The Lily

The Lily

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,

The humble Sheep a threat’ning horn:

While the Lily white shall in love delight,

Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.

William Blake - 1789

'The Lily'
Screen printed wooden support  with bamboo intaglio  on leather hide finished with ink detailing.

This is a very detailed and textural work and glows in the right light. To the printed ground I have added subtle paint and pen and ink detailing as well as tooling the leather of the dress with miniature flowers.

Layers of extremely thick leather hide have been built up to create a wonderful three dimensional effect and cast shadows. 

I was so glad to see this work become part of the collection of some very good friends who also have a set of my Alpha and Omega panels inspired by Medieval church decoration. 

Alpha & Omega panels shown with Eternity Knot (central panel)
Oil on canvas with gold leaf and indian ink. 2009

Oh, Banquet Not

Oh, banquet not in those shining bowers,  Where Youth resorts, but come to me,  For mine's a garden of faded flowers,  More fit for sorrow, for age, and thee.  And there we shall have our feast of tears,  And many a cup in silence pour;  Our guests, the shades of former years,  Our toasts, to lips that bloom no more.  There, while the myrtle's withering boughs  Their lifeless leaves around us shed,  We'll brim the bowl to broken vows  To friends long lost, the changed, the dead.  Or, while some blighted laurel waves  Its branches o'er the dreary spot,  We'll drink to those neglected graves  Where valour sleeps, unnamed, forgot.  Thomas Moore  'The Meal' Bamboo Intaglio on Stonehenge paper, 1998

New Tintypes and Cabinet Cards

Every day I spend about 20 minutes searching the internet for cabinet cards and tintypes which speak to me. I never tire of trawling through hundreds of such images hoping for that moment of utter connection where my heart jumps into my mouth and the photograph on my screen comes alive for me. Here is a selection of cabinet cards and tintypes that I just had to have, no matter the cost and I feel that each in its own way is exceptional. I can't wait to get to work on the paintings they will inspire.

Christian

'Christian' necklace by Christine Wallace

How wonderful! I just purchased this stunning necklace made by the very talented Christine Wallace. 

You can find more of here pieces here: Christine Wallace

Ophelia

'Ophelia' by Arthur Hughes

The subject of Ophelia has always intrigued me. I have been thinking for a long time about painting my own interpretation .

Victorian Cast Iron Coat and Hat Wall Hooks

I have just made the incredible purchase of these two fantastic Victorian cast iron wall hooks. They come from an old second hand shop in Texas and are wonderfully evocative of animal bones. I can't wait to get them!

Simonetta Vespucci

Last night I purchased this incredible little painting. It is a copy of one of my favorite paintings of Simonetta Vespucci by Piero di Cosimo painted around 1490. I have always adored miniatures but sadly this is only the second such item in my collection. Painted around the turn of the century many of these were produced but the quality varies with the artist. This is a very special piece and I intend to make a necklace which will compliment it. 

Fremantle Prison

Image 1; Exercise yard in the solitary confinement block. The prisoners were brought through here to be executed and due to the illiteracy of many of the inmates the 6 & 16 have been omitted from the wall as they were seen to represent the hang mans noose.
Image 2; Metal roof of the solitary confinement block.
Image 3; Art on the wall of one of the exercise yards.

Fantastic mural down a side street in Fremantle.

Sir John Sluman Prize

At the close of this year my thoughts have turned towards art prizes. I had great success with the last prize I entered The City of Albany Art Prize where my work 'Forget Me Not' was chosen as a finalist.

Over the past few days I have been researching the prizes which I would like to enter and the Sir John Sulman Prize is enticing. For a long time now I have been yearning to paint something brooding alive with movement and energy. Recently I thought back to the time I spent in London and the impression the work of Henry Fuseli made on me. His dark moody dreamscapes peopled with waif-like apparitions and violent episodes of action and emotion appeals greatly. This work featuring the Greek goddess Hera will be the largest I have ever attempted to date and I have reconciled with the fact that three months will not be adequate to finish such a piece. I will not rush this work but enter it next year and hope for the best.

Cabinet of Curiosities Artwork

As early as the Renaissance the term ‘cabinet of curiosities’ has been synonymous with power and discovery. Intriguing collections of natural history, art and the bizarre amassed by the wealthy offered glimpses into the secrets of the world and shone a tantalising light into the unknown regions of the human mind. In this exhibition I have formed a symbolic cabinet of curiosities by amassing a collection of items which allude to moments of wonder in my own life. Connections to Masonry, magic and divination are referenced strongly in this group of forty new works revealing how each of these experiences left an indelible mark on my early awareness. These episodes raised questions in my young mind as to how much I really knew about the deeper aspects of life and the world in which I was living.

Oil paintings, gouache, pen and ink, sculpture and the transfer of images onto butterflies and moths offer the viewer a tantalising array of objects with which to whet the desire for discovery. Each painting is based on an image from my growing catalogue of Victorian cabinet cards and is displayed alongside the original. These are executed in a style which references the Renaissance love of storytelling through symbolism and colour and the overdrawn insects displayed under glass look back at the much loved storybooks of my childhood and represent the joy of momentary wonder frozen in time like the flash of a memory upon the eye of the mind.

                                                                                                            Fern Petrie, November 2011

'Amor Fati'

'The Sisterhood'

'The Star of the Evening' - 'Destiny's Decree' - 'Aurora'

'Playing Soldiers' - ' Foresight' - 'The Unopened Letter' - 'Adventurer'

'Secrets of the Immortals'

'Dawn' - 'Dark Providence'
'Walking with the Wind' - 'Entreaty'