"The Landsdowne Painting" (Orig painting)

"The Landsdowne" (Original painting)

One original painting only available. This is the one-off original painting on which all the subsequent Lansdowne prints are based. There will never be another one of these.

Welcome to my "Pub Painting Project" - paintings (or prints thereof, in this case) of iconic band pubs in Australia. Having spent innumerable nights haunting the legendary band pubs of Sydney - the likes of the Hopetoun, the Landsdowne, the Sandringham, the Annandale etc - carving indelible memories and in many ways shaping me as a person, it struck me to do some paintings which touched on those days and memories.

Many of us hold these places very dearly and they’re etched in our hearts as the places of great moments, great experiences, great loves, great days of our lives. The Landsdowne was (and is) a legendary pub in the heart of Sydney, right on Broadway. It hosted a huge array of legendary bands and I was a regular punter there for years, indeed one of my bands played there a few times, something which was indeed an honour.

I’ve painted these paintings with the idea that we don’t specifically remember the physical structure as it is or was exactly, more that there is an echo in our minds about what those places looked and felt like. I feel these paintings are almost slightly dreamscape in their representation, slightly ephemeral, but with enough concrete details which anchor the sense of place.

And further, I have taken the liberty of crafting my own imaginary lineups at each pub. And I’ve chosen bands which I associate with that particular pub and whom I saw at that pub. In the Landsdowne's case, CROW were a dark and iconic band of the era and graced the stage there on multiple occasions, from memory.

The Hummingbirds were, for me, the greatest band to emerge from this era of Australian music. Led by Simon Holmes and Alannah Russack, they created the archetypical sweet noise pop, with boy-girl vocals and an incredible sense of melody. There were and remain one of my favourite bands ever.

The Plunderers were also an iconic band of the day, led by Half a Cow boss Nic Dalton with the legendary Stevie Plunder alongside him. Incredibly poppy and fun, I simply loved seeing them at the Landsdowne and forever associate all of these bands with this corner of City Rd and Broadway.

I loved all of these bands and this pub in particular and I’ve painted these paintings with the idea that we don’t specifically remember the physical structure as it is or was exactly, more that there is an echo in our minds about what those places looked and felt like. I feel these paintings are almost slightly dreamscape in their representation, slightly ephemeral, but with enough concrete details which anchor the sense of place.

So … please enjoy this new series - the actual original paintings on canvas are here for sale. These are complete one-offs, crafted and created by hand with love. There are also limited prints of these available. Please see elsewhere on this page. With the sturdy oak frame, these paintings can be hung on a wall or be freestanding on a bench or table etc. All of these come with wire hanging set-up on the back.

*NB. This is a hand-painted/hand-made work. Marks, fades, scuffs, irregularities are all part of the process. I am not striving for "perfection" - I hope you get my drift, with the beauty in the texture/tactile sense...

25cm x 25cm - canvas size

28cm x 28cm - including frame
5.5cm deep
Acrylic on triple-primed canvas in hand-finished oak frame.
Ready-to-hang with wire on back