Exhibition at the Side Gallery

Exhibition at The Side Gallery, Red Hill

29 August - 13 September, 2019

garden.

The exhibition was a wonderful experience. Leesa Hickey, gallery owner, and Laura Brinnin, curator, were a great team to work with. They displayed the work beautifully in the space.

Thank you to everyone who visited the exhibition and purchased work. I feel so grateful.

Thank you also to the five women - Joy, Kate, Suzanne, Susan and Sharon - whose Brisbane gardens inspired the work. Below is a photo of Joy (in the black skirt) and her friend Jeanette visiting the exhibition.

Now its onto new work.

garden meadow

I am painting little weeds that I pick in the garden.

“A weed is but an unloved flower” - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

A May garden

Beautiful in May

The rain is falling, the Salvias are flowering and the garden is full of birds and bees.

“And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.
”
— Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Suzanne's succulent garden

The prettiest succulent garden perched on the edge of a concrete driveway.

Those colours - a mix of lilac, sage green, grey ,the blush of pink……

I will be busy here for a few more weeks. Happily.

kate's garden

Kate’s garden is a profusion of colours, plants, dogs, chickens, weeds and love.

For the month October Kate welcomed me into this incredible garden and let me paint flowers and plants. A happy place. Thank you Kate.

katewall.com.au - Have a look at her website and the wonderful workshops she offers from her home and garden.

little things

I am delighted to have two little insect paintings selected for the 'little things' exhibition in Sydney. 

Finalists exhibition will be held at Saint Cloche Gallery, 37 MacDonald St, Paddington.

29 August - 9 September, 2018.

Gallery hours Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm.

Little Things Art Prize was founded by Marnie Ross in 2015.  Artists are invited to submit creative expressions of the ‘Little Things’ that make them happy or feel grateful. The science of Positive Psychology emphasises the benefits such focusing of our attention contributes to our health and happiness.  As well as inspiring community creative engagement, the resulting finalists exhibition is a celebration of the artwork displayed and a shared positive experience.

Endangered Species - Eucalytpus infera

For the past couple of months I have been painting specimens from the Eucalyptus Infera. Jason Halford  from the seed bank (which is situated in the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Garden ) has been supplying me with specimens. We are hoping to make a trip next week to see the trees growing in their natural habitat. I am looking forward to meeting the trees I have been painting. 

The Eucalyptus infera is listed as a vulnerable plant species.

 

1. traces

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
— John Muir - John of the Mountains

The new work has begun. 

banksia . banksia

“One looks,looks long, and the world comes in”
— Joseph Campbell

back to work! Into the last month of painting in the garden. Painting what I love most.

summer in the Japenese garden

Summer is here.  

“Go to the object. Leave your subjective preoccupation with yourself. Do not impose yourself on the object. Become one with the object. Plunge deep enough into the object to see something like a hidden glimmering there.”
— Matsuo Basho

early spring

“When the days become longer and there is more sunshine,the grass becomes fresh and,consequently, we feel very happy.”
— Dalai Lama

September. Spring has arrived.......

mangroves at low tide

As part of the botanic garden residency I am able to work in both the city botanic gardens and the Mt Coot-tha botanic gardens. A visit last week to the mangrove swamp situated at the edge of the city botanical  gardens cradling the Brisbane river was fascinating and inspirational. Painting and drawing mangroves at low tide has kept me busy. I look forward to a high tide visit soon.

 

 

grevillea heaven

The Grevilleas are flowering. Painting heaven.....

a return to the lake.......

“All pictures painted inside the studio will never be as good as the things done outside”
— Paul Cezanne

Cooler weather ...it"s time to head into the garden and paint.

magnolia

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. ”
— Emily Bronte

thorns and petals

The Arid Zone......Thorns....During the month of April I enjoyed the arid zone with it's beautiful Aloes and Euphorbias and the succulents in the Cacti and Succulent house. I also enjoyed meeting Prue who looks after the succulents,the fern house and the tropical Dome.

The Temperate Zone......Petals....... on the other side of the lake the Camellias and Magnolias are flowering. What a beautiful sight!

un doing

This week I went to the Botanical gardens and sat on the park bench. No need to take a photograph. No need to pick a specimen. No need to do anything.

Look at the lake. Smell the swampy water. Listen to the birds. Feel the gentle morning breeze on my skin.

Just perfect!

“Blow the candle out - I don’t need to see what my thoughts look like”
— Emile Zola

the picture of the lake taken on the 17 March