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Juan Dingo

@juan__dingo

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Artist | Architect Melbourne | Firenze
Exploring the crossroads of Nature, Art & Architecture to carve a better way.
In search of a Masterpiece.

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Life Drawing in Firenze @ Santa Croce Arte. taken in SANTA CROCE ARTE by @juan__dingo

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9 days ago

"POISON OF CHOICE" (unfinished)
Cascina San Bernardo, Magliano, Italia, MMXXVI
Sennelier Oil Pastels

Is it usual to navigate through art history in such a chronological order, that seems to be how it's unfolding for me. Forever I've been obsessed with Da Vinci, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Rembrandt and more recently delving deep into the Impressionists and Van Gogh.

Vincent is a great inspiration because like me, he travelled a lot and his work in a way is quite autobiographical and varied. In other ways we're very different, he wasn't a naturally gifted draftsman but the courage and freedom to just jump all in is something he's encouraging me to work towards. It stands to reason that the quicker one can work, the more one can create/capture and the more one can experiment & grow so that's a current focus of mine.

What someone drinks can say quite a lot about that person and the prevailing trends of their time. The subject of this work was inspired by Vincent's famous 1887 artwork, 'Cafe Table with Absinthe.' Both depict daytime drinking, although Absinthe is decidedly more self-destructive in its potency. Vincent was known as a heavy drinker, I am too, but I don't drink regularly, only on celebratory occasions, like holidays. Aperol Spritz is in a way polar opposite to Absinthe, it's social, summery, fun, refreshing and light, which probably speaks volumes to our different personalities and temperaments, although we're both mad! 🤣

This was drawn directly from life (difficult to do when hot and thirsty!). Racing against melting ice certainly forced some speed. The background and pool remain unfinished so will require referring to reference images to complete.

Cascina San Bernardo, Magliano, is a favourite spot of ours, a very special place run by a lovely Italian family in the magical Piemonte wine region (yep I drank no wine!). Was magic to share it with our Piccola for her first swims.

And yes, I turned the banana towel into lemons (whose choosing bananas?!) 🐒 taken in Agriturismo Cascina San Bernardo by @juan__dingo

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25 days ago

Introducing 'Petching' - Paint-Etching.

I've been playing with petching for a few months painting and then etching back the layer below. It works for both highly intricate, multi-layered artworks (requires some planning (and patience)) or for some pretty rapid sketch like finishes.

I actually wasn't planning to use Petching when arriving at the Victorian Artists Society Friday night portrait and lifedrawing sessions, but when model Nemo, rocked up in a chain mail headpiece, it seemed the only practical solution. So that's the direction my night went in.

The night included a 2hr portrait & 2hrs lifedrawing. I only found out late in the portrait that Nemo's returning next week in the same poses so I paced myself more for the figure drawing session.

She's quite an interesting model, I was actually getting African face mask vibes, like what inspired Picasso from my portrait. The lifedrawing was a bit more Michelangelo, strong contrast to emphasise muscles to the Max, but potentially softening once I get to the torso & chest etc. I'm a big fan of Durer so this etching technique has a lot of potential to incorporate some of his rendering techniques.

Both were on pink painted masonite board, oil paints - winsor purple, titanium white and ultramarine blue. taken in Victorian Artists Society by @juan__dingo

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2 months ago

Which do you prefer?

2 very different options from Friday night at the @victorianartistssociety in the 2hr portrait and 2hr lifedrawing sessions with model @winnie.wilde

The second is a sanguine and white pencil sketch on orange/earthy toned card, reminiscent of the red chalk drawings of the Renaissance. The ink outline is something Da Vinci often did to correct the final line and make it pop a little more. In hindsight, I think it works better for males as it is a bit strong.

The 1st is an oil pastel piece on colourful card.

In both cases, the portrait and lifedrawing, I spent 80 mins on the sanguine sketches and 20 mins on the oil pastel sketches.

So, back to the big question, which style do you prefer?

#lifedrawing #drawing #figuredrawing #art #sketch lifemodel artist sketchbook illustration artwork artistsoninstagram figurativeart sketching nudedrawing charcoal lifedrawings gesturedrawing drawingfromlife painting portrait fineart pencildrawing model draw contemporaryart nude lifedrawingclass charcoaldrawing nudeart figurestudy taken in Victorian Artists Society by @juan__dingo

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3 months ago

The contemporary art world is perhaps split between academic realism and abstraction.

The issue with academic realism is that it often lacks imagination. The issue with abstraction is that it often lacks indications of talent or meaning. The current trend appears to be an amalgamation of both, highlighting the artists talent with bursts of realism, broken up with vibrant colour and abstract shapes. It's cool, it's vibrant, and it can be used to be imaginative. There's no limits to what it can be, really, but if I have a criticism, it is that it mostly lacks meaning, leaning on the side of decorative. It's not an inherit trait, but it often is the case.

Anyway, I'm in the process of being quite experimental, testing ideas, and breaking any self-imposed boxes.

I'm perhaps guilty of leaning into the academic sphere too heavily and am currently experimenting with colour, looking for speedier and looser options. I am enjoying oil pastels, which by its nature removes some of that perfection streak.

Image 1. Is a quick self-portrait. Oddly it is very William Dobell. This was the first time I'd used oil pastels since perhaps 15, but I like it a lot, something between drawing and painting.

Image 2-5. @lifedrawing___ Tuesday Night, model: Noah

Image 6-7. Portrait Sketches at @Brunettioro1956

All sketched with 3 colours. I've got a set of 72 oil pastels arriving on Monday so will keep exploring. by @juan__dingo

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3 months ago

SKETCHES OF FLORENCE

Weeks 3-8

Various mediums taken in Melbourne, Australia by @juan__dingo

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3 months ago

"ST PAUL'S CATHEDRAL IN GOLD"

This work was created as a preliminary sketch and study for an upcoming Series, sketched from life.

The shift in light (building from light to dark) in contrast to the sky in reverse was inspired by Hugh Ferriss, whose work I came across during my Masters of Architecture. The exaggerated perspective plays into that 'Metropolis' scale feel. I was also conscious to make it more impressionistic as the tower rose, Monet-esque, the sharpness in detail fading, alluding to the height and atmospheric perspective.

This was the less common view from the carpark, where there's no seats, unfortunately, so I was sitting on a planter box corner over a few sittings. I'm planning to do a series of Melbourne, including Flinders St Station & the Manchester Unity Building and many others as well as a Series in Europe in a few months. I'm preparing a few Copper Patina panels to experiment on shortly as part of the Series.

Let me know what you think I should sketch? taken in St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne by @juan__dingo

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4 months ago

"THE MOTHER COLLECTION" 2025-2026

It's quite a coincidence that @ngvmelbourne have a Mother Exhibition on at the moment as that's an exact parallel to what I'd been working on over the last few months.

I was anticipating doing plenty more in the pregnancy phase, but Florence popped nearly 6 weeks early, so extra baby artworks instead :)

1. & 2. Early pregnancy, Lima, Peru
3. & 4. Seven month pregnant, Green Island, Qld
5. Florence portrait (3 weeks old), Melbourne, Vic
6. Mother-Daughter Snuggles in Degraves window by @juan__dingo

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4 months ago

'Sketches from NICU'

A special thanks to the @theroyalwomens & the NICU ward for delivering and caring for our little bundle without a hitch.

NICU can be a pretty stressful time for a lot of parents but we were pretty fortunate that Florence was perfectly healthy and it was really just a soft launch into parenting with plenty of expert help.

It was also a great time to sketch with hours of cuddles and singing rock lullabies.

So we're feeling very lucky to live in Melbourne and have a first class hospital & the new train stations at our doorstep all for free over the first 2 weeks of Florence's life.

Looking back at these photos & sketches it's hard to believe how much Florence has already grown in her first month 👼

So far she's been very chill so we're just enjoying the calm before the storm 🤣 by @juan__dingo

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4 months ago

So this happened! Just in time for Mothers Day! Our best creation, introducing Florence Avigail O'Meara. 😍

She couldn't wait to explore the World popping nearly 6 weeks early, 5/5 noon at 2.32kg and eyes wide open.

Mum and bubba are doing great!

Love at first sight! We can't wait to introduce her to the other little one, Winston 🐻

PS. Archibald Update: when considering the ambition of my concept it was clear 2 months wasn't going to be long enough. So I'll be starting my portrait of Natalie Kyriacou this year to have a full runway of time. Congratulations to all of the finalists. Hopefully we'll see you there in 12 months! 🎨 by @juan__dingo

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5 months ago

Super Excited to announce my subject for the 2027 Archibald Prize - Natalie Kyriacou OAM!

Our first sitting was filled with lots of laughter & a surprise puppy visit to break up the day & extract some authentic expressions.

Natalie recently launched her brilliant debut book - Nature's Last Dance, a book full of humour, fascinating stories & plenty of wisdom, I highly recommend giving it a read.

Looking forward to taking initial sketches, which were given the nod of approval to the next level! 🎨🖌 taken in Petersham, Sydney, NSW by @juan__dingo

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9 months ago

I've been thinking a little bit about this painting lately because I'm excited to announce that I'm entering the Archibald Prize next year!

You've probably identified that it's no portrait so an odd work to come to mind, but truth be told it's the first and last serious painting I did all way back when a baby faced 19 year old, as a present for the love of my life (who actually became my wife, smart move by me going hard early! 🤣). She claims this is the last present I gave her & I said at the time it's surely worth a decade of presents, so I guess I'm quite overdue for something big (again). 😬🙈

I completed this painting with about 14 days hyper-focused dedication (sorry for the low quality images, they're deep from the archives). Today, when I look at it, I think it shows some natural ability, a lot of visitors still mistake it for a photograph, but also that I had no idea about oil painting. This was painted with cheap oil paints and turpentine, no underpainting, no glazes, I didn't even add oil medium, which would have done wonders for the colours in hindsight. I also didn't varnish it, which also would have done wonders.

I've pretty well spent the last 20 years researching art history, and although not actively painting, I feel my knowledge of styles and techniques has become solid. But I couldn't be more excited to get back into some serious painting again, to push myself to new limits. Being an Artists and my own client in Architecture has really been my dream/plan from the start, so it's an exciting new chapter to have made that a reality.

I do have a sitter confirmed, and we're heading up to Sydney over the New Years Period for a sitting, so stay tuned! My main concern is still getting it done in time (I have about 3 months).

The 2 paintings beside mine are my late Gramps artworks :)

The painting was about there always being hope, even in the darkest times, which is actually far more potent today than when I painted it.

Busy times ahead! Stay tuned! 🖌 taken in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by @juan__dingo

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10 months ago