Paintings of Perth by Jeremy Holton
Written and painted by Jeremy Holton
Copyright 2010 Jeremy Holton
Smashwords Edition
Introduction to ‘Paintings of Perth by Jeremy Holton’
This is one of a series of books showing the work of Western Australian Artist, Jeremy Holton. They include paintings from a 20 year period which are currently in collections around the world. The subjects vary from Western Australian landscapes, flowers, nude studies to lyrical works of fantasy.
We hope that you enjoy the series both as works of art and for the information they contain. The rest of the series will be available as they are completed from the publisher’s web site or from http://www.jeremyholton.com.
Artist’s notes:
Most of the works in this book were painted while I was working as a management consultant in IT for the Ernst and Young, Chartered Accounting firm (the story of my life so far is shown at the end of the book). My office was high above the city and I felt trapped in a business suit. Some of the paintings tell that story.
On our way
The Narrows Bridge joins the City of Perth to South Perth and carries the freeway which takes you right down the coast to Margaret River and the SW wine country. In the pale of dawn the Swan River and the City are cool and bathed in pink and violet light. The first of the ferries carries workers and tourists from the Barrack Street Jetty.
Bridge amongst the trees
I painted this in my Thai studio from my memories of Perth. Kings Park is in the foreground, then the yachts on Melville Waters. Beyond the Narrows Bridge you can see Perth Waters and the City. In the top right you can see the Swan River, the Canning River and the river flowing out to Fremantle and the Indian Ocean. I love the exuberance of this painting with its chaotic patterns of trees and boats. Perth is a windy city and in the summer the Fremantle Doctor (a sea breeze sucked into the hot desert interior) comes in at 30 mph. This painting represents the windy movement of a Perth summer's afternoon painted with strokes of vigorously dragged oil paint. The bridge is the elevated pathway that passes through the tree canopy in Kings Park providing wonderful views of the bush and the river.
The Reflecting Pool
Perth is blessed with a large area of natural bush and botanical gardens on the prominent bluff adjacent to the City which is Kings Park. If you have been to the Park you will remember the avenue of tall gum trees lining the entrance and the breathtaking views of our beautiful city Looking down you see the sail boats milling about on a summer’s day and the Swan River winding its way to the distant hills of the Darling Ranges. The Reflecting Pool in the title refers to the waters between Kings Park and the City which used to reflect a view of the City but have long been reclaimed to make the lakes and parks of the Narrows bridge intersection of the Freeway. Down below us is Mounts Bay which in the early days of Perth was occupied by Chinese allotments and used to grow vegetables for the colony.
Perth Waters
Perth Waters and the Narrows Bridge painted from an imaginary location in South Perth while I was living in Thailand. Summers in Perth are hot and dry so the sky is always deep blue and this is reflected in the waters of the Swan River. The land is dry with burnt browns, oranges and golds.
"A river at my garden's end"
The patterns of the houses on the banks of the Swan River are a subject that has fascinated me for a long time. In this case I was attracted to the subtle colours and tonal greys of an autumnal dawn. The quotation is from ‘Imitation of Horace’ written in 1714 by Jonathan Swift.
Blind fury of creation
A fiery sun over the City of Perth.
City of lights
Perth is one of the most remote cities in the world as it is thousands of kilometres from the nearest major city. It got its name "City of Lights" from John Glenn the astronaut. In 1962 as he circled the globe at night he could see the lights of Perth as a beacon isolated in the surrounding black desert and sea. The people of Perth put on a display for him by turning on their lights at the time he passed overhead.
Majesty
The simplicity and strength of this painting creates an abstract design which will ensure that wherever the painting is hung it will dominate its surroundings. Even its title 'Majesty' implies this, as though it is some regal crown. Appropriate for a park named after a King. It reminds me of the paintings of Fred Williams, but Williams would not have used such bold colours and would probably have been less representational in the traffic running along the foot of the hill.
Come to the Cathedral – Northbridge
Northbridge is the main entertainment area for Perth across the railway line from the City. It is an area of low rise buildings some of them quite old. This view has the orange dome of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral as its focal point.
The morning after – Northbridge
The jumbled buildings of Northbridge are silent in the early morning but in the evening they come alive as the bars, clubs and restaurants are filled with lights, music and people of the night.
Dream song - South Perth
This is a view from the City across Perth Waters to South Perth and the Swan River. You can hire catamarans to sail in the shelter of Perth Waters right in front of the City. The blocks across the river are mainly apartments. You can visit South Perth by ferry from Barrack Street Jetty in the City and then take a short walk to Perth Zoo which is a magic place of big trees and grass with the animals in large enclosures. Beyond South Perth you can see the widest part of the Swan River estuary Melville Waters, where the Canning River joins the Swan. This is one of the main water playgrounds of Perth with clusters of sailing boats racing on Saturdays and gentle twilight races during the week. In the distance the river winds its way to the sea at the port of Fremantle.
Reclamation - City of Perth
The Swan River is quite shallow in most places and much of the land in front of the City is reclaimed. So there are wide stretches of grass which are used for a wide variety of entertainments from rugby matches, to circuses and car races. The foreshore includes the Convention Centre, Barrack Street Jetty and the magnificent Morton Bay Fig Trees around the Supreme Court Gardens, but the reclaimed water's edge is rather straight and boring. There are plans to make this area more interesting and this is my imaginary view of what would happen if the foreshore was allowed to return to nature.
The awakening - City of Perth
Early morning in the City of Perth, the tall buildings are cast in shadows of blues and violets as the burning sun rises behind them. It is cool, but the sunlight spills through gaps between the buildings turning them to rich oranges and golds. The trees in the foreground are still asleep, lost in the mystery of their dreams. Even in their cold silence they are touched by the life giving warmth of the sun, as the city awakes.
Sailing by the City
The City of Perth is so beautiful and I have painted it many times. There is tranquillity to this painting with the patterns of the buildings, with their varied colours, combined with green of the sky and the deep green water. Sometimes the sky is green if you look carefully. Even the sailing boat is suspended in time, as life is frozen before night falls and the evening traffic begins.
Nightclubs by Day in Northbridge
When I was a child, I had a print of a Utrillo streetscape hanging on the wall of my bedroom. In some way this painting of Northbridge reminds me of that print. I think the painting is of Lake Street (I always forget to make a note of the location of paintings) with the butcher's in the foreground, the brilliant blue of Valentino's in the middle ground and the city beyond. It’s a lovely view and typically Northbridge and I wanted to capture the some of the pleasure it gave me.
Jive - Burswood Resort
The Perth casino and entertainment complex is on Burswood Island at the Causeway entrance to the City of Perth. It provides a wide variety of entertainment and facilities.
Daybreak at the Old Swan Brewery
Perth is built on the banks of the wide estuary of the Swan River. The city has a high rise downtown area overlooking and forming a backdrop to the river. Close by and surrounded by the city is a large area of natural bush, called Kings Park. This park joins the river in steep wooded cliffs. Nestled into these cliffs is the old Swan Brewery. It is a lovely building. Long abandoned from making beer it became derelict and dilapidated. As an artist, I felt that this was its best time. Then there were those who wanted to demolish it and those who wanted to renovate it. This is an ancient Aboriginal sacred site, where a huge mythical snake called the Woggal that created the Swan River, used to haunt. After much demonstration and legal argument the renovators won (which pleased me). It is a lovely building on the shores of a lovely river. Cormorants are common on the river and they are usually seen drying their wings.
Northbridge - Roe Street
When you look at Northbridge from the City of Perth across the railway line and the Horseshoe Bridge you will see the facade of Roe Street. Once famous for its brothels Roe Street is now the face of the entertainment precinct of Perth. I have always been fascinated by the patterns of the buildings and this painting was done in 7 panels for an exhibition. I remember my framer, Charles, stayed up half the night dyeing velvet a deep purple for the frame. It looked fantastic on the gallery wall and sold to Saudi Arabian Prince.
Yellow tree city
This is the view from the top of Jacobs Ladder where the steps make their way down from Kings Park to the Kennedy Fountain near the Old Swan Brewery. Those keen on nearly suicidal exercise run up and down its 242 steps. As it is within walking distance of the City it might be a good excursion for an early riser staying in one of the hotels and the Mounts Hospital is just up the road.
7 pm at Old Perth Port
From a golden summer day……
8 pm at Perth Old Port
the sun descends into night……
9 pm at Perth Old Port
and the City glows with anticipation.
Fireworks on Australia Day
On the Australia Day public holiday, Perth has one of the biggest fireworks display in Australia. From locations around the city and barges moored in Perth Waters a barrage of fireworks are exploded over the river. High rise buildings are lit up and project laser displays. Hundreds of boats crowd the river and thousands of spectators cover the banks. Everybody tunes their radios into the same station and music echoes around Perth. The DJ organises each section of the crowd to wave their torches in turn to the music. It is a wonderful experience and well worth the traffic jams.
Sunday morning coffee in Northbridge
With such a sunny dry Mediterranean climate, Perth is ideal for outdoor dining and this cosmopolitan city takes on a Southern Europe appearance on Sunday mornings when friends meet for coffee and breakfast on the streets of Northbridge.
A place to begin
In daylight Northbridge is almost fragile.
Seen in the shadows
The enigma between the park and the city.
Veils of freedom
Carved in granite, hewn in stone, here in Northbridge, we stand alone.
Sunday in old Northbridge
He reads his paper on the veranda in the quiet dream of Sunday in old Northbridge.
The invaders
Trees encroach on the City of Perth which faces the invasion with equanimity.
Northbridge awakes
Northbridge is awake now. Lit with the sun and bouncing internal reflections which are a joy for the early riser and a nightmare for those who are trying to escape the colours and sounds of the night before.
Patterns in the dusk
Interlocking patterns made by the buildings surrounding the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Northbridge in blues and violets at the end of a hot summer’s day.
Gold strike
The empty offices are silent. Far below ragged buildings emerge from the crepuscular gloom. Under corrugated roofs, bodies lie disturbed by the stillness of anticipation, in that moment before dawn. Then the sun strikes its opening blow in its battle with the night. A brilliant streak of yellow and red slashes across the city, heralding that fire of fires, as Perth awakens. A new day begins.
Banker's delight
The man in the dark grey suit stands by the window rubbing his hands in warm congratulation. Outside the great canyon of St Georges Terrace yawns across the layered sediments of investment. Once intimate, homely and shy, now the City exalts its wealth in a great cream and ice confection of Mammon Cake. The Banker reflects on the years of empty bill boarded, graffiti covered sites; the cavernous holes, footprints of the giants; the ungainly cranes towering over the City in gawking flocks, fishing the shallow waters of the Terrace; the monuments to boundless confidence sculpted in concrete, steel and endless glass; the empty offices, now recovering as the tide of money continues its restless ebb and flow. But there is always a buck to be made out of change. You can see Rottnest from here. The Ferrari is parked underneath to take me home in comfort and who cares about the windy, shadowed, soulless, existence on the streets far below, for this is Perth, the greatest city in the West!
City of gold
This was inspired by a Lloyd Rees painting of cliffs with the dark sky pouring out and down the escarpment. It was painted from my office in Ernst & Young up on the 35th floor of Central Park. The view is the Kings Park escarpment below Kings Park Road. I was mainly interested in the way in which the buildings and trees had become part of the weathered texture of the surface of the cliff.
Where the pretty pollies play
Pinks and blues, golds and reds, here where the pollies play. Ideals and hope. State and Fed, here where the pollies play, Deceit and delusion, trick and illusion, here where the pollies play. Power and pledge, then over the edge, down to where the pollies play.
Flowers for fantasy or imprisoned by glass
She casts no reflection. Her existence in doubt. Dust collects on the plastic flowers. No real flower would survive in this hiss of air-conditioned gasses. She has withered. Grown old. Is the collection of dancing coloured houses a picture? An illusion? Are there real flowers in those gardens? Does the gap in the trees lead to an escape to youth, beauty and love? Enough of fantasy, she must return to the mundane reality of the sounds and scenes of far off lands, the travels of word and mind that are part of exploring the Web. Her spider hand points and clicks, and through the glass a new reality appears. She casts no reflection.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Northbridge
This painting of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Northbridge was commissioned by a Greek couple who were married there.
The sounds of waiting
At first the passage of electricity causes the black metal to get warmer and lift its temperature from the ambient. Then it becomes red and begins to glow. With increasing excitement it becomes white and then peaks with a crescendo of blinding light. It is black again and the rumble of distant music fills the still warm air. The people form an orderly queue as they wait with anticipation. They pass through the door and enter the province of the black metal as they fall into the pit of bodies writhing in an agony of sweating, arms and breasts, hands and hair. Their torsos are lifted and thrown by the deep penetration of all consuming sound. They are dumb, they cannot speak as no voice can penetrate the air which is super saturated so that crystals form of suspended shards of sound. They are blind, as they stare without seeing except for the fleeting meeting of eye. They cannot touch because this is forbidden. Forbidden. Although, under the restricted rules of this ritual, it will become for bidden. The seeker will find the sought. The night burns on in the Northbridge nightclub.
Dining in Northbridge
After work, out to dine in the dimly lit restaurants of Northbridge and then on to the deafening vibrations of the nightclubs.
Quit City
At the entrance to the City, the smoker pauses and braces himself for another day of guilt and shame.
About Jeremy Holton
After graduating in England, Jeremy worked as a Town Planner in the UK, a Geologist in East Africa and Australia, an Information Technology executive in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and subsequently a management consultant. He works mainly in his studio in the Eastern Hills of Perth, Western Australia but also maintains a studio in a small village in NE Thailand close to the Mekong River and the Lao border.
He studied for the Diploma of Art at the Claremont School of Art, in Perth.
In 1994 he held his first solo exhibition of Pilbara landscapes at Woodside Petroleum in Perth and Karratha. Since then he has had highly successful exhibitions at galleries in Perth and exhibited in Broome, Yallingup, Mandurah, Adelaide, Melbourne, Cairns, UK and the USA.
His paintings have been used in several books, CDs and magazines for publishers including the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Michigan University Press, the New York Art Guide and Palette Magazine.
Jeremy’s influences include Lloyd Rees, Van Gogh, Bonnard, Klimt, the Fauves, Lucian Freud, Arthur Boyd, John Perceval, Brett Whitely, Chagall, Garry Shead, Fred Williams, Stanley Spencer and Paula Rego .
His work is always innovative and with an enthusiasm and passion for art he concurrently develops several themes both painterly and conceptual. His work is characterised by movement, colour and wit.
Jeremy works mainly in acrylic and oil on canvas or cotton rag paper using a wide range of techniques from rough brushing in which he drags paint across the canvas to the glow of multiple translucent glazes.
Jeremy is continually experimenting and developing new ideas so that his work covers a wide range of subject matter and techniques. These include landscapes/townscapes which capture the essence of Western Australia, nudes and flower studies.
His figures within landscape are allegorical, often ambiguous and sometimes whimsical. His flower studies and landscapes are often decorative and colourful. Characteristically these works communicate to people in different ways as they interpret them from the source of their own experience and emotions. .
Jeremy's work is represented in many private and public collections, both in Australia and internationally.
In March 1995 he established the first Internet art gallery in Australia, at http://www.peachtreegallery.com. The gallery contains images of over 700 of Jeremy’s paintings, with free downloadable posters of many and exhibition catalogues. You can view videos, join his mailing list and chat with Jeremy at the web site.
If you are in Perth you will be welcome at Jeremy’s studio in the Perth Hills where he has a small gallery displaying his work. Please ring or email first to make sure that he is in.
Contact details: email jeremy@jeremyholton.com mobile/text message: Australia 0411 580 903, phone (08) 6394 1592, Skype, Yahoo, Facebook Flickr and Twitter user name jeremyholton.