“It’s not a hard place’” Breakaways, Cooper Pedy
George Cooley, 2026
On a recent trip to Darwin, I encountered this work in person. I am late to the party for this important indigenous artist, but the deceptively simple, but confident mark making he employs is compelling. The piece is synthetic polymer paint, applied with a palette knife. The history of the palette knife is interesting. The earliest of primitive cave art was created with a knife like technique, raw natural pigments and a stick or bone. The middle age saw the invention of the brush, and these dominated for centuries. The iconic offset palette knife was utilised in painting for the mixing and blending of paints, from ground pigments mixed with egg tempura or oils, Another role was the application of base plasters for frescoes. During the late 19th century tubes of premixed paints became widely available and relatively affordable, allowing painting to move plein air. At that moment the palette knife became a tool for modern artists seeking bold, textural, impressionistic gestures on their canvasses. Although still commonly referred to as a palette knife, the technically correct term is now a painters knife. #evolutionoffingerpainting #letsmakelemonade
Pen Paint and Scalpel 