To open our Artists of the Month for January 2016, we are privileged to present Antonia Hoddle, a wonderful, dynamic lady with a gentle soul, passionate about the environment and a lifelong creator. Surrounded by beauty, filled with beauty herself, her communication through her many paintings and drawings impart a sense of each subject matter that draws you in, mesmerizes and gives peace, even when fast movement is part of a work - like her Linda Falls waterfalls series.
As Antonia stated a while ago - "Artists are continually seeking renewal and to give the viewer another perspective on life and all that it has to offer. My art is a language without words and those images tell a story and one that I trust you will find engaging. As an Artist I observe and document and hope by leaving a visual image of nature it will help humans connect and respect the natural forces of life. It is the Artist’s imagination alone that has enriched the image; in return the observer can do the same. Creation is still a mystery not a craft – but a miracle."
An Artist who has learned from the best, embraced the world and let it embrace her, this week a small insight into how a lifetime filled with developing the finest and higher nature in yourself is shared by one of our great local painters:
Where and when were you born?
I was born in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney.
Where did you grow up and what was this like?
I grew up in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, the eldest of five girls. We had a wonderful home that inspired me. It had a magic sunken garden with poems by William Wordsworth inscribed into the stone steps. This fuelled my imagination.
Where and when were you born?
I was born in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney.
Where did you grow up and what was this like?
I grew up in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, the eldest of five girls. We had a wonderful home that inspired me. It had a magic sunken garden with poems by William Wordsworth inscribed into the stone steps. This fuelled my imagination. It was a large house that we also shared with extended family and lots of pets, a place that was filled to capacity. Many days were spent on the tennis court with neighbours and friends. We shared a wonderful life that was very busy and very happy. It was a fabulous era.
Both my father Neville Hoddle and my grandfather were doctors and I admired them dearly, accompanying them on their weekly rounds visiting patients. My mother Marcelle was very interested in the Arts and later worked as a gallery assistant. My family were very involved with their community and they all shared this passion. It was a very social household and a magical childhood.
My Grandfather Hugh Poate lived with us as my Grandmother Aida had died early in life. Aida was Italian, born in Cairo, Egypt. This is where my Grandfather met and married her when she was 18 years old. He was a doctor and a soldier who had helped set up the Hospital in Alexandria for the wounded men from the Gallipoli War Zone.
He had a passion for horticulture. I spent hours helping him nurture his plants in the heated glasshouse. There were also two green houses for growing orchids. From an early age I shared this fascination for plants and nature and it has always been a great source of inspiration for me.
My mother Marcelle was very beautiful, she was exotic and European. She travelled frequently to visit her family in Egypt and Italy. To this day we have relatives in Italy, France and Britain.
Both my father Neville Hoddle and my grandfather were doctors and I admired them dearly, accompanying them on their weekly rounds visiting patients. My mother Marcelle was very interested in the Arts and later worked as a gallery assistant. My family were very involved with their community and they all shared this passion. It was a very social household and a magical childhood.
My Grandfather Hugh Poate lived with us as my Grandmother Aida had died early in life. Aida was Italian, born in Cairo, Egypt. This is where my Grandfather met and married her when she was 18 years old. He was a doctor and a soldier who had helped set up the Hospital in Alexandria for the wounded men from the Gallipoli War Zone.
He had a passion for horticulture. I spent hours helping him nurture his plants in the heated glasshouse. There were also two green houses for growing orchids. From an early age I shared this fascination for plants and nature and it has always been a great source of inspiration for me.
My mother Marcelle was very beautiful, she was exotic and European. She travelled frequently to visit her family in Egypt and Italy. To this day we have relatives in Italy, France and Britain.
Mrs. Neville Hoddle entertaining at Prince's on Tuesday. L. to R., Miss Pauline Holdenson, Mrs. Neville Hoddle, Miss Jacqueline Holdenson and Mrs Alex Macleod. The JOTTINGS of a lady. (1946, April 14). Truth (Sydney, NSW : 1894 - 1954), p. 43. Retrieved fromhttp://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article168767828
My father’s Family is 5th generation graziers and pioneers. I am a descendant of the British Military Trained Surveyor Robert Hoddle, a renowned artist of flora, fauna and topography. Robert Hoddle was also town planner of Melbourne, he surveyed Gibralta, South Africa, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
The two cultures that I embrace are naturally Italian and Australian and arriving in Genoa, Italy 1968. I saw myself everywhere and I feel more Italian than Australian because of my olive skin, dark looks and dark hair. I am planning to return to Italy in the near future to live for a year, to paint and draw, immerse myself in language and culture and experience four seasons, rekindle friendships with family and friends. We lived four seasons in England and I would like to experience the same in Italy. I have divided my life into the four seasons and I intend having a long and productive Autumn.
Where were you educated and how did you begin your career as an Artist?
I was schooled at Kambala, Rose Bay, HSC 1964 Achieved Diploma - The Mary White & John Olsen School of Art & Design, Edgecliff, Sydney 1965 -1966. At school I majored in Art and my school Kambala had already made a name for itself in 1898 – 1935 by employing Antonio Dattillo Rubbo who was the first European Art Master in a Sydney Girls School. Kambala has continued to provide a strong arts and academic curriculum to this day.
When I was 16 years my father put me into the Paddington Women's Hospital for work experience and I backed out of theatre in seconds telling him firmly that I planned to enrol in Art School! Three of my sisters trained in various hospitals and have medical careers. The youngest sister became an actor.
At 17 I was enrolled in Art School. I studied Art History, painting, architectural drawing, ceramics and pottery, and I classically trained in painting and life drawing by the UK artist Andrew Sibley. I also studied woodwork, graphic and fabric design and majored in textiles. John Olsen was a most flamboyant and entertaining teacher, wearing a large Spanish sombrero, arms flying everywhere and exuberant colourful dialogue to match his huge smile. I thrived in Art school, it was a wonderfully creative time.
What was the first thing you created and how old were you?
As a child I was always making “things" as gifts and I sort solace in the garden, loved flowers and nature around me. As a teenager holidaying in the country I grew to love the Australian bush and become aware of the awesome beauty of the landscape.
When I was about 7 years old I had made a mosaic and a crayon drawing of an Angel with wings. I used Pastelli Giotto a cera fila, Firenze and today these are still very good crayons which my mother bought in Florence, Italy 1962. My Mother had the artwork framed. The Angel is very orange and tangerine in colour with one black tooth.
My career as an artist was fuelled at the age of 7 years when our mother Marcelle commissioned the British Artist James Govett to paint my portrait. Sitting for James was sheer magic as I watched him sketch. In fact I was mesmerized seeing him mix his colours and eventually the image of my face and shoulders emerged on canvas just like a little girl from a Caravaggio painting - a totally Italian child in a pink dress with a white collar and my serious face with large round large dark eyes and an olive complexion. The aroma of oil paints and new canvas and the discipline of making an artwork is totally absorbing. I knew as a child that I wanted to be an artist.
My first oil painting was of my cat "Ursula" when I was 17.
A&V Kaldor and being trained by John Kaldor – what was this like and what did you learn?
Upon leaving Art School the priority was to obtain work and start earning a living so I began my work in the textile industryin 1967 working for John Kaldor and his parents, A & V Kaldor and Sekers Silk, Castlereagh St.
This was a wonderful experience for me, both in training for styling, colouring and designing fabrics and working with fashion designers. A few months later John formed his own company and I moved with him to Surrey Hills. John is an exceptional man with an extraordinary vision and his taste is very sophisticated and elegant.
I had the privilege to work with UK designer Zandra Rhodes. John bought her to Australia and promoted her work and I was a colourist / stylist working with 12 screens per design and making five colourways for each design which was challenging and exciting.
Claude Alcorso was director of the printing mills in Tasmania and all designs were printed and tested, swatches flown back to Sydney for final approval and we worked with top designers from Melbourne and Sydney. I learnt to listen to designers, what they were influenced by and to facilitate their needs and at the same time follow my instincts and assist with decision making and identify developing trends. John led a team of five of us in the Studio and when the pressure was on to "get out the ranges " it was busy, long hours but exciting and we loved providing a fabulous service to our clients. We would follow trends in Britain and Europe and improvise in Australia to suite our market and climate.
1968-1970: 2 years studying, working and travelling in England, Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa – how did this happen and what did you learn?
One of my favourite fabric designs is photographed by Athol Shmith, modeled by myself in front of Mike Kitching's award winning sculpture "Nevada" which won the 1967 Alcorso / Sekers Travelling Scholarship. This design was fabricated by Adele & Peter Weiss and is one of John Kaldors best prints and designs, the colour and styling exemplifies the 60's fashion which was sheer, bold, brazen and considered outrageous. The outfit was photographed decades later by a local paper, Saturday, 21 July 2007 in a vintage store here at North Narrabeen, after 50 years "the one off piece" tells a story of the 60's mod girl.
In 1967 I married the sculptor Mike Kitching.
We sailed on the "Achille Lauro" in early February 1968 for Genoa, Italy.
The Achille Lauro docked at the end of March 1968 and we disembarked in Genoa. I will never forget the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea and Italy, the Ligurian Cliffs fueling the adventure of discovery and our first train trip to Firenze to meet my Aunt Christina and Uncle Gastoni Chiostri. Arriving by train in Firenze was amazing as I have never heard so many bells chime and scooters, cars tooting and doves cooing and witness to a multitude of swallows diving and soaring through the skies. Our accommodation was in a large, grand old building with tiled floors in Via Faenza with large double glass doors opening onto a roof top terrace with views over Firenze and to the hills of Fiesole and the mountains, utterly beautiful Italian scenery, to day Italy is still the epicenter of style and culture managing a fine balance of old and new.
1968 - 1970 was two years of studying, working, and travelling. Our study was the immersion of European Art History particularly that of Renaissance Italy and we lived in Italy, Greece and France for 12 months and England for 11 months. Our time in Florence was spent visiting all major Art Galleries and Museums. We also spent time in Milano visiting the modern Australian sculptor Norma Redpath and Italy's famed Marino Marini, so our education involved both old and new art practices and learning about Art / design which are a living process; inspiration evolves and develops over time and through constant searching and practice we ourselves transform in response to the ever changing world around us - to make sense of our very being. These two years in Europe, North Africa, Italy, Greece and England were crucial to our sense of self and our perception of the world.
GREAT excitement in the Hoddle household at Vaucluse when the news came that the eldest of five daughters, Antonia, and her husband, clever young artist Mike Kitching, will arrive back on Christmas Eve, after two years abroad, to spend Christmas Day with the family. Mike took up a scholarship two years ago and stayed on working in England and Europe for a further 12 months. There's sure to be a big welcome for Antonia from Saminka, her Siamese cat, who has been looked after by her mother, Mrs. Neville Hoddle, and her sisters, Marcelle, Sylvana, Georgina, and Marina. SOCIAL ROUNDABOUT. (1969, December 31). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 12. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44027576
Painting – what are your inspirations and subjects and what are you trying to communicate?
I have admired and been influenced by painters like Tom Roberts, Arthur Boyd and Paul Klee whose insight and work captures the essence of the landscape and the human condition, they painted ordinary day to day life with extraordinary insight and layers of meaning. Painting in oil or gouache and drawing in graphite, Indian Ink and charcoal are my disciplines and inspirations are drawn from the natural landscape around me, be it my friends, animals, children or cooking.
As a child holidays were spent in the countryside as my grandfather had a farm at Burradoo in the Southern Highlands or we would drive further south to Batlow to my cousins and sometimes drove north west NSW to cousins at Coolah. Summer holidays were spent at Newport or Palm Beach.
I have a body of work including oil paintings and drawings that I would like to exhibit. The Southern Highlands inspired me along with the writing of Luke Whitington who invited me to select a group of poems he was inspired to write about the Australian Landscape to elucidate, in particular the Southern Highlands. This vast area of countryside is so utterly beautiful and being closer to the coast the climate is kinder than the very harsh inland to the west. My ancestor Robert Hoddle, pioneer surveyor, mapped the district and when I am in the area I feel his presence and imagine him on horse back with his aboriginal guides assisting him for months and years on end documenting and exploring.
My Art is a language without words and my images tell a story. My inspiration is entwined with my love of Life and Art. Above all my paintings are an expression of my own personality and the unique place in which I live. I equate Mother Earth to my own body also giving Birth to Life. The Landscape - Earth, Fire Air and Water are integral to our existence and without care and management we humans will destroy our very being.
What is the best aspect of choosing to work in medium of painting and what are the challenges?
The best aspect of working in the medium of painting is to tell a story, to communicate the narrative of life around me and the life on earth, so the challenge is always to make it interesting and engage the viewer. As an Artist I observe and document and hope by leaving a visual image of nature it will help humans connect and respect the natural forces of life. My first collage in Art School was multi media of the Moon and my new Moon series is inspired by the poems of Luke Whitington. The Moon has always fascinated me, shining bright in all her loneliness, with colour and size dependant on atmospheric pressure, and shades that range in silver mist, steel grey, white, creamy white, apricot to blood orange, with her size dependant on the earth's axis, tilt and the sun's reflection.
What is the best part of living in Lovett Bay?
The best part of living in Lovett Bay is the setting of our home, our "Villetta" in the natural beauty of Pittwater with stunning views.
Viletta’s studio and garden we built ourselves with the help of master builder James Digby Kitching, Mike's father. Pittwater is like a moat protecting us from the outside world, a world we choose to access by boat and if we want to walk in the wilds we have Ku-ring-gai National Park on our door step, easy access for boating, favourite restaurants and visiting our friends by boat.
Gardening is intrinsic to my soul and I grow most citrus trees, mananzello and frantoio olive trees, geraniums, grapes and all species of herbs. I have been working on a cook book for a number of years with drawings and paintings to accompany my own recipes - "A Life of Spice ".
You have continued your family tradition of community involvement here too – what form does this take?
I convene the COOPERS POINT BUSHCARE GROUP, a voluntary group of bush care workers who has done over 100, 000 hours of work , clearing the bush of weeds and planting of tube stock. I formed this group many years ago when I obtained a grant from Canberra which also financed the formation of two other Bushcare Groups on the Western Foreshores of Pittwater. Mike and I were honoured to be asked by David Williams CEO of Greening Australia to attend the breakfast launch of FLORABANK, Tuesday 28 August 2007 by the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull at Australia's National Seed Bank at Nielson Park Kiosk, Vaucluse.
Our environment is intertwined with our creative life and our sense of place, where we have lived for 45 years, so we are active in the protection of Planet Earth.
We have always been passionate about the natural environment and were instrumental in the conservation of the forest behind our home. The PITTWATER SPOTTED GUM, CORYMBIA MACULATA which is an endangered ecological species is becoming very rare along the coast and over the years we have planted hundreds of tube stock to restore the natural ecological balance. The implications for local provenance seed selection and landscape restoration ensures the native flora and fauna will continue to flourish.
We work together with Pittwater Council & NPWS who now employ contract companies to assist with the weeding and maintenance of this very special environment together with financial assistance from a Natural Heritage Trust Grant.
What are your favourite places in Pittwater and why?
The Beaches and Waterfalls; swimming and bushwalking for many years has been a way in which to relax and daydream about the next painting or just to contemplate and reflect. I am told there are 18 waterfalls in Pittwater which are in the process of being heritage listed. The natural beauty of this area is irresistible.
Do you have a ‘motto for life’ or a favourite phrase you try to live by?
My favourite words are from Ode I-XI by Horace (65-8 B.C.) an ancient Roman Poet who has influenced many writers.
They are “Carpe Diem” - ‘to seize the moment’ - life is fleeting and you never know when it will be over, concentrate on being positive and creative.
I also love this from T. S. Eliot’s ‘Four Quartets’;
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And to know the place for the first time."
My father’s Family is 5th generation graziers and pioneers. I am a descendant of the British Military Trained Surveyor Robert Hoddle, a renowned artist of flora, fauna and topography. Robert Hoddle was also town planner of Melbourne, he surveyed Gibralta, South Africa, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
The two cultures that I embrace are naturally Italian and Australian and arriving in Genoa, Italy 1968. I saw myself everywhere and I feel more Italian than Australian because of my olive skin, dark looks and dark hair. I am planning to return to Italy in the near future to live for a year, to paint and draw, immerse myself in language and culture and experience four seasons, rekindle friendships with family and friends. We lived four seasons in England and I would like to experience the same in Italy. I have divided my life into the four seasons and I intend having a long and productive Autumn.
Where were you educated and how did you begin your career as an Artist?
I was schooled at Kambala, Rose Bay, HSC 1964 Achieved Diploma - The Mary White & John Olsen School of Art & Design, Edgecliff, Sydney 1965 -1966. At school I majored in Art and my school Kambala had already made a name for itself in 1898 – 1935 by employing Antonio Dattillo Rubbo who was the first European Art Master in a Sydney Girls School. Kambala has continued to provide a strong arts and academic curriculum to this day.
When I was 16 years my father put me into the Paddington Women's Hospital for work experience and I backed out of theatre in seconds telling him firmly that I planned to enrol in Art School! Three of my sisters trained in various hospitals and have medical careers. The youngest sister became an actor.
At 17 I was enrolled in Art School. I studied Art History, painting, architectural drawing, ceramics and pottery, and I classically trained in painting and life drawing by the UK artist Andrew Sibley. I also studied woodwork, graphic and fabric design and majored in textiles. John Olsen was a most flamboyant and entertaining teacher, wearing a large Spanish sombrero, arms flying everywhere and exuberant colourful dialogue to match his huge smile. I thrived in Art school, it was a wonderfully creative time.
What was the first thing you created and how old were you?
As a child I was always making “things" as gifts and I sort solace in the garden, loved flowers and nature around me. As a teenager holidaying in the country I grew to love the Australian bush and become aware of the awesome beauty of the landscape.
When I was about 7 years old I had made a mosaic and a crayon drawing of an Angel with wings. I used Pastelli Giotto a cera fila, Firenze and today these are still very good crayons which my mother bought in Florence, Italy 1962. My Mother had the artwork framed. The Angel is very orange and tangerine in colour with one black tooth.
My career as an artist was fuelled at the age of 7 years when our mother Marcelle commissioned the British Artist James Govett to paint my portrait. Sitting for James was sheer magic as I watched him sketch. In fact I was mesmerized seeing him mix his colours and eventually the image of my face and shoulders emerged on canvas just like a little girl from a Caravaggio painting - a totally Italian child in a pink dress with a white collar and my serious face with large round large dark eyes and an olive complexion. The aroma of oil paints and new canvas and the discipline of making an artwork is totally absorbing. I knew as a child that I wanted to be an artist.
My first oil painting was of my cat "Ursula" when I was 17.
"Ursula"
We had a large room above our garage that later became my studio. It provided me with a space for painting and for printing meters and meters of fabric that I designed and screen printed by hand. I would spend hours in my world of colour and design. I sold the fabric that I printed in a shop at Edgecliff.A&V Kaldor and being trained by John Kaldor – what was this like and what did you learn?
Upon leaving Art School the priority was to obtain work and start earning a living so I began my work in the textile industryin 1967 working for John Kaldor and his parents, A & V Kaldor and Sekers Silk, Castlereagh St.
This was a wonderful experience for me, both in training for styling, colouring and designing fabrics and working with fashion designers. A few months later John formed his own company and I moved with him to Surrey Hills. John is an exceptional man with an extraordinary vision and his taste is very sophisticated and elegant.
I had the privilege to work with UK designer Zandra Rhodes. John bought her to Australia and promoted her work and I was a colourist / stylist working with 12 screens per design and making five colourways for each design which was challenging and exciting.
Claude Alcorso was director of the printing mills in Tasmania and all designs were printed and tested, swatches flown back to Sydney for final approval and we worked with top designers from Melbourne and Sydney. I learnt to listen to designers, what they were influenced by and to facilitate their needs and at the same time follow my instincts and assist with decision making and identify developing trends. John led a team of five of us in the Studio and when the pressure was on to "get out the ranges " it was busy, long hours but exciting and we loved providing a fabulous service to our clients. We would follow trends in Britain and Europe and improvise in Australia to suite our market and climate.
1968-1970: 2 years studying, working and travelling in England, Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa – how did this happen and what did you learn?
One of my favourite fabric designs is photographed by Athol Shmith, modeled by myself in front of Mike Kitching's award winning sculpture "Nevada" which won the 1967 Alcorso / Sekers Travelling Scholarship. This design was fabricated by Adele & Peter Weiss and is one of John Kaldors best prints and designs, the colour and styling exemplifies the 60's fashion which was sheer, bold, brazen and considered outrageous. The outfit was photographed decades later by a local paper, Saturday, 21 July 2007 in a vintage store here at North Narrabeen, after 50 years "the one off piece" tells a story of the 60's mod girl.
We sailed on the "Achille Lauro" in early February 1968 for Genoa, Italy.
The Achille Lauro docked at the end of March 1968 and we disembarked in Genoa. I will never forget the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea and Italy, the Ligurian Cliffs fueling the adventure of discovery and our first train trip to Firenze to meet my Aunt Christina and Uncle Gastoni Chiostri. Arriving by train in Firenze was amazing as I have never heard so many bells chime and scooters, cars tooting and doves cooing and witness to a multitude of swallows diving and soaring through the skies. Our accommodation was in a large, grand old building with tiled floors in Via Faenza with large double glass doors opening onto a roof top terrace with views over Firenze and to the hills of Fiesole and the mountains, utterly beautiful Italian scenery, to day Italy is still the epicenter of style and culture managing a fine balance of old and new.
1968 - 1970 was two years of studying, working, and travelling. Our study was the immersion of European Art History particularly that of Renaissance Italy and we lived in Italy, Greece and France for 12 months and England for 11 months. Our time in Florence was spent visiting all major Art Galleries and Museums. We also spent time in Milano visiting the modern Australian sculptor Norma Redpath and Italy's famed Marino Marini, so our education involved both old and new art practices and learning about Art / design which are a living process; inspiration evolves and develops over time and through constant searching and practice we ourselves transform in response to the ever changing world around us - to make sense of our very being. These two years in Europe, North Africa, Italy, Greece and England were crucial to our sense of self and our perception of the world.
GREAT excitement in the Hoddle household at Vaucluse when the news came that the eldest of five daughters, Antonia, and her husband, clever young artist Mike Kitching, will arrive back on Christmas Eve, after two years abroad, to spend Christmas Day with the family. Mike took up a scholarship two years ago and stayed on working in England and Europe for a further 12 months. There's sure to be a big welcome for Antonia from Saminka, her Siamese cat, who has been looked after by her mother, Mrs. Neville Hoddle, and her sisters, Marcelle, Sylvana, Georgina, and Marina. SOCIAL ROUNDABOUT. (1969, December 31). The Australian Women's Weekly (1933 - 1982), p. 12. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article44027576
Painting – what are your inspirations and subjects and what are you trying to communicate?I have admired and been influenced by painters like Tom Roberts, Arthur Boyd and Paul Klee whose insight and work captures the essence of the landscape and the human condition, they painted ordinary day to day life with extraordinary insight and layers of meaning. Painting in oil or gouache and drawing in graphite, Indian Ink and charcoal are my disciplines and inspirations are drawn from the natural landscape around me, be it my friends, animals, children or cooking.
As a child holidays were spent in the countryside as my grandfather had a farm at Burradoo in the Southern Highlands or we would drive further south to Batlow to my cousins and sometimes drove north west NSW to cousins at Coolah. Summer holidays were spent at Newport or Palm Beach.
I have a body of work including oil paintings and drawings that I would like to exhibit. The Southern Highlands inspired me along with the writing of Luke Whitington who invited me to select a group of poems he was inspired to write about the Australian Landscape to elucidate, in particular the Southern Highlands. This vast area of countryside is so utterly beautiful and being closer to the coast the climate is kinder than the very harsh inland to the west. My ancestor Robert Hoddle, pioneer surveyor, mapped the district and when I am in the area I feel his presence and imagine him on horse back with his aboriginal guides assisting him for months and years on end documenting and exploring.
My Art is a language without words and my images tell a story. My inspiration is entwined with my love of Life and Art. Above all my paintings are an expression of my own personality and the unique place in which I live. I equate Mother Earth to my own body also giving Birth to Life. The Landscape - Earth, Fire Air and Water are integral to our existence and without care and management we humans will destroy our very being.
What is the best aspect of choosing to work in medium of painting and what are the challenges?
The best aspect of working in the medium of painting is to tell a story, to communicate the narrative of life around me and the life on earth, so the challenge is always to make it interesting and engage the viewer. As an Artist I observe and document and hope by leaving a visual image of nature it will help humans connect and respect the natural forces of life. My first collage in Art School was multi media of the Moon and my new Moon series is inspired by the poems of Luke Whitington. The Moon has always fascinated me, shining bright in all her loneliness, with colour and size dependant on atmospheric pressure, and shades that range in silver mist, steel grey, white, creamy white, apricot to blood orange, with her size dependant on the earth's axis, tilt and the sun's reflection.
What is the best part of living in Lovett Bay?
The best part of living in Lovett Bay is the setting of our home, our "Villetta" in the natural beauty of Pittwater with stunning views.
Viletta’s studio and garden we built ourselves with the help of master builder James Digby Kitching, Mike's father. Pittwater is like a moat protecting us from the outside world, a world we choose to access by boat and if we want to walk in the wilds we have Ku-ring-gai National Park on our door step, easy access for boating, favourite restaurants and visiting our friends by boat.
Above: "Villetta" - Below: Villetta's grounds and garden
Gardening is intrinsic to my soul and I grow most citrus trees, mananzello and frantoio olive trees, geraniums, grapes and all species of herbs. I have been working on a cook book for a number of years with drawings and paintings to accompany my own recipes - "A Life of Spice ".
Beautiful Little Lovett Bay Home
The Kitchings also a lot of history connections with this part of Pittwater estuary
Wharf in 1952 – with tidal swimming pool – when John Kampf had the premises
Antonia: our house has a slipway and engraved in this is ‘1927’ – this was Halls Wharf then and our house being built in the background
Antonia’s uncle John Hugh Poate, son of Sir Hugh Raymond Guy Poate (1884-1961)flew for Middle East airlines, came back and built the Marina at Bayview.
Antonia: he built the just down from Church Point. He was shot down during WWII and they didn’t know if he was dead or alive for three and a half years.
John was an amazing character who became a member of the Australian Aviation Museum. He flew Hurricanes and Spitfires during WWII (he was a member of the Spitfire Association) and was shot down over Italy. Later, as well as flying for TOA he flew the Comet for Middle East Airlines.
You have continued your family tradition of community involvement here too – what form does this take?
I convene the COOPERS POINT BUSHCARE GROUP, a voluntary group of bush care workers who has done over 100, 000 hours of work , clearing the bush of weeds and planting of tube stock. I formed this group many years ago when I obtained a grant from Canberra which also financed the formation of two other Bushcare Groups on the Western Foreshores of Pittwater. Mike and I were honoured to be asked by David Williams CEO of Greening Australia to attend the breakfast launch of FLORABANK, Tuesday 28 August 2007 by the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull at Australia's National Seed Bank at Nielson Park Kiosk, Vaucluse.
Our environment is intertwined with our creative life and our sense of place, where we have lived for 45 years, so we are active in the protection of Planet Earth.
We have always been passionate about the natural environment and were instrumental in the conservation of the forest behind our home. The PITTWATER SPOTTED GUM, CORYMBIA MACULATA which is an endangered ecological species is becoming very rare along the coast and over the years we have planted hundreds of tube stock to restore the natural ecological balance. The implications for local provenance seed selection and landscape restoration ensures the native flora and fauna will continue to flourish.
We work together with Pittwater Council & NPWS who now employ contract companies to assist with the weeding and maintenance of this very special environment together with financial assistance from a Natural Heritage Trust Grant.
What are your favourite places in Pittwater and why?
The Beaches and Waterfalls; swimming and bushwalking for many years has been a way in which to relax and daydream about the next painting or just to contemplate and reflect. I am told there are 18 waterfalls in Pittwater which are in the process of being heritage listed. The natural beauty of this area is irresistible.
Linda Falls VIII (Lovett Bay) by Antonia Hoddle
After two years in Europe we returned home to discover the Western Foreshores of Pittwater. It was a hot sizzling summers day, January 1970, the grasses dried golden and the scent of eucalyptus filled the air. Pittwater was perfectly still - thick, liquid ultramarine. Lovett Bay at its best – light and land mass reminiscent of Port Liigat, the home of Salvadore Dali near Cadaques in Spain where Mike and I had spent part of our last summer.Do you have a ‘motto for life’ or a favourite phrase you try to live by?
My favourite words are from Ode I-XI by Horace (65-8 B.C.) an ancient Roman Poet who has influenced many writers.
They are “Carpe Diem” - ‘to seize the moment’ - life is fleeting and you never know when it will be over, concentrate on being positive and creative.
I also love this from T. S. Eliot’s ‘Four Quartets’;
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And to know the place for the first time."
Artist's Statement
Antonia's most recent painting - 5 December 2015: Title: IM "The Moon, the tower and the manuscript " LW , Medium Oil , mixed media on canvas, Size : H X 100 cm X 100. Part of the "MOON & SUN SERIES"
" I painted this work to the singing of "Allegra Miseria" by the Sistine Chapel Choir and acknowledge "Buona notte Signore Klee" - Antonia Hoddle, January 2016.
Antonia finishing IM " The Moon, the Tower and the Manuscript" LW . 5 Dec 2015
MOON & SUN SERIES
Title: "My Sphere Alexandria to Lovett Bay ", Medium Oil / canvas board , Size H X 10 cm X 20
Title: " Dugongs in Moonlight at Hinchinbrook " , Medium : Oil / board , Size : H X 70 cm X 95
LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS of the SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS
the titles are all from a series of poems by Luke Whitington
Title: "The Last Lunch at Braidwood with Arthur", Medium: Oil/canvas, Size : H X 104 cm X 155
Title: IM. "Her coiled blue curves..." LW. Medium : Oil/canvas, Size : H x 120 cm X 91
Title: IM. "He had loved the river from early days----" LW. Medium: Gouche, Size H x 120cm X 91
PITTWATER LANDSCAPE SERIES - OIL PAINTINGS
Title: "Linda Falls, Lovett Bay VII", Medium: Oil/canvas, Size: H150cm X 101
Title: "Linda Falls, Lovett Bay VIII", Medium: Oil/canvas, Size : H 140cm X 74
Title: " View from the Camp, Pittwater " , Medium Oil / board , Size H X 50 cm X 28
Title: "Jean's Terrace, Bayview to Scotland Island " , Medium: Oil /canvas , Size : H X 54 cm X 80
Title: "Curlew crossing Pittwater" Medium: Oil /board, Size : H 30 cm X 110
Title: "Long Reef south from Turimetta", Medium: Oil /canvas , Size : H X 55 X 115
Title: "Mango Tree Walk", Medium: Oil/canvas, Size H 58cm X 42
Title: " Fiamma at Portugese Beach 1978 ", Medium Oil / board , Size H 40cm X 30
THE POETRY OF DRAWING
Title: "Linda Falls, Lovett Bay " Medium: gouache, indian ink , chalk and graphite, Size : H 40 cm X 30
Title: " Linda Falls, Prelude in pen and ink " Medium: gouache and Indian ink Size each 6 x H 40 cm X 30 Framed H 110 cm X 55
Title : "Angophora in Towlers Bay" Medium: Indian Ink on Arches paper , Size H 38 cm x 27