Sketch of Alma Henrietta Smith, aged 34.

Crime: Manslaughter.

She was identified as the abortionist for a young woman who later died. Interestingly a quick search of Trove reveals a child called Alma Smith was abondened by her mother in 1900 - which would make her similar in age to our Ms Smith.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14314746

Alma Henrietta Agnes Smith was convicted   at the Armidale Quarter Sessions, before Judge Mocatta, on May 10 last, on a charge of manslaughter in connection with the death of a young woman named Marion Florence   Frazier, at Tamworth, on December 12, fol- lowing an illegal operation. She was sentenced to five years’ light labour, and applied for leave to appeal, on the ground that there was fresh evidence available in her case.  

The good guys  - detail

oil on canvas. 2 figures that were in the background of one of the mugshot photos.

Studio afternoon with Cath

Spent the afternoon in the studio with Cath. More productive for Cath than me in terms of actually doing any work. All my attempts today ended up back in the wax pot to be recycled. Did however look at a little bust I did a few weeks ago and whittled away at that while discussing the making of a spine and base. I have a constant issue with their heads falling off.

Things must improve, no?

Head and shoulders

Broken noses abound. Apparently you couldn’t be an Australian criminal in the 1920s without one. Even the women had them.

Coiner

F Stewart, 20 December 1926.

Coiners were makers of  counterfeit coins, a process that seems to involve stamping and then gilding much cheaper coins made of brass to look like gold.

From the mugshot of F Stewart, who was apparently never photographed again. Perhaps this was his one encounter, or he got a whole lot smarter.

Painting is oil paint on canvas paper. A2 size.

Sharon Kitching

Sharon Kitching is interested in how the antipodean light in photography has shaped our idea of composition and contrast in painting.  Mainly painting in oils, she tends towards small scale figurative compositions. She used to exhibit under the name Sharon Delos.

She met Cathy Weiszmann at NAS when they were both studying, and crossing paths years later in their working lives decided to have a show that embraced themes they both loved  - photography, and a certain nostalgia for the lived-in, weathered jug-eared face of yesteryear.