Mudgee

Original artwork
Mixed media; acrylic, charcoal, pencil
Canvas collage, pieces of canvas mounted on masonite board with pine backing frame
canvas wraps around wood panel sides
Solvent finishing varnish gloss
Size: 80 x 87 x 2.5 cm

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This painting is a mixed media collage (pieces of painted canvas) that captures the essence of Mudgee, a charming town in the Central West of New South Wales. I used acrylic, charcoal, and pencil to create a colour block design that evokes the landscape, history, and culture of the region.

The painting is divided into roughly three horizontal sections, each representing a different aspect of Mudgee.

The top section is pink, suggesting the warm and friendly atmosphere of the town and its people.

The middle section is purple with a black vertical line running through it, symbolizing the rich heritage and diversity of Mudgee, as well as the Cudgegong River that flows through it.

The bottom section is green, reflecting the fertile and scenic countryside that surrounds Mudgee and its renowned wineries.

Also incorporated are pieces of canvas painted yellow. The yellow canvas pieces symbolise the influx of Sydneysiders who are seeking a change of scenery and investing in hobby farms and small parcels of land in Mudgee. The yellow canvas pieces also have numbers such as 10" and 254mm written on them, indicating the relatively small land plots that are appealing for the city dwellers.

Pieces of canvas are mounted on masonite board with pine backing frame, giving the painting a textured and layered appearance. The canvas wraps around the wood panel sides, creating a seamless and elegant look.

The painting is finished with a solvent varnish gloss, enhancing the vibrancy and depth of the colours.

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Karel lives and works in Sydney, NSW Australia. Born in Belgium of mixed heritage that includes Flemish, Dutch and French. Migrated to Australia in 2000. From a young age Karel admired the Dutch masters, in particular Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer. As a teenager Karel developed a great appreciation for Anton Heyboer, a Dutch painter and printmaker. He also intensively studied the work of Neue Wilde (New Wild Ones) in particular Martin Kippenberger, a German artist known for his extremely prolific output in a wide range of styles and media. Another artist of influence is Albert Oehlen, also related to the Neue Wilde movement.

Karel is mainly a figurative painter. In recent years landscape works were added to his body of work. Karel uses mixed media techniques and is particularly fond of synthetic polymer paints, charcoal, pencil, oil pastels and graphic marker. Karel's work can best be described as neo-expressionism with hints of post-painterly abstraction. Styles shift, partly because of a lack of patience. Karel also produces minimalistic and pure abstraction paintings, Karel's work is never consistent to one specific theme. Themes are at times naughty, usually not. Sometimes political, usually not. Layers of colour, build up harmoniously with charcoal and pencil figures, sometimes mixed with written words. Pencil drawings and colouring are at times detailed, at times rough and/or primitive.