Cyclone Tracy

I have just found this wonderful image painted by Rover Thomas, titled 'Cyclone Tracy' 1991.  The image depicts a black void as the cyclone gaining intensity as it makes its way towards Darwin and the resulting winds kicking up the red dust, which feed into the void.  Cyclone Tracy is both sophisticated and simple.  The black void allows for quiet contemplation of the wake of the devastating and destructive winds and emphasises the scale of the event that occurred.

This is what a cyclone painting should look like, something organic, imposing and encompassing.  It is not green.  Nor is it a literal reproduction of a computer modelling system.  It is time for me to move away from the literal and in to something much more intuitive.  I am in immense anticipation of once again having a studio in which to spread out and allow ideas and concepts to ferment, develop and grow without having to pack them away every afternoon.  Rather it is time to pack away the projector and allow the imagination to run rampant.

http://nga.gov.au/federation/Detail.cfm?WorkID=148012

Before and After

Transit (before)

Transit (after) 120x120 acrylic on canvas

Oh the dilemma.  Just looking at these two images I feel I made have made a huge error of judgement.  For whatever reason, this painting just didn't come together for me the way they usually do.  Looking back now I think that the error may have been in trying to make green the dominant colour rather than blue.  In the original that yellow is screaming while the white insisted on pushing itself forward.  In short my colours were all fighting each other and I wasn't sure which one to listen to.  I almost regret my decision not to persist with the original.  I can see now all it required was to pull that blue forward, push the yellow and green back and allow the white to be a space of quiet contemplation.

Instead I woke one morning and in hast changed white to green and green to white.  It was a decision that left me both uncertain and out of time.  On paper this was a dynamic composition, and one I laughed 'This will be easy', to which my husband replied 'Yeah, right'.  He was also horrified when he realised I was painting all the white spaces green.  'I thought that was the best painting you had done until now'.  Gee, thanks.  

Anyway, the painting was delivered to the gallery on Sunday and will await its fate in the Hedland Art Awards which are announced at the opening on August 30.  I am looking forward to seeing the exhibition and attending the judges walk through the following morning.