Laugh out Loud

 The eye of the beholder ...

I've been working on this little beauty
(a commission for a valued friend) 

for some months now, on and off

- it's a partial reinterpretation of a 1890's

painting of a Laughing Kookaburra by Queensland

artist and taxidermist, Anthony Alder

Sometimes re-making a partial image is

much harder than re-making the whole...

He's an odd little creature, my 'portrait',

but I like the way the abstracted wing,

has a relationship to the shape of the beak...

I hope he makes a worthy homage to

Anthony Alder's wonderful painting (below)

which lives in the National Library of Australia

Post Sanctuary photos

In conversation with Jason Smith, Director & CEO,

Heide Museum of Modern Art about Sarah Stone's 1790

King Parrot which inspired Queen Billie 2010 (pictured)

 Installing Queen Billie 2010, in the Project Gallery

Ellis' Paradise and Flaming Flamingo in the background

 Discussing the historical context of the work,

Flaming Flamingo 2011 after John James Audubon in the background

Lyrebird Inspirations

National Library of Australia photo of "The Display"

- gotta love that lyrebird

A lyrebird collage made by a young girl in my 'Sunday Arts'

Workshop at Heide MoMA, in response to Sanctuary -

truly inspiring to me

I named 'Madeira's Lyre 2010' after John William Lewin c1815

(National Library of Australia), for the exquisite Madeira Applique
fern motifs which makes up the Lyre in the tail feathers

"Sanctuary" - installation shots in the Andrew Myer & Kerry Gardner Project Gallery at Heide March - July 2012

 Installation shots from Heide MoMA have arrived, this is

the cabinet of curiosities filled with needlework and natural history treasures,

including my precious 1937 edition of Audubon's "Birds of America".

Above the cabinet are "Elvis" 2011 - after Sir Hans Sloane's 1750's Rhino hornbill skull;

"Carolina on my mind" 2011 - after John James Audubon 1825 and "Queen Billie #2" 2010

 

Left to right - "Lucy's Kite" 2011 after JJ Audubon 1829; 3 works as above;

"Black Prince" 2011 - after Louisa Anne Meredith c1850; "Maria's Saturn" - after

Maria Sibylla Merian c1700 and "Halcyone & Ceyx" 2010 - after Lilian Medland c1930

(Left to right) "Queen Billie" 2010 - after Sarah Stone 1790;

"Madiera's Lyre" 2010 - after J W Lewin 1815;

 "Major Tom" 2010 - after J & E Gould c1848 and "Lucy's Kite" 1829

 

 At the opening with my babies "Ellis' Paradise" 2011 - after Ellis Rowan 1917

and "Flaming Flamingo" 2011 - after JJ Audubon 1838

"Ellis' Paradise" 2011; "Flaming Flamingo" 2011 and "Queen Billie" 2010

(left to right) "Black Prince" 2011; "Maria's Saturn"; "Halcyone & Ceyx" 2010

and "Right Place, Wrong Time" 2011 - after Maria Sibylla Merian c1700

http://www.heide.com.au/#/exhibitions/past/exhibition/louise-saxton-sanctuary/edate/2012-03-24/eid/14