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E arts zine issue 11 july 2015

EDITOR

Robyn Stanton Werkhoven

CONTRIBUTORS

Lachie Hinton Carlin McLellan

Robyn Werkhoven Brad Evans

Lorraine Fildes Eric Werkhoven

Nigel Nerd Anne Kempton

Andrew Finnie Max Howe

studio la primitive slp

Above: Detail - The Dear Leader, Omnipresence and the Innocent,

Lachie Hinton © 2015

Front Cover : Lhasa - Lachie Hinton © 2015

Please do not copy articles in this magazine without written permission

of the Editor. Copyright © 2014 Studio La Primitive, All rights reserved.

INDEX

Index…………………………………………………… 3

Editorial………………………..Robyn Werkhoven 4 - 5

Studio La Primitive Antics……E&R Werkhoven 6 - 7

Poem ………………………….Carlin McLellan 8 - 13

Featured Artist ……………… Lachie Hinton 14 - 29

Poem……………………….. Eric Werkhoven 30 - 31

Barbara Hepworth……………Lorraine Fildes 32 - 45

Poem…………………………. Brad Evans 46 - 49

Not News…………………….. Nigel Nerd 50 - 51

Seven Painters……………….Andrew Finnie 52 - 63

Featured Artist……………… Robyn Werkhoven 64 - 75

Poem…………………………..Max Howe 76 - 80

Timelesstextiles……………….Anne Kempton 81 - 87

Art News………………………………………………. 88 - 101

Back Cover……………………………………………102

Margaret Sivyer OAM. 50 x 40cm oil/acrylic on canvas

National Trust Portrait Project Maitland 2008.

- Robyn Stanton Werkhoven © 2015

Issue 11 - July 2015 3

EDITORIAL Greetings to all our ARTS ZINE readers, and SLP would

like to thank all contributors .

Unfortunately yesterday the heavy “right wing” hand

of CENSORSHIP led us to remove Internationally ac-

claimed photographer Ric Woods feature. Due to no

nudity allowed, hence these artistic, beautiful and

surrealistic photographs are not in this July issue.

If you would like to view and read this feature please

email at :werkhovenr@bigpond.com

The July / August issue 11 of ARTS ZINE features inter-

views with nationally and internationally recognised

painter Lachie Hinton travels to North Korea and Robyn

Stanton Werkhoven - portraiture.

Andrew Finnie introduces us to Newcastle’s Seven Painters

group.

Issue 11 - July 2015 4

Childrens’ Pool, Newcastle - Andrew Finnie © 2015

Lorraine Fildes travel writer and photographer visits Barbara

Hepworth’s Museum, at The Tate St Ives Gallery, England.

Nigel Nerd , International Artistic Correspondent who joined

our team last issue with an interview with the Russian artist

Vlad Putin, this time closer to home Nigel caught up with

artist Tony Monk in Canberra.

Don’t miss reading our new essays, poetry, art news and

information on forthcoming exhibitions.

The ARTS ZINE features professional Hunter Valley, national

and international visual artists poets and writers, glimpses

into their world of art and their creative processes.

Submissions welcomed, we would love to have your words

and art works in future editions in 2015 and 2016.

Deadline for articles - August15th for September

issue 12.

Email: werkhovenr@bigpond.com

Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven

Lanscape Newcastle Beach - Jennifer Finnie © 2015

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STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE (C)2015 - ANTICS by E&R Werkhoven collaborative drawings www.studiolaprimitive.net

Issue 11 - July 2015 7

Let Yr Light Shine Thru - Carlin McLellan

Let yr inner light shine thru

After a day at the library staring into space

you just have to remember that

Being distracted ALL THE TIME is a total blessing

it's the way we are meant to be

each time you glance at your phone

you are fulfilling the frenetic dreams of your cross-disciplinary ancestors

Dear grandma

have you seen my resume lately?

It's brimming with infographics which convey highly effective truths

about my dreams and deep desires

Let yr highly effective light shine thru

When you go out into the good night

Be sure to drink just a little bit less than way too much

Issue 11 - July 2015 8

so that you can really luxuriate in each and every hangover

contentedly waiting for that redemptive headache;

The sick spurt of adrenaline which spurs you into being a slightly

better person

Oh father, I am saved

from being as boring as batshit

Oh Lord, I am saved

Let yr intoxicated, intoxicating light shine thru

Carry around with you always a book of poems

by Frederico Garcia Lorca

Because you feel that he was onto something

Even if you're not completely sure of what that something is.

You want to be on it

You want to be in on it.

You want to know the exact distance from the biggest

blackest black hole to the earth,

or

more specifically

the distance from Alpha Centauri to Tempelhofer Feld

Issue 11 - July 2015 9

Let ye blinding inner light shine thru

And it is not true that

You are not a truly a part of the gang

Until you've

Sucked Allen Ginsberg's cock & endless balls

Suck whatever you want to suck

Let your angel-headed Queer light burst thru

Be you

Be you

No matter what

The dumb stares are probably confused adoration mingled with longing

Let your gender-fluid incandescent light shine thru

Be grateful

Be grateful for the spasmodic strobe light which is yr heart

Be grateful

Even though you are always forgetting

the things you need to remember

And remembering the things you need to forget

Issue 11 - July 2015 10

When you leave yr guitar at the supermarket by accident

and you've caught the bus most of the way home

before realising you forgot the fucking thing

And when you're then catching the bus back to the supermarket

praying to God that the guitar is still there

crossing your fingers and your toes

Tell yourself that You are enough

Because

You are enough

& you ask the checkout assistant

“Sprechen Sie Englisch?”

And she says “Ja, a little bit”

And you say “Ummmmmmmmmmm. I think I left my guitar here”

and she smiles and pulls it from behind the counter

and you are very, very glad

And you say to the checkout girl, “Danke Schöne”

But really what you wanted to say was

“Right now, I love you with all my heart and I'd marry you in an instant. But it's

kinda complicated, you see,

I'm in a long term committed relationship with myself

and I don't want you screwing up the works.”

Issue 11 - July 2015 11

Let yr forgetting inner light shine thru

And hey, it's certainly possible that

when you were catching the bus back and the cold rain was hitting you in the face

and you told yourself

I am enough

Maybe that was true

Maybe you are more than enough

Let your highly effective, intoxicating, blinding, angel-headed, queer, incandescent,

gender-fluid, forgetting, immense, true light shine through.

- Carlin McLellan © 2015

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Issue 11 - July 2015 13

Outdoors

15 x 15cm

Acrylic/ canvas

E&R Werkhoven

© 2015

LACHIE HINTON

The Dear Leader, Omnipresence and the Innocent, 2015 oil on canvas 334 x 170 cm (triptych)

Issue 11 - July 2015 14

LACHIE HINTON - INTERVIEW

BACKGROUND:

“ Having moved to Lilli Pilli in Sydney’s south at the age of four from Denistone in the north west, I’ve spent

most of my life surrounded by national park and coastlines. I used to commute a few hours a day to my

high school in Summer Hill in the inner west, which introduced me to metropolitan life. Summer Hill was

abundant with multicultural restaurants and my school was largely multicultural, so it was a real eye opener

that broadened my perspective. I undertook visual art at school but it wasn’t until first year of university

studying media that my art interest grew when I began creating my own illustrations and artworks.”

“For as long as I can remember I’ve been drawing. It was my favourite past time as a kid, and I’ve always

had a particular expression of figuration that has stuck throughout the years. I nearly completely abandoned

drawing for most of high school, only to return to it with a newfound passion during university. I can recall

the moment when I created a large figurative illustration inspired by a Ralph Steadman sketch one night

and it sparked what has become a great desire to create.”

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Gardeners of Pyongyang, 2015 oil on canvas 213 x 153 cm

Issue 11 - July 2015 16

“My work is primarily realistic figurative drawing and painting that deals with contemporary society, culture

and issues. I represent the world around me in an attempt to convey thoughts and ideas about the human

experience, and I intend to offer insights into varying conditions of life and the fundamentals of human

nature. Often working with a mixed media of oil, charcoal, ink and graphite on canvas and paper, my work

seeks to highlight attitudes, movements or issues regarding sexuality, identity, politics and social justice.”

“My art is largely concerned with the emotional experience of people and places. The stylistic element of

figuration and form in my drawing is a highly emotive expression of the physical. It was an expression that

came naturally to me as a kid, and I’ve maintained drawing as a consistently core part of my art. Developing

compositions from sketches and photographs of various subjects or concepts, my images seek to analyse

aspects of humanity.”

“ I’m inspired to communicate ideas and stories through my subjects. Storytelling is integral to my art, and

I’m drawn to issues and aspects of society that have real life impacts on people. Whether they encompass

goodwill or inhumanity, I’m motivated to document the forces and processes that shape particular

conditions of life, cultures and peoples. This is at the essence of my imagery, and it encourages me to keep

an open perspective through my art.”

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Pyongyang, 2015 oil on canvas 240 x 180 cm

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“Having an interest in experiencing and capturing diverse civilizations and issues, I’m often inspired to travel

to encounter the confronting, provocative or unusual. These motivations lead me abroad to observe and

document contrasting societies and cultural values. This often involves getting out of my comfort zone, but

in doing so I’m able to learn a lot more about my subjects and myself.”

“My greatest artistic achievement has been my project ‘Welcome to Pyongyang’, which I exhibited at Gaffa

Gallery in Sydney in April this year. The project involved travelling to North Korea in August of 2014 to

gather information and document conditions of life in and around the capital Pyongyang. On return to

Sydney I developed the material into a series of large-scale oil paintings and drawings. I created the work

over about four months, from frame building to canvas stretching and painting, and it was a very testing

period as I was spending about fifty hours a week at the studio whilst working part-time. It was an ambitious

idea from the start that took a lot of negotiating and sensitive handling, so to have a great turn out at the

opening and positive feedback from the show was incredibly satisfying.”

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“I’m currently in the early stages of developing a new body of work based on the suburb of Kings Cross in

Sydney. Drawing inspiration from contemporary issues in Kings Cross, I’m looking to illustrate the current

collapse of strip club business, prostitution, reckless party culture and decadent appeal that have

contributed to the notorious image of the suburb since the seventies. Illustrating the impact of current

gentrification and politics on the suburb, the body of work will explore how neon-lit bars, clubs, alcohol and

adult-oriented stores are deteriorating while a shift in demographics, social attitudes and trends occurs.

Exploring social interaction and cultural history of the suburb, the paintings and drawing will deal with

themes of identity and sexuality within Sydney’s crumbling red light district.”

Your future aspirations with your art?

“ I intend to keep on creating art for as long as I’m passionate about doing it. There’s a lot of the world that I

still want to travel to, and for as long as I’m actively looking to document and tell stories about humanity I’ll

be creating art. I have a growing interest for international affairs of conflict, oppression and social issues,

and feel my motivations to create art are moving in this direction.”

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Kyonghung Bar, 2015 oil on canvas 240 x 180 cm

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Forthcoming exhibitions?

“ I am planning to exhibit my body of work on

Kings Cross as my second solo show next

year at Gaffa gallery, although a date is yet to

be set! “

Other interests?

“ I work as a freelance videographer and I

have a particular interest in film and video.

I’m also passionate about playing, composing

and experiencing music and travelling. Other

interests include writing, motorsport, snow

sport and rugby.”

- Lachie Hinton © 2015

Lachie Hinton Photo by Christine Pike.

Issue 11 - July 2015 22

Construction Kids, 2015 oil on canvas 92 x 120 cm

Lachie Hinton (C0 2015

Issue 11 - July 2015 23

Soldier, Korean Demilita-

rized Zone (DMZ),

oil on canvas 89 x 119 cm

Lachie Hinton © 2015

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Soldier, Korean Demilita-

rized Zone (DMZ),

Lachie Hinton © 2015

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Show Girls oil & charcoal on canvas 200x 120cm diptych Lachie Hinton © 2014

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Study for Show Girls, 107 x 79 charcoal on paper Lachie Hinton © 2014

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Citizen I

graphite on paper

41 x 61 cm

Lachie Hinton (C0 2015

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In the Shower

sanguine oil lead on paper

28 x 35 cm

Lachie Hinton © 2015

www.lachiehinton.com

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Untitled poem - Eric Werkhoven © 2015

Ever closer and yet we wait for love and happiness to mature

and ripen in our hearts.

The psychology from within takes on the battle,

at an often remarkable pace.

But don’t be in too much of a hurry.

Guess there is a lot to contend with and allow ourselves

to express some outrage.

As we are barking against the same tree where many of our

doubts hang in transparent bladders on these dark looming trees.

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“Love”

Collaborative drawing

E&R Werkhoven

© 2010

BARBARA HEPWORTH

LORRAINE FILDES

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Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Museum and Garden

and the Tate St. Ives Gallery England.

Lorraine Fildes.

I walked around the pedestrian friendly streets of St. Ives and then uphill to the Barbara Hepworth Museum

and Sculpture Garden.

Dame Barbara Hepworth (born 1903, Wakefield, England - died 1975, St. Ives, Cornwall) was one of the

greatest sculptors of the twentieth century. Barbara Hepworth’s earliest works were naturalistic with

simplified features but as she matured she concentrated on the problem of the relationships between mass

and space. Her sculptures became totally abstract.

In 1945 Hepworth purchased The Trewyn Studio and garden at St. Ives, and during the 1950s she started

using metal and bronze. This led her to create works on a more monumental scale, for which she used the

garden as a viewing area. The bronzes are in the garden environment for which they were created - usually

in the positions which the artist herself placed them.

Opposite page 54: Stringed Figure (Curlew) Version II - Barbara Hepworth.

Issue 11 - July 2015 33

The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden at Trewyn Studio in St Ives is unique. As a ‘studio

museum’ it has changed very little since Hepworth lived there. In her will she asked her executors to

consider ‘the practicality of establishing a permanent exhibition of some of my works in Trewyn studio and

its garden’. She envisaged her studio being shown, as in her lifetime, with small works in the house and a

few large works in the garden. After Hepworth’s death, the Museum and Sculpture Garden were opened to

the public. Hepworth's daughters and the executors of her estate, following Hepworth’s own wishes, gave

the Museum and its contents to the nation in October 1980.

Sculptures are on display in the Museum and Garden, along with paintings, drawings and archive material.

'Finding Trewyn Studio was a sort of magic', wrote Barbara Hepworth; 'here was a studio, a yard and

garden where I could work in open air and space'.

The photos that I took in 2014 as I walked through the museum and garden will give you some idea of the

feel of Barbara’s “garden studio”.

When I left Barbara Hepworth’s sculpture garden I found a place to dine overlooking Porthmeor Beach and

St Nicholas Chapel. The original Chapel was built in the 15th Century. Falling into disuse the chapel was

used for several years for storage by the War Office, who, not realising its historic significance, partially

demolished it in 1904. A public outcry led to the restoration of St Nicholas Chapel in 1911.

Issue 11 - July 2015 34

The downstairs room which you

enter directly from the street

houses what is an autobiographical

history of Barbara Hepworth’s art,

her achievements and recognition

of her as one of the great sculptors

of the 20th Century. This photo

shows some of her unfinished

wood carvings and the tools that

she used.

From the downstairs autobiograph-

ical room you then go upstairs to

what was first used as a workroom

and then eventually became a

sitting room. This room has a

magnificent collection of Barbara’s

more delicate marble and wood

sculptures and drawings.

Entry room to Hepworth Museum.

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After lunch I visited Tate St. Ives Gallery which overlooks Porthmeor Beach and St. Nicholas Chapel. Tate

St. Ives opened in 1993 to celebrate the town’s international artists’ colony. The gallery has a programme of

changing exhibitions that show the best of international modern and contemporary art. Tate St Ives also

manages the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden.

The Tate St. Ives building is a modern piece of architecture set amongst buildings which do not harmonize

with its unique appearance. But when you step inside, only one word can be used to describe it - magical.

The number of different angles that you can view the sea from are amazing. Head up to the terrace café

and the view over the town of St. Ives - Porthmeor Beach on one side and the Harbour on the other side

and the wonderful rooftops of the St. Ives houses are absolutely stunning.

I was fortunate on the day I visited the Tate as they had an excellent exhibition “International Exchanges:

Modern Art and St. Ives 1915 – 1965”. This exhibition traced some key connections between the art of

St. Ives and the rest of the world. I saw works by Wassily Kandinsky, Jean Arp, Ben Nicholson, Amedeo

Modigliani, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Barbara Hepworth just to mention a few of the artists represented in

the exhibition. However, photography was not allowed as many of the exhibits were from private owners.

This exhibition was a superb way to finish a visit to a village that has become an artist’s haven.

- Lorraine Fildes © 2015

Opposite page 58: Oval with Two Forms 1971 - Barbara Hepworth

Issue 11 - July 2015 37

Infant -1929

Burmese wood

Barbara Hepworth

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Single Form - 1961

Barbara Hepworth.

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Figure for Landscape 1959 - 60

Barbara Hepworth.

After looking at the pieces in the

museum I moved out into the sculpture

garden. What an absolute delight – the

sculptures harmonised beautifully with

the flowering plants and trees.

Issue 11 - July 2015 40

Hollow form with Inner

Form 1968

Barbara Hepworth.

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Four Square Walk Through 1966, River Form 1965, Two Forms (Divided Circle) 1969, Core - Barbara Hepworth.

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Conversation with Magic Stones - Barbara Hepworth

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Sea Form - Barbara Hepworth. This is the plaster from which an edition of seven bronzes was cast. It may have been

painted this bronze-like colour when shown in St Ives Guildhall in 1968. This exhibit is in the garden conservatory.

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View from Tate St Ives Gallery Entrance.

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NATURAL LAW - Brad Evans

Somebody taught Hudson how to throw a punch

And so, every lunch time,

We'd hear about some new kid in the playground

Who'd just got the shit beaten out of him.

There was no doubt about Hudson's ability to throw one,

that was quite evident with the growing casualty list,

it's just that he wasn't that quick at winning over hearts & minds

with this new-found talent:

It always seemed to be a weaker kid

or somebody much shorter than he.

In fact, one might say there was something

chicken shit with his approach.

Issue 11 - July 2015 46

The tipping point came when he punched out 'Little Red'.

'Little Red' may have been shorter & weaker than Hudson

but he was a real character - a popular kid

that was when some of the other guys decided to sort out Hudson.

The campaign started & the taunting began,

a group of guys began following Hudson around during lunch-times,

waiting for him to choose his next target,

but Hudson was quite shrewd and backed off awhile,

biding his time.

they then began to starve him out

they emptied his school bag, tore into his books

they found his lunch box and squashed his sandwiches underneath piles of bricks

(some of them could still be seen under those bricks many years later looking all green, flat and grubby)

Issue 11 - July 2015 47

It was a few weeks later, thinking he was in the clear, when Hudson made his next move --

me!

Spotting me in the playground,

He started pushing me around, trying to provoke,

While this was happening, I saw a brief flicker of movement behind him - aiming straight for him.

I tried not to be distracted by the movement,

I didn't want him to know what was coming his way

And just as he was making his move on me

I heard the impact - the rush of air as Ryan knocked Hudson arse-over-tit!

He got up quickly and shouted:

FUCK OFF, HILLSTOP!

And Ryan screamed back:

DON'T YOU EVER PUSH MY FRIEND AROUND AGAIN!! Issue 11 - July 2015 48

Not waiting for a response, Ryan turned around and walked away,

knowing that Hudson wouldn't take it any further.

Hudson did something intelligent that day --

he walked away.

now suddenly on my own

I was left standing there trying hard to think of a time

when Ryan & I had done things together,

something that would hint of a friendship, an alliance of some sort

or even something owing to me.

But I couldn't.

- Brad Evans © 2015

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NOT NEWS By Nigel Nerd Coming home after interviewing Vlad in Russia, Nigel heard of a new art star in Canberra. Nigel arranged an exclusive interview with Tony Monk, who is making a dramatic impression among artists both in the A.C.T. and right across Australia. Nigel asked Tony about his most recent artistic creation. “I believe art, like the media, should be the message – or is it massage”, he pondered. “Anyway, my latest creation, a series of four black squares, gives everyone messages (or massages) on several different emotional and intellectual levels”. “Black means so many things – hence the four black squares. Firstly, being in the black means having a surplus – which I want so much, like all other Australians who hate red. The second black square represents my absolute despair at not being in the black – I am displaying my deepest emotions here. The third black square is also emotional - it represents the future of Australia unless the climate change believers are wiped out. The fourth black square represents my unbounded joy with mining – coal, coal seam gas, oil and uranium – all these fantastic Australian minerals, many of which are black. Hence my series of all black paint creations.

But note, Tony said firmly, my all black masterpieces are not for sale to New Zealanders”.

Nigel asked how sales were going. “Wonderfully, Tony replied, Liberal party members are queuing up to get them and I have had big orders from mining companies and banks. Four black squares in every mining company office and bank branch will, I am sure, make my messages crystal clear as well as increasing my personal financial surplus. I just love to be in the black both in the figurative and practical sense”. Nigel asked Tony if he enjoyed music. “Yes, said Tony, I get my artistic inspiration from the Rolling Stones. I just love SATISFACTION, but my favourite is PAINT IT BLACK. Nigel came away from Canberra marvelling at Tony’s artistic genius, deeply held emotions, sales acumen and musical appreciation. He is an artist in the broadest possible way, as we should all be. - Nigel Nerd© 2015

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SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH THE SEVEN PAINTERS

How did The Seven Painters start?

In the late eighties several of us met at Newcastle TAFE where we were doing a Fine Arts Certificate at

night time. There we were blessed with having such fine teachers as Paul Pulati, Jill Orr, Ted Prior, Ruth

Chapman. At the end of our studies we even managed to stay on for an extra year - until The State

Government decided that training artists was a waste of time and cancelled our course. Then, in the late

nineties, we all went back to TAFE and basically did the same course. There we were taught by the

wonderful Bob Birch and the talented Dallas Braye.

At the end of our final year we decided to stick together and formed a group of eleven painters. For several

years we hired the Newcastle Community Arts Centre's casual access area on Tuesday nights. It was a

mission lugging our gear up and down the stairs but we all stuck together. A few teachers from the TAFE

were kind enough to give us master-classes. We had our first show later on in the year.

Eventually we managed to move into a full time studio at NCAC. We have been meeting in NCAC every

Tuesday night for fifteen years now.

Issue 11 - July 2015 52

Cliff Street

Shepherd’s Hill

Andrew Finnie

© 2015

Issue 11 - July 2015 53

So eleven painters initially, but how did

the name The Seven Painters come

about?

The initial eleven dwindled to five, then jumped

back up to eight, then down to seven, so we de-

cided that we'd call ourselves The Seven Paint-

ers regardless of how many were showing. It

does cause a little confusion occasionally. But

that's fine, because people might not recognise

our individual names, but they recognise the

group. Consequently we've been fortunate

enough to build up a very good following of

people who collect our work.

Our core group is Michael Bateman, Jennifer

Finnie, Patricia Williamsz, Andrew Finnie,

Malcolm Sands, Neville Cottee, and our newest

member, Sarah Knights.

Issue 11 - July 2015 54

Single Fin Surfer Nobby’s - Andrew Finnie © 2015

Next Door to Auntie

Wendy’s

Andrew Finnie© 2015

Issue 11 - July 2015 55

What are the advantages of being in a group?

Not just motivation to work and support each other, but we also learn from each other's approaches and

each other's influences. Often one of our group will expose the others to a brilliant artist that they might not

have heard of.

At the end of a session we critique each other's work. Quite often a painter might not be able to see the

beauty or the 'ugliness' in their own work that others do. So working with other painters means that you

have access to an objective viewpoint of your work. I think that that shows in the way our paintings have

matured over the years.

Remarkably, even after so long, each of us has their own style, and it's quite obvious whose work is whose,

because we each have different subject matter and temperaments that are reflected in our work.

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Moonrise, Newcastle Beach - Michael Bateman © 2015

How has your work changed over the years?

Technically our work has matured in leaps and bounds as we find our palettes and our individual way of

applying paint. The subject matter, for most us, has been a natural progression, all of our works are

figurative or have some figurative jumping off point.

That said, as we as we mature I think that we are learning to seek the essence of our subject matter. To

quote Degas, 'Art is not about what we see, but what we make others see." So, as we mature, I think that

our work is becoming more suggestive of detail. We are trying to create an impression or an emotional

response in the viewer's eye that is individual to the viewer - to involve the viewer more and more in the

creative process.

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Landscape

Jennifer Finnie

© 2015

How important has Newcastle Community Arts Centre been to How important has

Newcastle Community Arts Centre been to the group?

Having a home base had been a remarkable boon to our group and has been of essence in keeping us

together. Being in the Centre means we can use our studios at any time of day. We are also exposed to

many successful artists, like John Morris, Peter Lankas, The Strutts, Rachel Milne, Pablo Tapia . We've

become friends with many of these people and see how they work and learn from their sense of

professionalism and their amazing talents.

In the future NCAC will be seen as an historically important hub of major art making for Newcastle.

Unfortunately the building that houses the centre has been sold and we are yet to find another place. It's

very sad because Newcastle doesn't know what an incredible institution they have in their own backyard. It

will be a black day for Newcastle if we ever lose NCAC.

Issue 11 - July 2015 60

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Landscape - Sarah Knight © 2015

What advice would you give to aspiring artists?

People make art in all sorts of ways. People make gardens, make children, decorate their houses. The

creative urge exists in all of us, and to suppress it makes our life less emotionally significant.

But 'artists' themselves are different. As artists, when we make art, there is something existential going on.

It's important to our spiritual self. Not only are we making something that says 'Look, I existed!', but we are

also making something that exists on its own.

So my advice to aspiring artists is to listen to your inner self, to not let criticism wear you down, to have self

belief because you are channelling something from the universe that once it is made, is no longer yours.

Imagine your work where it will be in the future, how much joy it will give to others, and that it will live on as

its own entity.

When is your next Exhibition?

Our next show is called The First Fifteen and is at Newcastle Art Space. Opening night is Friday 10th July

at 6.00 pm. It runs until 26th July. NAS is at 246 Parry Street, Hamilton East. Gallery Hours are Thursday

to Sunday, 12-5pm. - Andrew Finnie © 2015

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Pittwater - Patricia Williams © 2015

Issue 11 - July 2015 63

ROBYN

STANTON

WERKHOVEN

Issue 11 - July 2015 64

ROBYN STANTON WERKHOVEN

BACKGROUND:

Born in 1952 at Penrith, NSW, and coming from an old farming dynasty, Robyn has always loved the rural

country and the serenity of the bush.

“ From very young I wanted to be a ballerina, by eleven years old, I knew this was not going to happen. One

day my sister came home with a wonderful surprise, she gave me a set of oil paints, brushes and canvas,

and said - “why don’t you become a painter!” ever since I have passionately been involved in the world of

the Arts.”

Robyn commenced her professional career as a Graphic Designer and artist in Sydney in the seventies.

Specialising in silk screen designs for clothing and textiles, designing for various Sydney clothing business-

es and later opened her own business “Armin Design” in Wollongong.

Robyn has been involved with Fine Arts for many years – from Performance Event art, painting, sculpture,

jewellery design and management of galleries.

The past twenty six years Robyn and her husband, sculptor Eric Werkhoven have lived and worked as

professional artists in the Hunter Valley, with many galleries exhibiting their work in Newcastle and Sydney.

Robyn is also represented in Europe.

Opposite page 86: Self Portrait in Studio - Finalist Portia Geach Award for Portraiture 1998

Issue 11 - July 2015 65

Susana Enriquez

In Her Studio

H76 x W76 cm

Oil/acrylic on canvas

Finalist Portia Geach

Award 2013

Issue 11 - July 2015 66

Portraiture is a keen interest, with celebrities and dignitaries included in her portfolio.

Her portrait of Jenny Kee, iconic fashion designer was a Finalist in the Portia Geach Award for Portraiture

2011.

Six times portraits have been Finalists in the Portia Geach Memorial Award for Portraiture, Sydney.

Robyn was one of nine artists, who painted portraits of local Hunter identities for the National Heritage Trust

Project, Maitland, 2006 - 2008.

Since November 2009 Robyn is an exhibiting member with Portrait Artists Australia. Exhibiting in Federal

Parliament House, ACT and Sydney Parliament House and the Australian Embassy, Washington DC, USA.

“Since early childhood I have been fascinated with drawing or painting the human figure, especially the

face. This led me to exploring and expressing the dynamic and delicate nuances of the human form and

psyche.

My paintings maybe called ‘contemporary figurative’, deploying vivid colour and strong line.

In recent years I have started painting the Hunter Valley landscape, but always I need to return to my figura-

tive works, obsessively fascinated with portraying the expressions, antics and absurdities of the human

race.

I enjoy working with challenging and provocative themes such as an exhibition of drawings and paintings at

Maitland Regional Art Gallery, exploring the world of human caprice.

An exciting high light of my artistic career is the unique collaborative work with artist / sculptor

Eric Werkhoven.”

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Jenny Kee

with Waratahs

H76 x W76cm

Oil on canvas

Finalist Portia Geach

Award 2011

Issue 11 - July 2015 68

Forthcoming exhibitions for 2016 are planned

for Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Art Systems

Wickham Gallery, Nanshe Gallery and Gallery

139,Newcastle, exploring the world of Cabaret

and Family.

A parade of colourful, exotic characters and the

absurdities and antics of every day life.

www.studiolaprimitive.net

Right: John O’Brien - award winning film and TV script

writer. H120 x W 60cm oil/acrylic on canvas

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Letitia & Harry Tseng

H90 x W60cm

Oil/acrylic on canvas

Portrait Artists Australia exhibition

Sydney Parliament House 2013

At present Eric & Robyn’s studio and home

are in East Gresford a rural village in the

Hunter Valley NSW, Australia.

Since October 2013 Robyn established and is

the Editor of the Online Arts and Literary

magazine STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE ARTS

ZINE (at www.issuu.com).

She also contributes artists’ interviews to the

Hunter Professional Arts Magazine and

Gresford Monthly News.

- Robyn Stanton Werkhoven © 2015

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Rhianna Griffith -

Actress & artist

H120 x W 90 cm

Acrylic / oil on board

Finalist Portia Geach

2004

- Robyn Stanton

Werkhoven © 2015

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THE HOSPITAL

In 2014, after an accident, Robyn spent seven

months in hospital and rehabilitation, during

this time she produced 500 drawings in a daily

visual diary. In 2016 Maitland Regional Art

Gallery will present an exhibition of selected

drawings portraying hospital life, the dramas

and humorous situations Robyn experienced

every day during her long and arduous

recovery.

“Only due to my love for art, reading, writing

and technology ,did my sanity survive.

I found refuge in my imagination and began to

obsessively draw each day – producing over

500 drawings of many different themes, but

the hospital experience kept recurring as a

prominent subject in my visual diary, 60 or

more drawings.” - Robyn Werkhoven © 2015

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Michael Winchester - actor and film

producer

H76 x W 56

Oil/acrylic on canvas 2011

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Artist John Turier

H76 x W56

Oil/acrylic on canvas 2008

Robyn Stanton Werkhoven - artwork can

be viewed at:

www.studiolaprimitive.net

Issue 11 - July 2015 75

Some thoughts - Max Howe

As for my own arrogance, I can assure you I no longer

have a fixed view on anything, much less in anything I

would expect others to take seriously. I do know that I

don’t know much and as such prefer to take on board

other people’s ideas and evaluate them for any glimpse

of wisdom that may hidden in there but the pursuit is

mostly futile.

I must suggest to you that care needs to be exercised in

repeating some sayings.

For example the next 3 are first year uni student sayings.

Van Gough is my soul brother.

The whole adds up to more than the sum of the parts.

Those who can do it and those who teach it.

Then of course there is “for the right reasons”

which leaves so many interpretations open.

John Farnam left the stage crying on the first

night he performed. When I hear “Burn For You’’

I can see the world would be a lesser place

without that song and so he deserves all credit

due for having fought the battle.

Some words have real impact like -

“Nurse a mug and they will die in your arms” (Australian)

“Never give a sucker an even break” (American)

“Once you drop you’re easy shooting” ( Think of a flock of birds)

“Easy come easy go”

“Don’t lead with your chin”

“Loose lips sink ships”

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I wrote the following out in one burst one night. Some of them are

uselessly weird but some I think could have a use.

Everything works to some advantage.

Difference, appropriated, enriches.

Reality explained, blurs distinctions.

Good ideas excite nostalgia.

Flames of conscience become embers of justification.

Youth reverberates in a joyful exuberance of life.

Youthful purity is mitigated by social alienation.

Bureaucracy is a powerful survival tactic.

Capitalism is sustained by those who don’t take it seriously.

Music speaks most clearly of reality, and is then gone.

Self restraint reduces ecstasy.

Caring for each other can be like peeling an orange before eating it.

Trends are flimsy as a drunk’s argument.

Right and wrong is eternally debatable.

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The past composts the future.

Successful plans accommodate reality.

Ideas, like flames, disintegrate if unfuelled.

Friends wash away like waves in a storm leaving only ripples.

Intent should be a criminal offence.

Action necessitates preparation.

The world is really only tangible as an instant.

Love is endless pure joy experienced in a split second.

Children divert horror.

Birth energizes and exuberates life.

Ego destroys equality.

Personality attempts to exonerate responsibility.

Love is irrational.

Generosity is self-justification.

Hatred is unconsummated revenge.

Unclean is a social perception.

Reality is tested by consequence.

Regardless of kudos humans que.

Is madness taking stock of reality.

Wrong and right reside in the same place.

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Piety is self delusion.

God is within and without. (think I have heard that before)

Love bridges loneliness.

Insecurity makes you lonely.

The last flicker of life should be as graceful as birth.

Life is an awkward journey of ultimate embarrassment.

Money is a lubricant for the poor and a curse for the unhealthy.

Wisdom disappears when stated as wisdom.

Real generosity is afterlife.

Laziness is luxurious.

Education is an inadequate trap.

Communication is an external and internal puzzle for the unwary.

Talk is wasted.

Creativity is spiritual efficacy.

Beauty is in the eye of the consumer.

Flatulence is fun.

Love is a blissful exaggeration of the essence of existence.

Hate is irrational fear of your own potential.

Sharing is a feeble attempt at being at peace with oneself.

Viewed at a distance, greed is hilarious.

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The young are greedy for experience and disdainful of wisdom.

Wisdom is a distillation of experience and knowledge.

Warfare is men’s business.

Peace is forgetting yourself.

Romance kindles love.

To forgive is to rise above the other.

Equality is essentially inequitable.

Distrust is mischievous.

Fidelity is fear of reprisal.

Laughter is a gift.

Crying is a gift.

Laughter is at midnight, crying best done with a lover in the afternoon.

Lovers kiss best.

Shopping is like commercial t. v.

Heroin is the jewel in the crown of death.

The media is the voice of our future.

Thinking is a convoluted process of discrimination.

Being drunk is a sad joke.

The computer chip is greater than the machine.

- Max Howe © 2015

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This next lot were written out on the same day.

We see. I don’t.

We know I know you better.

There are things only we know.

I don’t see what you want me to see because it is not there.

When we know nothing is worth knowing then we may begin to see how much we did not know.

When we both see the same thing at once, it is a precious and delicate moment of knowing love.

I know everything you knew would not be worth knowing.

Everything I know is known.

We both see, both know, and although it’s different we are sure we know what we both see.

If we all knew at once the world would change. (very 60’s. T.C.M.)

Seeing is an emotional experience. Knowing is an intellectual experience. Faith is for gamblers.

I am blinding.

I am more blind now.

Change is hardest for most.

Just some thoughts. Mostly I am overwhelmed. I have a friend who uses Heroin to contain and subdue all that happens in the universe of his mind. I paint. It’s not special. Max Howe © 2015

www.georgcello.com/loumax.htm Issue 11 - July 2015 81

Inside Outside

H73 x W73 cm

Acrylic/oil on canvas

Max Howe (C0 2015

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The End - oil / 0n canvas H105 x W155 cm Max Howe © 2015 www.georgcello.comloumax.htm

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TIMEtopography with Tricia Flanagan

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TIMEtopography opens from 6-8 pm on July 16 and runs until16 August 2015.

Hong-Kong based artist Dr Tricia Flanagan makes the passing of time and its effects on our bodies visually

accessible in a new exhibition, TIMEtopography, opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles Gallery in July.

The exhibition explores the geography of the body and its tempo-spatial relationship to systems that

surround it. Tricia has created textile-based systems in her works that archive life’s journey.

“I see my role as akin to that of a cartographer, creating tangible social objects that act as maps to help

interpret our culture in motion,” she said. “I wanted to evoke moments of sleep, long walks and biological

expressions of time through DNA.”

In the artwork BODYecology, for instance, the rhythms of sleep determine the depth of colour of a hand-

spun merino lambs-wool thread, which is drawn at a constant rate across a portable dyeing machine. When

the artist is sleeping soundly the thread dives deeply into the indigo dye bath, when lightly sleeping or

stirring it is drawn through the shallows or skims the surface. In the day the resulting variegated coloured

thread is woven into a blanket, a physical embodiment of the ontological experience of sleep.

TIMEtopography is built around four themes that inspire a search for ontological equilibrium, where time

sleeping becomes productive, the expressive quality of walking is visually harnessed and generational time

is reflected upon. Time is presented as an accumulation of stories captured in social objects and invested in

material culture and practices.

Issue 11 - July 2015 85

Dr Tricia Flanagan has been exhibiting internation-

ally since the mid 1990’s and is represented in

private and public collections in Australia, Ireland,

Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan and China. She is

a multiple award winner and her work has included

four CASP-funded Public Art commissions and a

UGCTD Grant to develop PIPA. She was a repre-

sentative for Oceania at the Tournai Contemporary

Textiles Biennial Belgium, a recipient of the

Australian Postgraduate Scholarship Award,

winner of the Max Fabre Foundation Award for

Environmental Awareness and CeMoRe Visiting

Fellow at Lancaster University in 2015.

Tricia has completed a PhD in Public Art at the

University of Newcastle and a Master’s of Visual

Art at Bauhaus University Weimar. She established

the Wearables Lab at the Academy of Visual Art at

Hong Kong Baptist University in 2009 where she

currently works as Assistant Professor.

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String theory (and practice) workshop with Tricia Flanagan

String is a basic material structure that is capable of binding things together and is embedded into many

things that surround us in our everyday lives. It is hard to imagine a world without string. Flanagan visualises

string as the basic building block of our universe, one that represents an alternative to long-held beliefs in

particle-based theories.

Her workshop teaches hands-on understanding of techniques to make string – exploring materials,

properties and techniques in the first half of the workshop and introducing techniques to complete

constructed material in the second half.

Dates: 3 days over two weeks, 18-19 July and 25 July 2015 (9.30 am – 4.30 pm)

CONTACT TIMELESSTEXTILES

P 0408 483 913

E anne@timelesstextiles.com.au

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Detail: Tribute to Nature—Robyn Werkhoven Issue 11 - July 2015 88

Laman Street Art Prize established in memory of the figs

Hunter residents are invited to participate in the second bi-annual Laman Street Art Prize

established to remember the Laman Street figs.

Theme: ‘Celebrating Nature’

Prizes: Two Best-of-Show prizes ($2,500 each); Emerging Artist prize ($1,000); and People’s

Choice prize ($1,000).

Mediums that can be used: drawing, printmaking, clay, wood, fibre, metal or a combination of

these. (There is no painting or photography.) The work must not measure more than 600 x 600

x 600 mm.

Exhibition dates: 22 January to 7 February 2016.

Exhibition gallery: Back to Back Galleries, Bull Street, Cooks Hill.

Deadline for receipt of entry forms: Monday, 30 November 2015

Entry forms contact Gallery: Back to Back Galleries 57 Bull Street Cooks Hill NSW 2300

T: 49 293 677 www.newcastlepotters.org.au

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FAN DONGWANG Shifting Perspectives: paintings 1995 - 2015

A twenty year survey of unique paintings by Chinese

born artist Fan Dongwang.

This exhibition explores the shifting borders of Asian

and Australian cultures through a series of dynamic,

large format paintings that use colour and motif to

shift cultural perceptions in art. The works exhibit a

refined attention to detail while exploring the global

experience of shifting boundaries in this Asian

century.

Exhibition 12 August - 5 September

The University of Newcastle

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council

for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, and by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an

initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.

Issue 11 - July 2015 90

Dawn Patrol Dino Consalvo, John Earle and Peter Lankas

Exhibition: 5 - 22 AUGUST , 2015

OFFICIAL OPENING: Saturday 8 August, 2pm

“Since late 2014, Newcastle artists Dino Consalvo, John Earle

and Peter Lankas have been meeting mother nature before

she breaks. They have been ritually checking the paper and

arranging days in advance when and where they will meet

with their paint brushes, canvas' and sketchpads before dawn.

They set-up in the low light before the sun raises itself above

the far horizon ready to capture in paint the first rays of the day

on the edge of the ocean”.

GALLERY 139

139A Beaumont St Hamilton NSW 2303

m 0434 886 450

Newcastle sunrise - Peter Lankas

oil on canvas 30x30cm

Issue 11 - July 2015 91

2015 ADORNMENT 3 -

WILD

Issue 11 - July 2015 92

Artists!

Following a successful exhibition in 2014 an invitation is extended to you to join this group exhibition at cstudios in 2015 from 5

th September to 26

th September

OFFICIAL OPENING Saturday 6th

September 2.30 to 4.30

CSTUDIOS ART GALLERY, Shop 1/738 Hunter St, Newcastle NSW 2302

Director Jo Chisholm-Ray, Gallery open 12-4pm Wednesday –Sunday

P: +612 4023 8927 m: 0407 107053

Or email Ann Sutherland : email: elizann53@hotmail.com

http://cstudiosartgallery.com.au/

https://wwwfacebook.com/cstudiosArtGallery

2015 ADORNMENT 3 - WILD

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10 - 26 JULY

WINDOWS, DOORS and

DOGS of VENCE

Nicola Bolten & Linda Greedy

(works on paper)

Anne Gazzard (ceramics)

31 JULY - 16 AUGUST

THE TABLE

(ceramics)

Sue Stewart, Sandra Burgess, Ali Sobel-Read,

Karen Wood, Helen Stronach, Sue Jones

June Wheen, Nicola Purcell, Pam Sinnott

EXHIBITION CALENDAR

57 Bull Street, Cooks Hill, Newcastle NSW Ph: 49 293 677

Issue 11 - July 2015 94

21 AUG - 6 SEPT

AL FRESCO

NSP Members’ Exhibition

(ceramics)

11 - 27 SEPTEMBER

The Last Farewell, Von Bertouch

Gallery Revisited.

Newcastle PrintMakers

Workshop Miniprint Exhibition

(printing & clay)

2 - 18 OCT

LAND FORM MEMORIES

Robyn Outram (ceramics)

Lara Seresin (painting)

23 OCT - 8 NOV

FEAST

Denise Spalding, Barbara Greentree,

Anne Gazzard, Heather Campbell,

Joan Robinson, Grant Keene,

Nicola Purcell (ceramics)

13 - 29 NOVEMBER

CANVAS & CLAY

Gary Boote (ceramics)

Merran Kilgour (painting)

4 - 20 DECEMBER

Christmas Takeaway

NSP Members’ Exhibition

Work can be “taken away”

Once purchased.

Issue 11 - July 2015 95

Not As It Seems Dates: 19 June – 4 July

Back to Back Galleries presents an exhibition by The Athena group.

The group includes Jeanne Harrison, Helene Leane, Varelle and Amanda Hardy, Faye Collier,

Sue Stewart, Pat Davidson, Bronwyn Greive, Sandra Burgess and Julie-Anne Ure. These art-

ists work in a wide range of media, ceramic and textiles, printmaking, photography, painting and

sculpture. None of the group is afraid to step into another media if it suits their exploration of a

theme.

The Artists write: Some of the themes explored relate to media, others focus on a personal or

social issue and some develop both simultaneously. The works play with deception: of scale,

perspective, the juxtaposition of objects, media which appears to be, or becomes, something

else. Themes range from landscape, including the hidden beauty of ordinary insignificant plac-

es, to the distortions created by water in tiled swimming pools. The issues embraced are di-

verse. The real cost of cheap clothing, the protection of our land in the Coal Seam Gas fight,

even the transient and personal nature of perception.

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Back to Back Galleries 57 Bull Street Cooks Hill NSW 2300

T: 49 293 677

www.newcastlepotters.org.au

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STUDIO

LA PRIMITIVE Contemporary artists

ERIC WERKHOVEN

&

ROBYN WERKHOVEN

ARTS ZINE available at

www.studiolaprimitive.net

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