Thursday, November 12, 2009

Lydiard Street Cemetery Gates, Ballarat

WORK BY ONE OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS, GRAHAM LEE

This is an excellent work. Your style is most identifiable, even in this somewhat different subject matter. Though there is the tram, there is the old gent approaching the gate. Had you not revealed it was a cemetery gate, I would have assumed he is a financier who has always preferred public transportation in his daily routine.

So, you see, there is already imagination created by your work. Now, however, knowing that he is headed for the cemetery makes a dramatic change in the story. One can only imagine whom he is going to visit for awhile. His dandy type of outfit might suggest he is an old bachelor, but because I know the artist, I would assume he is going to pay respects to a deceased grandparent or favorite uncle.

The details in the gate and ironwork are quite well done. It is not a five-minute sketch for sure. I admire your patience and criteria for near-perfection; it is very apparent in the foreground. Overall, the composition, the perspective and the subject matter makes this, in my opinion, one of your best works to date
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Lydiard Street Cemetery Gates, Ballarat
A tram stops at the Cemetery Gates in Ballarat and an old man gets off.
Taken from a photo by Mal Rowe in 1969.
F and H pencils on linen embossed card.
A4 including margins.

Uploaded by Tram Painter on

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