fred williams: infinite horizons

I’ve been a bit down lately. My sister is very unwell and I am feeling pretty unexcited about uni this semester. It’s funny how no matter how much you tell yourself that there is no point in wallowing about in your own self-pity, nothing seems to make a difference. I woke up on Tuesday feeling pretty miserable. I really dislike going into the city every day and my sweetie little sister is constantly in the back of my mind. I have a big break in the middle of the day, so I decided that instead of catching up on some of the homework I am already way behind on, I would hop on a tram and make my way down to Federation Square to see the Fred Williams exhibition at the NGV.

It was such a beautiful exhibition. The colours have been floating about in my head ever since. There’s something kind of therapeutic about looking at artwork. I tend to find that my favourite paintings are the ones that really draw me in and have an ability to kind of distract you from the rest of the world. I loved all of the variation in colour. Each room of the exhibition seemed to have a colour of its own – from the rich reds and oranges of the You Yangs paintings to the brilliant greens and blues of the seascapes.

I think that there’s also something really beautiful about seeing your own landscape represented in art – the landscape you have been surrounded by growing up. In general, I don’t have as great an appreciation for Australian art as I think I should. I am surrounded by the Australian bush almost every day, and it is something that is very important to me. It is lovely, and kind of refreshing, to see similar scenes depicted art.

The exhibition is on until the 5^th of August. And it is free for students! I would definitely recommend checking it out!

XXX

Napoleon: Revolution to Empire

Yesterday, I went to see the Napoleon exhibition at the National Gallery. While I wasn’t looking forward to it as much as I have looked forward to the Winter Masterpieces in previous years, it was such a great exhibition! I particularly liked the drawings from the early Australian explorations. I’ve always found early colonial drawings very interesting. The exhibition focused on the early French connections with Australia, which is not something that I had previously known a lot about. I also loved the botanical drawings from Malmaison - Josephine's garden in which she cultivated a lot of Australian plants and kept a lot of Australian animals. 

I really loved the historical aspect of the exhibition. It follows somewhat of a chronological order. The first room focuses mainly on the Ancien Régime. The exhibition then documents some of the French Revolution, moving on to Napoleon’s reign. I love the fact that it is not only art that is being displayed, but also a lot of other interesting items such as military uniforms, guns, furniture, crockery and clothing.

The exhibition is on at the NGV for a few more weeks. I’d definitely recommend checking it out!

images

A Love Note to Winter

Recently, I’ve found myself dreaming about summer a little too much. Like a lot of people, I spend most of summer yearning for winter and winter looking forward to summer. I missed out on a lot of summer 2011/2012 due to being overseas.  While I did spend a couple of stinkin’ hot weeks in southern Mexico, America and the northern parts of Mexico in December and January were freakin’ freezing!

In the back of my mind, I’ve already started planning this summer – summer dresses, icy-poles, trips to the river and the beach, etc. etc. etc. Not anymore! I have made a little pact with myself to spend the rest of winter focusing on all of the indoorsy things that I really love about winter. Snuggling up on the couch with a good book, drawing, baking, doing crafty projects.

It’s so lovely to spend the day doing some drawing.

The other day we made these delicious grapefruit yoyos! They are just the same as my passionfruit melting moments, but with ruby grapefruit instead of passionfruit. So delish!

I’m currently reading this book. While I’m only about half way through, so far I am really enjoying it!

And as always, sewing is my favourite way to spend a wintery afternoon.

I'm also a bit excited to be spending the rest of today listening to this. 

Tomorrow we're heading off to another one of my favourite winter things - the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces! 

XXX

Weekly Wishlist: Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh is my number one, all time favourite painter. I love his work so much. First Steps, when I saw it in New York last year, actually brought a little tear to my eye. I would love to add a few more Van Gogh books to my little collection. And wearing a bit of your favourite art is always nice!



1. Black Milk Starry Night Leggings 2. Vincent Van Gogh: The Drawings 3. Van Gogh's Letters 4. Poppies Vincent Van Gogh Pendant 5. Starry Night Pendant 6. roses candle 7. Starry Night ring 8. Van Gogh: The Life

June Photo a Day 13

Day 13: Art



This painting belonged to my grandma. I'm not sure who it's by, but I do love it.

smile

A friend posted this on facebook a few days ago. While I'm pretty sure Nelson Mandela wasn't referring to the crazy amounts of homework I have to do at the moment, it's definitely making me smile.



This super pretty print is available over here!

washington dc through the eyes of my pod

While I didn't have particularly high hopes for Washington DC, when we arrived I was pleasantly surprised! There were lots of pretty houses and the streets were quiet and calm, particularly in comparison to New York!









Of course I was super keen to see the National Gallery, which was home to pieces from some of my favourite artists.

















After the gallery, I decided to spend the rest of the day checking out some of Washington's must-see sights.

















I kind of wished I could have stayed a little bit longer and seen some more of Washington. Not to worry. Next stop: Nashville, Tennessee!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art aka My New Favourite Place in the World

My favourite thing about New York so far has been exploring some of the amazing museums and art galleries. The highlight has definitely been The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I took me two full days, yet I still didn't manage to make my way around the entire building!

It was a rainy old day as I made my way down 5th Avenue on day one. I got completely soaked and was rather jealous of all the girls in their Hunter boots.







I began with the ancient Egyptian section, which made me not feel so bad about missing the Tutenkamen exhibition in Melbourne. It was impossible to take good photos inside the galleries, but I was super glad that you were allowed cameras inside. It's nice to have tome pictures to remember your visit.





I loved how varied the museum was. Every section bought you to a completely new time and place.





The galleries for American Paintings were closed and won't be open until 2012. The paintings were, however, in viewable storage. It was almost deserted. I loved wandering down the aisles, looking at all of the amazing paintings, all hung above one another, line after line in big glass boxes.

























At about 4.30, I realised that there was no way I was going to see the entire museum in one day, so I decided to come back the following morning. It was nice to be able to go back and take my time looking through some of the parts I had rushed through.



My favourite parts were definitely '19th and Early 20th Century European Paintings and Sculpture' and 'European Paintings'. It's so exciting to be have the opportunity to see some of the amazing works that I have studied but never had a chance to see in real life.

















Despite spending two entire days at the museum, I still missed out on some very large parts: a good incentive to come back to NY one day!