Developing a beach image for entry-level artists

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Australian beach pattern

Other Title Beach Pattern Place where the work was made Sydney → New South Wales → Australia
Date 1940 Media category Painting Materials used oil on canvas Dimensions 91.5 x 122.0 cm stretcher; 108.0 x 138.8 x 5.5 cm frame Signature & date Signed and dated l.r. corner, pencil “CHARLES MEERE 1940”. Credit Purchased 1965 Location South Building, ground level, 20th-century galleries Accession number OA20.1965 Copyright © Estate of Charles Meere/Copyright Agency Reproduction requests Sir John Sulman Prize – 1940 Artist information Charles Meere Works in the collection 4 Share

About

‘Australian beach pattern’ is something of an enigma, posing puzzling propositions which have been debated and reconsidered over time. Painted at a point when the image of the Anglo, bronzed male lifesaver had become a ‘national type’, it makes us ask: was the English-born, beach-averse Charles Meere celebrating or satirising the notion of a physically perfected beach-dwelling race? Was he painting a fortified race of brave new bodies? Or do their hyperreal qualities tell of the absurdity of such an idea? Look closely and you will see Meere has included an unathletic ‘thinker’ in the crowd, like a question mark in this display of physical abundance. When this painting was created in 1940, the unfathomable horror of Europe’s totalitarian regimes had started to play out, making Meere’s racially fixed, eugenically ‘cleansed’ bodies a sinister proposal, and a reminder of what can become of humans negated of their humanity.

Places

Where the work was made

Sydney

Audio

Australian beach pattern – Charles Meere 3:20

Exhibition history

Shown in 14 exhibitions

• Society of Artists Annual Exhibition (1940), Education Department Gallery [Loftus Street], Sydney, 06 Sep 1940–25 Sep 1940
• Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (1940), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 22 Jan 1941–23 Feb 1941
• Charles Meere A.R.C.A. (1952), David Jones’ Art Gallery, Sydney, Sydney, 20 Aug 1952–28 Aug 1952
• On the Beach, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 08 Dec 1982–28 Dec 1982
• Celebrity Choice – Sam Neill, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 08 Jan 1987–08 Feb 1987
• Charles Meere 1890-1961, S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 09 Oct 1987–15 Nov 1987
• Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan, 28 Apr 1992–28 Jun 1992 Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Kyoto, 14 Jul 1992–06 Sep 1992
• On the beach: Australian Artists at the shore, Museum of Modern Art at Heide, Melbourne, 05 Dec 1994–05 Feb 1995
• Ready, set, . go! Sporting life and Australian art, Global Arts Link, Ipswich, 18 Aug 2001–11 Nov 2001
• “When I was young. “: artists’ impressions of childhood, Global Arts Link, Ipswich, 09 Nov 2002–02 Feb 2003
• Strike a pose, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, Booragul, 13 Feb 2004–04 Apr 2004
• Art Deco 1910-1939, NGV: International, Melbourne, 27 Jun 2008–05 Oct 2008
• Australia, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 21 Sep 2013–08 Dec 2013
• 20th-Century galleries, ground level (rehang), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 20 Aug 2022–2023

Bibliography

Referenced in 54 publications

• Christopher Allen, Art in Australia: from Colonization to Postmodernism , London, 1997, 94 (illus.), 96. fig.no. 74
• Jane Angus, Carolyn Glascodine, Marion Russell and Barbara Vaughan (Editors), Discovering Democracy, Middle Secondary Units , Carlton, 1998, 140 (illus.).
• Bonhams Australia (Compilator), Important Australian art , ‘Important Australian art: lots 1-41’, pg. 6-74, Sydney, Aug 2014, 34. Related work: ‘Australian beach pattern’ c1940 by Charles Meere
• Ian Burn, National life and landscape – Australian painting 1900-1940 , Sydney, 1990, 178, 180 (colour illus.), 216. plate no. 140
• Isobel Crombie, Body culture: Max Dupain, photography and Australian culture, 1919-1939 , ‘Laughing Gods in bathing costumes’, pg. 176-191, Mulgrave, 2004, 188, 189 (colour illus.), 190.
• Curriculum Corporation, Australian readers – Discovering Democracy – Middle Primary Collection , Carlton South, 1999, 27 (colour illus.).
• Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne (Compilator), Deutscher and Hackett fine art auction: Melbourne 26 November 2008 , Woollahra, Nov 2008, 38, 39. Related work: ‘Australian beach pattern’ by Studio of Charles Meere, lot 18
• Chris Deutscher, Australian modern masters and 19th & 20th century Australian and International Fine Art: Fine Art auction 3 & 4 May 2000 , Melbourne, 2000, 100. reference to work in assocation with lot 62 ‘Bronte Beach’
• Deutscher-Menzies Fine Art, The Sydney auction: Australian and International Art: Fine Art, 4 March 2003 , Sydney, 2003, 48-49. Lot no. 29 is another, smaller version of the AGNSW painting.
• Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers , Victoria, 2008, front cover (colour illus., detail).
• Joy Eadie, Art Monthly Australia , ‘In time of war: Charles Meere’s Australian beach pattern’, pg. 26-31, Canberra, Dec 2005-Feb 2006, 26 (colour illus.), 27, 28, 29, 30, 31.
• Joy Eadie, Discovering Charles Meere: Art and allusion , Braddon, 2017, cover (colour illus.) (detail), 7, 11, 35 (colour illus.), 36, 41-43 (colour illus.) (details), 44-46, 47 (colour illus.) (detail), 49 (colour illus.) (detail), 50-51, 58, 61, 96.
• Deborah Edwards, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales , ‘Classical allusions’, pg. 135-136, Sydney, 2000, 135, 136, 138, 139 (colour illus.), 301.
• Patrick Elliott and Sacha Llewellyn, True to life. British realist painting in the 1920s & 1930s , Edinburgh, 2017, 16 (colour illus.). [Fig. 11]
• Don Featherstone (Director) and David Woodgate (Producer), The beach , Australia, 2000, 00:01.25 and 00:46.25 (colour, details).
• Merryn Gates, Strike a pose: Hunter art.1 art tourist 2004 , ‘Putting you in the picture’, pg. 8-16, Lake Macquarie, 2004, 13, 18.
• James Gleeson, Sun , ‘No warmth in Meere’s paintings’, pg. 17, Sydney, 21 Aug 1952, 17. NOTE: General review of Charles Meere exhibition held at David Jones Art Gallery 1952.
• Harry Gordon, Olympic Opening Ceremony Sydney 2000 , ‘Sport . a magnificent obsession’, pg. 6-8, Sydney, 2000, 8 (colour illus.).
• Deborah Hart, Australia , ‘Australian landscape: pathways into the modern world 1920-50’, pg. 184-225, London, 2013, 188, 189, 204, 205 (colour illus.). fig.no. 139
• Leone Huntsman, Sand in our souls , ‘The achievement of freedom on the beach’, pg. 68-81, Carlton South, 2001, 70, 71 (illus.).
• Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook , ‘Australian Collection: Painting and Sculpture’, pg. 102-181, Sydney, 1999, 147 (colour illus.).
• Sandra Jane, Art is . making, creating and appreciating 2 , Milton, 1999, 114 (colour illus.).
• Heather Johnson, Aspects of Art Deco in Australia: Sunrise over the Pacific , ‘Art Deco art’, pg. 96-105, Sydney, 2001, 98 (colour illus.), 100, back cover dust jacket (colour illus.). plate no. 113
• Georges-Goulven Le Cam, L’Australie: Naissance d’une nation , ‘D’une guerre à l’autre (1900-1950)’, pg. 95-111, Rennes, 2000, 104 (colour illus.). plate no. 147
• Anne Loxley, National Trust magazine [no. 41] , ‘Two styles from 1830’s Sydney’, pg. 17-18, Sydney, Sep 1987, 17, 18 (illus.).
• Edward Lucie-Smith, Art deco painting , Oxford, 1990, 58, 102=103 (colour illus.), 104. plate no. 72
• Susan McCulloch, Alan McCulloch and Emily McCulloch Childs, The new McCulloch’s encyclopedia of Australian art , Carlton, 2006, 672 (colour illus.). Another version titled ‘Australian Beach Pattern’; dated c.1938-1940; Courtesy estate of the artist and Deutscher Fine Art.
• Steve Meacham, The Sydney Morning Herald , ‘Muse worthy’, pg. 6, Sydney, 26 Dec 2005, 6 (illus.).
• Steve Meacham., The Sydney Morning Herald , ‘Bondi: A biography’, Sydney, 26 Dec 2005, (colour illus.). Article located online.
• Steven Miller, Look , ‘An artist for all seasons: Arthur Murch’, pg. 14, Melbourne, Jul 2000, 14.
• Denise Mimmocchi, Sydney moderns: art for a new world , ‘Making Sydney modern: the artistic shaping of the postwar city’, pg. 66-85, Sydney, 2013, 79, 183 (colour illus.), 314, 323.
• Barry Pearce and Haruo Arikawa, Two hundred years of Australian painting: nature, people and art in the southern continent , Tokyo, 1992, 118 (colour illus.), 183. cat.no. 67
• Ursula Prunster, Aspects of Australian art , Sydney, 2000, (illus.). card no. 15: Anne Zahalka ‘The bathers’ 1989
• John Rickard, Australia: A Cultural History , Clayton, 2017, 184 (illus.).
• Robert Rosenblum, The beach , ‘Art on the beach’, pg. 8-14, Florida, 2002, 12, 13 (colour illus.).
• Zoë Ross (Editor), Eyewitness travel guides: Australia , ‘Introducing Sydney’, pg. 56-69, London, 1998, 61 (colour illus.).
• Kohinoor Sahota (Editor), Where London , ‘Wizards of Oz’, pg. 30, Augusta, Sep 2013, 30 (colour illus.). editor’s pick
• John Saxby, Look , ‘A window opens on new stories about building the collection’, pg. 26-28, Sydney, May 2015, 26.
• S.H. Ervin Gallery (Organiser), Linda Slutzkin (Curator) and Dinah Dysart (Curator), Charles Meere 1980-1961 , New South Wales, 1987, pg. 5. cat.no. 10 (illus.), 6, 13.
• John Slater, Through artists’ eyes: Australian suburbs and their cities 1919-1945 , ‘From bread to circuses: people at leisure’, pg. 101-124, Melbourne, 2004, x (colour illus., detail), xi, 118 (colour illus.), 130-131. illus.no. 103
• Linda Slutzkin, Creating Australia: 200 years of art 1788-1988 , ‘Spartans in Speedos’, pg.176-177, Melbourne, 1988, 9, 176-177, 177 (colour illus.), 239, 246.
• Linda Slutzkin, On the beach , Sydney, 1982, 18 (illus.). cat.no. 13
• Susannah Smith, Look , ‘Australian guests: Australia at the Royal Academy of Arts, London’, pg. 16-18, Sydney, Dec 2013-Jan 2014, 18.
• Society of Artists (Organiser), Society of artists: Annual exhibition 1940 , 1940. cat.no. 52 as ‘Beach pattern’
• Graeme Sturgeon, Australia – the painter’s vision , Kensington, 1987, 144, 145 (colour illus.), 202. plate no. 89
• Richard Taylor, Insites , ‘Bondi’, pg. 2-3, Glebe, Summer 2005, 3 (colour illus., detail).
• Richard Taylor, Bondi: a biography , ‘An artists’ paradise’, pg. 4, Sydney, 2005, 4 (colour illus.).
• Richard White, On holidays: a history of getting away in Australia , North Melbourne, 2005, front cover (cover illus., detail), back cover (colour illus.).
• Donald Williams and Colin Simpson, Art now: contemporary art post – 1970 , Sydney, 1994, 33 (illus.). fig. no. 2.10
• Donald Williams, Looking At Australia , Australia, 1997, 11, 23, 37, 111.
• Editor Unknown (Editor), The Sydney morning herald , ‘Lively picture exhibition: Society of Artists. Three bought for Gallery’, pg. 9, Sydney, 05 Sep 1940, 9.
• Editor Unknown (Editor), Bulletin , ‘Landscape Landscapes.’, pg. 11, Sydney, 27 Aug 1952, 19. NOTE: General review of Charles Meere exhibition held at David Jones Art Gallery 1952.
• Editor Unknown (Editor), Daily telegraph and daily news , ‘Painting of Beach scene’, pg. 5, Sydney, 21 Aug 1952, 5 (illus.). NOTE: Photo of Charles Meere infront of painting; General review of Charles Meere exhibition held at David Jones Art Gallery 1952.
• Author Unknown, Wool in the Australian imagination , Glebe, 1994, (illus.).

Developing a beach image for entry-level artists

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Tag: beach

This Dome project was fun and different from the traditional drawing and painting I’m used to. The dome is an interesting environment to make an art piece as I have to take into account the 360 degrees view of the dome and make things that capture the viewer’s attention at all points.

I decided to do a scenery of sunset over the beach as I feel it will be very immersive to project the bright colours onto the dome.

The first draft I did is mostly to check my perspective as the perspective is quite different in the dome than in what it looks like on a flat screen. I added a straight line as my horizon line at first for the sun to be setting below it, but after projecting it into the dome, I realise that the horizon line is more like an inner circle around the image.

For my second draft, I added the beach front, as well as some trees and birds in to spice up the image. I also rearranged the clouds to face all sides of the circle so that it does not all face the same direction on the dome.

Next, the discrete clouds look a bit weird so I redrew the clouds with more textures. The clouds look a lot better than the previous cloud design. I’ve also changed the obvious colour changes in the sun to more of a soft gradient, these soft textures make the image blend together better.

For my 4th draft, I’ve added some beach-goers on the beach front, as well as some swimmers and surfers on the water surface. This makes the drawing more lively and creates more points of interest to draw the viewer’s attention to.

Following Prof Kelly’s advice, I added more items around the beach rather than just at the front to better exploit the dome medium. This included sandcastles, a man walking his dog as well as some people playing tennis at the back. I’ve also animated the beach ball to bounce back and forth around the image.

For my final draft, I’ve added a gradient to the night sky to make the sky more interesting. I’ve also adjusted the size of the sandcastles to align on the dome.

Below is the link to the animation I did of the dome drawing: