link to interview with Alex Sloan on ABC 666

https://radio.abc.net.au/programitem/pe8DrA7aNL?play=true

the interview will be available for one week.

Interview with Alex Sloan and the winning entry included in the Panorama Art pages

On Friday Tiff and Alex Sloan spoke at length about art, art practice, Canberra, inspiration and gardening. Not to forget the upcoming exhibitions Botanica, River and Memoria E Luogo. The full radio interview will be broadcast on ABC Monday 11th July at 2.30pm.

Tiff's winning entry in the Watercolour prize was published in the Canberra Times on the 9th July in the Panorama art section.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/whats-on-in-canberras-arts-scene-from-july-8-20160705-gpz4pe.html

Tiff and Alex in the studio.

A win! The Contemporary Watercolour Prize

On Friday, 1 July 2016, I won the bi-annual Wollongong Art Gallery Contemporary Watercolour Prize worth $10,000, with my work Series #5, still life with leaves and juggling pins.

This year’s judge was Anne Ryan, Curator of Prints, Drawings and Watercolours at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. She said of the winning painting, “…It’s an exceptionally well-made object but also a beautifully made object and a worthy winner of a prize dedicated to watercolour.’ She also commented that, ‘…(Tiff’s) use of the watercolour medium is virtuosic’ and that the work was, ‘…very exceptionally well-resolved…’

Well I guess the old saying 'practice makes perfect' applies here. I've been painting these still life paintings since I could hold a paint brush. I remember scavenging around the woods behind my house in the mid-west in the US where I grew up looking for interesting and pretty things to draw and paint. I was around 13 when I set up and painted my first formal still life. I was probably younger when I created my first formal still life graphite rendering. That was over 35 years ago and I've never stopped. I love everyday objects. There's really no intrinsic value in a lot of the stuff I collect to paint. But most of the objects I collect have a certain intrinsic beauty and feel about them. Old things have a history, a story, a past. And natural things are imbued with an ancient lasting quality and beauty I find irresistible. 



Someone once asked me at one of my exhibitions what I was planning to do for my next exhibition...They were surprised when I said, 'Oh, more of the same!' I just can't stop painting these paintings. I've essentially been a still life artist my whole life and I'll probably continue to paint these pictures forever. 

Beauty isn't a particularly popular notion in contemporary art but there's no doubt I'm whole-heartedly wedded to this concept. I'm captivated by little details, how the light plays on different kinds of surfaces, glass, wood, metal, or how a shadow falls or how light travels through something transparent, a vase, a leaf, a petal. Capturing the beauty of these things is what I love. It's why I paint these paintings.

As for winning the prize, well, it's always wonderful to receive recognition for the work you do. Being an artist is a pretty solitary pursuit so it's nice to get your work out there in the open, to show people what you've been up to while you've been locked away by yourself in the back room for hundreds of hours. But you don't win these things on your own. You create good work under the auspices of unfaltering support from family and friends. This is a win for every one of those people too (you know who you are).  

The Contemporary Watercolour Prize exhibition runs until 21 August at the Wollongong Art Gallery

Images from Impermanence Exhibiton

A fantastic week in Melbourne celebrating the Impermanence Exhibition at Firestation Gallery in Armadale. The floor talk on Wednesday and the opening on Thursday coinciding with the UNICEF Art Auction were large, boisterous occasions. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and to make new friends. A huge thank you to Edith at Firestation for the huge contribution she has made to the success of the show. As always it is a frenetic pace you must keep to get everything ready for the openings. The Melbourne deluge of rain prior to the opening did not dampen the festivities and we look forward to more events to showcase the work we produce.

artist information for Impermanence

Tiff Brown Impermanence Firestation Gallery 2015

Tiff Brown is a formally trained fine artist, muralist and illustrator who has maintained a thriving professional arts practice for more than 25 years. She has extensive experience collaborating on projects in the fine art, corporate, institutional and private sectors in Australia and overseas.

In November 2007 Tiff held a highly successful solo sell-out exhibition Still at Solander Gallery, Canberra. In 2008 Tiff was selected as a finalist in the Sulman Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW. Her exhibition Quiet Noise at Bison also sold out. She has received numerous corporate and private commissions and has lectured at the University of Canberra.

Her commercial portfolio is comprised of a wide array of styles and mediums that she has developed and perfected throughout her career. Tiff specialises in contemporary graphic murals and trompe l'oeil. Her work has graced annual reports, brochures, print and television ads, posters, catalogues, manuals, postcards, multimedia productions and websites.

Her mural work appears in public institutions, restaurants, hotels, clubs and private residences around Australia. She has worked also worked as a photographic stylist and is a qualified interior designer.

Most recently Tiff has exhibited the shows Beneath the Surface at M16 in Canberra in 2014 and Impermanence in 2015 at the Firestation Gallery in Armadale Melbourne. She is working on large-scale images for the upcoming exhibition Memoria e Luogo to be held at M16 in 2016. Tiff’s work is held in public and private collections in Australia, USA and New Zealand.

www.brownbulldog.blogspot.com.au

Peter Rohen Impermanence Firestation Gallery 2015

Creative Director – Fusebox Design 

1997 – Present; Canberra & Melbourne, Australia

Creative Director – Multimedia Art Design

1997 – 1997; Canberra, Australia

Designer – Freelance

1996 – 1997; London, UK

Art Director – Brave Design Group

1994 – 1996; Canberra, Australia

Designer – Enterprise Marketing

1993 – 1994; Sydney, Australia

Designer and illustrator – Freelance

1988 – 1992; Brisbane, Australia

Peter Rohen

Peter Rohen is an award-winning designer and fine artist. He has worked as partner in his own company and on contract basis supplying branding, design and illustration work for publishers, ad agencies, art galleries, cultural institutions, private enterprise, governments and obscure indie bands. He has also maintained a concurrent fine art practice.

Commissions / Exhibitions

Memoria E Luogo M16 Artspace 2016-upcoming

Impermanence Firestation Gallery Armadale Melbourne 2015

Beneath the Surface Exhibition M16 Artspace Canberra 2014

Private commissions: 1988 – 2015

After-Image exhibition Work on paper –, Firestation Gallery, Melbourne 2012:

Work on paper – Canberra Times Art Show, ACT 1995

Digital media – ‘Outer Site: Five Contemporary Art Space Projects’, Brisbane 1988

http://www.fuseboxdesign.com.au

Peter Ranyard Impermanence Firestation Gallery 2015

“Photographer and historian alike are storytellers who must choose what to include and what to leave out, how close to stand to their subjects, how to frame their tales.”

Martha A. Sandweiss

I have always been drawn to the constructed object, particularly those abandoned. The fragile nature of made objects is a constant reminder of our impermanence and that sometimes their beauty is a result of neglect and the patina that is acquired through the aging process. I have used colour and black and white imagery in my art practice as I welcome the differing tonal, colour and abstract qualities that can be conveyed through each within the context of the photographic medium, and I am constantly searching for the right mix of light and mood. I am currently the Head of Arts at Narrabundah College and exhibit regularly, most recently a two-person exhibition Material Substance and the Lightness of Touch with the ceramicist Sarit Cohen at Form Gallery in 2013, Beneath the Surface at M16 Artspace in 2014 and Impermanence at the Firestation Gallery (Armadale Melbourne) in August 2015. I am working on a solo show River to be exhibited at Photoaccess Gallery  in September 2016 and a group show Memoria e Luogo at M16 Artspace in November 2016.

For Impermanence I have used black and white imagery as I feel the heightened play of light conveys a strong sense of narrative. The images have been made across different countries and each requires long periods of searching and waiting to find the right combination of composition, form and emptiness. The images are all personally printed on archival 100% cotton rag paper.

I have undertaken numerous fine art and commercial commissions and have previously been selected to be included in the Communication Arts Photography Annual. I am currently working on limited edition books and folios to accompany exhibition projects. I am held in collections in Australia, USA and New Zealand.

“The articulate audible voice of the past when the body and material substance of it has altogether vanished like a dream.”

Thomas Carlyle

www.brownbulldog.blogspot.com.au

Artist Floor talk and greeting Wednesday 26th August

We will be doing an artist floor talk on Wednesday the 26th August at 6pm. There will be refreshments provided and an opportunity to meet and discuss the work with the three artists and to catch up with other like minded people. The exhibition will run until the 5th September.

UNICEF Fundraiser at the Firestation Gallery August 27th 6.30pm

Preparations are well advanced for the Firestation Gallery exhibition to be held from 26th August until the 5th September. The Thursday night of the exhibition coincides with the UNICEF Art fundraiser. There will be a floor talk and meet the artists on Wednesday 26th August at 6pm.

http://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/events/unicef-art-party/

Torso Rome
Giclee print on rag paper
Edition of 25