FAlling into Winter

It was winter in Perth 2013. I had an awesome reunion with a high school classmate of mine. We have not seen each other probably since the last day of school and I was so happy to bump into her in the airport and what coincidence that we were on the same flight to Perth.

We made plans to meet up and my dear friend and her husband brought me around town. This sweet couple asked me to do a painting for them and I decided to draw my inspiration from our memoirs in Perth.

FAlling into Winter 

We were entering winter but the colours of the leaves were still of Fall with lots of amber, orange, brown and reds. I remembered a beautiful big tree with splashes of reds and maroons where we savoured some exotic vegetarian food at this vegetarian café located at Swan Valley. We were visiting the wineries where we also tasted some splendid wines. I guess you could see by now that the tree that I painted was inspired by this picturesque view captured in my head.

The sky was bright and it felt like summer and that was why I had the background in bright colours. It was also a lively day filled with warm conversations as we catch up.

The highlight of our get together in Perth was bumping into Jersey Boys. After having some cocktails and tapas, my friend decided to check out this jazz bar. Ellington Jazz Club was like a cosy little cavern and there was a stage next to a few tables. People were leaving the club and we could see that the live performances just ended. Since we were already in the bar, we thought we might as well sit back and enjoy some drinks. Little did we know that the ‘Jersey Boys’ performers were coming to have a jamming session.

'Jersey Boys' jamming

We had absolutely no clue till someone from the next table asked us, “How did you know the Jersey Boys were coming here?” We didn’t! We sat listening to them taking turns singing and jamming it up! WOW! It was incredible and possibly one of the best live performances I’ve ever encountered. My personal favourite was the pianist. I was so glad that my friends took me there. We were so inspired by them that we decided to watch them perform the actual musical Jersey Boys. I felt like I was watching Frankie Valli serenading us with ‘Can’t Take My eyes Off You.’ I wish I could watch it again but I already had to leave Perth.

And So…..I had to create this imagery of them as the highlight of the painting but with a more casual and fun attire ;)

If you look closely, you can also see the dotted techniques.  I had been to some galleries in Perth and I saw this technique largely used in the aboriginal artworks of Australia and since this is a memoir of Perth, I’ve decided to incorporate some of that into this piece.

Oh…you can also see my friend and her super-tall 2 metres husband at the corner. They’re the ones this painting was meant to be created. I hope my friend and her dear husband likes it and I hope you enjoy it too.

Adios!