‘MARKET STUDY’
“Victoria Market in Melbourne is renowned for its fresh produce and it’s not far from my studio. I am a regular shopper there but this time I brought my sketching gear and came up with this study. If you look at the closest figure you will find that it’s yet another cameo of myself. Actually if you look at all figures in my works you’ll find me somewhere! I do it for the fun of it but it also helps me to get involved with the subject.”
Joseph Zbukvic
‘AFTERNOON IN VIENNA’
“I really enjoyed my last visit to Vienna and I still paint subjects from that trip. Everything about it is beautiful. The buildings, the people, the Fiakers and best of all: the cakes! In this painting I tried to capture the late afternoon light on those wonderful facades. Not an easy task given the complexity of the buildings, combined with the horses, which are the most difficult subject on the planet! I think this one worked well. I hope you agree.”
Joseph Zbukvic
‘FISH MONGERS, ISTANBUL’
“Another one with a bit of colour. I love the red aprons which is such a clever choice of colour, given the nature of their work. I have also done many paintings of butchers who for some reason wear white. I guess it is due to hygiene reasons. This is another study and it’s quite unfinished, which I think is its special quality. Istanbul was a wonderful place to paint and I look forward to doing an exhibition on it in near future.”
Joseph Zbukvic
‘GRAND CENTRAL STATION GUARDIAN, NY’
“This figure on top of the station in New York really took my eye. It reminded me of the Royal Eagle I painted for the last exhibition I had at Red Hill Gallery. I know one of the figures is a Greek travelling God and another is Hercules, I forget the third. It was the fourth of July on that day and there were many police around. I was watched over by a large policeman while I worked on this site and I felt very safe indeed! I particularly like this piece and its unfinished state. There is a certain quality that I like in work like this, which doesn’t exist in highly finished pieces.”
Joseph Zbukvic
THE BACK GATE
“Another quintessential Australian scene. Despite my world wide travels I still love Australian landscape and find endless subjects everywhere. This was painted near Melbourne and it’s the type of subject I like, where there is not really anything significant and yet it makes a wonderful composition. A lot of people would drive past this scene and never see anything in it and yet I think it makes a lovely subject because of its simplicity. It makes you think and look again at something you thought you didn’t see but know it’s there.”
Joseph Zbukvic
‘BACK FROM FISHING’
“I used to do lots of seascapes, not so many nowadays. I still return to this type of work every now and then and thoroughly enjoy it. Because of the simplicity of the subjects it’s very important to do the figures correctly. In the end there is not much else there really. The interaction between the figures is the very subject itself. They help us walk onto the beach ourselves and interact as well.”
Joseph Zbukvic
‘BARGES IN BRITTANY’
“I love the rigging on old-fashioned boats. It cuts fantastic lines through the sky. Made for sable brushes! I particularly like the low horizon on this work and the way it’s actually quite minimal as a subject. These barges were still working and I was amazed by the fact that they didn’t have any engines! Sadly it was a still day I’m not one to put up its sails. I would’ve loved to have seen that! It would’ve made a fantastic subject!”
Joseph Zbukvic
‘PLOUGHING PARTNERS’
My grandfather had a team of draft horses and I loved watching him ploughing. Sometimes he would let me ride on top of the plough as a weight to make deeper furrows. I still remember the sound of the blade turning over the soil. Sometimes I would see a mouse or other animals jump out of their burrows and my grandfather would tell me what they were. These were lessons to remain with me for the rest of my days. This one is for him.
Joseph Zbukvic
