Category: Art and Artists

The traditional art of making an icon is an exacting process requiring much skill and knowledge that can only be acquired over a long period of dedicated commitment to the art.  The method that aligns best with the essence of the icon is classical painting with egg tempera, a technique of unknown origins from deep within the ancient world.  Adopted and perfected by the icon painters of the early church in Byzantium, the technique has been passed down almost without change to be employed by the few icon painters in our age whose practice remains true to the tradition. Continue reading “THE SACRED ART OF THE ICONOGRAPHER”

The Art of William Robinson

Standing awestruck before a mountain, [the mystic] cannot separate this experience from God, and perceives that the interior awe being lived has to be entrusted to the Lord. “Mountains have heights and they are plentiful, vast, beautiful, graceful, bright and fragrant.  These mountains are what my Beloved is to me.  Lonely valleys are quiet, pleasant, cool, shady and flowing with fresh water; in the variety of their groves and in the sweet song of the birds, they afford abundant recreation and delight to the senses, and in their solitude and silence, they refresh us and give rest.  These valleys are what my Beloved is to me.” Continue reading “CREATOR GOD AND CREATION”

My name is Olga Bakhtina.  Once in a while, people ask me why I paint Christian scenes.  Every time the question comes up it surprises me.  What does make a mostly self-taught contemporary artist like me paint Christian stories when so few people do? Continue reading “GOSPEL THEMES IN PAINT”

Dr Rebekah Pryor is a visual artist and writer living and working on Boonwurrung/Bunurong Country southeast of Melbourne, Australia.  She was a finalist in the 2018 Blake Prize and, from 2015-2018, the curator of Lamppost Gallery, a space dedicated to exploring contemporary art and Christian spirituality.  She is an honorary postdoctoral associate at Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity.  In 2021 she coedited Contemporary Feminist Theologies: Power, Authority, Love (Routledge) and her forthcoming book Motherly: Reimagining the Maternal Body in Feminist Theology and Contemporary Art is due for publication in early 2022. Continue reading “HOLY MYSTERIES”

Arthur Boyd’s wife, Yvonne, commented that Arthur was very fond of Saint Francis.  This was undoubtedly true and yet in his perceptive and idiosyncratic way our artist turns the medieval legend on its head.  The saint’s values of human brotherhood, non-materialism and engagement with nature are preserved, while the proselytising and, in Boyd’s eyes, control over others is sternly rejected.  The medieval Francis felt himself to be divinely inspired while Boyd in the 20^th century was alone with his fragile yet dogged sense of his own humanity. Continue reading “ARTHUR BOYD AND SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI”

The following notes on the meanings of various colours have been taken largely from Schuon (1956) and Cirlot (1984) for the major references to symbolism whilst Sloane (1980), Varley (1980) and Gage (1993) were mainly used for the more contingent or subjective meanings. Continue reading “COLOUR MEANINGS”

First Impressions: Indigenous works from the ACU Art Collection (Australian Catholic University, 2020).

A New Perspective, works from the ACU Art Collection (Australian Catholic University, 2020). Continue reading “ACU ART COLLECTION Book Review”

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners who have walked and cared for this land for thousands of years and their descendants who maintain these spiritual connections and traditions … Continue reading “THE GIFT OF THE EPHEMERAL”

CLIFTON PUGH (1924-1990) was an Australian landscape and portrait painter.  His engagement with the bush, however, stands in sharp contrast to the familiar landscapes of artists such as Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin.  Continue reading “CLIFTON PUGH, LANDSCAPE and SUFFERING”

Melbourne architect GREGORY BURGESS (b. 1945) is known internationally for public architecture which both expresses the spiritual and creates a unifying communal experience.  His work has included arts and visitor centres, educational and health facilities. Continue reading “A GOOD PARISH CHURCH OF 1987”