from Blarney has hung all the works in a double hang format, and it looks good! The masks are in a glass case, but I don't have an image to show... you will have to go see them in person.

And what better time than the next few weeks - the Port Fairy Folk Festival happens this long weekend, then we have school hols and Easter and finally ANZAC weekend. So much to see and do along the Great Ocean Road, and in Port Fairy. 

Inspired by Alan Garner

I am delighted to announce that my exhibition 'Inspired by Garner' will be opening early, on March 10 and extending until late April. It is exciting to have this long show that will run during the International Folk Festival and over Easter, School Holidays and the ANZAC weekend. I hope some of you can come visit the works during the exhibition.

I was introduced late in life to the wonderfully imaginative works of Alan Garner OBE, FRSL. Although as a child I read every fantasy, fable, myth and folklore book to be found in my local library, Garner's works never made it to the shelves in Campbell, California. In 2022, Keith Lawrence from Tacit Gallery in Collingwood recommended the latest Garner work to me, Treacle Walker.

This book began a deep dive into the writings of Alan Garner and since then I have been immersed in these creative, quixotic and magical worlds. His beautiful prose brought to me visions that were begging to be drawn, and Blarney Books and Art in Port Fairy encouraged me to create an exhibition based on some of my best loved of these stories.

Each drawing in this exhibition is my reaction to a scene or a line from one of his books. Using primarily graphite pencil with touches of wash or color pencil, I have tried to put on paper something of the characters and scenes my mind's eye envisioned while reading these tales. Just for fun, I have also created a few 3D masks of some of the remarkable critters I discovered in these writings.

Please come and enjoy the exhibition - I hope it brings back some memories of reading these stories when you were young, or else introduces you to Alan Garner and encourages you to seek out his works Trust me, you will enjoy!

Tiny Dancer

Playing around with small sculptures is fun and rewarding! This last week I won Second Prize in the Sculpture section at the VAS Summer Exhibition with my little wire and pencil shaving work 'Dancer Écarté'. What a lovely surprise!

The exhibition continues over this week and finishes on the 27th of February. There are some really good pieces on show, so if you are in Melbourne over the next few days drop in and have a look at the show. It is well worth the visit.

'Dancer Écarté': Brass and Aluminum wire, pencil shavings on treated pine wood slab. 19cm high.
©Linda Weil 2023

'Dancer Écarté' side view

'Dancer Ecarte' rear view

NOTE: Don't miss the upcoming VAS George Hicks Foundation Contemporary show 3 - 20 March, 2023 where my latest work 'Mechi-Mice' will be on show. 

New Garner Mask

Well, today is the last day of our summer holidays. Tomorrow first term classes resume, and I am looking forward to seeing what my fellow artists have been up to over the break. I am hoping to see some sketchbooks from travels, drawings and ideas from what they have seen and maybe a few photos.

Those who follow this blog know I have been working on artworks based on the books of Alan Garner over the past few months. Last week I completed another mask based on his book The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, which was a great read and lots of fun with creepy monsters and noble heroes. 

The subject for this mask is the Svart Alfar of the Morthbrood - sort of goblin-like critters that chase the hero children and generally are pretty scary. He was fun to create! Again, I used the Paper Magiclay with acrylic overpainting and a gloss varnish - same process as used in the earlier Owl Mask a couple of posts ago. Here is the result:

Hope you enjoy! Send me a comment and let me know what you think! See ya'!

All About Soccer

 After the recent FIFA World Cup there is a lot of interest out there in the world's best football game. Looking for the perfect reading gift for a soccer mad child or grandchild? Here is a huge shout out for the newly published book 'All About Soccer' from Capstone Publishing. Perfect for the 5 - 8-year-old range, (but it is a great read for any age!), it is loaded with soccer fun and crazy facts in 32 stunning up-close photo filled pages, written by the children's author,
Colette Weil-Parrinello

'Read All About Soccer' by Colette Weil-Parrinello

Available from: Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Colette is the author of children's books and magazine articles. She is passionate about encouraging kids to read and loves to find subjects that will engage them. She writes adventure, mystery, environmental fiction, non-fiction and magazine articles that will take them on amazing journeys and explore activities around the world.

And she just so happens to be my special and best-loved sister!

Sample double page spread - full of color and action!

Classes 2023

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer break - and maybe doing a drawing or two to show me in a couple of weeks? Classes at Mentone Mordialloc Art Group (MMAG) and The Victorian Artists Society (VAS) resume at the end of this month/start of February. VAS is fully booked, wait list applies but there are still spots open at MMAG.

See you soon!