Simply Surreal exhibition Melbourne

On Thursday the 2nd of September I will head down to Melbourne for the opening of the exhibition 'Simply Surreal'

I have 23 paintings that will be hung alongside the works of Graeme Stevenson, Patricia van Lubeck and Ross Wilsmore.  I will be there for the opening night, the Friday and Saturday morning.   The exhibition runs for two weeks, hope to see you there.

The address is 27 Gipps st, Richmond. Phone Isabelle McGee for details on 0404 806 166

The fastest Bilby on earth    30-8-2010

Yesterday I received some photos from Anthony of his BMW off road bike.  Anthony contacted me a while back and told me of his plans to travel around Oz on a road bike. He asked if it could be adorned with some of my art. Here is the result.... it looks great!  What a bike too and well kit out!  Good luck Anthony, may St Bilby guide you on your travels!

USA 2010

In the middle of June, We flew over to the good ol US of A as a birthday surprise gift! for Cristine

We landed in LA at 6.30am and spent the first jet lagged day at Disneyland. It sure is the happiest place on earth...but not when you haven't slept for 24 hours! We spent the following day alternating between Disneyland and California park and got to ride the rollercoaster 3 times! The queues were enormous but the American folk seem far more patient than us Aussies are!

The following day we checked out some of the galleries in LA and battled the gridlock before  heading  north to Sequoia and Yosemite national parks. The giant redwoods are amazing and the view from glacier point in Yosemite is like looking over the set of Jurassic park or the lost world. It almost looks like a CG background from a film it's so surreal.

We then drove west to San Francisco to catch up with Cris' relatives then headed north again, through Carson city, Virginia city, Reno, Susanville then west again to Mt Shasta. The volcanoes of that area are amazing and we were lucky enough to take a half hour helicopter flight over the now sleeping Mt St Helens, buzzing over the top of the crater at 4000 metres was a highlight! 

We then motored on to Portland and Seattle, exploring the city over a few days and finally taking a tour of the enormous Boeing factory, where the Boeing fleet or aircraft are currently being assembled.

After battling the traffic and six lane freeways, narrowly avoiding a feral deer, being up close and personal with a brown bear and 3200 kms of driving (on the wrong side) we were glad to be back home to normality......whatever that is?

Cambodia 2009

Peru wasn't my only foray overseas this year.  In November, I headed over to Cambodia with another 7 blokes for what can best be described as 'The wild hogs trip of a lifetime!' 

Anyone who has seen the movie with Tim Allen and John Travolta will know what I'm talking about.

The eight of us arrived in the capital Phnom Penh and spent several days with Steve Lee, preparing to shoot (literally!) his country music film clip masterpiece, I Like Guns. Since it's launch in December, Steve's clip has gone 'platinum' on You Tube, notching up 1.5 million hits up to mid Feb!

We then drove up north to Siem Reap, the bustling rapidly growing city that is the jumping off point for the Angkor wat temple complex. After exploring the ruins for several days, we met up with the boys (and girl, Sheila) from Hidden Cambodia Tours.

Here we met the 'tour leader' Paul and accustomed our selves to our bikes, predominately 250cc four stroke road/ trail bikes.

From there we set off on a four day adventure, through muddy jungle trails and busy bustling towns, from hidden temple ruins, deep in inaccessible jungle, to Pol Pot's hideout in the mountains.

It was a great adventure and we all thankfully came home alive.....always a bonus!

You can view the Cambodia photos here

Below is Steve's film clip

Peru 2009

In July of 2010, Crissy and myself made our way over to Peru,via Auckland then Santiago, Chile.

This was an important trip for Cris as she got to see the South American camelids up close and personal. This is of importance, due to us being small time Alpaca breeders!  (Hence the story dwelling on Alpacas!)

After a few days in the smoggy capital of Chile, we flew up north to the dusty mining town of Calama. From here we hired a small car and  headed to San Pedro De Atacama, a small town in the middle of the vast Atacama desert.  The following day we spotted our first South American camelids!  Returning from a trip to Laguna Miscanti (a 4120metre high Altiplano lake surrounded by conical volcanoes) we spotted a small herd of Vicuna (progenitors of the Alpacas). After a mad (and breathless) dash down the hill, I fitted my zoom lens and snapped some nice pics of a mum and cria and a male standing guard on a snow capped hill.

From the Atacama desert, we then headed north to the Peruvian border and crossed the desolate desert landscape into Peru in a long distance taxi. From the smugglers town of Arica, we headed by bus to the city of Arequipa. Founded by the Spanish in 1540, Arequipa is a thriving bustling metropolis, overlooked by El Misti, a 5800m tall conical shaped volcano.  At 2380m, Arequipa was good place to acclimatize to the regions we would soon visit. The altitude affects most people, self included but after a few days and some good strong cups of Mate de coca (coca leaf tea) we were good to go.

Next stop was the Colca canyon, a massive canyon system about 160km northwest of Arequipa. The canyon is the deepest in the world at 4160m (twice as deep as the Grand Canyon) and home to the endangered Vicuna, Llamas, Guanacos, Alpacas and a small population of rare Peruvian Condors. As we wound our way through the mountains, we entered the Vicuna national reserve and were rewarded with views of numerous wild Vicuna, some grazing next to the road side. Further on we soon encountered large herds of Alpaca.

We stopped to take photos and for Cristine to get her paca fix (handling or more correctly cuddling them!) Cris bought along a dozen photos of our not so wooly Alpacas, which she took out on many occasions. This always drew a small crowd of onlookers all crowding round to see the strange Australian/ Chinese gringo with the Alpacas that live in a hot climate at sea level!

 What soon became apparent was this….it's bloody cold there! Not only that, the Altiplano (high plateau) is a forbidding place. It's mainly hard stony ground sparsely covered in yellow tussock grasses and at altitudes of 3000-4000 plus metres, the air is thin and dry. The Alpacas are contained in square compounds made of stacked stones at night and for shearing etc, but graze freely during the day. No wonder these animals have one of the warmest fleeces…. the Altiplano is like the surface of Mars!

From here we travelled on to stay in some small towns in the Colca area, then on to the city of Puno on the shores of lake Titicaca. This is the highest navigable lake in the world and is massive in size and volume. After several days in Puno cruising the lake and it's unique floating reed islands, we headed north to Cuzco.

 We took a 19 hour bus trip from hell, via some amazing scenery, held hostage by the local townsfolk on several occasions and culminating in a death defying crossing of a decaying bridge at 1am in the morning. We finally arrived at the beautiful city of Cuzco at an un-Godly 4am in the morning.

 We spent an amazing 10 days here, by fortune landing right in the middle of the most important festival on the Inca calendar- the Inti Raymi or 'festival of the sun'

We took several day trips into the surrounding 'sacred valley' exploring the many small towns or 'pueblos'. Cris always managed to locate some Alpacas or Llamas and once again, the photos were whipped out ... presto! another instant crowd!

Our last major destination was the lost city of Machu Picchu. The Incan citadel is an amazing place, not only for it's architecture and engineering, but the sheer beauty of the surrounding mountains. We even managed to find some Llamas there!

You can view more photos of the Peru trip here.

Utes in the Paddock June 2008

In early June, Shane was invited by property owner Graham pickles of Burrawang West station, to come and participate in his 'utes in the paddock event.

Grahams vision is to create a 'field of utes'. (maybe this was inspired by Kevin Kostner's famous lines "build it and they will come"!!) l   Burrawang west is a pretty special place. A working sheep and cattle property of vast proportions, Burrawang is located 70kms from Parkes  and about 30kms from Condobolin. The property was bought by the Japanese in the 1990s and a "modern interpretation" of the Australian homestead was built. Designed by a leading architect, the homestead is a masterpiece in modern contemporary design. A group of Chalets were constructed nearby, in the same style and materials, to house up to 40 guests. The self contained units boast such names as 'the woolshed' and 'jackaroo' and 'jillaroo'. The station was host to Japanese corporate visitors until Graham bought the property in 2000.

A total of 12 utes are destined to be painted and mounted. Lightning Ridge artist John Murray, was the first to apply brush to panel. His creation 'circle work' was finished an mounted a week before Shane arrived to paint his motoring masterpiece.

When contemplating a theme for the artwork to be painted on that other great Aussie icon, the Holden Ute,  the first idea that popped into Shane's head was 'Fossil fuel', that ubiquitous scourge of our present day.  Shane set about designing an artwork that would literally stand out in the crowd.  St Bilby of course, featured on the bonnet, as did 'Sam the oil man' and the all seeing eye crowned the utes roof.  Of course, it wouldn't be a Gehlert work without that famous chrome Kangaroo adorning the former tray of the utility.

The ute was primed first, then sprayed and brushed within the first 2 days. On the third day, it rained for the first time in the central west since January. With daytime temperatures around 12 degrees and constant drizzle, the paint would simply not dry. Luckily, Graham had some restaurant style gas heaters on hand to help the job and on the fourth day, The ute was completed.

Unfortunately, shane had to make the 1000+ km drive home the next day and missed the raising of the ute. So 3 days later, the 'Fossil Fuel epitaph" was raised vertically and welded to steel supports and the 2 1950s petrol bowsers, were mounted either side.

You can visit the Utes in the Paddock website HERE 

Exhibition in Perth November 2007

In September, albeit and short notice, Shane was invited to exhibit with gallery O in Perth.

The exhibition was titled 'Mojo Surreal' and also included artists:

PATRICIA VAN LUBECK (NZ), JAREK WOJCIK, MICHAEL MURPHY and ANDREW GONZALEZ (US.

 The exhibition was held until January and Shane's work was featured in the article in the west Australian pictured on the right.

The exhibition was the first Shane has held in Perth since exhibiting with Gomboc gallery in 1997.

Back from the USA... a bit fatter, a bit poorer but a whole lot wiser!

We have just returned back from our cultural sojourn, to fortress America.

Ah yes, the land of the brave and the home of the burger. We landed in LA on the 2nd of March 2007, a bit tired and jet lagged, ready to dive head first into our 'vacation to Wallyworld' (anyone who has seen National Lampoon's 'Vacation' will know what I'm talking about!)  See it's not just Cris and I, but dear old Mum and Dad are along for the ride too. (Boy did they sooo not know what they were getting into!)

So it's off to Alamo rentals for our super sized- super thirsty S.U.V and we hit the road, wrong side driving fashion!  After a deep end dive into the road rules and driving chaos of California, we embarked on our 3000 mile oddysey, to seek out different art, new galleries,  the endless quest for a meal of edible food and a lesson in culture of an unbelievable kind.

Now this is saying something, Cris and I have travelled to some 30 or more countries, many of those being developing or poorer (money wise) places. But America, hey, it's got it all,  the most blatantly obvious, is "supersize". This pertains to:  Food, beverages, people, cars, motel rooms, beds, attitude, prices, shopping malls and so on....

This is the richest nation on earth, but man, if that's the way of the future and what wealth and prosperity brings, ... then buy me a shovel from IKEA and bury me with it! 

But seriously, we had a great time and saw some amazing sites, some amazing art and met some pretty weird and wonderful people.

 I guess the highlight for me, was my pilgrimage to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is a place, I have been wanting to visit for many years, ever since an artist friend of mine, Peter Browne, bought me a subscription to 'Southwest Art' magazine. It was amazing to see the diversity of art there and the amazing sculpture there. The bronzes are jut fantastic. We don't have the wealth or population to support such an amount of galleries and work of such high quality and prices. Which is part of the motivation for my  entrance into the US market. As much as I love Australia, we do tend to 'tall poppy' our successes and seldom recognise talent until it has returned from London or New York (if it ever does!)

Our travels took us through LA, Frisco, Vegas, Zion nat. park, Grand Canyon, Sedona, Santa Fe, Truth or consequences New Mexico (seriously), El Paso, Tuscon, LA (again) Toronto, Niagara, NY city, intercourse Pennsylvania, and Washington DC.

  Anyway, enough of my ramblings, take a look at my USA  photos in the photo gallery and enjoy!

Shane      April 2007

Manyung Exhibition, August 2006

As of my writing this update, more than half the works on display have now found new homes, with another 2 weeks to go. 

The exhibition, was a great success.  Not only from a sales point, but also that I had the opportunity to catch up with old friends, new collectors and general art groupies!  Thanks go to Sharyn and David for their hospitality. The Wednesday night dinner was...interesting! Kangaroo sausages and Crocodile legs as starters!  The food was great, as was the company. I also had a good opportunity to further educate people, as to my complete lack of public speaking abilities. (could someone please send me a transcript of what I said!)

The Thursday and Friday night openings, saw some 200 or more people attend. It was a good chance for me, to meet up with a new generation of collectors of my work. They seem to be getting younger... or is it I'm getting older? On the Saturday, I met  Sue, from the local community radio station, whom I led around the gallery, describing my art to. On the Sunday, after arriving back home, I did an over the phone radio interview with her. To my complete surprise, Sue remembered all that I had told her and conducted what was in my experience, the most professional radio interview I have done thus far.

I also had a chance to see the Jobson's famous hobby farm. We were most impressed with their efforts and thanks to Debra for showing us around. Cristine and I, also had the opportunity to see John Munn's  motorcycle workshop. John owns Classic Style motorcycles, www.classicstyle.com.au  Where he restores classic early model bikes, to their former glory. John is also the former British  drag bike racing champion, of the 1970s. The accompanying photo, is of a chromed, DKW petrol tank. My Dad used to take my Mum out on dates on one of these!

Once again, thanks to all those, on my long and rather tired mailing list, who came to the exhibition.

So Where the heck did 2005 go?

February 2006

I don't know about you, but I'm left scratching my head thinking "where the heck did it go!"

We had a busy 2005, although I only held a few exhibitions to allow for other extracurricular activities. In March, I had the opportunity to travel to Zambia with Teen Missions Australia, on their first ever "Motorcycle aids orphans rescue event. 20 'Bwanas', all racing accross Zambia and setting up camp in the sticks, certainly made for an entertaining sight for the locals. We achieved our goal of building the "rescue unit" a small building constructed of steel and plywood, which houses a local volunteer worker, who gives basic medical, hygiene and counselling  to the local aids orphans. He also instructs the kids in basic life skills and farming techniques, things that have been lost to a generation of orphans. IIn July, Crissy and myself travelled to India for a bit of adventure and exploring! We flew to Delhi from Malaysia and set out by 4wd to the Himalayas in the north

We travelled through historic Shimla and the high mountain passes towards the border of Tibet. Fantastic scenery, roads that are not for the faint of heart! We headed to Dhankar monastery an 800 year old Buddhist monastery at 4200 metres, one of the highlights of the trip. After surviving the roads and Indian traffic, we made our way back to Delhi and on through Rajasthan, the home of the Rajput kings and the mughul empire. Forts castles and more forts, cows, camels, more forts, more cows and back to Delhi and home again!

In August, I began corresponding with the Austrade commission and subsequently, I have been included in a brochure that is currently being distributed around the US. I hope to have some definite dates sorted soon for a foray into the US market.

In December, we finally made the big move to an acreage property. We had been looking for close on 2 years now and finally settled on our little piece of heaven, tucked away in the hinterland. The only downside is that we have to navigate the driveway from Hell to get to our piece of Heaven! All one kilometre and 3 switchbacks of it! 

So much of January and February has been consumed with 'hose stuff'. I'm  just getting back into the painting now, so keep posted for more hot off the easel listings!

Due to a major computer crash in January (thanks microsoft!), I have lost about 6 montrhs worth of work, including email addresses. If anyone happens to read this who is on my mail list, please update your listing with us.

Tsunami Appeal Charity auction, Manyung Gallery

January 2005

Sharyn and David held a sellout charity auction at their Mt Eliza gallery in January. All the works on sale, were donated by the artists and the gallery donated their time and their commission for the event. All works were sold and raised a total of $25,000+ for the Red Cross Tsunami appeal. Shane donated his infamous painting "The enigma of Chloe" which raised over $3700 toward the appeal. Well done guys.

Manyung Gallery Exhibition September 2004

The Manyung Gallery show went well, although I did not get down to Melbourne for the show, Sharyn and David made sure there was lots of red dots on paintings. Four of my works went off before the opening and quite a few more in the following days. Pictured is the ad which we placed in the National Gallery of Victoria magazine for the September quarter.  Unfortunately the following group show during the Melbourne cup, turned out to be a nag, guess they bet on the wrong horse!

Sydney Affordable art show July 2004

A great (but tiring) time in Sydney with the affordable art show. A great chance to meet people and find new homes for my paintings. It was a good turn out on the weekend but quiet on Thurs-Friday. Thanks for everyone who came whom I emailed. Interesting to see how the art market has turned now.... hmmm! Plans are afoot for the London based show, sounds exciting!

Gallery Collections Exhibition 18th June 2004

Here are some photos form the opening of the Art Gallery Collections show on the Gold Coast. The opening attracted around 250 people, who came to peruse the paintings and consume the gourmet food provided by the chef we employed. It was a great night, with music form a talented local pianist on the baby grand and a great atmosphere from the gallery. A credit to Athena and Critton. Thanks to all the people who attended with short arms and long pockets! 

Melbourne Affordable Art show 2004

Well, the Affordable Art show has been and gone, thanks to all  those who came down to see us, particularly Lee.

There was a huge amount of Art and galleries represented there, so I was quite pleased to have sold 8 of the 12 paintings we bought down.

The highlight of the show was the Wednesday night preview, where I had 2 models, Francis and Sophie, painted head to toe in silver body paint, thanks to Roger Edgecombe.  There was a big hoo ha with the organisers and much stress from gallery collections manager, but a compromise was reached and bikini tops were the go, but it still drew a crown of intrigued onlookers!

Here is a photo and story from Friday, 16th April, courtesy of the Age, Melbourne.

Shane

Delshan Galleries opening night,  Tuesday evening, 28th October 2003.

Thanks so much to those who attended the opening on Tuesday night, it was a fantastic crowd for such a cold and wet, Melbourne night. Boy did we get a shock, after steeping off the plane from sunny Queenland, to 9 degrees of Melbourne weather!

Thanks also go out to the 'flamboyant Peter Green, for his opening address at the show.

You can find details about Peter's highly unusual life, through his web diaries and published books here.....'  http://www.frenz.com/16min/index.html

Standing room only at the gallery

The jacket..well it speaks for itself!

Peter's opening night speech

3-8-2003

The Boyd Gallery exhibition in Narellan went extremely well, Shane having sold half of his paintings on the opening night , with more moving during the week. There are only 2 left, so you had better be quick!

For more details, call Lorraine or Malcolm on   02 4648 2424

15-6-2003

Shane's recent exhibition at Manyung Gallery, Melbourne, went extremely well.

Nearly all the works were sold and the paintings received a great response. This was the first time Shane has shown works with Manyung. Plans are afoot for another show next year.

Manyung will soon release their hardcover book on up and coming Australian artists, of which Shane's works feature over two pages. For more info, or details of how to order the book,  E-mail us

The Arid Zone Artists' show in Toowoomba, Queensland went well. The Rotary club of Toowoomba did a fantastic job. The auction on the night raised over $2000 for the Hospice and the part proceeds of the sales went back into the community through Rotarys' many charity links.

These include the Flying Doctor, a charity for which Howard Steer is synonymous

have closed the gallery in Argent Street, Broken Hill and have handed  the reigns to Margaret Hyde (Anthill Gallery) Who along with Howard Steer, is  the only representative of my work in Broken Hill. Thank you to all those who  patronised the gallery during the last few years.,

As  usual, my works can be viewed in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne, please E-mail me for  details.

I  no longer have Howard Steer's paintings for sale on the website, please E-mail him flyingdoctor@ozemail.com.au  or  phone +61 8 80 874736 (Tell him I sent ya!)Shane

Copyright Shane Gehlert OutbackArt 2011 last updated  February 2012                Join our Mail List?