Modern Artworks

Oil on board 81x64cm. Exhibited at Affordable Art Fair 2023.

The Sydney Opera House is a globally renowned entertainment centre that is familiar to many and Anthony has his own impression of it. He painted a view of it using an excellent array of blue hues. His vivid memory of the architecture and the nightfall, combined with his imagination, has given us a new perspective of the Opera House.

While objects like the Opera House and other adjacent structures are drawn to scale, the artist does not aim to merely present a panoramic view of the Sydney Harbour. The painting is intuitive. Its composition is Anthony’s creative means of showing you his retrospective interpretation of the scene. Borders are blurred, colours are not well balanced, and objects are not distinguishable, except the body of water, the sky, and the Opera House. The lack of harmony suggests that the night is lively and Sydneysiders are embracing their city’s vibrant nightlife.

The artist has mastered the blue colour gradient to frame and provide a real sense of structure and scale of the Opera House and makes it truly stand out in comparison with its surroundings. The sky has three sections, hinted by three shades of blue. Due to the illumination from the city’s lights and the reflected lights emanating from the Opera House., the sky was lit above the structure. The other two blue hues also help shape the Opera House. The dark blue sky at the corners is far from the shoreline. In contrast, the navy blue around the Opera House indicates the sky behind the building, partially lit up by the city’s lights, yet not so much as the sky directly above the Opera House.

The brushwork is rough and uneven. Anthony purposefully ripples the harbour’s water to convey that the night at Sydney Harbour was not quiet, but rather busy. The restless and colourful harbour hints that the city comes to life at night. Nonetheless, the deep blue shades on the left harbour bank and the right side of the water, far from the hustle and bustle, might have given away the location where the artist witnessed the lively night activities along the Sydney Harbour.

Overall, it is an expressive and sentimental painting. The dynamic qualities of the brushwork and line drawings are not necessarily a portrayal of the Sydney Harbour but a reflection of the artist’s emotional state. Sydney Opera House or the Harbour is the cultural heart of the city, which Anthony’s heart was in sync with at that very moment when he saw it. We are all but bystanders seeing the view through his eyes.