Tuesday, December 7, 2010

My Paintings in the Xmas exhibition at the Frances Keevil Gallery

My Barangaroo paintings for sale -
Open until Friday 24th December 2010
Stormclouds over the wharf 2007 oil painting on canvas 61 x 91cm.
The last of the cranes of East Darling Harbour. All three were formerly painted red. During the last operational month of Darling Harbour in September 2007, they were painted yellow and placed on the barge, the 'Seatow', escorted by the tug 'Koronui', and floated down to Port Kembla.
'The empty wharf' 2007 oil painting on canvas 61x 91cm
This painting of the wharf after the stevedores left in October 2007 has an eerie classical calm - a cross between the haunted plazas of de Chirico and Jeffrey Smart's  primary coloured geometric constructions. The Harbour Control Tower joins the procession of power poles as though they were a row of Doric columns in an ancient Greek or Roman temple.

Frances Keevil Gallery:
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Recently Sold Paintings from the Sydney Open : The Hungry Mile and Barangaroo

Not all of these paintings were displayed at the '30, The Bond' during the Sydney Open, but were sold to people who saw my exhibitions and later made enquiries to my gallery. I was kept quite busy the next week - paintings were flying around like frisbees!
A large canvas exhibited at 'Workplace6' during the Sydney Open also has just been sold. Not bad for a one - day show with no publicity or invitations!
See my other blog: 'Industrial Revelation'
Recently Sold Paintings : Pyrmont paintings at Workplace6 

'L3 Crane and shed 4' oil on canvas 31 x 23cm SOLD



As well as the usual plein air painting problems of avoiding the wind and sun, I had to try not to be mown down by forklifts. After a while I had worked out safe observation points all over the wharf, depending on the type of ship/cargo, time of day and weather conditions. This was painted between Shed 4 and 5, looking north towards the west end of Goat Island. There was no ship in and no cargo inside Shed 4, or I would never have been allowed to paint there. Usually this area was full of cars, boats and containers; and I would have had to paint against the wall of the shed or inside the yellow workcage. One of the workcages is against the left hand side of the shed.

'The 'Coral Chief' from shed3' 2006 oil on canvas 31 x 25cm SOLD

I painted this from beside the west roll-a door of shed 3, , looking directly south towards the P&O offices that were in shed 4, in the centre of this painting. The 2 cranes are (from left to right) “L1” and “L3”. The Chief ships usually only came in on the weekend, and normally docked at shed 3. This particular vantage point was excellent on a hot summer morning with a brisk nor-easter, provided that there was no ship berthed at No. 3 and that there were no steel coils or timber stored inside the shed at the time. The shed would shelter me from the worst of the wind and the sun wouldn’t be in my eyes.
The Tug 'Karoo' from Darling Harbour 2006 oil painting on canvas 28 x 36 cm
SOLD

The ‘Karoo’is one of the smaller tugs on Sydney Harbour, (but only in comparison with tugs like the majestic ‘Woona'). Up close, of course, the ‘Karoo’ isn’t really small! It is one of the ‘Wallace’ stable (a division of ‘Adsteam Marine’ based in Port Kembla) All of the names of the Wallace tugs start with the letter ‘K’, and are derived  from Aboriginal names for localities in the Illawarra area. I believe that 'Karoo' refers to a lake around the Illawarra region.
The ‘Karoo’ was only to be seen comparatively rarely and for brief moments from East Darling Harbour, usually while shepherding one of the blue ‘NYK’ line Ro-ros to and from the wharves at Glebe Island, as I have depicted it here in this canvas.

 The 'Koranui  ' 2007 oil on canvas 25x31cm SOLD
This is the tug which towed the barges with the last of the cranes. down to Port Kembla.
The ‘Karoo’ and the ‘Woona’ were the two tugs used in the last major port operation of Patrick (OK- technically speaking it had by now become ‘Asciano’ of Toll Holdings) ,which was towing the ‘Seatow’ barge with the last of the wharf cranes on it, escorted by the tug ‘Koranui’ to Port Kembla, when East Darling Harbour Wharves closed.

'The 'Woona'  2007 oil painting on canvas 20 x 25cm



SOLD
The 'Woona' with the Talabot 2009 oil on canvas 20x25cm

SOLD 

My tug paintings were immensely popular with galleries and collectors, and I'm often asked for a ‘set’ of the ‘Wilga’, ‘Wonga’, ‘Woona’, or for 3 or 4 different angles of the same tug.
'The tug 'Wonga' with 'Victorian Reliance'' 20x25cm SOLD
  
The most familiar tug, during my period as ‘Artist in Residence’ on the wharves of East Darling Harbour, was the ‘Woona’, which seemed to be used for almost every one of the gigantic bright red Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ro-ros. The other tugs were harder to spot and harder to paint as I saw them less often and for shorter periods of time. The next most commonly spotted tugs were the ‘Wilga’ and ‘Wonga’, followed by the ‘Wolli’ and the ‘Watagan’. 
Enquiries about these and other paintings:
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Saturday, November 27, 2010

My exhibition: "From the Hungry Mile to Barangaroo"


My exhibition: "From the Hungry Mile to Barangaroo"
Foyer of LendLease 30,'The Bond',
30 Hickson Road, Millers Point
Paintings of Barangaroo at Sydney Open - 30, The Bond

From left to right:
easel on left: 
top : 'Relics from the Dead House 2' 2007 oil on canvas 91 x 61 cm
bottom left: "Hungry Dinosaurs" 2010 oil on canvas 36 x 46 cm 
bottom right: "Grabber, Muncher,Ripper" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm

easel in centre: 
top: "I saw the number '8' in red"   2010 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm
centre: :"Red Square (Arrivals Hall) 2010 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm
bottom left: "The drill rig" 2010 oil on canvas 36 x 36cm
bottom right: "Red Square" 2010 oil on canvas 36 x 36cm

easel on right:

top left:"8 (ate)"  2010 oil on canvas 41 x 31cm
top right: "Dig it! (The archaeologists)"   2010 oil on canvas 31 x 15cm
centre: "A work in progress" 2010 oil on canvas 91 x 122cm (Unfinished)
bottom left: "The last gantry"  2010 oil on canvas 41 x 31cm
bottom right: "Pump it! (The 'Watertank')" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 41cm


easel on left:
above: "The 'Southern Cross' (with Robbie and forklift)" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 103 cm
centre : 'The working port' 2007 oil on canvas 100 x 122 cm

easel in centre: 
top left: "The tug "Karoo""   2008 oil on canvas 20 x 25cm
top right: :"The tug "Woona" 2008 oil on canvas 20 x 25cm
below: "The 'Tamerlane' after rain" 2005 oil on canvas 75 x 100cm

easel on right:
top :"2 cranes"  2006 oil on canvas 41 x 51cm
below: "Boat Lift"   2007 oil on canvas 100 x 122cm


 A small selection of my paintings of the East Darling Harbour Wharves and their transformation into the Barangaroo precinct were exhibited for one day only in the foyer of the LendLease Headquarters 30, The Bond directly opposite the Barangaroo site itself. Here they are displayed in front of the spectacular escarpment wall of yellowblock sandstone, catching the dying embers of the afternoon sun. 
On the same day a selection of my Pyrmont paintings were also exhibited in the foyer of 'Workplace6', headquarters of Google, and 2 of Paul Signorelli's new restaurants, 'Biaggio' and 'Gastronomia'.
I borrowed the "A" frame easels from John Sweaney of ASMA (The Australian Society of Marine Artists) and put my entire black ankle sock collection on their feet to prevent the floor being scratched!


easel on left:

top : 'Relics from the Dead House 2' 2007 oil on canvas 91 x 61 cm
bottom left: "Hungry Dinosaurs" 2010 oil on canvas 36 x 46 cm 
bottom right: "Grabber, Muncher,Ripper" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 31cm

 easel in centre:
top: "I saw the number '8' in red"   2010 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm
centre: :"Red Square (Arrivals Hall) 2010 oil on canvas 61 x 183cm
bottom left: "The drill rig" 2010 oil on canvas 36 x 36cm
bottom right: "Red Square" 2010 oil on canvas 36 x 36cm


easel on right:
top left:"8 (ate)"  2010 oil on canvas 41 x 31cm
top right: "Dig it! (The archaeologists)"   2010 oil on canvas 31 x 15cm
centre: "A work in progress" 2010 oil on canvas 91 x 122cm (Unfinished)
bottom left: "The last gantry"  2010 oil on canvas 41 x 31cm
bottom right: "Pump it! (The 'Watertank')" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 41cm


People could take a short break from all the strenuous exploration of the city's architectural highlights and even have a coffee and a bite to eat in the welcoming leather sofas of the Bond's foyer. Some of them were even interested in the paintings!

Before and After


easel on left:
top left:"8 (ate)"  2010 oil on canvas 41 x 31cm
top right: "Dig it! (The archaeologists)"   2010 oil on canvas 31 x 15cm
centre: "A work in progress" 2010 oil on canvas 91 x 122cm (Unfinished)
bottom left: "The last gantry"  2010 oil on canvas 41 x 31cm
bottom right: "Pump it! (The 'Watertank')" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 41cm

easel on right:
top:"The empty wharf"  2007 oil on canvas 31 x 61cm

centre: "The empty wharf"  2007 oil on canvas 100 x 122cm (Unfinished)
bottom: "Power Base"  2010 oil on canvas 36 x 46cm

I've contrasted paintings of the still intact wharf buildings, painted just after the stevedores left with images of their demolition




easel on left:

above: "The 'Southern Cross' (with Robbie and forklift)" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 103 cm
centre : 'The working port' 2007 oil on canvas 100 x 122 cm

easel on right:
top left: "The tug "Karoo""   2008 oil on canvas 20 x 25cm
top right: :"The tug "Woona" 2008 oil on canvas 20 x 25cm
below: "The 'Tamerlane' after rain" 2005 oil on canvas 75 x 100cm


I enjoyed seeing how the glowing brilliance of the red Wallenius Wilhelmsen ships stood out against the shadows cast on the sandstone

            
above: "The 'Southern Cross' (with Robbie and forklift)" 2010 oil on canvas 31 x 103 cm
centre : 'The working port' 2007 oil on canvas 100 x 122 cm
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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Brilliantly renovated and cut in half

'Red Square'  and 'The Drill Rig' - An update

 This painting and the next were originally parts of the same canvas. A sudden gust of wind and the canvas was picked up and impaled on the edge of the easel. One of the many hazards of life as a plein air painter!
I had the damaged canvas standing face to the wall at home for several weeks, too depressed to look at it more closely.
Instead of a repair I finally decided to complete the surgery and separate it into 2 square canvases.
I had to decide what to lose and what to keep. The original canvas contrasted the meditative reflections of the interior with the activity of the exterior. Now they have been accidentally and forcibly separated. I was very upset at first, but, on the principle of 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger', I'm starting to appreciate their qualities as separate canvases.
'Red Square'
'Red Square' oil on canvas 36 x 36cm
Now 'Red Square' is truly just that : a red square on a square canvas. Unless you know what you are looking at and where it comes from, it could be an excercise in abstraction.

Degas and the Drill Rig
'The Drill rig teams.' oil on canvas 36 x 36cm


I enjoy the idea of a 'picture within a picture', especially with the framing device such as the window or the curtain caught in the act of being moved to reveal the background image which is the real focus of the painting. That painterly trick is called "repoussir" ( 'to push back' in the original French) and I picked it up from studying the works of the master of perspective and design, the French Impressionist, Edgar Degas. While most people are looking at his ballet dancers, I try to prise apart the jigsaw of his compositions. His pastels of dancers would have been charming, yet forgettable, if they had merely presented a full length image of the subject. By cropping his subject unexpectedly and half hiding/half revealing his dancers behind staircases, furniture or doorframes, Degas added the element of surprise. There is a feeling of chance with the encounter; even an element of the voyeur.

This shows the bi-fold door half opened to reveal the drill rig teams, about to start drilling. It is unclear whether the door is opening or closing. The scene is deceptively still; the trucks have arrived; the men have set up their equipment and are poised to start work. This is the calm before the storm.

For the earlier incarnation of these 2 canvases as a single larger canvas see my post in this blog: "Red Square"
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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Something old-Something New- Some paintings at Barangaroo

An Architectural Adventure
The 'Sydney Open' -presented by the Historic Houses Trust

My paintings will be on exhibition at several venues during the Sydney Open, a biennial event presented by Historic Houses Trust that showcases Sydney’s architectural icons.
On display for one day only on Sunday 7th November 2010

The Name is 'Bond' - 'Jane at the Bond' 

I will be exhibiting my paintings of both the 'Hungry Mile' and my recent paintings of demolition works at Barangaroo in spacious foyer of the LendLease headquarters at the '30 The Bond' 30 Hickson Road.

 I was "Artist in Residence" at the "Hungry Mile", East Darling Harbour Wharves during its last years as a working port, and have continued painting on this site during its exciting transformation into the new precinct of Barangaroo.
 I am delighted to have the opportunity to display some of these paintings 'in situ'.They are especially relevant now, with the entire area on the cusp of one of the most important architectural transformations in the entire history of Sydney.
 I have been the only person to actually witness the transition process on the spot. The people on the wharf have moved to the periphery of Sydney : Port Botany and Port Kembla; and the current construction workers have not experienced Barangaroo as a working port. This area had been a wharf virtually since settlement and the general public was never permitted access. I was given unprecedented access to all aspects of the port operations and painted on the wharves, from the top of Harbour Control Tower and even from the bridge of the ships. Later I painted the demolition of the wharves and the preparations for World Youth Day 2008 and now I am starting a new series of paintings about the construction of Barangaroo.


 Barangaroo from the Harbour Control Tower- 'The Hungry Mile' from the Harbour Control Tower 1 2007 gouache painting on paper 44 x 34cm
In this gouache painting you can see a rare aerial view of the '30 The Bond' building, as I painted this from the vantage point of the Control Room of the Sydney Harbour Control Tower. It is the sleekly elegant silver building south of the roller-coaster escarpment of High Street, in the historic Miller's Point precinct. On its roof is a curly thatch of greenery which is its roof garden. My paintings will be displayed on easels in the foyer, just in front of an escarpment wall of original sandstone.
I will also be exhibiting my early paintings of Pyrmont at Workplace6 on Darling Island as part of the Sydney Open, on the same day Sunday 7th November. For more information see my post My Exhibition at Sydney Open at my other blog 'Industrial Revelation'

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The End of the Wharf as we know it

The Empty Wharf
Starting a new large canvas- 8am on a cloudy windy day on the site of recently demolished Wharf 8 at South Barangaroo 

I have prepared a canvas suitable for the threatening clouds by priming it  with several coats of black acrylic paint. Canvases intended for either landscapes or seascapes I prime with either black or cerulean blue. This preparatory coat of coloured paint is known as the 'imprimatura', and I like to use it especially when painting outdoors rather than face the glare of a white canvas reflecting the sunlight back into my face
A black primed canvas is useful for storm clouds or interiors, while the blue canvases have the basic sky colour already laid in, so it is easier to add clouds, haze or mist at the horizon.

 8.30am
9.30am

9.30am
Note the scar of dark, new laid asphalt delineating the space where Wharf 8 used to be.

Gone with the Wind
10am


This canvas is fairly large for a plein air painting- 91 x 122cm. I intended it to be a continuation of the series of canvases from similar vantage points on this wharf of the same size which you can see on the right hand side of this blog, one painted when the 'Hungry Mile' was still a working port and the other a year later when the ships, trucks, containers, forklifts and wharfies had left. There are also other paintings of this size and format showing the demolition of the previous wharf buildings. I must say that the earlier paintings might have been more complex to paint, but this one is more physically difficult to manage, because now that most of the buildings have been demolished, there is no shelter from the wind on this wharf. 
That sounds like a minor gripe, but I have almost as much canvas up to catch the breeze as though I were windsurfing. The Philip's head screws on the struts of my french box easel, never a strong point of its design, are fighting a losing battle. I tighten them, but their little notches are almost worn smooth. The top of the easel with its canvas snaps back and forward unless I hold it steady with my left hand. It's tiring to paint like this and I dare not leave it long enough to eat my lunch, never mind about leaving it for a much needed toilet break. I'd be chasing my stuff all over the wharf. I try a useful trick with big canvases in a brisk wind - I change the angle so the canvas is side on to the wind, not catching it head on, and lower the angle so that the canvas is almost horizontal like a table top. A little like sailing, I should imagine, although I am by no means a sailor.
Last year I lost a much loved Akubra hat which blew off my head as I was packing up my things on my very last visit to paint the ferries the Balmain shipyard. I was so upset that I seriously thought about jumping into the Harbour and swimming after it, but I didn't want to be scuttled by the 'Lady Hopetoun'. I suppose some lucky New Zealander is wearing my lost Akubra  now. A good Akubra with a wide brim, not one of those silly pork pie jobs that don't keep the sun or rain off, is hard to find now. It will set you back about $150, and that doesn't include the toggles, which are almost impossible to buy. The shops only sell  Akubras for tourists these days and were amazed to hear of someone who actually needed to wear one for work. 'Did I also ride a horse at work' the assistants asked, wide-eyed with wonder. I had to disappoint them there. 
The wind is getting much worse. A good rule of thumb is that over 25 knots and the canvas starts to beat like a drum; the brushstrokes are timed to coincide. Annoying, but not insurmountable. Over 35 knots and a fully loaded french box easel starts to skitter around. Over 40 knots, and it will lift up and whack you on the nose if you don't tie it down. I have to move my car and cower behind it, using it as a wind break.
Painting clouds- 11am
Beware- Artist at work- 11.30am



If it weren't for the hard hat perched on top of it, the little black hat would look quite glam. It's no Akubra, though.
The smear of black paint on the cheek  really completes the look. 
Behind the canvas
I had to scavenge for this big concrete block to weight down my easel so I wouldn't have to chase it all over the wharf. The bricks are preventing the easel struts from being blown out of position and giving me a faceful of wet canvas. It only partly worked. I found out later the wind that day was over 45 knots. But despite the threatening clouds it didn't actually rain and I got a lot of painting done.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Work Easy

Hand in Glove
'Work Easy'


I found this glove lying on the wharf. I noticed its reassuring gesture, but decided it was a subject worthy of being painted when I read its slogan "Work Easy". The combination of the battered trampled glove with the 'OK' gesture and the laid back 'Work Easy' slogan was too hard for me to resist.
Do the people who take the maxim "Work Easy" literally, make up for it by also "Playing Hard", I wonder? Or are they laid back in all aspects of their life?

One of my favourite quotes used to be "train hard, fight easy", which sounds as if it were a failed attempt at a Nike slogan or some of Muhammed Ali's pre-bout pugilistic poetry  , but I believe actually derives from von Clausewitz and probably sounds more formal in the original 19th century Prussian German dialect. This grim little aphorism is a reminder of the importance of early preparation for an important event, but "Work Easy" is its polar opposite. "Work Easy" sounds so humane, so relaxed, so cheerful and so reminiscent of how Australia used to be. An antidote to the barked commands of "Just do it" I can imagine the hapless owner of the lost glove failing to find it, saying "No worries"  and sloping off to the pub early.

'Work Easy'2010 oil on canvas 20 x 20 cm

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Monday, October 11, 2010

Walking with Industrial Dinosaurs at Barangaroo

The "Pulverizer" in action.
'The Pulverizer and the Watertank' 2010 oil on canvas 15 x 30cm
This painting shows the aptly named "Pulverizer" doing just that. Its target is the base of one of the recently demolished power and light poles; another of these is in the foreground.

The Hungry Excavators

The excavators lumber around the site like a pack of marauding dinosaurs. The largest excavator of the site, the Sumitomo 800, resembles the top predator  T. rex, as usually it wears a heavy jawed attachment that seems too top heavy for its body. The  excavators seem to lie in wait, either hibernating for the winter or digesting their meal. Then they stir from their slumber, shake themselves and stretch and circle around, looking for a weak spot to target. They seem to wander around aimlessly, but you know they are just biding their time, choosing a suitable victim. When they strike it is sudden and merciless. There is a struggle as the heavy jaws clamp and pull. They tear and twist scraps from the target. Sometimes they take a breather to chew their cud. Other lesser beasts hang around the edges scavenging the leftovers, as they wait for the noble beast to finish its kill.
I think I've been watching too many Attenborough documentaries.

The Archaeologists at Barangaroo

A new trench
'Digger (The Trench)'  2010 oil on canvas 30 x 15 cm
The site archaeologists of South Barangaroo are Casey & Lowe. Here they have briefly stopped work to consult as the excavators have unearthed a pipe. Possibly Barangaroo isn't one of the most fascinating archaeological sites as it is mostly fill, and fill dating probably no earlier than the 1960's. But breaking the surface to dig a new hole is always exciting, even if there is no prospect of buried treasure or even broken bottles or blue and white pottery fragments at the end of it!

Dig it!
'Dig it' 2010 oil on canvas 20 x 20 cm

The archaeologists have discovered some timber, possibly from a 19th century Fingerwharf, and some paving stones. Some paving stones can be seen in the right foreground; fragments of timber are in the centre foreground, in the midground in front of the shovels, and to the far left.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Dig it, Pump it, Grab it, Munch it !

Dig it !
'Excavator with Macquarie Bank' 2010  2010 oil on canvas 31 x 41 cm

The excavator is the Sumitomo 800, the biggest on site. This heavy duty warhorse was bought specially for the first round of demolition, back in early 2008, when the wharves at the northern end were demolished prior to the World Youth Day celebrations.
This excavator has been sitting idle for a week or so, waiting for the next round of demolition, which will be the Sydney Ports Maintenance Depot and the Amenities blocks lining Hickson Road. It is wearing the attachment called the 'Ripper". Next to it is a reverse view of one of the "Munchers".

Pump it! (The Watertank)
'Pump it '( the Watertank) 2010 oil on canvas 15 x 30cm 

The Veronese green of the Cardinal watertank is a welcome sight on a windy day. It hoses down the demolition dust. Here it is draining the little lake in the middle of the site so that it can later twirl around the compound in ever decreasing circles spraying the water onto the site of the recently demolished wharf. However much water it sprays is never enough. When the wind is from the south/ south -west I make sure that I wear a dust mask & keep as far to the west as I can so that I don't end up with a mouthful of dirt.

Grab it!



'Grabber' 2010 oil on canvas 20 x 20 cm
Munch it!


'Muncher' 2010 oil on canvas 20 x 20 cm 


This attachment, called poetically a "Muncher" used to have a fluoro pink painted patch that looked like a mad pink eye that made it look both startled and hungry.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Art exhibition : Recent Paintings by Jane Bennett

From Barangaroo to Double Bay :
My paintings for sale -

on Display at the Frances Keevil Gallery until 8th October 2010



"I saw the number '8' in red... "2010  
oil painting on canvas  51 x 76cm
$4,200  
See my post : I saw the number '8' in red...



"Out of time " oil painting on canvas 31 x 31 cm
$990


See my post : Barangaroo terminal -'Out of time' 

 
"Keep Area clear" 
(Inside the loading dock of the former Cruise ship Terminal at Darling Harbour 8)  
2010  oil painting on canvas 51 x 76cm

$4,200
Painted from a similar viewpoint as "May close without warning..."

"MAY CLOSE WITHOUT WARNING (Inside the loading dock of the former Cruise ship Terminal at Darling Harbour 8)"
oil painting on canvas 51 x 76cm
$4,200 


"Night, 'Pacific Jewel'  from the bridge of the Maersk Gateshead" 2010 
oil painting on canvas 61 x 91 cm
$6,000



"The Pacific Jewel arrives for the first time 
at the new temporary facilities at Barangaroo" 2010 
oil painting on canvas 
36 x 46 cm
$1,800








"The Pacific Jewel arrives for the first time 
at the new temporary facilities at Barangaroo"
Diptych Left hand canvas 2010 
oil painting on canvas 25 x 51 cm each 
Total image size 25 x 102cm

Each canvas : $1,400  Diptych : $2,800 

"The Pacific Jewel arrives for the first time 
at the new temporary facilities at Barangaroo"
Diptych: Right hand canvas 2010 oil painting on canvas 25 x 51 cm each 
Total image size 25 x 102cm

Each canvas : $1,400  Diptych : $2,800
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