The official opening of Ron Reynold’s Retour à Eltham on Sunday the 20^th February, 201, was received by  a very warm audience. With over 100 people in attendence, Ron not only demonstrated his progression over the years through his thoughtful words but also with the aid of sketchbooks, photographs and some of his very early work from the 1970s.

Classes begin on the 31st of January and the first exhibitions commence on the 16th of February.

The exhibition program for 2011 promises to be stimulating and enriching. It involves a balance of well established artists and inspiring emerging artists.

Opening Exhibitions: 16^th February – 13^th March

Ron Reynolds Return à Eltham.

In this exhibition, popular local artist Ron Reynolds gives reign to his two passions of Victorian and French landscapes in a show that is both reflective and forward looking. Colour and the cubist influences have always been a strong feature of Ron’s work but as his work has matured, Ron has worked more from the studio. He takes the motif as the starting point and continually develops and redevelops the balance of design and colour. Ultimately it is the painting that matters and the journey from start to end does not necessarily progress in a linear fashion. Meet Ron on Sunday 20^th February between 2.00 and 4.00, when he will have his diaries on view and explain his approach to art.

Ted May Drawings

Concurrently exhibiting is Ted May Drawings. Ted recently won the national $20,000 Xstrata Percival Portrait Prize and it is with great delight that we are treated to an exhibition of his work. Ted’s large charcoal drawings are impossible to walk by without spending time contemplating their form and intent. In 2006 Ted was approached to do a series of drawings for a documentary based on the failed boat trip of an expedition to establish a town on the Northern Territory coast. This project provided the inspiration for many drawings, some of which are shown in his current exhibition. The works on display are large scale images executed in charcoal on canvas and linen. Each work depicts its own unique narrative and flight of fancy. Each work also highlights May’s superb draughtsmanship, a skill not frequently seen. Using the boat as the central image, May has explored and pondered and finally, developed drawings that rouse the senses and excite the imagination. Ted will talk about his work on Sunday 27^th February at 2.00pm. Come along and share in his experiences.

Below is a summary of workshops and classes for term 1, 2011. Go to the Classes page for further information.

WORKSHOPS PROGRAM 2011

Working in partnership with watercolour with Ev Hales

Portraiture in Pastel with Raelene Sharp

Wildlife drawing – Feathers and Fur with Janet Matthews

Botanical Art with Mali Moir

The Art of Drawing with Ted May

Advanced Oil Painting Techniques with Joseph Attard

Painting Workshop: Freeing Your Expression with Ron Reynolds

Intensive Oil Painting workshop with Fu Hong

WEEKLY CLASSES 2011

Painting with Ron Reynolds (Mondays)

Untutored Life Drawing

Painting with Ron Reynolds (Thursdays)

Life Drawing with Dr Michael Mark

Still Life Painting with Dr Michael Mark

Give a unique gift this Christmas

-

The Meldrum School of painting was established in 1915 by an irascible, small Scotsman, Max Meldrum. He developed a technique of painting that inspired many followers and resulted in a school of art that followed this particular approach to painting. Meldrum’s method was based on first learning ‘to see’ and only then, could you begin to apply paint. ‘To see’ completely objectively was to see without emotion or memory clouding your perception. Once you learnt to see objectively, then you could start to paint. Meldrum ranked impressions that came to the eye in order of tone, shape and colour and it was tone that he considered the most critical factor in painting. In very simplistic terms he taught his students to apply paint in patches of the tonal value that corresponded to the tone they actually saw. Meldrum was adamant that the painting must be from life. The six painters exhibiting today paint from life – either plein air or from life models in the studio.

Artists who followed the Meldrum method included some of the pre-eminent artists of the early 20th century. Percy Leason, Colin Colahan, Clarice Beckett, Justus Jorgensen, Archie and Amalie Colquhoun, Richard McCann, Polly Hurry, and A.E. Newbury were among the passionate exponents of the method. These painters were outstanding practitioners of this approach and developed figurative and landscape paintings to a new level. Their work resulted in Australians seeing their landscape in a new light. (No pun) In many ways their work was the forerunner to the Australian landscapes painted by the modernists, as they pared down extraneous detail to evoke simple, beautiful figures and landscape. The Meldrum school of tonalist painters continued to the next generation with William Dargie, (b 1912) Hayward Veal, (b 1913)* Ron Crawford, (b 1915) Graham Moore (b 1916) Peter Glass, (b 1917), Russell Foreman, (b 1921) Alan Martin, (b 1923) and Graeme Inson, (b 1923) among many others. *( It is interesting to know that Hayward Veal lived in England in the 1950s and taught Rolf Harris, who may be remembered for the fast ‘tonal’ paintings he did on his TV shows.)

The Light Factory Gallery is proud to exhibit these six painters, who continue the principles developed from the original Meldrum School of Painting. Each painter has at various times studied with artist, David Moore, who was in turn influenced by his father, Grahame Moore and mentor, William Dargie. Each of these six painters has used the principles of observing tone, shape and colour and each of them has employed the broad painterly approach. However they have taken the method one step further in their vigorous exploration of colour along with their confident application of paint and pastel. Meldrum frequently painted in Eltham and lived here in 1921/22. Here he painted landscapes, simplifying them and refining the process of tonalist painting that consolidated his reputation. It is fitting that Australian Tonalist painting has returned to the Eltham roots from where it originally flourished.

Director Margot Tasca

The Tonalists

October 9, 2010

The exhibition was officially opened by the renowned sculptor Pamela Irving.

The Andor Meszaros Prize, an award category for sculptors with less than 10 years of experience, was this year awarded to Andrew Bryant for his corten steel and stainless steele sculpture, Pyramid of Heavy Thoughts.

The second prize for the Andor Meszaros Prize went to Winged, by Siouxsan Major.

Honourable mentions for the Andor Meszaros Prize went to Stoned by Dominique Pouzet and Incarnation by Van Phu Le.

The Margaret Gunnerson William Hoggan Thomas Memorial Award is decided by the vote of financial exhibitng members and awarded sculptors with over 10 years exhibition experience. The 2010 prize was awarded to Valda Cuming for Forest I.

Second prize in The Margaret Gunnerson William Hoggan Thomas Memorial Award was awarded to Michael Meszaros for Nationalism.

The Dalchem Pty Ltd Prize for was awarded to The Note by  Zoe Ellenberg.

The exhibition is open until the 31st of October.