This painting is a tribute to one of my many favourite watercolour works by Norman Lindsay. I bought a print of his painting many years ago, and each time I visit Lindsay’s home at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains (which is now a gallery and museum run by the National Trust) I immediately make a beeline for ‘The Garden God’.
I love the innocence and unashamed abandon of the beautiful young girl who is full of life and joy, with arms outstretched – standing before this grotesque, lascivious looking, small lifeless stone figure in the garden.
To see this work in real life and to walk about the grounds of the renowned artist’s former home is heaven for me.
At my own home, in what I call my ‘upstairs garden’, a large stone plaque (with a face cast into it in relief) hangs on the western wall of the house, catching the last rays of sun each day. It is the ‘protector’ of this small private garden area.
Although there is no beautiful young naked maiden standing there in front of his gargoyle-like face, safely flaunting herself before his lifeless eyes … I have nevertheless called him my ‘Garden God’ in homage to Lindsay and his work.
I was compelled to capture this on paper as a watercolour painting. I played around using my stone Garden God in a photograph as the basis for a first draft. With very little underdrawing, I wanted to experiment with colour and practise my ‘wet-inwet’ technique. I went on to capture the image a second time, giving serious attention to the drawing and planning aspects of the work.
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