Defense D' Afficher. (Loi Du 29 Juillet 1881) A series of work by Richard Denny, 29th June to 17th July

Images clockwise from top Left: Lady travels by tram, Waiter,
Security Dove, Spider All works: Acrylic and mixed media on Paper

A SERIES OF WORK BY RICHARD DENNY. 29th June to 17th July

Once whilst meandering through the streets of an unusually snow-
covered Marseille, Richard Denny discovered an abandoned box of maps.
Upon further examination it was an extensive collection, holding
topographic portrayals of most regions of France.

By deploying the found maps as an actual canvas, and a basis for his
characters, he has found a means of dripping flavours of personality
and territory over the maps. Using the lines of contour, river, border
and road, Denny would paint in his own lines, shapes and textures.

Later, from these cartographic cross-hatchings would emerge characters
representing people, daily experiences or settings, that Denny
acknowledged inhabiting the streets in his new home. He used what
little he had at hand to locate himself in his new culture showing
telltale signs of a bricoleur.

'Fleeting' by Rachel Wells & Dan Capper, 15th to 26th June

Rachel Wells - Cloud Street
Encaustic and Oils (20 x 25.5 cm)


Rachel Wells - Flux
Encaustic and Oil on Canvas (25.5 x 25.5 cm)


Dan Capper - Blad Birck
Acylic on canvas (71 x 111 cm)


Dan Capper - Pod Birpy 1
Acrylic on canvas (84 x 122 cm)



An exhibition of paintings by Dan Capper and Rachel Wells 15 - 26 June 2010

‘Art is long, and time is fleeting…’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Fleeting is the exploration of embellished memories and the gravity of transitory moments.

Rachel Wells

Rachel’s pieces are inspired by childhood memories and the joy of discovery in a storybook landscape. Her mixed media and encaustic paintings exist nowhere tangible and are pieced together from memories of European, Australian and American towns.

Dan Capper

Dan Capper’s mono-prints and mixed media paintings capture a spontaneous imprint of a fleeting moment in time. He uses the bird as a metaphor for the shifts and flux in relationships.

'Wanderings' paintings by Kristen Lethem, Kirsten Hillard & Verity Roberts, 1st to 12th June

Kristen Lethem- Blue
acrylic, biro and ink on board (35 x 30 cm)

Kristen Lethem - Perisher III
acrylic, ink and pencil on board (71 x 66 cm)

Verity Roberts - Venizia IV
mixed media on canvas


Verity Roberts - Summer Skies over Venice
mixed media on canvas


Kirsten Hilliard - Ratdog Hill
oil, acrylic and ink (50 x 70 cm)

Kirsten Hilliard - Outlook 1
oil, acrylic and ink (40 x 40 cm)


Wanderings 1st-12th june 2010
Kristen Lethem worked as an illustrator in London for 14 years before returning to Sydney where she now lives and paints in Balmain. Kristen’s paintings are primarily inspired by the the landscapes in and around her family home in the Hunter Valley. ‘After so many years in the UK, I was struck by the harshness of light resulting in almost bleached flat colour, with very dark areas of contrast. Solitary gums casting strange shapes on bleached hillsides.’ Kristen was awarded the UNSW COFA prize at the 2009 Paddington Art Prize

Verity Roberts’ paintings reflect her passion for life. With a background in art direction and set decoration, she is an expert of beautiful detail. Observations of daily life and the interiors where much of it takes place are an intrinsic part of her painting. Each piece reflecting an intimate moment in time: a scent, a meal, a place, a memory. Many of Verity’s more recent works have focused on her passion of travel. For an exhibition at Breathing Colours last year, she created a series of ‘postcards’ from around the world. The pieces she has created for ‘Wanderings’ are a continuation of that body of work but this time she has cast a smaller net and is focusing simply on her love of Venice.
Kirsten Hilliard is a Glebe based artist with a background in Art Direction and Graphic Design. Her paintings are based upon the ordinary aspects of life, and often engage the viewer to feel a sense of nostalgia. Kirsten’s palette ranges from very minimal and whimsical to bold and moody, depending on the narrative of the painting. She draws or uses scraffito technique to create her images, often using many layers of paint over a textured base. This is what gives the paintings their translucent feel.

we've been away much too long...

Wow, it has been a really long time since our last post here! Our lovely gallery assistant Ashley Fiona who began this blog and has been consistently and devotedly updating it has left us here at breathing colours (hopefully not for good) to focus on her studies. We are very proud and excited for her to be doing more of what she loves best, but of course sorry to lose her and also very sorry we haven't carried on her good work here. However, on a more positive note, we are very pleased to introduce and welcome the lovely Helen Daley who will be taking over the reins.


Following is a bit of an update on what you've missed here at breathing colours in the past couple of months. If there are any artworks or artists you would like more information on, please don't hesitate to contact us on +61 2 9555 8543 or chloe@breathingcolours.com

Current Exhibition: 'By The Water' paintings by Fiona Barrett-Clark

By The Water: 19 - 30 May 2010
Working directly from photos, Fiona not only aims to capture the atmosphere of the landscape but also to create a reflection of the emotions she was experiencing when she took the image. Her use of plywood instead of board or canvas gives a fantastic grainy texture to the works reflecting the grit of nature and imbuing them with the feel of old slides and photographs adding further to the reminiscent nature of the works.

"I have a love affair with being by the water and so this exhibition centres around natural water ways, rivers, bays and primarily the coastline. The coast has a freshness, a smell that makes you feel young again, it rejuvenates the spirit and allows you to escape from normal life. Standing on a beach in the midst of winter, that cold salty air blowing through your hair or entering the surf on a hot summer’s day, its visceral effect is instantaneous. I hope when people view these works it reminds them of the tang of the sea, the occasional stillness of the water before the storm and the soft light on the water at the end of the day. Again, I have worked directly from photos and use oils on plywood to give a grainy texture to the works, which attempts to reflect the grit of nature and imbues a nostalgic feeling to the pieces "

Breathing Colours and Fiona Barrett-Clark will be hosting a Biggest Morning Tea event on Sat 29th May to raise money for the Cancer Council. 10% of all sales throughout the day will be donated to the cause. Tea, Coffee and snacks will be available by donation from 10am to 12 noon. Check out our profile on the biggest morning tea website

Current Exhibition: 'Cockatoo In Time' By Jacqueline Lamb - 5 to 16 May

Our current exhibition is a collection of encaustic works inspired by Sydney’s Cockatoo Island:

"Upon my arrival on Cockatoo Island, at first glance it was just another tired island with an interesting history. On closer view I saw the strange metallic guardians, and sentinels of long ago, some reaching up to the sky to perhaps ward off an attack, others buckled over in defeat, all inert and lifeless as if someone just pulled the plug and walked away.

An island with as many lives as a cat: a Penitentiary; an Industrial School for Girls; a World War II Naval Dry Dock to name only a few. The only survivors of those days are rusting cranes, cogs, decrepit working sheds and discarded machinery, some having lived through more than one island life, all having their own interesting stories to tell.

I chose encaustic (beeswax) and oil as my preferred mediums. Wax, like the machinery is inert until you reactivate it, where it once again comes alive to do our bidding. Melted wax was poured onto boards or on top of photgraphs I had taken of the island. Like the photographs under the wax, so too is the history of the island buried; an undercurrent of events now hushed by time."

Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Jacqueline Lamb began painting at an early age. She has studied at various institutions in both Melbourne and Sydney as well as attending many private classes with local artists. A regular participant in group exhibitions and art prizes throughout New South Wales, Jacqueline was recently awarded “Viewers Choice” at the 2008 Lane Cove Art Awards.

Open Bite Printmakers present: 'Well Laid' 21 April to 2 May

A beautiful collection of fine art prints by the Open Bite Printmakers

There are some descriptive terms used in printmaking that can appear to be ‘double entendre’. In fact, such terms as ‘the bed of the press’ and ‘pulling a proof’ which describe parts of a printing press and printing a proof seem to have anthropomorphic, and somewhat sexualized, connotations. However, the physical act of working on an etching plate with tools, aquatint rosin and acid require time and effort on the part of the printmaker. Similarly, the processes of making a lithograph, collagraph or linocut may take several days, weeks or even months. The printmaker will carefully check each stage of the process by pulling a proof. Ultimately, the printmaker, as creator, wants to be satisfied that each of the processes undertaken will culminate in a ‘well laid’ image. This final image is printed on archival paper and the creator knows that the image will endure. It is Well Laid.

Open Bite is a vital group of 30 printmakers. The group originated from Ku-ring-gai Community Art Centre but now includes members from all over Sydney. Experienced artists, teachers and competition winners are included. Members range from etchers to mixed media artists, with traditional and abstract styles.

Sixteen of the Open Bite printmakers will be exhibiting in "Well Laid":
Rod Armstrong, Karen Ball, Elise Benamane, Jan Craw, John Crawford, Norma Dedman, Jan Farrell, Itzick Fisher, Angela Gill, Elizabeth Hunter, Heather Kepski, Kim Milne, Terese McManus, Joanne Morris, Judy Ringger and Trish Yates