Above – Julie Hutchings- Scarlet – Oil and mixed media on canvas. Featured – Carole Foster – No I am Zorro – Acrylic on canvas.
The current exhibition featuring two talented artists at the Traffic Jam Galleries in Neutral Bay is a delight.
First, Carole Foster’s exhibition, LIFE’S PLEASURES. Carole has held over thirty five solo exhibitions and has exhibited both internationally and within Australia.
This exhibition includes more of her wonderful close up portraits of birds , dynamically presented on a clear background. They can best be described as birds with attitude!
These paintings are presented in tandem with the sweet Lovers Delight, a double portrait of a pair of birds. A solo portrait Maxwell Magpie captures the cheeky intelligence of the bird you can almost hear it speak.
What is also delightful is Foster’s inclusion of wonderful European landscapes depicted with a loose flowing vibrant line and colour.
In the spotted, swirling Broken Back Vines, featuring sweeping landscapes, there felt like a bit of a Cezanne influence.
Romancing Timeless Places enchantingly shows a small village in winter, snow hiding the blues and greens.
Party Time Montenegro features bright, bold and colourful flowers exploding in the foreground.
The Flavour of the Mediterranean builds its composition vertically, from the water with small boats at the bottom to the church with its tower up the top.
Julie Hutching’s exhibition BLURS THE LINES includes some marvellous charcoal water and landscapes. The Coombadjha series depicting a storm ominously about to crash is a highlight.
There were a couple of vibrant charcoal nude drawings emphasising the shape of the body (Figures 1 & 2 ) which featured electric use of line and the medium.
Curves and Edges, also a nude, but an oil painting in color, depicts a woman with her back turned. Are we glimpsing a reflection through the keyhole? Delicate gold leaf is used for both the moon and the earring that the woman wears.
Hutching’s exhibition also features childlike, dreamlike paintings such as Little Fish, depicting two children fishing in summer, and Out Of The Blue, showing a young red haired girl with a backpack, asleep on a large horse. Is she a princess as indicated by the crown, or is she dreaming of wearing the crown?!
Strange Conversations depicts sisters dreamily enjoying time at the beach.
On the Trike captures a young girl riding a tricycle.
Gift Horse shows a young girl dreaming of a horse – what is real and what is not?!
Shadow Dancer is a delightful portrait of a young dancer wearing a white leotard in a sculptural pose. Is she being partnered, or is it just a shadow that we see?!
This current, charming exhibition will run at the Traffic Jam Galleries, 41 Military Road, Neutral Bay until Thursday 23 June.