March Mailbag 2021 No 1
Recently Caroline showcased the paddle steamers on the Murray River - many of which carried the mail to the settlements which had been set up along the banks. So let us start our Mailbag by watching the summer sun set over the beautiful Murray River.
Whilst we are floating down the Murray River it is worth mentioning that Broken Hill is only a stone's throw (by Australian measurements!) to where the Murray meets the Darling River at the lovely town of Wentworth, NSW. From here the Murray supplies water via a huge pipeline to Broken Hill.
This is leading up to tell you that I had a lovely email from a relative of May Harding who taught so many of the artists in Broken Hill. I quote a little from the email:
She was a great character and very passionate about Broken Hill, particularly the art community there but also the environment, the local botany and education for young people to appreciate this unique part of our country.
When she visited Adelaide she would stay with us. She was especially interested in our Festival of Arts. She always encouraged me to appreciate art and would give me gifts of beautiful paints and pencils.
It was very pleasing to see that she is still remembered as a very vibrant and influential character in the Broken Hill scene.
You can check back to our post on May Harding by following the link below.
Thank you to all those people who have contacted me regarding the series of posts on Broken Hill naive artist Hugh Schulz. Your interest has been greatly appreciated. As JW in South Australia put it:
I think Andrew’s comment about Hugh’s work “hit the nail on the head”! “Hugh painted the dry baron landscape in such vibrant/bright colours - you just wanted to be there!!!” Magnificent!!!
Moving away from Broken Hill ...
Shingled Dog Kennel 1
We had one submission to our Best Dog Home competition arising out of Digger's new abode and it was from K. in NSW who said he scanned the internet for the best doggie house and came up with the Shingled Look for your beloved furry companion! I rather like the garden setting this pooch enjoys as well.
And speaking of homes, Matt Cameron who is the tech brains behind the AnArt4Life blog, is a wizard at what he does. Any time I contact him to solve the blog problems he is at his desk. And it is no wonder - look at the view he has from his office.
As Matt says:
The view from my home office - wouldn't trade this for anything! 😉
Thank you Matt for all you do to keep the blog up and running.
From one office to another - from the studio of John Wylie a new painting titled Standing Tall. John explains:
I am always amazed when I see a “lone tree” growing out of rocks & especially in the harsh conditions of a “cliff face” exposed to all the elements!!
These scenes are not complete unless our “first nations people” are included… on their country… an amazing “rich” life style!!!
John Wylie also commented that: Caroline’s Letter Boxes in rural country regions were magnificent to see.... Country people are very creative on their farms... recycling any old material to promote laughter & well being....Great Stuff!!!
A in Oakleigh said she just loved Caroline's road signs post where we learnt about Margaret Calvert Showing us the way and she will look at signs with a deeper understanding!!
And A in Oakleigh was also inspired by the posts on rocks started by Julie in:
Rocks in Art and followed by
How to Paint Rocks
The Peaceful Art of Rock Balancing. A and sent in these photographs illustratting the colours and texture on rocks at Shelley Beach, Orford, Tasmania.
E in London also commented on the posts on rocks saying: We took a visit to the big studio lot in LA - Universal Studios - many years ago and they explained that in movies you had to have artificial rocks. If you used real rocks - well they just didn’t look real!! So painting them must be difficult too.
E in London can have the last word/image today as she sent in the video below arising out of our posts on The Fibonacci Sequence - 1, The Fibonacci Sequence - 2 and The Mandelbrot Set and Fractal Art.
The video shows a demonstration of the resonance patterns discovered by a late 18th-century German physicist and musician called Ernst Chladni (1756–1827). What you will see is amazing and hard to believe but it is all scientifically proven.
Credits
1. pinterest.com