The Artist/Mother's work is never done - Three Women Artists - Monique Tippett - Michelle Bourne - Melissa Nolan McDougall

Monique Tippett

Shadowlines 2020

Silky Oak, Jarrah, synthetic polymers, ink, charcoal, gold leaf and lacquers on board

280 cm x 96 cm

Image courtesy of the artist 

Artists who become mothers take on a complex dual role for the rest of their lives and one has the greatest admiration for them in doing so. The demands of both are an ongoing lifetime commitment, littered with ups and downs in the seas of time with its forged aesthetics as evidenced in this exhibition. 

Society, however, is more likely to recognise their artistic work, failing to acknowledge that their role as mothers is integral to their artistic self and soil. Recognition for their lifelong diligence in nurturing their families resides in private rather than public spaces with only their professional aesthetic contributions to the societal memory to the forefront.

In researching Artists and Motherhood exhibitions in Australia there are sporadic references to both roles but there is no systematic or in-depth analysis of their dual significance or recognition that this duality significantly contributes to the outstanding influence they’ve achieved, that is so prominent in our societal memory and helps shapes communities' thinking for better.

So please enjoy this selection of artworks by the aforementioned artists and theme at 2 Dogs Art Space in appreciation of the considerable efforts by not only these artists/mothers but all of them and celebrate what they have contributed to the society, now during this Coronavirus period and in the past via the internet. Thank you.   

Michelle Bourne

Star Swamp Reserve: Study of death, decay and renewal.

Works on paper acrylic and pencil.

297 mm x 420 mm 

Image courtesy of the artist 

Michelle Bourne

Star Swamp Reserve 

after the rain

Mixed media on paper

420 mm h x 297 mm w

Image courtesy of the artist 

Melissa  Nolan McDougall

Way to Blue

Pencil on Paper

30 w x 20 cm h

Image courtesy of the artist 

Melissa  Nolan McDougall

Reflection

Pencil on Paper

30 w x 20 cm h

Image courtesy of the artist 

Selection of Woodblock Prints by Hiroshigie, Kunichika and others

Kunichicka 1835-1900

During this Coronavirus period 2 Dogs Art Space has put on a special collection of Japanese Master woodblock prints from Edo and Meji period via the internet.

These master Japanese artists through there print making systems achieved an outstanding attention to detail in colour, pattern, texture and movement within the figures, thus creating scintillating images to  visually engage with so please enjoy.  

Fuchu 1852

Ando Hiroshigie 1997 -1858

Takaido - Kyoka

Ando Hiroshigie 1997 -1858

Jimbutsu

Ando Hiroshigie 1797 - 1858

"Seki" series of Takaido 53 Stations

Kunichicka 1835-1900

Utagawa Kunisada  1786 - 1864

TMT Exhibition (Texture, Marks and Traces) a Covaid-19 period internet exhibition

Kevin Robertson

Currently showing at 2 Dogs Art Space, Akashi, Japan is the new TMT exhibition with artworks from the early Edo by an unknown artist and late Edo period woodblock prints by Kunisada I and II - plus Sadaharu Horio's performance painting along with artists from Western Australia being Melissa Nolan McDougall, John Cullinane, Duncan McKay, Lynne Norton, Michael Doherty, Shelley Cowper, Michelle Green-Bourne, Kevin Robertson, Caspar Fairhall, Diokno Pasilan, Cynthia Ellis, Louis Moncrieff, Pippa Tandy, Ken Wadrop, Sally Douglas, Monique Tippett, Jurek Wybraniec and Sally Douglas

Monique Tippett

This TMT exhibition (texture, marks and traces) whether they be made from oil, acrylic, water colour or pencil etc..., it does not matter, what this show hopes to exhibit is the variety of TMT that has been achieved so far by these aforementioned artists.

Melissa Nolan McDougall

Sally Douglas

Shelley Cowper

Early Edo Period Japan artist unknown

Caspar Fairhall

Diokno Pasilin (top)

Michelle Green-Bourne

Michael Doherty

Duncan Mckay

Sadaharu Horio (left)     Jurek Wybraniec

Kunisada I  

Connie Petrillo  

Kunisada II

Lynne Norton

Pippa Tandy 

Ken Wadrop

Louis Moncrieff

Cynthia Ellis

Pre/Post Coviad-19 - small works on paper by Peter Davidson

 Magnified Pre Covaid-19

Kakogawa heavy Industry

Mixed media 

Waterford watercolour paper 300g

9 .5 cm h x 9 cm w

Living in heavily industrialised Hyogo Prefecture, Japan one may not tend to think of it as a beautiful place but for me it is and it was normal for me to drive around by myself through the back blocks of Akashi, stopping for lunch in the car before the state of emergency.

How often I would park the car in the middle of some heavily industrialized port-side area or within urbanised rice growing farming terrains, enjoying strange aesthetic sensations that resonated from geographies encountered.

Magnified Corona Virus Domestic View Nishi Ku Kobe no 1

Mixed media 
Waterford watercolour paper 300g

148 mm x 100 mm

Especially the winter/spring of Japan with the wonderful plum trees blossoming not long after the cherry blossoms start cascading over the parks, roads and footpaths with a beautiful aroma coming from the flowers whilst taking digital photographs that I use as an aide mémorie to create ideas for artworks back in studio, this was a normal modus operandi within my painting and drawing studio work.

All these aforementioned memories, coupled the state of emergency within the Hyogo Prefecture have now affected in some way or another what I choose to paint or draw nowadays and it appears into the near future.

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Currently, I am trying to maintain my studio praxis through the taking of digital images from my small apartment veranda views, high above ground then magnifying them on my computer screen but things have changed, I can’t smell the flowers or say hello to people in the street in going for a walk at any time, no eating at restaurants or meeting people, so my normal routine has been altered.

However, I still hope to reveal the stunning kaleidoscope of subtle distant hues of Kansai landscape from this high rise position with its half tints, contrasts, and textures seen from buildings, islands, the inland sea, industry, urbanised areas, rice fields, mountains, clouds, sky, tops of trees in this Japanese spring, please enjoy the changed studio praxis.

Pattern in Art - 100 year old Japanese woodblock prints juxtaposed Contemporary Western Australian Artists being Sally Douglas Louis Moncrieff John Cullinane Melissa Nolan McDougall Jurek Wybraniec

 Wood block artist unknown               Melissa Nolan McDougall

Pattern In Art

Sally Douglas Louis Moncrieff John Cullinane Melissa Nolan McDougall Jurek Wybraniec Juxtaposed Unknown approximately one-hundred-year-old woodblock prints from Japan

Now exhibiting at 2 Dogs Art Space Akashi are woodblock prints (most likely originating in the period of  the Japanese Emperor Showa,  being from 1926 - 1989) by unknown Japanese artists, that I bought from an antique shop in Kyoto, juxtaposed to these aforementioned prints are artworks by contemporary Western Australian Artists Sally Douglas, Louis Moncrieff, John Cullinane, Melissa Nolan McDougall and Jurek Wybraniec . 

Pattern in art and how it exhibits itself through studio praxis has an extraordinarily long history within the art and crafts, the many galleries and museums stand testament to that idea, for human beings have been creating patterns not only to adorn themselves (clothes and jewelleries)  but on everyday utensils  throughout the antiquities of aesthetics, no matter what race, creed or civilization they belonged too.

Aesthetic designs with its endless flow of patterns now and in past times is always interesting to view, it often opens up more questions than it answers, why did people create such patterns, what was the meaning of the colour with the design etc ….

What kind of strange phenomena within human memory creates such designs all this I have few answers for, its an enormous field of study.  But in viewing human created patterns it does create the first common stand point for the viewer to find out for themselves, so please enjoy the unity and diversity of differing artist's aesthetics within this show from the Sister States being  Hyogo Prefecture, Japan and Western Australia thank you .

 Wood block artist unknown        John Cullinane

 Wood block artist unknown Sally Douglas 

 Wood block artist unknown  Jurek Wybraniec

 Wood block artist unknown Louis Moncrieff 

Exhibition at 2 Dogs Art Space

A selection of Two Master Women's Artworks from the Northern Suburbs of Perth, Western Australia - Lynne Norton & Sally Douglas

Lynne Norton - Kangaroo Paws

mixed media on Paper

Currently at 2 Dogs Art Space, Akashi there is a small selection of artworks by two women artists being Lynne Norton and Sally Douglas, who have resided in the northern coastal suburbs of Perth for most of their artistic lives.

These smallish artworks by Norton and Douglas tend to reveal an intensity of observation from the terrains they inhabit and paint/draw from of what one might call pedestrian suburban motifs that are transformed into artworks, through the phenomena of human imagination within their daily studio work ethic into masterful artworks.

The art space is fortunate to have these aforementioned highly talented Western Australian women artists with selected pieces from their life time commitment to studio praxis and who have exhibited locally, nationally and internationally showing in Japan.

Please enjoy this exhibition that is currently on exhibit only via the 2 Dogs Art Space Blog  due to the coronavirus, further exhibitions will be on show this way in the near future, thank you.

Lynne Norton - Sturt Peas

mixed media on paper

 Sally Douglas - Poppy Stem Illusion 

water colour on paper

Sally Douglas Wild Wisteria 1 

water colour on paper

Sally Douglas Wild Wisteria 2

water colour on paper

2 Dogs Art Space

Peter Davidson - Plum Omomuki Paintings Rinako Inoue - Ikebana - Runa Gallery Kobe Japan

Omomuki Painting

(warm feeling)

おもむきは、風景の中で幸せに感じるものを観察すると、

暖かい感覚を意味する日本語の単語です。

Omomuki is a Japanese word meaning warm feeling when observing something that makes you feel happy in the landscape.

This series of artworks of the seductive and beautiful Japanese plum blossoms were constructed in the late winter in my Akashi studio, the memories are from around Akashi/Kansai ports, throughout the heavy/light industries, densely populated apartment/housing areas with its intermittent crammed rice paddies in the valleys between.

This recent experimental installation/collaboration between the Ikebana artist Rinako Inoue and my paintings at the Runa Gallery eventuated due to a conversation I had with a Japanese lady, for she related to me;

That in olden times before the Tokugawa period on walls of a castle various animals were rendered in sumi – e (Japanese ink painting) and one image was that of a monkey. And during those bygone times large flower arrangements would be placed within the building and the audience could walk around it and view it from various positions. In some of these views one could see the painted monkey on the wall looking back at them through the flower display.

This aforementioned historical sensation of the sumi - e monkey peering back through the freshly arranged flowers appealed to me, but in this exhibition, there is no wildlife only the hard/heavy industry terrains of Japan with its heavily populated areas of small houses and apartments, along with intermittent rice paddies around the Akashi region, along with the occasional ume (plum) in bloom on the very cold days at the end of Japanese winter, which when sighted always gives me this warm feeling (Omomuki).

These areas of industrial, fishing, farming environments around my studio in Akashi are not what one might called traditionally picturesque but they're to me, it is where my studio is located and it’s always a great joy to walk along and see the floral slices ume trees of what I consider great beauty.

I like the ume flower it doesn’t bloom so majestically like the cherry blossoms of Japan but it still has this unique aesthetic that I enjoy and want to paint, no matter where it situated in Akashi or surrounding terrains.  

This exhibition is my first collaborative attempt at portraying these ume flower sensations from Akashi with a ikebana artist, here are some of the results, which I can build on in the future, as currently I am thinking maybe a bigger installation both in painting and flower arrangement but  for now please enjoy these images, thank you