Franco Giorgio Vendramini
Connections, Switzerland - Australia 2017
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
When creating this painting, I saw a blank canvas with so many possibilities! Many ideas crossed my mind: connecting chain links with Swiss and Australian themes in and on the links: A ‘normal’ Swiss landscape; an Australian beach scene on the bottom of the page and Swiss mountains on top of the page. Both the flags of Switzerland and Australia are included in this panting. When I experimented with the idea of Swiss mountains and a sunset over the Opera House, it then occurred to me that I could include the reflections in the Matterhorn Mountain from the sky over the Opera House.
The rest was to think of good themes to make the painting interesting, balance the themes, balance the colours, be creative and be informative to the viewer. The banners are from the Australian and Switzerland Coat of Arms respectively. The hands in the Theme of the boomerangs are from my grandchildren. I chose the green pasture behind Wilhelm Tell to contrast the red landscape of the Australian inland. The apple with the arrow is part of the Wilhelm Tell legend! The theme with the masked men and the big bells is from the North-East part of Switzerland where I grew up. The name of the mountain in the background is called ’Santis’ and was visible 24/7 from our house. The Canton (State) is called ‘Appenzell Ausserrhoden’.
(N.B.) Please read the ‘Path and Explanations’ of the themes in my website. The painting is now framed/white. 93.5 x 113.5 x5.5cm. Greatly appreciated. Thank you!