Author: Camille Walsh

Last week for art class we headed off to see James Blackwell’s exhibition at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre. We were very lucky to have James come say hi and answer some very thoughtful, interesting questions put to him by the kids. (Thank you James!!) This week, the budding artists were set the task of collecting whatever bits and pieces took their fancy and then bringing them along to class to create a James Blackwell inspired piece. I’d love to share their work with you and I think you’ll agree, they’ve done a spectacular job! :)

Oh and due to my lack of technical prowess, I can’t figure out how to caption each work so, in order of appearance…

1. Mimi 2. Alice 3. Louis 4. India 5. Imogen 6. Lucie 7. Olivia 8. Marley 9. And me! (Yes, I kind of did that on purpose…)

I’m totally not into cars. I know where to check if the oil needs topping up but other than that, the mechanical side of things is not for me. I can however appreciate the beauty in the design, not so much in modern day cars but the older ones… such lovely colours and curves, all that shiny chrome (is that what it’s called?)… Katoomba’s Lady Luck Festival is a feast for the car enthusiast and I found myself wandering around with my camera, getting completely lost in all the lovely details. Car art. It’s my new thang ;)

On a recent, fleeting trip up north my dad said he wanted to show me some graffiti art in a laneway in down town Lismore. I don’t think I was expecting much. Not because the north coast isn’t filled with a ridiculous amount of talented, creative folk, because we all know it is, but more because after a childhood spent in the area, I just didn’t expect good ol’ Lismore to produce such a spectacular show.

So there we were, wandering around the unassuming back streets of, in many ways, a rather typical Australian country town, being treated to some top class graffiti art. I think these images prove yet again that boring concrete + skilfully produced art + a local community who are keen to brighten up their streets + a council who’ll support that = AWESOME! Oh and we can’t talk graffiti unless we chuck in a quote from the man himself, Banksy…

“Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw whatever they liked. Where every street was awash with a million colours and little phrases. Where standing at a bus stop was never boring. A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business. Imagine a city like that and stop leaning against the wall – it’s wet.” :)
Banksy, Wall and Piece

P.S. My humble apologies to the artists for not crediting you for your amazing work, but I don’t know who you are!

If you haven’t done so already, do yourself a MASSIVE favour and go see Linda Seiffert’s exhibition Undulatus at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in Katoomba. Her work is absolutely beautiful!

Here’s a selection of photos I took for Linda last week…

You probably won’t believe me but I promise I’ve not played with the colours in these sunrise images. (You’ll see the two I’m talking about…) I woke up one morning last week, pulled back the curtains and WOW! What a feast for the eyes! Mother Nature certainly knows how to put on a most spectacular show…