Recent Exhibition

Ray's recent exhbition was a joint show with oil painter Terry Davys and also poet Ross Donlon.  This exhibition was somewhat unique in that Ross Donlon, an award winning and multi published scribe, provided a poem to go with the paintings.  The paintings were framed to include the verse.  The title of the exhibition Thresholds took its subjects that are an interface between here and something beyond - doorways, entrances, archways and steps - from around the world.

Demonstration painting and Class at the NGA

The National Gallery of Australia runs many different workshops and arts activities and watercolourist was a certain requirement during the current Hans Heysen exhibition.   On Saturday 19 June Ray conducted a demonstration painting class in the NGA small lecture room.  Ray painted an Australian landscape subject which at the same time was viewed by camera and projected on a screen so that all the participants could see the progress of the painting and hear the commentary.  Click on the NGA page to see some images of the progressive stages of the demonstration painting

 Previous Demonstration at NGA workshop

National Gallery of Australia runs regular workshops - some associated with the special interest exhibitions showing at the time.  The exhibition 'Misty Moderns' (The Tonalists) was the setting for Ray's demonstration of a watercolour painting.  As Ray painted the image was projected on a screen so that the group could paint along following each of the stages.  The cricket painting was the result of this demonstration.

  Demonstration Painting at Queanbeyan Art Society

 At the QAS July meeting Ray painted "Chicas Habana"  (Havana girls). He began with a faint wash over the entire painting except for the foreground figures which had masking fluid applied approximately to the lights.  This wash (Cobalt and Venetian Red) was cool in the background merging to a warmer (Cad Yellow and Light Red added) in the foreground. When this was dry the background buildings were then washed in broadly cutting around the background figures.  Shadows were applied with warm colour being dropped in to suggest reflected heat from the buildings.  Working around the painting, figures were completed letting clothing and flesh colours merge to exaggerate the contre soleil light.  As is his usual method Ray finished the painting without any further adjustments preferring to look at the painting a day or two later to decide on any necessary new marks or changes insofar as watercolour permits.  "I dislike scrubbing changes as this can take away the freshness of the initial washes".

 Previous exhibitions

In 2007 Ray cycled around Ireland and Devon - carrying his paintbox on his push bike.  His exhibition as a result of these travels was at Bungendore Fine Art.  Senator Ursula Stevens did the honours of opening the exhibition.  She was born in Wicklow Ireland as were Ray's ancestors.  Many Irish Wicklow immigrants are buried in the Bungendore cemetery.

After the Irish exhibition he was soon off to Canada and Cuba - on his bike again looking for more painting subjects.  

The subsequent exhibition for Cuba paintings was at Paintbox Fine Art in Braddon, Canberra. 

Street in Trindad, Cuba

Future Paintings and Projects

Ray has recently painted a series of watercolours of Canberra as it was in the 1920s.   Last year he demonstrated the painting of a subject "Canberra in the 1920s" to an audience at the National Archives of Australia.  His demonstrated painting made use of black and white photos from the Archives collection.

Also a series of small paintings of present day Canberra is being scanned to create a Canberra series of cards.