Friday, June 27, 2014

AN ARTISTIC LIFE


Wonderfully eccentric, a whimsical free spirit, bohemian, theatrical and fun, friend of the talented and the famous, she loved 'people who Do Things'...
Her house was an old hat factory, chaotically yet carefully constructed as one continuous still life, room by room.
It was her Studio and her Salon, and those who enjoyed her hospitality around the enormous dining table were captivated by the experience.


She was one of Australia's most-loved artists, Margaret Olley [1923-2011],
famous for her gorgeous still-life paintings, warm, richly coloured visions of flowers, fruits, and her lifetime collections of china, glass, animals, textiles, and exotic pieces of furniture and bric-a-brac.

'Poppies and Checked Cloth', 2008, Margaret Olley

Here is Margaret in 2007 at an Exhibition of her recent paintings..




Frequent guests around Margaret's table included Barry Humphries, Clive James, current and former Prime Ministers, many other artists and actors.  The day before she died, in 2011, while putting the finishing touches to her last exhibition, Australia's Governor-General Quentin Bryce and her husband Michael, brought a picnic lunch to the Hat Factory - not for the first time!

Now for the surprising part:
The contents of the house were bequeathed to the Tweed Regional Art Gallery at Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales, an area where Margaret lived as a child:




A purpose-built extension has been built, overlooking these stunning views of Mt. Warning and the Tweed valley.  In a breath-taking feat of contemporary archaeology, the interior of Margaret Olley's house has been transported from Sydney and recreated as a permanent memorial and museum.







Exciting to those familiar with the paintings..
your can see and recognize dozens of pieces, just like old friends.




Heaps of books, not so random:
each group were on a particular, artistic, subject.







This is where Olley sat to paint:


Viewing is through just three normal doorways, and a couple of windows, making the permitted photography a little difficult.
Nevertheless, on the day we visited, dozens of excited fans were doing just what I was: attempting to make our own little 'Olley Still Lifes' with our cameras!

I came home with a strong inclination to up-scale the eclectic clutter in the Cardinal Nest...

In other exciting news, I have been medically cleared to travel, and we are busily re-scheduling our cancelled trip to Europe.
After my Margaret Olley experience, I am dreaming of immersing myself into Monet's paintings...

Ah, Monet....

 I'm off to research more about Paris and Italy -
Keep warm, and have a lovely weekend.

 XXXX









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26 comments:

  1. Jane and Lance HattattJune 27, 2014 at 4:58 AM

    Hello Patricia,

    How absolutely wonderful all of this us.

    What a prolific and talented painter Margaret Olley was. Such an eye for colour and composition and obviously not afraid to be bold in her work. The perfect role model.

    And, how marvellous to have this delightful permanent memorial to her work. Truly incredible. We should most definitely have wanted to visit.

    As for adding more clutter.....on that subject we are near masters. More is more in our book and even more is even better!

    What fun to be back planning your holiday once more. A fabulous treat to look forward to. You deserve it!

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:32 PM

      Hello Jane and Lance, Yes, prolific to the end was our 'National Treasure'. This preservation of her home/studio far surpasses any other preserved artist's studios I have ever seen. One hopes it retains its freshness over the years; it is of course, newly opened.
      More is More! Thank you re the holiday: it is very exciting.

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  2. valerietilsten59.blogspot.comJune 27, 2014 at 5:06 AM

    Dear Patricia,
    This is wonderful news .. I am so pleased that you will be able to travel.
    I have never seen or heard of Margaret Olley. What a talented lady she was. I love her work. I will take some time to look at her life story.
    My olive cottage.. is all a clutter.. I bought some new shelves only the other day, for my art books. They were piling up. I love books. My sun hats sit on the radiator next to my desk.
    Wish you happy planning .. val xxx

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:34 PM

      Thank you Val, we have immediately begun booking flights, so much fun. Yes, you are an artist too, and I am sure olive cottage is as captivating as Margaret Olley's place, just going by your photos and love of flowers. The piles of art books and the sun hats are definitely must-haves! xxx

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  3. RosemaryJune 27, 2014 at 5:22 AM

    Dear Patricia - you have just commented on my post "I am giddy with excitement from reading this post". I feel exactly the same having read all about this wonderful, colourful, and talented painter, Margaret Olley.
    How fitting it is that her environment should be relocated from Sydney to the place of her childhood and that it is now sharing those wonderful views of Mt. Warning and the Tweed Valley.
    If I was in Australia a visit to the museum would definitely be one of the places I would want to visit.
    Enjoy researching your upcoming visit to Italy and France - after your upset the trip will, no doubt, have a heightened level of pleasure and enjoyment for you.

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:37 PM

      Dear Rosemary, I am glad you enjoyed the Margaret Olley story, and I am sure the lady herself would love to have been compared to your visit to Impressionist territory! While located in the country, the museum is a pleasant drive from Brisbane, under two hours. Yes, the re-planning is very pleasant indeed, and much better than the alternative...Paris is first base!

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  4. kristieinbcJune 27, 2014 at 7:13 AM

    Cheers coming your way from Canada, Patricia! I'm so happy to hear you have been given the clearance to travel. I hope planning the trip the second time is even more fun than the first!

    Thank you for introducing me to Margaret Olley. Her paintings are wonderful, and it's nice to know future generations will be able to see what her home was like.

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:39 PM

      Cheers to you too Kristie. I re-configured the itinerary very quickly, and we have booked flights for one section already. I am glad you liked Margaret Olley, who has huge appeal, particularly to women, I think. The gallery will be a big attraction for a long time.

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  5. Amy at love made my homeJune 27, 2014 at 11:06 AM

    How wonderful that you can now schedule your trip and look forward to all of the planning!!!! Yay!!! I am really happy for you. I don't know the work of Margaret Olley, but the pictures that you showed definitely look like the sort of work that I would enjoy, how amazing that her "home" is now a place that everyone can visit and see where her works were created, what a wonderful idea and a wonderful gift to Australia. Thank you for introducing me to her and her paintings. xx

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:41 PM

      Thank you Amy, The re-creation of Margaret Olley's home was a master-stroke, and is attracting huge crowds. The paintings have the brilliant light and colour of Australia, rather echoing those produced in the South of France by Van Gogh and friends. Glad you enjoyed xx

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  6. DarlaJune 27, 2014 at 2:54 PM

    I'm delighted to hear you can now plan your trip. The pictures and your words about the artist were so interesting. I had to spend time looking at every detail of her home. It is so interesting, I wish I could see it in person.

    Darla

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:44 PM

      Darla, I was being 'good' and not using my camera flash, having learnt not to use flash in art museums in order to preserve delicate work. I ended up with a lot of dark pictures, then noticed others using flash and did a few more at the end. Aren't the details fascinating? A still life at every turn, and if fact she carefully curated her home; it is not the 'pile of junk' one might think at first glance.

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  7. caitlinsgrandmaJune 27, 2014 at 4:24 PM

    You have taken wonderful photos of Margaret Olley's "home" in the Tweed Valley, even with the constraints imposed. This quite shakes up my plans to simplify my home. I am scheduling a visit to the Tweed Valley very soon!

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    1. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 4:46 PM

      Shakes up my plans too: See Hattatt's comment above :)
      You must go soon, and take your best camera. While on the subject, pop over to Rosemary's blog for a feast of Impressionism. You will love that, too.

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  8. metteJune 27, 2014 at 11:18 PM

    Congratulations for receiving an OK for traveling abroad!!!
    Margaret Olley´s home is very special. It has here name written all over it and though horrified to see so much of everything, I appreciate it.
    Very intimate, very " her ", very hard to copy ( imo ). And the colors - so fitting for Australia!

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  9. PatriciaJune 27, 2014 at 11:28 PM

    Thank you Mette, I am looking at hotels in Paris today :)
    I think you are absolutely correct about the Olley home: it would be very hard for anybody to copy. Despite being more clutter than most of us could tolerate, it is in fact very carefully contrived, and she knew exactly what she was doing. Older photos show it was much the same for many years. Yes, the bright colour works well in Australia.

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  10. Sarah LizJune 28, 2014 at 2:19 AM

    What a lovely post - I would love top visit the recreation of Margaret Olley's special interior world. She certainly was quite a collector - I don't suppose she ever dusted, do you? I do adore all her paintings. Glad you are able to do your trip after all - just a hiccup in the timetable.

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    1. PatriciaJune 28, 2014 at 2:56 AM

      Pretty sure she never dusted, Sarah Liz - the fruit and flowers were apparently left to dry out, quite frequently. It is really intriguing how this dense and overwhelming collection of 'stuff' resulted in so many superb and joyful paintings. I hope you come north and see it some time. Booking hotels today :) Know any good ones in Padua?

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  11. JaniceJune 28, 2014 at 4:52 AM

    There I was. wallowing in the lovely post about an artist who was new to me, really loving the recreation of images familiar from her work......and you just slip the really really important bit in at the end.... cleared to travel ! Fabulous news. I am so pleased for you. get booking !!!!! Jxxxxx

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    1. PatriciaJune 28, 2014 at 7:26 PM

      Hello Janice, glad you were wallowing in the post, just like I did when I was there with the camera. It was a very enjoyable experience. Thank you for being pleased for me...have booked Venice, Rome and Florence. Do you have a recommendation for Paris? xxxx

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  12. sandaJune 28, 2014 at 6:19 AM

    Wow, what an artist and her artifacts are just amazingly beautiful and colorful, just as are her paintings. I could look at these colors all day! Thank you for capturing it and sharing. Big congratulations on the news you can now make your trip to Italy. Absorb it for all of us. Ah, Monet; my sentiments exactly. Happy trip planning!!

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    1. PatriciaJune 28, 2014 at 7:28 PM

      Thank you Sanda, the colours of Margaret Olley's work and life and very attractive, and combined in her own unique way. Did my best to capture it, but I want to go back some time and do it all again! Hopefully, I will absorb and blog about our trip, and remember to take a rest day every now and then! Trip planning is so much fun :)

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  13. Michelle RidgwayJune 29, 2014 at 1:09 AM

    Oh Trish! Thank you so much for this treat! Margaret Ollie is one of my all time favourite artists. I adored her free and extraordinarily creative spirit. I will definitely paying a visit. I am so pleased you are able to venture on your trip. Great news xx

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    1. PatriciaJune 29, 2014 at 2:52 AM

      Glad you enjoyed it Michelle, and yes, her colours are very much like yours, and I know you will relate to it. It is a really nice day out, especially if you have lunch at the Tumbalgum hotel while in the area. Loving the trip prep. xx

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  14. KathyJune 30, 2014 at 1:48 PM

    Oh I did enjoy this post, Patricia, and loved the examples you showed of Margaret Olley's work. to me they have strong overtones of the French Impressionists, while still being fresh and different and unique to her. I love the fact that the marvellous artistic clutter of her studio is now preserved in the wonderful countryside of her childhood home. It would certainly be a mist-see for me if i were ever to visit Australia.

    I'm so pleased you can now go ahead and book your postponed trip to Europe. Enjoy...

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    1. PatriciaJune 30, 2014 at 3:12 PM

      Glad you enjoyed Margaret Olley's work and studio, and you are in the perfect location to enjoy a French impressionist influence, Perpetua. We are frightening ourselves at the speed with which we are making flight and hotel reservations :))

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