Pier to Point

STEVE SALO

Pier to Point (2019)

Curved Wall Gallery, Frankston Arts Centre
15 August until 5 October 2019

M-F 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-2pm + during FAC theatre performances
27-37 Davey St, Frankston
Melbourne VIC Australia

Steve Salo’s exhibition of Mornington Peninsula seascapes Pier to Point explores the coastlines from bayside Sorrento to Point Nepean around to the ocean beaches on Bass Strait. Many works were painted en plein air during an artist’s residency at Police Point in Portsea and on day trips, with others sketched in situ and then completed back in the studio.

For a painter interested in portraying feelings evoked by being in a place, the peninsula encompasses every emotion and the constant rethinking of colour, tone and brushstrokes. Detail and softness for the gentle, abstraction for the mysterious, sweeping and wild strokes in the presence of time eternal.

Cheviot Beach

Steve Salo, ‘Cheviot Beach’, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm. SOLD

London Bridge, Portsea

Steve Salo, ‘London Bridge, Portsea’, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm. SOLD

November Sky

Steve Salo, ‘November Sky’, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm. SOLD

Mornington Mist

Steve Salo, ‘Mornington Mist’, oil and beeswax on canvas, 91 x 91 cm

Lone Boat

Steve Salo, ‘Lone Boat’, oil and beeswax on canvas, 51 x 44 cm. SOLD

Ocean at Dawn

Steve Salo, ‘Ocean at Dawn’, oil on aluminium, 70 x 70 cm. SOLD

Cape Schanck Lighthouse

Steve Salo, ‘Cape Schanck Lighthouse’, oil on canvas, 76 x 60 cm. Artist’s collection

Cape Schanck

Steve Salo, ‘Cape Schanck’, oil on canvas, 90 x 117 cm. SOLD

September Sky

Steve Salo, ‘September Sky’, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm. SOLD

Point Nepean Landscape

Steve Salo, ‘Point Nepean Landscape’, oil on canvas, 76 x76 cm

View from London Bridge

Steve Salo, ‘View from London Bridge’, oil on canvas, 76 x 76 cm. SOLD

Sorrento Coastline

Steve Salo, ‘Sorrento Coastline’, oil on canvas, 67 x 82 cm. Unavailable

Portsea Coastline Late Afternoon

Steve Salo, ‘Portsea Coastline Late Afternoon’, oil on canvas, 42 x 60 cm. SOLD

Sorrento Boats

Steve Salo, ‘Sorrento Boats’, oil on canvas, 50 x 50 cm. SOLD

Police Point Artist in Residence, Portsea (October 2017)

Since the 1860s, Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula has been a magnet for artists. The Sorrento-Portsea Artists’ Trail brings to life works created by some of Australia’s most acclaimed artists. A highlight of my two-week residency at Police Point was following the trail map and standing in the exact spots where artists before me (legends like Streeton, Perceval and Fox) had chosen to compose their paintings. Looking around, surveying the various perspectives, it taught me a lot about the choices we make in landscape painting.

The coastal landscapes, birdlife, and the privacy, tranquility and views from the gatekeepers cottage where the residency is based, makes the Police Point Artist in Residence Program the kind of experience that stays with you forever. Now, every few months we take a day trip across the bay, to drive to the cottage, walk along a secret beach and revisit my favourite spots along the peninsula. It feels like returning home.

I’m so grateful to staff at the Mornington Peninsula Shire for selecting me for the Artist in Residence program and for the encouragement they, the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and the Frankston Arts Centre have given me. Frankston Arts Centre exhibited The Back to Back Theatre Portraits from Oct to Dec 2017, coinciding with the Portsea residency.

Update 2019: I’ve continued to make day trips (a ferry trip across the bay from Geelong) to the region and in 2019 returned to the Mornington Peninsula for three weeks to create more works for Pier to Point. It’s an honour to return to the Frankston Arts Centre in 2019 to showcase the Mornington Peninsula through the eyes of a painter.

New portraits by Steve Salo