And now for something completely different...

I've just finished a drawing of an old great house in Jamaica called Claremont House. For those of you who don't know I once, many years ago, trained in architectural drafting and rendering so every once in a while I like to flex the old drafting skills.

'Claremont House' was the great house for the Claremont Plantation in the parish of St Mary, Jamaica. It was Once owned by the Constantine family and later became a college run by the Society of Friends. 

It is said Claremont was once notorious for a tragic and often seen 'duppy', Jamaican work for ghost. Travelers who passed the house on their way to the near-by village of Claremont were said to observe a frantically waving female figure clad in white, appearing in great distress in one of the second story turret windows. As passers by watched she would be hauled back violently into the room and out of sight... until the next time. This female figure became locally known as 'the Lady in White' 

(If you'd like a copy I have them up in my shop)

Free Paint!!

Australia's been great I keep getting free stuff in my post box!!

Last week it was free paint c/o the lovely folks at Windsor & Newton

White Noise Cards Now available @ RobinClareArt.etsy.com

Cards with images from my White Noise series are now available in my online shop in sets of 4, 8 and 16. Printed on  matte Hannamule sugarcane paper stock (300gsm) (100% sustainable & archival - 75% sugarcane fiber, 25% recycled cotton) and accompanied by 100% recycled 100gsm envelopes.

www.RobinClareArt.etsy.com

New Work Friday...

New work Wednesday...

    

 

 

New work tuesday...

A couple of old Jamaican Party posters

  

I thought I'd share a bit of my inspiration for the Jamaica series starting with some old Jamaican party posters. You can still see similar posters around Ja if you keep your eyes open.

 

However the more modern party advertising style has embraced the digital age as has the language and tone of imagery used. Messages and names have become much more provocative. 

 

"Where pictures tell the story of the upcoming show today, words were the preferred medium of the early promoters. That was to change 11 years ago." Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter, Jamaica Gleaner

Musical Interlude

Dancing Boys

After giving you many dancing girls to look at here are some boys to even things out...

 

Milkyway T-shirt now available through my etsy shop

Milkyway T-shirts now available through My Etsy shop

After many weeks of sourcing I've managed to find a very high quality printer and some awesome quality t-shirts in both feel and depth of colour. The T-shirt is digitally printed so the the colour really pops and it's got a wonderful feel as you run your fingers across.

Buy now for $45.00 + shipping

Soundclash Blog review of 2011 Jamaica Party Season

The Soundclash Blog has an excellent run down of the 2011 Jamaica Street Part Season, which saw a different event for almost everyday of 2011 calendar. With some new standards like Mojito Mondays located in the parking lots of Suzy's bakery, Hammer Fridays and Container Saturdayz. Some short lived runs like Swagg Tuesdays and the demise of some of the more famous or infamous street parties like Passa Passa and Dutty Fridayz. Read the full rundown here

Shell Dung - to take by storm.  ie. di DJ shell dung di place

Welcome 2012

Group Show: Answers on the Front of a Postcard - Opus Fine Art, Newcastle, UK

The exhibition consists entirely of unique postcard-sized works created by Opus Fine Art's stable of artists with each work priced at £150 including VAT and framing! This exhibition gives collectors the opportunity to pick the perfect low priced and highly collectable gift for a loved one to deck their halls with over the festive period.

This exhibition is open to the public, by appointment only, from 2 December 2011 to 27 January 2012 at Opus Fine Art, Milburn House, Dean Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1NR.


Contact enquiries@opus-art.com to register your interest in this exhibition.

 

  

Artists included in the exhibition are Andrea Allan, Ben Allen, Jonathan Alibone, Vasilis Avramidis, Kim Baker,Joseph Borzotta, Tanja Boukal, Charlotte Bracegirdle, Rachel Louise Brown, Dean Cavanagh, Robin Clare, Tintin Cooper,Bonnie and Clyde, Richard Davidson, Dixon (Juan Carlos Noria), Michele Fletcher, Carne Griffiths, Tony Hull, Joanna Hutton, Nathan James, Kelly Jayne, April Jarocka, Brian Jones, Hayden Kays, Chris Kettle, Linda Lencovic, Miranda Lopatkin, Simon Mackness, Mantis, Sarah Maple, Alexandra McLain, Josie McCoy (work pictured), Ali Miller, Sue Moffitt,Edward Monovich, Kuzana Ogg, Jamie Paul, Judy Ragagli, Gurpran Rau, SHEONE, Clare Shields, Henrik Simonsen,Geraldine Swayne, Charlotte Stubbs, Tracy Sweeney and Lex Thomas.


To view the full list of artworks in this exhibition please see the artwork page here.  

The postcard exhibition will run alongside a solo show of new work from Kim Baker whose paintings evoke an inner world, but also work with the tangible, visceral qualities of oil paint.

Appliances on Patterns @ Blackwattle Cafe in Glebe

The Appliance on Pattern paintings are getting a second outing in Sydney and will be at the Blackwattle Cafe until mid February 2012.

The Blackwattle cafe, housed in a gorgeously restored heritage building, Bellevue House, is sat overlooking Blackwattle Bay with a wonderful view of the Anzac Bridge and Sydney's CBD. With a chilled out atmosphere created for whiling away long summer evenings, excellent food and addictive coffee, supplied by local roasters, and art what more could you ask for..?

Blackwattle Cafe
55 Leichhardt Street
Gebe  NSW 2037
www.blackwattlecafe.com

Open - Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Sundays 8am - 4pm
            Thursdays - Fridays 8am - 8pm
Closed - 25th - 27th Dec & 1st -2nd Jan

www.blackwattlecafe.com

Hot off the easel - Butterfly

Butterfly, Acrylic & Ink on Paper, 50cm x 40cm

Hot off the easel - Dip and Come Up

Dip and Come Up, Acrylic & Ink on Paper, 50cm x 40cm

A Statement on Jamaica Project & Dancing Words series

It's come to my attention that there is possibly a certain amount of misinterpretation about my Jamaica Project work and Dancing Words. It is not my intention to promote sexism and violence through my work in fact it is the opposite. As a female artist I approach issues from a feminist point of view and use my art to explore, open discourse, ask questions and strive for answers.


The Jamaica Project series and Dancing Words series are both actually a commentary on sexism and violence in Jamaica. I'm using the work to explore the issues surrounding the dichotomy of an island that is so open and fun loving (ie people love to sing and dance and can be very welcoming) yet there is also this angry violent side that seeths underneath and I find it interesting that the two sit side by side on a kind of volatile knife edge and the two come together and break apart at various times. I realise that there's an intricate web of social issues that cause this and wonder if there is any hope of breaking the barriers down and cutting through all the corruption and dogma that causes the web to grow. I've also always been fascinated with the fact that Jamaica is a largely matriarchal society yet women are portrayed as purely sex objects in alot of the party media and to a certain extent in the media as a whole. I have often heard Jamaica being described as a matriarchal society, which it may not be in the most literal sense but it does have elements of being one and I find it interesting that women seem to offer up this little bit of power in order to hang onto the other portions of power, they are the breadwinners, the educated ones and they hold the family units together. But they perpetuate this facade that the men are the heads of the household and this too often manifests itself in domestic violence and various forms of abuse. This in my opinion is a legacy or old fashioned Victorian values imposed by colonial society and I feel strongly that new generations, both male and female, on the island are breaking this mold and waking up and saying No More.


I guess the sentiments don't come through in all the images I make but a lot of the time the the phrases I use have double meanings and along with the images are presented with a layer of irony. I want my viewers to do a little mental athletics and want them to ask questions about the work; why has a woman painted this sexist image; is the woman in this painting really powerless; what does this phrase really mean; Why is it being juxtaposed with this image; etc. I do use more blatant statements of protestation such as "The Dragon no like water cuz it put out him flame" which is a direct commentary on corruption. But in smaller pieces like More Fire the interpretation is less black and white. The phrase "More Fire" has been long banded about in Jamaican society, mostly as a output of exasperation and interpretation of political tactics or garrison politics. It seems that the easiest answer is "More Fire" and using guns and violence to control the population. In my work the phrase is used with a level of irony that I hope is apparent.