JAMES WILLEBRANT
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS
PRINT PROFILES
"THE SIGNAL"
The Signal is based on the lighthouse building at Crowdy Bay on the North Coast of NSW.
The artist discovered the lighthouse over 30 years ago and the building and its surrounds has featured many times as as subject matter in both original paintings and limited edition screenprints.
"AND NOBBYS TO THE NORTH..."
The artist discovered a rich source of imagery when he first visited Newcastle over 40 years ago.
His love of the 30's / 40's Art-Deco beach architecture to be found all along Australia's seabord was plentiful around the Newcastle foreshores.
This print is based on the Nobbys Lighthouse and Nobbys Beach.
Merewether Baths, Dixon Beach, The Children's Pool at Newcastle's City Beach and the Municipal City Baths and Pavilion have also featured heavily in the artist's work over the past 40 plus years.
In And Nobbys to the North.... Astute viewers may find a quirky inclusion somewhere in the mid foreground of the image.....
[ Clue..."It's such an iconic "Aussie" image isn't it????" ]
STROKE !
This image is part of the Regatta Series and dates from the early 90's.
It was inspired by a photo taken by a friend of the artist of the Cambridge Womens' Coxed Fours Rowing team.
PUTTING AT THE RITZ
This is based on the old Katoomba Golf Club which was destroyed by fire in the 1950's.
The artist has re-imagined the original 1930's clubhouse and added some very Willebrantesque elements.
THE BOY'S POOL
The Boy's Pool belongs to "The Boy" as in the famous and well loved Australian Olympic swimmer in the person of Andrew "Boy" Charlton after whom this pool is named.
The pool at Woolloomooloo is part of Australia's sporting history and "Boy" Charlton is and was one of our first Olympic superstars. He was a shy and 'decent' man who had a natural talent for swimming very fast.
Australians were at once very proud and fond of this champion who eventually retired to live the quiet life of a farmer in western NSW.
The artist has once again taken some liberties by moving the finger wharf northward and into the background for what he deems "compositional purposes".
SURF STATION - PLANET EARTH
Another classic art deco image beloved by the artist. This one is based on the old Lapstone Hotel Road Bar from the renowned Lapstone Hotel in the lower Blue Mountains which was once an exceedingly elegant hotel on par with the likes of The Hydro Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath.
The building can be glimpsed as one drives up or down Lapstone Hill on the way to Glenbrook but sadly these days it is a pale shadow of its former self; the hotel having closed long ago, the buildings have been occupied for many years by the Royal Australian Air Force.
THE KEEPER'S RECREATION
Again, an image based on the Nobby's Lighthouse in Newcastle.
This time we see the internal courtyard which does house a basketball hoop which the artist has imagined might provide some recreation for the keeper in the long hours on duty as a lighthousekeeper.....
Perhaps just a romantic re-imagining as most lighthouses these days are automated, but still.....
The original painting that this print is based on was commissioned by Carrington Coal Company as part of the celebration of Newcastle's Sesquicentenary.
THE SURF TOTEMS
This print is part of the totemic Surfing Series which celebrates the romance of the era of the longboards and surf skiffs.
GREAT SOUTHERN SURFCLUB
This image typifies the artist's fascination with the Art-Deco bathing pavilions of Austraila's Eastern Seabord.
This is the glorious Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club in "The Shire" south of Sydney.
Once again the artist has re-imagined it as it may once have been.
SURFBOAT
An image which captures perfectly the drama and energy of the great Aussie surfboat races which are an integral part of every Australian Surf Carnival.
DRIVING WESTWARD
This print is part of the Sporting Images Series and is based on a Blue Mountains
golf course in Winter.
THE FOOTBALLERS
A very limited edition screenprint which was part of the Sporting Images Series.
This was screenprinted by the artist's partner and handcoloured by the artist
THE HOOP DIVER
This print features the iconic diving figure which was in part inspired by the art-deco style logo used in the 1950's for the Miss Janzen brand of swimwear.
This is a classic Willerant image and a classic Willebrant gradation.
FOUR MAN KAYAKS
An image based on photographic reference from the 1974 Munich Olympic Games which was provided by a client who rowed for the Australian Mens' Four-Man Kayak team at the Munich Olympics in '74.
OUR TWO MAN BOARD
The almost Neo-Classical Board Riders and their totemic board featuring the artist's personal surfing symbologies.
James Willebrant Limited Edition Prints
