Lynne Lancaster

Traffic Jam Galleries : Danielle McManus Birds of a Feather

TRAFFIC JAM GALLERIES
DANIELLE MCMANUS
BIRDS OF A FEATHER

A charming, delightful exhibition at Traffic Jam Galleries’ Neutral Bay site , with McManus’ works displaying her trademark huge eyes of the humans depicted and incredible attention to detail , revealing the artist’s love and concern for our native flora and fauna .
Some of the paintings are as follows:

The Princess and the Pea – an outback princess turning her head to look at us in a field of Sturt’s Desert Pea and a dry desert back ground .The stripes and spots of her dress contrast with the cushion she is sitting on .See how many birds and native animals you can see and look for the crown placed on her head by the birds.

The Gardener – a somewhat androgynous youth resting on a couch in the middle of a field of poppies – has several birds and also a frog .The dominant red of the poppies is balanced by the vivid colours of the birds and the turquoise watering can.
Three delicate graphite charcoal pastel and colour pencil works are included , ( Jewel, Halo and Pretty in Pink) .drawings of young ladies with huge eyes and a bird .They all stare directly at the viewer . In Pretty in Pink the model is wearing a huge pink waratah in her hair.Another work in this series is Round Robin , a young girl in an elegant dress and her hair up with several robins on her shoulders arms and in her hair .

In The Gathering we see a beautiful barefoot young lady in a pale pink dress with lacey jacket , waratah in her hair , and there is a swirling composition around her of banksia , waratah and flannel flowers and see how many birds you can observe as well as a spotted quoll and a wombat.

The King’s Banquet is an explosive riot of colour a somewhat melancholy lady in full Victorian dress at table , the feast overflowing .There are ornamentally embroidered chairs and hanging panels of Australian floral designs , a sumptuous feast of cakes and tea with waratah and flannel flowers .the king parrot is in the centre of the composition – can you spot the possum, pelican and galah among others ?

Lady of the Lake shows a blushing lady rising from the lake , discreetly covered by a cloud of waterlilies and attended by various birds and butterflies.

Two small rather Renaissance portrait in style works are Here Comes the Sun with a golden bird hanging upside down from a flower being observed by a young woman who turns to ask what we think of it and In All Her Finery – against a sunset sky a richly dressed young lady in a huge red turban headdress is shown with a cluster of birds.
The exhibition is glowing and vibrant and will delight not just ornithologists.

https://www.trafficjamgalleries.com/current-exhibition

Danielle Mcmanus’ Birds of a Feather runs at Traffic Jam Galleries 18 October – 8 November 2019

Published by Lynne Lancaster

A passionate theatre person Lynne is originally from Sydney and holds a B.Ed (Art) - a postgraduate Diploma in Information Management (Librarianship) and an MA in Theatre. While living in London ( 2002 -2007 ) Lynne completed the dance criticism course at Sadlers Wells linked in with Chichester University. Lynne has worked for both Ticketek and Ticketmaster here in Australia and was involved with the original production of THE BOY FROM OZ An Ausdance member Lynne is passionate about dance and has studied ballet and Flamenco. Before moving to London she photographed the Sydney Dance Company and Australian Ballet among other companies and has exhibited internationally. Lynne is a SAMAG member and a volunteer at the Art Gallery of NSW. Currently Lynne writes for arthub, danceinforma and sydneyartsguide.