Oliver Koehn - Blog

Digital pastel fun

Oliver Koehn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:34:22 GMT

I have been having great fun with Corel Painter 12. It’s terrific for sketching and planning an artwork. The examples shown here are rough-ish sketches for more in the series of pastels based on my sister-in-law’s amazing South Australian outback photos. In Painter 12 you can set different paper/canvas textures, and there is an enormous variety of brushes. As you can see, I have blended certain areas, just as I would do in real life. Using my Wacom tablet, it felt so much like the real thing I almost reached for my fixative spray at one point, and sprayed my computer screen!

Originals v. Interpretations

Oliver Koehn — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:33:22 GMT

You know how I have been showing you some pastels I have been doing, based on the fantastic outback photography of Bron, my talented sister-in-law? Well it occurred to me that you might like to see the original pictures and how I have interpreted them in pastels.

Here are a few examples.

Bron’s original:

… and my take on it:

Here are two pictures I combined elements of:

…and here is the end result (or a Painter 12 sketch for a planned worked, at any rate):

One more. The original photograph:

…and my pastel:

O.K.

Adventures in pastel

Oliver Koehn — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:57:04 GMT

At last I am having another creative spurt.This week I have added to my gallery four line and wash pieces and two pastels.

The line and wash ‘River of tears’ series is currently hanging in the Strathalbyn Stationmaster’s Gallery as part of the ‘Splash!’ exhibition (click on Coming events for more information).

I think I enjoyed doing the pastels the most. They were exciting to paint (or should I say draw?), because I thought I’d follow a technique I saw on a video recently borrowed from the library. It involved a certain amount of risk-taking and vigorous mark-making. The results are richly layered, very colourful and deeply satisfying. You should have seen me doing the ‘boulders’ pastel out on my back porch this afternoon – standing with pastel held out like a fencer’s foil, stabbing and slashing at the paper to strains of Leonard Cohen, Tracy Chapman and U2.

detail from ‘boulders’

These works are based on photographs taken by my very talented sister-in-law of the country near to her home in outback South Australia.

O.K.

Wortakullas

Oliver Koehn — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:56:24 GMT

Aren’t they beaut, these wortakullas!

They are actually watercolours, in case you were wondering.

Shock!

Oliver Koehn — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:33:16 GMT

Shock horror! I am doing more nudes!

Yes, I have been attending a life drawing class for some time. It’s extremely helpful for developing my drawing skills. The tantalisation wore off a few minutes into the first class.

This week we used previously painted backgrounds to draw or paint in the medium of our choice. I chose Genesis heat-set oils. I have only used them twice before. They aren’t smelly like normal oils, and if you want to dry them you can do so quickly with a heat gun. In fact, without extreme heat they wont dry at all, and you can leave the paint uncovered on your palette and on your brushes until the next class. Moreover, they wash out in water! So why are they called oils? I’m not sure, but I don’t really care – they are simply wonderful to use. There you go Genesis, a free plug!

Here’s what I came up with at this week’s class. We were given 40 minutes to do each of these.

At the Atrium

Oliver Koehn — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:46:10 GMT

I recently displayed some artworks at the Burnside Council’s ‘Atrium’. They were completed during a Life Drawing class that I have been attending for the last 18 months or so at Marden Senior College. There were some very nice pieces of art shown from students of a number of different classes held at the college. The exhibition, which was part of the SALA Festival, was quite well attended and resulted in several sales – pretty good for student work.

Here are a few blurry snaps from my dodgy mobile phone camera.

Another one done!

Oliver Koehn — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:10:53 GMT

My last post showed an early stage of my latest painting. I took a little longer than the estimated week to complete it. I spent a couple of hours on it the day after my post, and then touched it up a bit every day until I announced it completed last Sunday. Here it is:

The medium is acrylic on stretched canvas. It’s thick textured surface was assisted by adding impasto medium to the underpainting. It’s dimensions are 121 cm x 61 cm (24″ × 48″).

I’m not sure yet what I will call it. Hopefully I have conveyed a moody atmosphere and excited a sense of mystery.
More paintings of similar theme are currently churning about in my mind.

Welcome to my Blog!

Oliver Koehn — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:10:14 GMT

The launch of this website is wonderfully exciting. Life was whizzzing past so fast, that I decided the website I always intended to have must be made now, or it might never be. And I think it looks fantastic, I’m sure you will agree.

At the same time painting and drawing has become a huge part of my life, swamping out other things I used to spend my time on, and filling up all the little gaps at the edges of my daily routines. My mind is constantly dwelling on design, composition and medium; my eyes zooming in on pattern, play of light, colour and tone.

With the June exhibition fast approaching, a sense is coming upon me of being specially blessed – undeservedly bestowed with an opportunity I used to think I was only allowed to dream of. I am humbled by it, secretly wondering whether I really should dare to put myself out there in the public gaze quite that much.

But what good is a dream that is unfulfilled? And few will criticise the man who dares to realise one.
So, I will simply keep charging on, focussing, with brushes and palettes in hand, on the vision directly ahead of me.

Colores

Oliver Koehn — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:53:02 GMT

This is the name of the latest group exhibition at the Red Opus Art Space. Commencing with a big opening on Friday 23rd July 2010, it shows off the work of 18 talented Adelaide artists. It’s part of the amazing and ginormous annual SALA Festival. For full details of the exhibition see my Coming events page. I am exhibiting 4 watercolours in the exhibition. Each of them depicts one of two of my favourite iconic South Australian locations in slightly different ways, and each shows how bodies of water mirror the colours of the sky and landscape, blending all into harmony.

Naturally, all are welcome to attend.

Meanwhile I have been working on another painting – a largish acrylic. Inspired by memories of a beautiful morning stroll along the Hindmarsh River in downtown Victor Harbor several months ago, I have sought, through colour, texture and composition, to bring a bit more expression into my work. I was really “in the zone” for this one. Here’s a quick snapshot of the very early stages of the work. While the glare from the flash is a bit annoying, it does highlight the energetic, even manic manner in which I have applied the paint.

Tune in next week for the finished work…

Reflections...

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:41:22 GMT

I have recently been reflecting, in my watercolour paintings, upon reflections. I am enjoying the effects I can achieve by blobbing my paint onto the paper, wet and dry, then squashing and dragging it. Here are a few watercolour reflective experiments. Based on the sleepy, murky Murray River, the scene of many a fondly remembered camping holiday and kayaking trip, I have tried to capture the great river’s mesmerising power.

River Murray reflections 7

River Murray reflections 8

River Murray reflections 9

River Murray reflections 10

River Murray reflections 11

River Murray reflections 12

The Red Opus re-opens!

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 09 May 2010 05:42:04 GMT

My latest venture is at the Red Opus gallery. After closing temporarily at the end of March 2010, the gallery has opened its doors again.

Both Malinda-Ro and I are exhibiting a number of works in ‘Magnum Opus 2’, which started on 7th May 2010.

In the two pastels and the acrylic I am showing, my focus is once again on trees. I keep coming back to trees. There’s something immutable about them that appeals to me.

Malinda-Ro is exhibiting some stunning macro photographs titled ‘colours from the past’.

Here’s a flier for the exhibition:

Hindmarsh River sketch

Oliver Koehn — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:31:28 GMT

Recently Malinda-Ro and I pitched a tent near the lovely Hindmarsh River, which winds through Victor Harbor to the sea. There are some beautiful tea trees there with gnarled, flaky-bark trunks arching over the water. I couldn’t resist doing a sketch or two.

I have drawn this onto black paper with white gel pen. I am also contemplating the composition of a painting with acrylics in landscape format..

Handy sketch

Oliver Koehn — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:45:46 GMT

I’ve been sitting around in courts for the last 23 years, much of the time doing nothing more interesting than twiddling my thumbs. Recently I have been killing time by looking at other peoples thumbs…and hands.

In a previous blog I mentioned I will be doing a series of paintings on hands in the courts. I really need to learn hands and all their features and moods if I am going to achieve this goal. That’s why I have been staring at hands a lot. I have also been busy sketching them. Below is one tit bit to whet your appetite.

The Coorong: the end of the drain

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 03:15:41 GMT

Finally I have completed my paintings for the 2010 Victor Harbor Art Show.

end of the drain 1: the regulator

end of the drain 2: engineering solutions

end of the drain 3: toxicity

The exhibition runs from Friday 15th to Saturday 23rd January. It’s open from 6:45 pm to 9 pm on 15th January, and thereafter from 10 am to 8:30 pm daily. It’s a huge exhibition and many works are very reasonably priced, including mine!

2010 Victor Harbour Art Show

Oliver Koehn — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:44:52 GMT

Still feeling moved by my weekend at Camp Coorong in October I have been working on a series of acrylic paintings called “The end of the drain”, about the tragic plight of the once beautiful Coorong.

Here’s one I have been working on:

It’s about the government’s obsession with engineering solutions to the Coorong’s problems. I’m happy with the colours and the general idea, but my perspectives are a bit askew. Pencilled in you’ll see the outline of a pelican. This, if my memory serves me correctly, is the totem, or “nagatji” of one of the Ngarrindjeri elders we met at Camp Coorong. The government recently decided on an engineering solution to protect the wetlands around Goolwa, Currency Creek and the Finnis River. But did the government respect the wishes of the local indigenous peoples prior to building the “regulator” at Clayton, which is, effectively, another bridge across the Murray River to Hindmarsh Island?

Below is another trial run:

This deals with the Coorong’s toxicity which has reach crisis point, particularly in the Coorong’s southern reaches.

I’ll have to make quite a few adjustments to this before I’ll be totally happy with it.

My deadline is January 11th. This is the date upon which all entries to the 2010 Victor Harbour Art Show must be delivered. The exhibition runs from 15th to 23rd January. It’s open from 6:45 pm to 9 pm on 15th January, and thereafter from 10 am to 8:30 pm daily. It’s a huge exhibition and many works are very reasonably priced!

More caricatures

Oliver Koehn — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:07:05 GMT

I have been kept busy for the last year with various commissioned caricatures. Some of them appear in the Caricatures and Cartoons page of my gallery. They are lots of fun and always produce mirth. Here are a couple I have finished recently.

I hope the unfortunate subjects dont mind me displaying their accentuated features on the WORLD WIDE WEB!

Hands

Oliver Koehn — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:10:09 GMT

You can tell a lot about a person from their hands. The shape, size and texture of hands can reveal a person’s age, gender and occupation. The way hands are held, or the things they are holding, can disclose something of what their owner is doing, and can even indicate their emotional state.

I am currently doing drawings of the hands of various players in the drama of the criminal court, a place where the tensions at the seams of our society are put under the microscope, where events occurring at the snapping point are scrutinised and responded to, sometimes appropriately, sometimes inadequately.

The above image is made up from photographs of my own hands, manipulated a little for your viewing pleasure.

Eventually I want to work my drawings up into a series of paintings to exhibit. I’ll keep you posted.

The Coorong

Oliver Koehn — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:52:13 GMT

A recent weekend at Camp Coorong, on South Australia’s south-east coast, opened my eyes to the beautiful simplicity of the ancient Narrindjeri world, a simplicity yearned for by many, particularly those who struggle to fit in to the fast paced and competitive western world. It also revealed to me in starker detail than ever before the devastation brought upon the Ngarrindjeri peoples and their land by European settlement. Through a guided tour of Bonney reserve, a delightful little patch of coastal mallee scrub, and over a round-the-fire dicussion, Tom and Ellen Trevorrow shared their stories, interweaving the wonder of the Narrindjeri dreaming with the tragedy of their more recent history and their understanding of the environmental disaster that has befallen the Coorong since agriculture and western development has invaded their traditional lands. The noble Ngarrindjeri have so much to teach us.

I felt awed, grieved, ashamed and enlivened. My creative juices flowed easily. Aunty Ellen showed me how to weave reed baskets. I returned the favour and painted her and Tom some watercolors:

Coorong from Bonney Reserve

Waves lapping on the Coorong shore

Pigface creeping across a bush track.

If you believe in the reconciliation process and want to engage positively with the those who were so cruelly treated by our forebears, I recommend a stay at Camp Coorong. The address of their website is http://campcoorong.net

Flag of the Ngarrindjeri nation.

I object!

Oliver Koehn — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:40:36 GMT

Recently I have been working on a series of self-portraits showing me as I appear Monday to Friday in my work clobber. I am attempting to match appropriate facial expressions with common adversarial cliches. “I object!” is perhaps the most well-known legal exclamation. Few can deny having at some point practiced this in front of a mirror, releasing their fury at some injustice, defiantly raising one of their fists while clutching a toothbrush with the other.

Order in the Court

Oliver Koehn — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:37:26 GMT

….and I’m already preparing for my next exhibition, a smaller one in Ecco Espresso Bar, Central Market Arcade, Adelaide. The cafe, which can be accessed from Victoria Square, is between the Hilton International Hotel and the Sir Samuel Way Building (District and Supreme Courts). Illustrating the contrast between the grandeur and functionality of Adelaide’s edifices of Justice and the dysfunction that brings people through their revolving doors, the Order in the Court exhibition will run from 14th August to 14th September 2009 (click on Coming events for more information).

The Elizabeth Magistrates Court

Introducing!...(drum roll)...Malinda-Ro Koehn!

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:16:15 GMT

Who is this “Malinda-Ro Koehn”, with whom I am exhibiting in June?
Not only is she my closest companion and my gentle manager-in-art, but she is a budding photographer with a keen eye and a love of the slightly odd. Stimulating in the viewer deep contemplations and wistful imaginings, her studies on windows and doors is a good example of her style. Here are a few to whet your appetite:

See you at the exhibition!

It's nearly upon us!

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:15:49 GMT

What a week it has been! The preparations for Quiddity and Oddity have been gaining pace like a narrowing stream approaching a cataract.

Last Tuesday ABC radio interviewed Malinda-Ro about how her renewed interest in photography has provided a diversion during her recent struggle with cancer, and she gave a very nice plug to the exhibition, at which, of course she is joining me in exhibiting works. You can view the ABC article, listen to an audio and see a slide show at the following link: http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2009/06/11/2595364.htm?site=adelaide&rotator=true

Today, after having added finishing touches until 3:00 am, we shuttled 64 artworks and photos to anxiously waiting staff at the Golden Grove Arts Centre in 3 car loads. With mixed feelings we watched our precious masterpieces being hung. Will we ever get them back? Hopefully not!

David Barrett, manager of the Golden Grove Arts Centre, hangs our babies.

Aftermath

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:15:23 GMT

In the aftermath of a thoroughly spiffing opening to Quiddity and Oddity it has been rather difficult to go about my normal tasks today. As I walked into the office this morning the usual ping-pong of mindless greetings “morning”, "morning, “morning”, seemed surreal. What kept me from gushing all over everybody was the deep fatigue that had set in as soon as I got home last night – that deflation of energy that follows all such climactic events, similar to the gush of air that happens when an untied balloon is released. But, I had no choice but to get right into it again – the thousand emails and phone calls, the cut and thrust of a couple of early morning court attendances, the dictation of some tactful letters and the giving of kind, careful advice to bewildered clients.

It was such a marvellous event however that I refuse to let it pass so quickly into oblivion. So here I will at least say a few thankyous and post a few snaps, kindly taken by my good friend, Mark Smedley.

There was a fantastic turnout and nearly everything exceeded our expectations. I saw many old friends and made several new ones. And there were a huge number of sales!

Susan Benham Page the Director of AbaF for SA and NT gave a very moving speech. She and others at AbaF had been so encouraging in the preparation stage, and her speech was equally as generous.

The whole event was a credit to the guts and determination of my most talented wife Malinda-Ro. Her hard work despite low energy levels made it all come together. She had the vision that drove it forward, setting the standard at a very professional level and undertaking a quite massive marketing campaign. It certainly paid off.

There was of course a great deal of help from a host of other people. To start with I must mention Karl and Gabriela Beer, our co-conspirators in art. Karl’s magnificent sculptures gave the exhibition the “WOW” factor. That’s what I heard a few people say as they walked in. Both he and Gabriela worked tirelessly alongside us for months, wading through lists of tasks with us (as we nibbled Gabriela’s delicious Austrian cakes!)

David Barret, who runs the Golden Grove Arts Centre, made his superb venue available to us, organised much publicity and organised the hanging of the artwork and the setting up. He also did a very competent job as our MC.

Closer to the event my parents and my son Simon assisted kindly and patiently with framing the huge number of paintings and photographs we wanted to exhibit. Without their help we couldn’t have met the deadline for delivery of the artwork.

On the night many people helped with the catering: my brother James and Roy Hechter serving drinks, Lyn Hechter organising food, and Karl’s and Gabriela’s daughters, Christina and Elisabeth helping to serve the food. At the last minute Veronica Dorrestyn came along, rolled up her sleeves and got busy in the servery.

Thanks very much to you all!

Finally I want to acknowledge the support of our generous and encouraging sponsors, Coles St Agnes, Liquorland St Agnes, Noah’s Art, Angove Wines and Peter Pan Glass, all of which either donated things or gave huge discounts to help us meet our costs.

For some reason, although the hired glasses have been returned and the dishes have all been put away, it feels like the beginning of something. Judging from the exponential scale of the night’s success in comparison to what has been before, even though I feel like I need a week of sleep, I cant help but be excited about what might be next.

a Malinda-Ro Koehn gallery

Oliver Koehn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:33:46 GMT

Due to her phenomenal success in our Quiddity and Oddity exhibition I thought it imperative that somewhere on the net there be a more substantial sample of Malinda-Ro Koehn’s photographs than I have heretofore displayed.

The following photographs sold well at the exhibition:

defiant

visual harmonics

symphony

reaction

feathered friend – unidentified duck

dislodged

entanglement

lurking

…and the following ones ought, in my view, to have sold, because they are simply stunning:

experience

instinct

irregularity

sienna

Amazing, aren’t they!

Murray River

Oliver Koehn — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:01:58 GMT

Camping near Cadell on the Murray River in South Australia over Easter, I was annoyed by the speedboats and jet skis incessantly ripping back and forth across such a scenic canvas, and by the mosquito-like whining of mini-bikes throwing contemptuous clouds of dust on this masterpiece. But the River and it’s immortal cliffs stood motionlessly, as if knowing this irritation will pass, and despite all the racket, imparted to me a suggestion of its peace. Enough peace, I think, to inspire a painting or three.

Here is one of them:

… and another:

Half mono-print and half watercolour, these little experiments may form the basis of other works to come.

Changing directions

Oliver Koehn — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:50:58 GMT

I have always loved dragonflies…

linocut multi-media, 2009

…their glossy wings catching the sun’s rays as they dart about, splitting them into rainbow colours,…hovering for a moment, then suddenly changing directions and gliding several metres, hovering again, and changing again,…whirring and spraying out colour and light,…their multi-segmented eyes seeing everything from an infinite number of angles,…darting, changing, hovering, looking and changing again.

Strathalbyn... and social justice?

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:59:15 GMT

Malinda and I have recently paid several visits to Strathalbyn, a quaint little town on South Australia’s beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula. So charmed were we by the town and it’s friendly population on our first visit, that we started thinking it might be a nice place to buy a house and eventually settle.

On the other hand, although I knew there is a locally-organised “Art-Trail” in Strathalbyn, I was wondering whether such an out-of-the-way place would provide me with enough creative stimulation to push me on in my artistic journey. Quaint may not be what my art needs.

In the course of our first excursion there, we’d popped in to a delightful little gallery run by Helen Stacey, a very accomplished but at the same time quite humble Strathalbyn artist. We had got chatting, and yesterday went back to stay at her Bed’n’Breakfast. A lovely friendship seems now to be developing.

We have discovered that Helen is full of knowledge, not only about Strathalbyn, but also about the local art scene, and indeed about art in general.

I mentioned to her I am doing a course in life drawing and have to think of a couple of essay topics. When I mentioned that I am a criminal defense lawyer working in one of the most a socio-economically disadvantaged areas in the State, her eyes lit up and she immediately put everything together for my essay topics and my artistic future.

She thought I could write one essay about several influential figurative artists with an interest in social justice. She thought of Noel Counihan, an Australian artist who came to prominence in the post-war era and used his art to further his communist views, and George Gittoes, who uses his art to communicate the reality of human suffering, and, like a journalist, goes where the suffering is. I don’t know much about these artists, but was most inspired and will definitely follow them up.

The other essay topic she thought of is about the use of art as therapy for prisoners, and she rattled off two or three people she knows who are right into this, and who I might like to interview.

This is the sort of inspiration I need. I have been trying to give form to some very vague thoughts about the next direction my artistic pursuits might take. With my professional background placing me in amongst the most under-privileged in our society, an obvious opportunity arises to use my artistic abilities somehow in connection with this.

If this degree of stimulation is any sort of indicator of whether Strathalbyn will be a good place for my artistic pursuits to grow in, I am even more charmed than I was after my first visit.

It's not what you nose...

Oliver Koehn — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 21:14:51 GMT

When somebody commissions you to do a caricature of them, it can be like walking a tightrope. The line between mild amusement and offense can be so easily crossed.

This is especially a problem with customers who are lawyers, and particularly, as I have recently found, with ones who are your boss. Further, the problem is enormously amplified in respect of noses… Noses, and the amplification of noses.

Some think there is a connection between long noses and Pinocchio. Apparently Pinocchio and his long nose had something to do with lying.

Why lawyers should be sensitive about that, I have no idea.

However, recently I was asked to de-amplify a lawyer’s nose.

The lawyer happened to be my boss.

It was just too long for a lawyer, apparently.

The moral of the story?

It’s not what you nose but who you nose.