SONA BABAJANYAN

Sona, originally from Armenia, is an artist and illustrator currently living and working in Brisbane. 

She says that, for her, Art has always been the best way to understand the world and herself, a kind of inner conversation or meditation. Art enables her to transcend reality and bring to life a world woven from pieces of her thoughts and dreams; a place which reflects the reality of some inner space, ruled by mysterious forces and inhabited with sometimes quite strange creatures.

Sona works both in traditional and digital media and enjoys and experimenting with new techniques.

Sleep 1 – “This is part of my recent Sleep series exploring the enigmatic world of sleep and dreams. The original work is a digital composition based on a hand-drawn graphite sketch.

Journey – This is an illustration for my own ongoing picture book project about a boy who embarks on a journey to the mysterious Inner Land. The original work is a digital composition.

Inner Circus/Fantasia #38 – This is one of my numerous “fantasies”, in which I yield myself to a free flow of imagination in my ongoing exploration of human beings’ inner world.

Faces 3 – the human face is like a gateway to a microcosm. In this series I attempt to bring to the surface that which lies within, inviting the viewer to reflect on the connection between the inner and outer universes.”

SANDRA BAKER-WARNER

“November is hand-knitted sculptural piece reflecting my environment, mounted on a teapot.”

CHRIS BARTOWSKI

“I have been told that my work is akin to Grandma Moses’s.

The Meeting depicts a beautiful tree returning to life from the fires in NSW. I added the cockatoo’s which brought the painting to life.

Flying High represents the tall trees at Paronella Park in north Queensland. Beautiful light is coming through the trees and the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the Rosellas flying towards it.

WisteriaI love this painting. The colour of the wisteria and the hummingbirds go well together, it’s a very peaceful painting.”

GEORGIE BEAUCHAMP

Home is where you ran to the seaBecause the place you once belonged toNow no longer remembers your nameNikita Gill

“My work is a political statement concerning the plight of refugees. It explores the irony of the life jacket presented as a cocoon of safety to these evacuees. The jacket is now an empty vessel, just a shell, the host absent, dead, lost or forgotten.

The wax feet are a memorial candle, bare and vulnerable, they symbolise the treacherous journey the refugees have made to survive.

My realisations in this journey were heart-breaking, and introduced me to the harsh reality that is life for tens-of-millions of people.

Let’s combat this crisis, and make the dead, lost and forgotten alive, returned and remembered.”

DEBORAH BEAUMONT

“My work has its origin in print waste known as spoils: the accidental and incidental prints created during the cleaning of the press after a newspaper print-run. For over a decade I have sourced these spoils, as well as newsprint detritus and artefacts from my local newspaper, and I have photographed the site. This visual information has been used in combination with some of the materials and technologies of newspaper production to create prints, works on, and of, paper, and works made using the printing plate itself.

Significantly, after more than 150 years, October 2, 2015 saw the end of the newspaper printing industry in Toowoomba. The materials that I have gathered are finite; there will be no more spoils and no more printing plates. As the printed newspaper, in general, steadily becomes a rarity, and the technologies used for its production cease to exist, it may be up to the artist or the historian to retain its memory.

Rorschach – Nightjar – The Rorschach comprises of ink between folder, in this case, newsprint. It may be read in many ways.”

 GLENN BEUTEL  Glenn’s work endeavours to record the diverse wildlife around his home in Acland, whose habitat is threatened by coal mining and its expansion.  In 2013, Glenn was the recipient of the Australian Conservation Foundations’ Peter Rawlinson Award for an outstanding contribution to conservation. 

ROS BILLINGSLEY

“The Works – A cherished work painted on a day off from my college studies in Cambridge, U.K.

Bones, Vibes and Rhapsody – Inspired by an evening of dancing and jazz, we invited the musicians to play for us again. The excitement and atmosphere they created is lasting.

JUSTIN BISHOP

“Twentieth century post-war art is a key foundation to my imagery. Much of my work is process, rather than outcome, driven. Form and plane, colour space and the relationships between them inform the way I make my marks. The reductive process of simple forms, in combination with universal geometry underpins my method of encountering happy accidents in the painting process.

It is an immersive and enjoyable process to paint at present.  Any meaning will reveal itself in time.”

YVONNE BLAKENEY

Yvonne’s favourite media are watercolour, mixed media and silk painting. She has written and illustrated two children’s books. Living in Fiji for many years, Yvonne had the opportunity to complete watercolour portraits of its people and lush scenery.

STEVE BODROG

“Spending many years working in a highly-specialised field of metal fabrication that encompasses many artistic elements, has made my transition to expression through sculpture a very natural one.   

I am particularly attracted to abstract forms, and use mainly sheet metal as my medium, which gives infinite scope for development and flexibility when working ‘free form’, as well as adding a visual lightness that compliments the work.

Whilst I am drawn to create mainly abstract forms, the catalyst or inspiration for them comes from many sources, from nature, industrial design to a thought or emotion.”

JOANNA BONE

Glass artist, Joanna Bone, and her father, spent many hours of her English childhood buying and collecting exotic seashells, and many more hours imagining the exotic environments from which they hailed. The collection subconsciously fostered a fascination for pattern and intricacy in natural objects – a fascination that has found expression through Joanna’s glass practice. On moving to Australia in 2002, Joanna found herself living alongside Queensland’s marine environment, the original home of some of her beloved shells. The colours, textures and forms found in this new environment have reinvigorated her interests in pattern, regularity and repetition.

Joanna’s work is held in collections including the Australian National Glass Collection (Wagga Wagga) and the Film Museum of Tehran, as well as numerous private collections. She is the only Queensland- based artist to have won the prestigious Ranamok Glass Prize for Australian and New Zealand artists.

CHRISTINE BRASSINGTON

“My favourite media include:

Chinese brush painting, for its expressiveness and (deceptive) simplicity; acrylics, for their colour and vibrancy; graphite, for portraiture, and for its subtlety and the need for patience, gentleness and

connection with the subject; coloured pencils, mostly for portraiture of animals and places, for their whimsy and

nostalgia; and lino block printing for its design element, physicality, meditativeness, and danger

– the not knowing how it will turn out till the very last. This is a strange attraction, as it is the cause of endless anguish, too.

Lastly, due to my rural roots, recycling is ingrained, so I like to collect things that others discard, and plot creative re-incarnations for them.”

KYM BREEZE

Kym attributes her main influences to colour, texture and life experiences. She paints in many styles, from traditional Realism, Impressionism to abstraction. Kym was trained in oils, pastel and acrylic and by the late John Perham, artist and Bush Poet.

MAREE CAMERON

Maree’s introduction to the Visual Arts began in the 1970s when tutor, Mervyn Moriarty, brought the Flying Arts School from Brisbane to Tambo, where she lived. She feels that portraiture is her forte and the subject she enjoys the most, and says that she has been influenced by many artists including Harry Hart, Tom Offord, Warren Palmer, Jenny Kelly, Irene Amos, Don Hamilton and Peter Griffen.

KAREN CANNING

Karen’s choice of media includes acrylic, mixed media, textiles, wire and encaustic. She enjoys incorporating discarded objects into her work.

CATHERINE CLARK DOWDEN

“On Top of the World - Using background texture, and creating a feeling of space, my aim was to depict the immense freedom an eagle has...creating a feeling that anything is possible.

Chickens 1 - Using texture in the background and allowing ink and water to do its thing, I created an image that depicts the constant movement of chooks and their crazy mannerisms!

Zen’s Gaze II - My aim was to create a feeling of total stillness and quiet in a world constantly moving and busy using texture and colour. I am very fortunate in having a beautiful reference photo from Miss Grey Photography.

Angel Play - I had so much fun creating this piece using acrylic paint and a spray bottle of water...using my fingers and gravity and allowing the paint to move! I love the effects created within the image of Angel (the Dog) and Sterling, playing.

Ghost - I really loved the unusual angle of the image and wanted to depict the gentleness of such a big horse.

Just Chilling - I was trying to capture the cuteness and lovable charm of a calf just chilling in the long grass.

Pearly Morning - Painted on location in St George Basin, north of Derby, WA. After days of clear weather and sunshine, this morning was misty, shimmering, dissolving land, horizon and sea.

Horizontal Falls, Talbot Bay, W.A. - You hear a lot about it, but nothing quite prepares you for the experience of riding the boiling sucking tides where they gush through the narrow gap that is the Horizontal Falls.

Barn Hill 2, W.A. - Barn Hill is a cattle station not far south of Broome, and provides a spectacular camping site. Beach and sea here are painted using the same palette as Broome itself, blue, blue sea and red, red rocks and a dusty pink haze suspended above the horizon.

5 Swans at Carawine Gorge, W.A. - This spectacular gorge rises out of the desert at the end of a long trek. I spent all day watching the sun’s movement on the rock walls opposite our camp. The bird life included a passing parade of stately swans moving up and down the river, and a motionless egret stationed on the edge of the bank directly opposite.”

DOUG CLARKSON

“I have a traditional approach to painting. I present my subjects as I see them, yet, at the same time, move well beyond a mere camera image. Besides paint, I enjoy working with a range of media including ink, pencil and scraper board.”

FAY COONEY

Fay experiments with a variety of media and techniques. Her subject matter includes portraits, both humans and their pets, but she finds most enjoyment in narrative.

 ROSEMARY CUSKELLY  “After returning to Woodford in my early 60s, I had the opportunity to join a small group of local artists who had just started learning pastel drawing.  I found the pastels easy to manage, and the colours led me to paint such subjects as the Territory landscape, which I found very rewarding.  Now, as an 85-year-old artist, I still specialise in my pastels, as shown in the three works I have entered into the Art Show.  I am also teaching myself to become more proficient in water colour!  So, we are never too old!”  MARIANNE DE GRAAF

Marianne’s works in this exhibition are from locations across the Downs and in Girraween National Park. Her preferred media are watercolour and pastel.

WESLEY DENIC

Incised Pot – Wheel-thrown porcelain clay, firmed to leather hard on the wheel, then marked with gestural incisions while rotating the wheel. Various glaze applications and fired in the presence of oxygen to 12800C.

Adelaide Street with Urban Canyon – Hand-paddled clay tablet fired to 11000C, brushed on slip and glaze, finished with a sprayed-on glaze through a stencil. Unique artist-made hanging system.

Anonymous Structure with Texture - Hand-paddled clay tablet, brushed on slip and glazes, with a final layer of glaze spray through a stencil. Unique artist-made hanging system.

Quad Foot Tea Bowl - Anagama wood-fired to 12800C, ceramic tea bowl, thrown and altered form. Oxide colourant under layers of artist-mixed glazes. Ash and atmosphere of the kiln interact with the glazes and exposed clay body to create new, interesting and unexpected results.

Striped Mule, Red – Gesso-primed canvas under layers of acrylic paint sprayed through stencils. Stencils have been hand cut by the artist.

Tall Bottle, No. 1- Wheel-thrown ceramic body, reduction gas-fired to 12800C, with artist-mixed glazes poured over, creating spontaneous patterning – a simple technique, yet difficult to control a favourable result.

Round Foot Tea Bowl – Anagama woodfire ceramic, fired to 12800C, wheel-thrown, altered form. Celadon glaze lining, tenmoku and miwa layered glaze outer. Ash and atmosphere in the firing influence the final result, enhancing the character.

DEVIL  “All of my artworks are inspired by the power of heavy metal music.    My ceramic teacher was Brother William S.S.F. who accepted me as his number one student in 1980 at the Friary Pottery in Brisbane.  The Society of Saint Francis is a liberal monastic order who believe in developing individuals’ strength of mind to enable them to further their studies over a lifetime.    Every kiln fire was used to further knowledge; every guitar scale and song used to further internal discipline.”  DEIRDRE DRYSDALE

From Handley Street before Cyclone Debbie – This is one of a few paintings of this area near the university – easy to cycle and very good for cloud formations – real and imagined.

Nardoo Street - This is lovely farmland with views towards Gowrie Mountain over the rise.

Bottle Tree Dancing – I first saw what I knew as a Baobab tree in Nigeria. I got hunting for the most unusual shaped bottle trees here and look for interesting shadows that appear on their torsos depending on the time of day. I think it helps me recreate and exaggerate the distortions.”

KATHY ELLEM

“Lady of the Lagoon – I used to love looking at this gum tree in all the different moods of season and time of day.”

ROBBIE ERSKINE

“A love of surrealism, quirkiness, and wit takes my art to a level above the everyday. Not satisfied with just presenting an object, animal, flower or scene just for itself, I love to put a fresh twist on subjects that take them to a surreal level. Developing a narrative, thinking outside the box, mixing it up, are all my favourite ways of preparing an artwork, but presented with the traditional oil painting methods of the old masters.

Animals feature strongly in my work, either in a light-hearted way or on a deeper level with how man's abuse of nature impacts the animal world. They are painted in a realistic style but with an element of surrealism that takes the work past the obvious to create a narrative, a quirky twist or a deeper meaning.”

SALLY FAIRWEATHER

“Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar or Thief – I use the expressive nature of the hand to create a gesture that communicates an idea, thought or action. In this piece, I’ve used the white hand of opulence on a pillar supported by the world’s wealthiest billionaires. The hand ‘plays’ with the paper dolls of the world’s hungriest children.

Yes, We Forget – My hands are the vehicle from which I express thoughts, ideas and feelings. I’m constantly exploring the idea that peoples’ lives are seen to have different values, depending on the context in which they exist. This is obvious in war, but I believe it has many parallels in our own ordinary day to day lives.

The Price of Love – Hands give clues, both visual and gestural, about their owner and intent. I’ve used this as the first of many pieces to convey the complexity of gender inequity.”

JOE FAUST

“I work hard to develop paintings that speak, both to me and to the viewer, of the diversity of the Australian countryside. Before I begin to paint, I refer to photographs I have taken from road trips, and then I recreate them on canvas or linen.

My subject matter is either contemporary landscape or seascape. I work with oils, capturing light and texture. Each of my paintings is an emotional journey, celebrating my life.

Ominous Signs – Painted before Tropical Cyclone Debbie’s arrival in the Whitsunday region and beyond.”

PETER FITZPATRICK

“I love colour and thrive on my subject’s lines. I have always looked for a narrative within a proposed subject, as I am totally at ease expressing the story within my paintings. I consider

the story more important than the physical interpretation. Visual art allows me to take everyday observations and create my interpretation of their storyline. Mother nature creates majestic monuments from which my interpretations are a mere attempt to attest their dignity and antiquity.”

ANN FOGARTY

Ann is self- taught and began her practice in 2009 under a Lifeline Art Program in Warwick. Warwick Art Group, where she enjoys portraiture classes, hosted her first Exhibition. Last year Ann moved to Toowoomba and joined the Toowoomba Art Society where she attends Charles Boyle’s classes whenever possible. She describes herself as an Expressionist, and enjoys acrylic and mixed media.

Ann is a past student (88-89).

JARROD FOUNTAIN

Jared Fountain was born in Redcliffe in 1987 but now resides on the Darling Downs. He claims many artists as influences, including Brett Whiteley, Titian, Ben Quilty, Lister, Van Gogh and says that all inspired him to forego any 'normal' career, and instead focus upon his dream of being an artist.

Jared's subject matter has been driven by his own life experiences, particularly overcoming addiction, poverty and crime, having spent his teenage years on the streets of Brisbane. His inherent world view is subtly apparent as it filters into his artwork. His paintings are risky (or delusional) attempts to plumb the depths of his own unconscious mind and then dredge-up its contents as a method of grasping deeper insight into reality and the objective/subjective dichotomy. The process by which Jared attempts to draw upon the unconscious mind is similar to automatic writing or the cut-up technique used by William Burroughs. His paintings are 'arrived' at through the deconstruction of surrounding visual materials (i.e. collaging imagery from magazines, posters etc.) and then by totally re-composing them, bringing together a variety of inharmonious elements and attempting to achieve a balance in the final image. This process is a sort of compositional alchemy, that allows his own subconscious decision-making to be exposed, thus revealing internal thoughts and feelings about both himself and his perceived place within society that would, otherwise, have remained undiscovered. JENNY FOXTON

Jenny describes herself as a part-time art ‘dabbler'. Her interest in art began in childhood but, since then, she has untaken a number of short courses in watercolours and acrylics. Her subject matter is mainly still life and landscapes, with particular emphasis on objects found in nature, and the patterns therein. She has moved from traditional watercolours to large, slightly more abstracted acrylic and oil canvases. Her says her style is “semi-realism”.

“Vase of White Flowers – This work investigates my desire to create contrast – in colour, technique, texture and form, while hopefully providing something visually appealing.

A Forest of Sorts – I believe trees are an environment’s best friend and I find I am attracted to painting them as semi-abstract shapes in almost all my paintings.

A Bird in the Hand – Creating a stunning new technique will a roller while working in a monotone of black and white acrylic, story-telling and creating with minimal colour and lots of movement. I love pushing how far I can go with a play on words incorporated into my titles.

Exces and Ohs – Textured and free-flowing acrylic paint in strong colours, exploring abstraction with a palette knife and smooth glossy paint. Stunning, thick paint creating a stunning visual and emotionally responsive painting.

Feather Breast – Working with minimal colour is different for me, a challenge to create movement and texture and interest in the background while telling a story about the bird, using a play on words to create the title. I love this exploration and new technique I created using a small house-painting roller.”

RACHEL FROST  Rachel’s background on a dairy farm near Kenilworth has informed her subject matter of the animal-human interaction.  She utilises a range of media including graphite and charcoal, but specialises in pastel.   Rachel believes it is her attention to detail and accuracy that sets her work apart. 

“Pride and Joy – When I first saw this image, I could fill a connection, as there is nothing like a mother’s love, hence the title. Photo reference, thanks to Richard du Toit.”Walli View – This painting is of a driveway in the country area of Kenilworth where I grew up. I have always loved the Jacarandas, and feel that the two mates going for a ride on their ponies add to the serenity.” GLENDA FULLER

Glenda has attended seminars and workshops run by many tutors. She has given five solo exhibitions but also exhibits with the Oakey Art Group. Although she began painting traditional subjects with oils, since 1990 she has changed to mixed media and pastel. Both works she is exhibiting in the Downlands Art Exhibition this year are pastel and were drawn in 2016 on an Art trip to Fraser Island. PAULINE GOOD

Pauline enjoys painting en plein air as well as from sketches she has made and photographs she has taken on her journeys.

RHIANNA GRAY

Rhianna is a Toowoomba emerging artist specialising in abstract works in alcohol ink on yupo paper and resin, with mixed media.

CHALLE GREEN  Challe is a silversmith.  She enjoys the physicality of the jewellery-making process.  

DAVE GROOM

“My work is primarily about the landscape in which I live and work – the mountains of south-east Queensland. Living in the landscape enables me to closely observe the changing environment. The paintings featured in this year’s Downlands Art Show are of the Mount Barney region, part of the scenic rim. It is a place of dramatic mountain peaks and holds strong childhood memories for me, as I spent time exploring the area with my family as a child. I returned there recently to complete a number of paintings of Mount Barney itself, as well as surrounding peaks such as Mount Lindesay.”

JENNY HARTLEY

The two elements from Jenny’s past which have had the most impact on her artistic output are her childhood on a farm, which instilled in her a deep love of the natural environment, and her mother’s love of gardening. It is no surprise, therefore, that her subject matter includes Australian wildlife, still life, portraits and floral watercolours.

AMBER HASSALL

Amber works with a variety of media and techniques. Her work focuses on bringing to the fore the beauty of the overlooked. Her most recent works combine charcoal and oil stick.

FIONA HAYES  Golden Poplars “A watercolour vision of golden poplar trees lining a small creek.   The use of gesso around the outsides softens and enhances the painting, leading the eye to the focal point of the trees and distant farm buildings.”  Early Morning “This painting is a nice companion to my other entry, Golden Poplars.  Once again, the use of gesso softens the edges, with the light and reflections on the water leading the eye to the focal point of the large green trees.  The same limited palette was used in both paintings.” 

VIVIENNE HECKELS

At an early age, Vivienne entered a painting into a competition and won. She sold the painting, and the ensuing support and encouragement she received encouraged her to continue. She credits the Flying Art School as the greatest influence in her painting career.

Her series of work, From the Heartland, depicted the effects of drought and, despite shocking and offending her family and local community of Millmeran, were exhibited at the Toowoomba Regional Gallery.

Vivienne prefers to use mixed media, although she strongly employs acrylics. Her latest works feature whimsical scenes of people and animals interacting in peaceful surroundings.

JACQUELINE HILL

“I have been drawing since I was a little girl, and, after discarding a successful computer engineering career in 2001, I now feel I am finally, truly following my heart. I have always been addicted to colour. I paint in all mediums and subjects, but am constantly drawn to nature and wildlife as my favourites. The colourful semi-abstract series Anything is possible, hints of what is possible in a wonderful world.

Turtle – From my Eastern Watercolour series, influenced by years of practice with eastern brush. This series uses the techniques and spirit of the ancient teachings, but with modern, archival Western materials that have much better longevity. I feel like it is quite a Zen, ‘east meets west’ series.

Ascent (Red-tailed Black Cockatoo) – This is from my Wild Airport series, where all paintings are titled according to the position of the wild bird in airport or flight control terminology. The original photo that inspired this painting was taken by a professional photographer, Keith Lightbody, who travels the world photographing creatures in the wild.

Serenity Road – This is a brand-new series exploring more serene compositions of Australian landscape. I love balancing out after painting high energy, busy semi-abstracts by taking a more peaceful approach in other paintings. I am exploring the ways of bringing breathing space into the painting by misting large areas.

Black Cockatoo – I was exploring a loose sketchy style with only partial areas crosshatched. I love the royalty of these birds and feel like the genuine gold that has been incorporated honours that while providing an aesthetic foil against the black and white.

Caterwalling – Cats of the oriental persuasion (Siamese and Burmese) all lined up on the rooftops singing their hearts out. I have so much fun painting these.Dusk Walk – From my Tasmania inspired series of peaceful misty watercolours in neutral soft colours.

Pinocchio Pencils – From my Studio Friends series. I love keeping my art style loose and with a sense of delight, by practising painting from life as fast as I can. These are one of my favourite subjects in my studio. I find painting from life teaches me to keep seeing things as they truly are and shut down the left brain.” PATRICIA HINZ

Patricia’s media include watercolour, ink, pastel, mixed media, acrylic and oil pastel. Her inspiration comes from living and working in rural Queensland and her travels into inland Australia.

NOELLE HODGES  “I enjoy the process of making books, sometimes quirky, sometimes celebratory, and often useful.  These small, wearable books could serve many purposes for their new owners – receptacles for special quotes, drawings, directions or addresses, or just personal adornment.” 

NATASHA HODGSON

“I enjoy watercolours for their exciting unpredictability and luminous glow. I also like the ability of this medium to express photographic style techniques such as depth of focus and layering of translucent light. After sculpting animals for twelve years I can’t resist bringing them into my paintings. I have also developed a keen interest in painting still life, taking up the challenge of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.”

JOHN HUTTON

“The two paintings on display are part of a larger body of work that was created in response to a series of photographs that I took inside the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, before it was renovated to what it is today.

The theatre lay in a state of disrepair and neglect for decades before the decision was made to re-build and ‘bring it back to life’.  The photographs captured the emptiness and silence of the forgotten interior and provided the inspiration for a series of drawings, etchings and paintings.

The atmospheric qualities of vacated spaces are a continued source of inspiration for me; Places that were once alive but now exist as mere spaces without sound or movement, that have been reduced to facets of memory and history, but still retain a sense of dignity.”

JANE IANNIELLO

The inspiration for Jane’s painting is the glamour and drama of the Hollywood movies of the 1940s and 50s. She appropriates the black and white publicity stills from these and then transforms them via arbitrary colour and incongruous and bizarre locations. The resulting paintings are unsettling and mysterious. Her subjects wade through jungles or mangrove swamps alongside leopards, tigers, flamingos and snakes. Huntress II features Lana Turna in a jungle with a leopard licking its lips.

CHRIS INWOOD

“It’s Golden is an installation that provides a stimulating environment for the viewer to experience a multimedia diptych painting, but ultimately aims to highlight the aura that art creates around itself.  This is achieved by engulfing the two canvases in a constructed temporary room that is lined with thousands of sheets of gold leaf. This spectacle of gold provides a titillating environment for the viewer, which they are able to enter, experience and immerse themselves in. Centred on the back wall of the gold room hang two black canvases. One contains a hyper realistic oil painting of a woman, and the other has a video at the same scale as the oil painting, of the woman, projected upon it, allowing the viewer to experience the woman as though they were in the room while she sat for the traditional portrait. This contrast between the traditional painting and the digital painting allows the viewer to see the competing institutionalised presentations of art as fundamentally the same process. This comparison highlights that it is the environment, in this case represented by the gold environment, around these paintings that provides approval and acceptance into the established institutions oeuvre. The golden environment uses the spectacular aesthetic and history that gold represents to highlight the power of the surrounding environment and its ability to shape and promote art. Through the use of this spectacle an aura develops, helping to mythologise the art and create something spectacular.  

TREVOR IRVINE

“My interest in painting developed about eight years ago, after trying to help my disabled daughter, Kimberley. My style is still developing and I have experimented with many media. At present, I am painting realistic wildlife studies but have also developed an interest in sculpting wood.”

BEVERLY IRWIN

“Nature, and the many unique and beautiful species that inhabit our world, have been my love since childhood, and although I have painted in a variety of styles, realism satisfies and inspires me the most.

I have travelled extensively throughout Australia, North and South America, Europe and the UK to source material for my work and to observe animals and birds in their natural habitats, and, where possible, to get up close and personal with my subjects.  Every painting is a special creation, a struggle at times to transfer the emotional feeling I have for the subject on to the paper. It is a jigsaw puzzle in which various elements combine to make a visually appealing and emotionally satisfying piece of art.  An idea for a painting can come from anywhere, a sign, a colour, an interesting habitat, even an emotion, so pencil and my trusty camera are always at hand to capture that fleeting piece of the puzzle.  Dozens of photographs and sketches are used as reference material before the idea finally develops into a painting.  I am passionate about my art and the environment, and am dedicated to raising the public awareness of the unique animals and plants that share our planet, and to capture in paint, a moment in time in their short lives for future generations to enjoy.”

RHIANNA GRAY

“Molten Luxe was inspired by earth’s minerals. I wanted a metallic molten feel to this piece.

Aqua Oasis was inspired by crashing waves and ocean swell being hit by the afternoon sun.

Tropic Grove was inspired by a hidden island cove on a hot summers day.

BRUCE GRIFFITHS

Bruce Griffiths still works by the modem, never paint where you haven’t been and never paint what you cannot feel. A lifetime of fishing and the bush has instilled him with a love of the outdoors, which is the preferred subject of his paintings, but he is increasingly looking within the subject seeking out the stories. He continues his look at new frontiers while including homage to Australia, the mood and atmosphere of the sea, the city and his beloved landscapes.

Largely self-taught since picking up a brush in 2002 Bruce says, “I was a late bloomer and now there is never enough time to paint”. He will forever be indebted to his early days with world renowned Australian based artists, Robert Wade OAM, Robert Lovett, Greg Allen, David Taylor and Joseph Zbukvic. “A very rich heritage to widen one’s horizons. It simply opened my eyes to what was possible.”

DAVE GROOM 

 “My work is primarily about the landscape in which I live and work – the mountains of south-east Queensland.  Living in the landscape enables me to closely observe the changing environment.  The paintings featured in this year’s Downlands Art Show are of the Mount Barney region, part of the scenic rim.  It is a place of dramatic mountain peaks and holds strong childhood memories for me, as I spent time exploring the area with my family as a child.  I returned there recently to complete several paintings of Mount Barney itself, as well as surrounding peaks such as Mount Lindesay.”  GIANFRANCO (FRANK) KERT

Born in Trieste in Northern Italy, in 1956, at the age of nine, Frank migrated to Australia with his family. They settled in Brisbane and, at seventeen, Frank enrolled at the Queensland Technical College, where he completed a Diploma in Commercial Illustration. He spent the remainder of his working life as an illustrator, graphic artist and creative designer.

Now semi-retired and living at Pine Mountain, near the upper reaches of the Brisbane River, Frank has been able to fulfil his loves of painting, travel and sailing. Remote parts of Australia and the sea both feature in his work, alongside animals and rustic buildings from his property. Frank’s preferred medium is oil painting.

CATHERINE KETTON

“Killer Tomato – Against a well-developed artist’s grisaille, Killer Tomato is an exploration of our emotional response to colour.

Espresso – Subtle colour is glazed over a well-developed artist’s grisaille to focus attention on an intimate moment of indulgence.

Wine-coloured Days – This contemporary twist on a traditional still-life subject uses subtle glazing of transparent colour over a well-developed artist’s grisaille.”

CATHERINE and REBECCA KETTON

Evolution – Mother and daughter work together on these exciting contemporary pieces. We rapidly push, slide and torch colour and medium to reflect cellular development at the micro level and elemental movement at the macro level.

MARY-KATE KHOO/EMMA MACTAGGART  Where is the True Ewe?  is a series of watercolour and ink works, the result of a collaboration between Emma Mactaggart, an award-winning author, educator and champion of children’s literacy, and Emma-Kate Khoo.  Mary-Kate has worked in a variety of arts-related jobs, from TV production design to mural work but, for this series, has returned to her original field of study and interest, illustration.  The series is a reference and homage to the popular Australian children’s book Where is the Green Sheep  (Fox/Horacek) which celebrates the often challenging role of mother with humour and optimism.  In its production, both artists journeyed back into their personal

experiences of motherhood, inspiring them to reach out to connect with other mothers to acknowledge and validate their shared experiences.  A Rare Smile is about the plight of a woman of Chinese descent.  She moved to Australia in 2010 and passed away in 2012.  Hers was a sad life.  She was denied an education because of her sex, then, through marriage, she was relegated to the lowly status of domestic slave.  The background Willow Pattern in the work tells of a tragic Chinese love story.  The country roses hint at a new chapter for her family, post migration, as their values and attitudes meld and collide with those of their adopted country.    The work suggests a glimmer of hope for the future of this quiet, unassuming lady.  Perhaps her daughter and granddaughters will receive an education, experience equality and be loved and respected, rather than possessed.  Perhaps her sons and grandsons will not share the misogynistic attitudes of their forefathers.  LYN JOHNSTON

“I am a self-taught artist. Six years ago, I began working with the simplest of medium, graphite. Apart from two other pieces, I have stayed with graphite as my preferred and one could say, only medium. The absence of colour, yet trying to convey colour, appeals to me as an exciting challenge in the realistic representation of my subjects. I strive to achieve as close a likeness as possible in my preferred genre, portrait drawing, in particular, pets. I try to capture the essence of the character, paying particular attention to the eyes of the subject. I also endeavour to use a wide range of values, from the lightest of light (4H pencil) to extremely dark values (6B). Establishing a realistic a representation of the subject, is my goal. Drawing realistically in graphite takes many hours of patient work, so whilst it is a very slow process it is a very rewarding and satisfying one.

TRICIA LAMBI

“Nevermore – Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven resonates deeply with me, but perhaps not in the way the poem is generally perceived.

This is the part that got me: “But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke one that one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour. Northing further then he uttered, not a feather then he fluttered. Till I scarcely more than muttered, “Other friends have flown before”. On the morrow he will leave he, as my hopes have flown before. Then the bird said, “Nevermore”.

Persephone Dreaming – According to Greek mythology, Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and the queen of the underworld. She was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, infuriating her mother, who made the crops wither and the earth, barren. Zeus intervened and tried to bring Persephone back to the world of the living, however, Persephone ate the seeds of a pomegranate that Hades had given to her, binding her to him for one third of the year. Thus, it was decided that Persephone spend four months in the underworld and eight months on earth with her mother. The period in the underworld corresponded to the winter season.”

DAISY LAVERS  

“On the 28th of March, Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast of Queensland over ‘My Place’, Dingo Beach, near Bowen.  I was far away from my family of origin, and spent a sleepless, anxious night on the internet, following the cyclone’s progress.    My memories of ‘Dingo’ are closely tied to its fauna, hence Curlew and Seagull is a maelstrom of creatures – Brahminy Kite, Bush Stone Curlew, seagull, Mud Crab, prawn, Cone Shell, Proserpine Rock Wallaby and turtle.  Fetish is an unrelated work combining two of my obsessions – textiles, and picking up and keeping interesting objects.  Despite our most common association of the word ‘fetish’ with erotic fixations, it also means “an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency” OR “any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect or devotion”.  Why do dogs carry sticks?  Why do little boys pocket interesting rocks?  Why do I always pick up feathers?”  NEV LOGAN

After a career as an Electrical Engineer, Nev took early retirement in 1987 and began to concentrate on his painting. He initially tried all media, but was converted to watercolours after attending a course in England with watercolourist, Ron Ranson. Nev has had no formal Art education, but has studied under many well-known Australian Watercolourists including David Taylor and Alvaro Castagnet. Although Nev paints most subjects, street scenes, townscapes and harbour scenes are amongst his favourites. He loves to travel and this is reflected in many of his paintings which feature overseas subjects.

Nev has been a member of the Watercolour Society of Queensland for 25 years and a life member for 10 years. He is a past President and Treasurer of the Society. He is also President of the Queensland Art Collective.

SUSAN LOSTROH

“Vestige – A friend of mine suggested I write a song about leftover salad. Instead, I made artworks about things that remain behind.”

MEREDITH MACLEOD

Meredith Macleod is a Brisbane based artist specialising in intaglio printmaking, drawing and artist books.

“Put simply: art is something I cannot not do.

The backbone to my creative practice is a dedicated commitment to a sound drawing discipline with a particular emphasis on life drawing. Drawing the human form and exploring the psychological components of human nature provide the most challenging yet rewarding components of my practice. The processes developed through a disciplined drawing practice are then transformed into the process of intaglio printmaking.”

CAROL McCORMACK

“I am a landscape painter inspired by outback Australia. The works in this year’s show are no exception. Last year, after crossing droughted Queensland and then the desert from the Centre to the west coast, I was hungry for water views, shown here as a remote gorge near Marble Bar, a vista south of Broome, and two very different views of seascapes north of Broome. Everywhere I looked, colours were the dominant feature: blue sky with various stains from hanging dust or the travels of the sun; red rock, and, as a contrast, the faded blues of a misty morning on the Buccaneer Archipelago. Three are tranquil scenes, so as a contrast, I’ve included my impression of the huge Kimberley tides rushing through narrow gaps in rock walls- the Horizontal Falls.”

SUZANNE McMASTER

“Kim Walmsley is a local indigenous artist. Her keen interest in people of passion, sparked my interest. Kim's mural Cultural Census, on the wall of the Toowoomba Regional Gallery, explores the interconnectedness of family groups within the local indigenous community. While I was discussing her work with her, her own family circle featured strongly and it is this personal connection to a public artwork that is represented here.”

ARONE MEEKS

Arone Meeks was born in Sydney in 1957, but grew up in Cairns, before returning to Sydney to attend art school. Meeks has been proactive as a founding artist with the Boomalli Aboriginal artists collective in Sydney and initiating the annual NAIDOC exhibition at the Tanks Art Centre in Cairns. These activities create dialogue between communities and showcase what indigenous artists have to give.

He has been awarded significant fellowships including the first indigenous Australian residency at Cite des Arts in Paris. 

Arone grew up with his initiated grandfather and spent time with one of the North’s most celebrated indigenous artists, Thancoupie, who he describes as ‘Athoy’- spiritual mother. He has lived with the Mornington Island community, finding strength in belonging to its social foundation.

Arone produces paintings, sculpture and prints that express a passion for country, spirituality, sexuality and politics. His path is one that redefines his connections through art media. The spiritual is actualised through art, and his response is one of ‘working it through’, an intuitive process. Arone is able to express a unique spiritual response to country that has a harmony in connecting disparate worlds. His subjects are sourced in nature and represent a cultural responsibility with an expression of contemporary art.

Arone’s indigenous links are with the Kokomidiji of Cape York, around Laura, the site of renowned rock art galleries filled with graceful drawings of quinkans. Laura is known as a place of Aboriginal magic and sorcery. It is also the location with the most palpable effect on Arone. He feels a physical reaction to sacred country that helps forge relationships with kinship, a sense of self and ‘renewing the dreaming’. Arone’s art is not governed by the same barriers and protocols that govern traditional Aboriginal art, but is placed in the context of the contemporary urban. 

Arone’s practice is based intuitively on the shifting definition of cultural identity. It is one

that has a connection to dreams and experiences that have touched his soul. Sexuality has an influence and is conceptualized as part of the human matrix. As an urban aboriginal who inhabits a world in proximity to traditional tribal lands and communities, he describes his practice by saying, “I am hunting for lost pieces of myself”. It is a process where imagination comes from within and possibly an inexhaustible source for his art. For Arone, the process of painting is great therapy for defining self and existence. He finds humanity in the gesture of the mark and this is evident in much of his work. His art objects are like his children, sent off into the world, and like children the finished objects take time to reveal their full consequences to him. 

Arone’s new series of works explore spirituality as a merging of both the traditional and contemporary, through paint and print. For Arone, this new series of works forges the connection between intellect, spirit, man and environment. The practice of physically producing this body of work strengthens the link with country on both a personal and broader level. Metaphorical links to the colour blue and the lung symbols combine in their significance relating to inner spiritual essence and the power of spiritual transformation. Physically the ‘blue’ lung represents Arone’s geographical source of inspiration and natural breath.

In form Arone has been exploring new techniques in paint and medium relating to traditional methods of mark making. An accomplished printmaker, he has also produced large scale lino and mono prints in both black and white and colour.

ROSEMARY MIBUS

“Outdoor experience inspires me to observe nature’s rhythms, and my memories of my country childhood enhances this inspiration.”

AARON MICALLEF

“I have been facilitating weekly Life Drawing Sessions at Jugglers Art Space in Brisbane for the last three years, and drawing there for much longer. Life-Drawing is an important and accessible creative outlet in my regular routine.  I have also established a practice in hot glass, a medium which seems well-removed from drawing. The two, however, share the property of immediacy; in glass, working within the physical and technical constraints of the medium, and, in drawing, working within the time constraints of the model’s pose. This immediacy allows me to focus on the present, avoid over-thinking and over-working and access the creative “zone”. The capture of form and suggestion of dynamism is, for me, an aspiration common to both art forms.

In collaboration with glass artist, Joanna Bone, I explore the transformation of discarded glass vessels into beautiful and practical objects. Traditional hot-glass techniques facilitate the modification of form, while surface treatment controls the vessel’s interaction with light, completing the transformation of an object that was previously viewed simply as waste.”

LEISL MOTT

“Landscape and the natural world are my constant source of inspiration. In my work, I try to capture the mood and essence of a place, a time, or a thing and strive to meld energetic

spontaneity with deliberate intention to arrive at a piece that is at once expressive and modest. Sometimes though, it’s just about recording and honouring incredible beauty.”

ARTHUR JAMES MURCH

“Arthur James Murch (1902-1989), painter, sculptor and teacher, was born on the 8th of July, 1902, at Croydon, Sydney, second son of three children of English-born parents, James Murch, journeyman carpenter, and his wife, Caroline Elizabeth, nee Holman. Murch’s life reflected many influences from his Methodist upbringing: teetotalism, devotion to family’ frugality; a lack of interest in materialism; a love of learning; a strong work ethic and the ability to build anything from nothing, even his own false teeth.

Arthur left Sydney Technical High School, Ultimo, at fifteen, and became an apprentice at John Heine & Son Ltd, Leichardt, manufacturers of sheet-metal-working-machinery. He was struck in the eye by a steel chip, which later affected his ability to paint outdoors.

His drawing skills were noticed, and from 1920 he studied part-time at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales. In The Foundry, exhibited in 1945, he recreated a fiery scene from his engineering years.

Murch was introduced to the Impressionistic artists by Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo and, in 1924, he joined sculpture classes at East Sydney Technical College under Rayner Hoff. He built a studio in his parents’ backyard and devoted himself full time to art. In 1925 he won the New South Wales Society of Artists’ travelling scholarship. He studied briefly in Paris at the Academie Julian; in London at the Chelsea Polytechnic and, in depth, in Italy, where he fell in love with the Renaissance masters and their classical sources.

On his return to Sydney in 1927 Murch became assistant to George Lambert. Harold Cazneaux’s photograph of them working on a sculpture of an unknown soldier for St Mary’s Cathedral captured their close working relationship. ‘Pocket Hercules’ was Lambert’s apt description of Murch, a diminutive man with a powerful physique. After Lambert’s death in 1930, Murch threw himself into Depression Sydney’s Bohemian art work, but it was from a cottage at coastal Thirroul that the first paintings emerged in the Murch style, in which he fused classical and Renaissance subjects, themes and techniques with Australian people, light and landscape.

In 1933, Professor H. Whitridge Davies invited Murch to accompany a scientific expedition to Central Australia as a freelance artist. He six-week stay at Hermannsburg mission and a camel trek to Mount Liebig resulted in forty-five works exhibited at Macquarie Galleries. Next year he returned to Hermannsburg.

Back in England in 1936, Murch finished painting the shimmering nude, Leda (1935-39), by candlelight, because his poverty was such that his electricity had been cut off. He created decorations for the Australian wool pavilion at the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Glasgow with the help of Sir William Dobell, Donald Friend, Jean Appleton and other Australians. In Sydney, again, a return that “required considerable adjustment”, he married Gloria (Ria) Mavis Counsell, a copywriter, on the 12th of September, 1940, at Rose Bay Methodist Church. Ria was often the breadwinner. They moved to Sydney’s northern beaches where living was cheaper and Murch could paint his glorious ‘summery nudes’ and angophoras. He often used his wife and son as models. After Japan entered World War II, he was

‘manpowered’ and, in July 1942 he was appointed an official war artist. His appointment ended in May, 1943, due to illness.

Murch won the 1948 Archibald Prize with his portrait of Bonar Dunlop. Murch’s training in engineering and sculpture were particularly evident in his portraits, and his skin tones were unequalled in Australian art. His versatility was evident from his large equestrian sculptures, from murals such as the commissioned The Arts of Peace (1951), depicting a Molonga corroboree, and from drawings of his daughter. He inspired the children and adults whom he taught at Avalon, East Sydney Technical College and Hermannsburg. As his palette muddied, so did his fine mind. Survived by his wife and their son and daughter, he died on the 23rd of September, 1989, at Terrey Hills and was cremated. His work is held by the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, and by most State galleries.”(“Biography – Arthur James Murch – Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2017, accessed 8/5/2017, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/much-arthur-james-15030)

BOB NASON

“Drawing on the landscape, my work often as a narrative or is conceptually based. Power Hungry and High Voltage Harlequins – the Dance express my thoughts affecting our current power generation from a lyrical viewpoint. Through my farming career I’ve developed a deep love and appreciation for our Australian landscape.”

JUDI NEUMANN

“My images are a journey through the landscape and offer glimpses of the quiet time during the ‘golden hours’ of morning and evening. Unable to use a painter’s brush to capture the colours and moods of these moments in time, I use a digital camera. Land and nature soothe the soul and wash away the residues of conflict and the struggles of everyday life.Beauty, colour, mood and light are my friends.  The quietness and being in one with nature – the sounds, the breeze, and the wonder - draw me in. The wide angle lens allows me to show the big picture and all the elements at their amazing best.   These are not wilderness images in far flung places, but are of a time and place in the country areas of the Toowoomba Region and the hills of Colorado; just a moment in time seen through my eyes.

The use of cotton artist textured paper for Aspens in Colorado and smooth cotton rag for Sunset in the Hills gives a painterly feel to the images. The use of Silver Halide Professional paper for Trees in the Mist enhances the gold tones in the image.  

I am a self-taught photographer. The biggest influences in my photographic journey are painters like Albert Namatjira, Sydney Nolan, Pro Hart and my Great Aunts.    

My main interest is photographing the landscape but recently I have ventured into the abstract world along with Impressionism.  This allows me to concentrate more on what I see rather than on the technical aspect of photography.”

KATHY NOLAN

Kathy works with mixed media – collage, ink, acrylic and pastel.

SHANNON O’SHEA-KEMP

“Brynn – This piece signifies 8 major life changes throughout my unique journey that have been incorporated via use of colour, subject matter, as well as finishing touches made by guest artist, Kat Yates, upon request. We all face challenges along the way, but this specific piece brought me back to my arts after months away due to emotional trauma. It’s a special artwork in that it holds such personal symbolic weight, whereas my general artworks are more regularly pet portraits for clientele.

The White Pony Triptych – Specks the White Wonder Pony is my equine partner for life! Everything about her inspires my creativity. Simple elegance.”

ELIZABETH GAIR PALMER

“Yellow Cement Mixer – This painting is a series I did on workers and tools. I painted portraits of workers e.g. a construction worker, a waitress, a street-sweeper with his broom, a Parisian sewer worker, and Dubai immigrant labourers, based on iPhone photographs. I was also interested in painting the works in so-called “feminine” colours.

Pandanus and Bird – I work a lot en plein air in Noosa, where I have a studio. I am fascinated both by the flora and fauna of our bush and coast. When I am painting in the field, I enjoy including any wildlife or human life which momentarily passes my view. I believe its inclusion can energise a painting.

Yellow Daisies with Banksia - For a long time I have been devoted to painting still life, especially including flowers or fruits I have either grown myself or I have found growing on footpaths or in bushland. These flowers were gather from urban bushland in Brisbane. It is wonderful to discover beauty in unexpected places.

Banksia Still Life – Banksia is difficult to find around my area in Brisbane, but this little tree gives me flowers when it can. It grows beside a stormwater drain in urban bushland. I go to visit it when I am working in my Brisbane studio and need to feel the bush around me. I chose to paint it as a portrait to give it importance and dignity.”

CHLOE PARKER

Described as magical, quirky and whimsical, Chloe Parker invites you to discover a world where colour and imagination run free without boundaries. Her art inspires the discovery of hidden meaning and ignites personal reflection through balanced and thoughtful work. Primarily through the use of watercolour and pigmented ink, Chloe creates magical worlds including celestial galaxies, enchanted creatures, and vibrant landscapes. Her children’s illustration features unique and unusual characters to create a sense of fun and wonder.

Celestial Forest showcases the power of the universe in all its majestic glory. A night sky full of stars provides the perfect backdrop for a cold, wintery forest where freshly fallen snow blankets the ground.

Reflection of Space depicts a solitary astronaut. Although his origin and purpose is unclear, his existence is dwarfed by the vastness and marvel of the all-encompassing galaxy.

CHRISTINE PORTER

In 2015-16 Christine Porter created a body of work about the shearing shed at “Newstead” near Inverell, where Tom Roberts painted The Golden Fleece 120 years ago. The project included a series of 3D boxes, dry points and embossings describing how it felt to be at such an iconic location. Some of these were exhibited in the 2016 Downlands exhibition.  

Since then, Christine has created a series of watercolour paintings of what “Newstead” looks like now, two of which are Christine’s contribution to the 2017 Downlands exhibition. Tom Roberts’ Shed from the East and The shed at ‘Newstead’ – Horizon View describe more literal interpretations of this shed; a shed not now used for what it was built for, but with an important place in Australia’s artistic history never-the-less.

SANDY POTTINGER

“Home is a state of mind, a garden, shelves of books, walls of paintings, a dog by the fire, coffee brewing, and a meal in the offing.

It is sanctuary and haven, light filtering through trees, noisy neighbours, an escape hatch and a prison. Its sanctity is inviolable.

The American poet, Gary Snyder, said that nature is not a place to visit, it is home. Another American writer, James Baldwin, said that perhaps home is not a place, but simply an irrevocable condition; while the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, offered a philosophical and introspective thread when he said, ‘Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home’.Home is all these things for me. It is also looking into the garden from my studio. Trees, familiar old friends; an edge of railing, the top of a fence; last night’s wine glass; safety and silence in which sound is a colour.”

GRAHAM RADCLIFFE

Kalgoorlie - This sculpture is part of the 10-piece Australian Series. All sculptures in this group of works relate to a particular aspect of Australia. Kalgoorlie is a shrine to the earth which has given up its riches to man. It is a mine shaft and tunnels, the earth, its gold.

Queen of Atlantis - Graham has been exploring the mystery around Atlantis, Lemuria and Egypt with a number of sculptures in marble, onyx and bronze. The "Queen of Atlantis" is the first on the journey of exploration.

ELYSHA REI

“This work is an extension of large-scale murals for the Grand Central Culture Wall and First Coat Festival, completed in Toowoomba in 2017. Continuing with a Japanese ukiyo-e inspired palette and design aesthetic, this painting combines my themes of self-portraiture and the koi fish for the very first time in a literal sense. A hybrid Japanese mermaid has emerged, embellished in a patterned kimono, coyly posing as the feature of this diptych.”

CHRISTINE REILLY

Christine’s subjects stem from her travels and people-watching and include city scenes and beachscapes.

AMANDA RICHARDS

“My paintings are works of ‘conscience’. They are expressions of subjects that dominate our existence – namely, the treatment of ourselves, our planet and each other.”

SHARON ROBERTS

Sharon is based in regional Queensland. She says that, “across my body of work, one experiences a passion for colour relationships, gesture, space and emotional connection. There is a minimising of detail, as I seek to express the quality or idea which inspired me. My sources of inspiration include colour, landscape, faith and human experience. Whilst I frequently sketch outdoors, the majority of my paintings are completed in the studio.

WENDY ROCHE Wendy Roche is a Darling Downs-based photographer who travels the world capturing Impressionist photography. She has exhibited in Australia and in Hong Kong; has had her work published in the US “Black and White” magazine, and has taught several Impressionist photography workshops in Australia and New Zealand. Wendy was a keynote speaker at last year’s Australian Photographic Society Convention and is a mentor for the Australian Photographic Society’s Conceptual Art Portfolio Awards. MARY ROSE SCHNEIDERE

“When I was a young girl, my father’s hobby was oil painting. I loved watching him paint and was inspired by him to become an artist myself. From an early age, I taught myself to draw, first with pencils, then through the Paint program on the computer. This ‘digital drawing’ allowed me to discover and practise techniques that are applicable to all art media. Over the years, I have also learnt to work in acrylic, ink and watercolour.  I have sold artworks at various local art shows, and at the Brisbane Exhibition. I have gained diplomas in Visual Art, Graphic Design and Photography and am exploring ways to capture the three disciplines. I enjoy depicting landscapes, in particular around south-east Queensland.”

CHANTEL SCHOTT

“I was born in Roma in 1980, raised in Toowoomba, spent my twenties in the heart of Brisbane and now live just on the outskirts of Brisbane in Waterford West. I work part-time at the Queensland College of Art in South Bank, of course supporting the Arts! I work with drawing media and lately, paper cutting. I have also been known to experiment with mixed media.

My work is about creating an emotional state of connectedness through the assembly of delicate ink lines. Mostly unplanned and meticulous (automatic drawing), these filigree-like lines are the key to telling my stories on paper. Impromptu and intriguing, these hidden little worlds express innocent parts from the inner self and my indulgence in daydreaming.

The Wild - A portrayal of my garden is at the heart of The Wild, where nature is free to warp and wrap itself around itself. My garden is my happy place, where time sits still and slows down the noise and topsy-turviness of life. This piece has been hand cut and made with love using 300gsm Stonehenge paper placed on 160gsm canson paper.

Whim-Wham - named accordingly to its meaning, a quaint and decorative object. This work has been hand cut with love using 160gsm canson paper, pre-planned and intentionally made to produce a combination of symmetry and peacefulness, representing perennial blooms and shrubbery.

Labyrinth - A tangle of automatic and spontaneous lines have been intricately woven together by ink to create a circular object, representing a maze from the mind; a network of passages and suggested journeys that are all interconnected, even puzzling. This piece has first been created through automatic drawing, followed by complete intent to join the subconscious with the conscious. A mind or a person’s way of thinking is made up of memories, understanding, wit, perception, judgment and so on, and this piece expresses the functioning of the mind.”

HELEN SESAY

“This painting depicts a festival in my village. It is summertime, after the rice harvest. Everyone is happy. Women and men, farm workers, old people and children, all dress in their cultural costumes to dance. Some wear mask. Even the animals are happy.”

BILLY SHANNON

SONNET 54

O, how much more doth beauty beauteous seemBy that sweet ornament which truth doth give!The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deemFor that sweet odour which doth in it live.The canker-blooms have full as deep a dyeAs the perfumed tincture of the roses,Hang on such thorns and play as wantonlyWhen summer's breath their masked buds discloses:But, for their virtue only is their show,They live unwoo'd and unrespected fade,Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made:And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth,When that shall fade, my verse distils your truth.

Shakespeare

MICHAEL SMITH  

“Toulouse Lautrec persisted in a career as an artist despite immense physical and social disadvantage, notwithstanding his aristocratic background.  I regard my works as echoes and tributes to Lautrec’s own, as well as recognition of those women, his models, who responded to his unique skills and underlying humanity.” 

ADAM SPARKS

Ghosts of Bacuit Bay – Taken in El Nido, Palawan, in the Philippines. The bancas in the bay gently rocking, gave a ghostly appearance.

Sea of Love – Tom Waits wasn’t the only one to sing it, so did Cash and many others, but when I saw this boat on the shore of the Indian Ocean near Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, I thought of Tom’s version first.

Thunderous – Pillsbury Crossing is a small waterfall located in north-east Kansas, near the city of Manhattan, where Deep Creek flows over a limestone ledge. The spot is known for party-ers and fun seekers during summer months; however, some rainy mornings can lead to scenes like this, when you have the falls all to yourself.”

LYNNE STAPLETON

“Creating fine art that gives pleasure to others is one of my major passions in life. Taking time to use all of my senses to fully appreciate the wonders of the world provides me with the opportunity to enjoy serenity and leave a legacy for my family, friends and clients.  A lover of style, colour, fashion, photography, literature and learning throughout my life has ensured that I have sought out the art of the great masters in European galleries and stood in wonder at such beauty and skill.  Original paintings by Monet, van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Manet, Picasso, Rembrandt, Turner and more have left me breathless.  My heart continues to skip a beat when I see a portrait in a gold frame anywhere in the world, not to mention the amazing images on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the statue of David in Florence.  Closer to home, the Archibald entries and prize-winners are favourites too.  I have painted in acrylics, oils, pastels and watercolours.  My current preference is to paint vividly coloured, contemporary style, multi-media Australian landscapes and seascapes in the series I have called I Love a Sunburnt Country. The bold imagery in Dorothea Mackellar’s iconic poem provides me with a rich source of inspiration to interpret Australia’s stunningly beautiful scenery, flora and fauna.”

DENISE TAYLOR

Denise began her artistic journey under the tutelage of Win de Voss in 1990. Since then she has completed many artists’ workshops. Her latest work comprises pet portraits and horse studies in pastel.

NATALIE TAYLOR

Brisbane artist, Natalie, completed a BA (Vis Arts) (Hons) at QUT, majoring in Printmaking, in 1997. Although abstract and conceptional painting are her predominant styles, she has been inspired by Cy Twombly, Colin McMahon, Ann Thompson, Denise Green and Antonio Tapies’ mark making.

DAVID USHER

“The Stairs to the Waterhole, Crow’s Nest is from a series of paintings I have developed for my most recent exhibition at Alexandra Lawson Gallery. This series explores sites I have visited over the previous eight months. In a conversation with Alexandra Lawson recently we were discussing how one body of paintings continually morph into a new body of work and newly imagined scenes. Alexandra made the suggestion that one painting informs the next in a continuous line of work. This was a great insight for me and a realisation that points toward a better understanding of how my visual narrative is constructed not only within a particular body of work but from one group of paintings to the next.

Graeme Sullivan suggests that, “The meanings that artists make from their imaginative investigations are not only collected from their encounters with things around them but they are also created in response to their experiences. That is what is unique about the inquiring mind of artists, for they create new understandings from what we don’t know, which profoundly changes what we do know” (2005, p.12).

The investigation of personally situated knowledge through my art’s practice allows me to not only develop ideas but to articulate these experiences of the landscape and the subsequent making of art as a direct response to experience and as part of a visual arts culture. It instils my practice with meaning.

In this most recent exhibition I am responding to daily encounters with place. The sites I visit or pass through and the experiences I have from moment to moment and from place to place in an endless progression. It reminds me of looking out the window at the landscape as you travel down the highway. It’s all a bit of a blur with movement but every now and then a tree or a scene catches your eye and makes you pause and it enters you.

While my personal focus is on the relationship between environment/landscape and the act of painting, my peers each hold their own individual paths of enquiry and response that help them make sense of their worlds. For me my practice is a deeply personal metaphor for my life experiences. Experiences, memories and encounters all translating into paintings of the landscape.

It is this world first observed and subsequently imagined and re-imagined that is what interests me with respect to my studio practice. The world that I am immersed in as a painter of the Australian landscape is defined by not only the importance of place to my personal narrative and the connections that exist through memory and my family to places that have grown up in over my lifetime. It is also significant as an environment where I have found solitude, silence and a sense of belonging on a personal level. It is also the space from which I subsequently have drawn inspiration for self-expression through mark-making/painting.

VAN HOWELL

“Ironbark Grove, Great Dividing Range – One of an ongoing series, begun in December, 2016. I’ve drawn the same four trees dozens of times from slightly different points of view, always with a vintage fountain pen. I regard the trees as a sort of musical score, each new drawing being another attempt to discern and interpret the composer’s intent.

Portrait of Eduard Villard – Eduard Villard was one of several artists Marcel Proust knew who contributed some of their own quirks to the fictional artist, Elstir, in his 4,000-page novel, Remembrances of Things Past. This was created as one of over one hundred illustrations for Steve Bachmann’s 2016 book on Proust’s life and work.Portrait of George Eliot – George Eliot was one of several English literary figures who deeply influence Marcel Proust. In drawing this, I was struck by what a beauty ‘George Eliot’ really was, sensitive and deeply female, despite the irregular features that look rather ugly at first in all the surviving photos and portrait drawings.”

PETA WARNER  “William Morris suggested “any decoration is futile – when it does not remind you of something beyond itself”.  My drawings were created whilst reflecting upon the lives of my parents.  These small items brought back many memories – a folding rain bonnet represents my mother; empty fish cans, my father.”  LYN WATTS

Lyn bases her art on nature and country.  Her early life on a rural sheep and cattle property has cemented her strong affinity with the land, and its animals.  Since moving to Toowoomba she loves to paint various birds that fly over and frequent her garden.  Also included in her works this year is a painting of gumtree leaves and flowers.  This has become one of her favourite subjects.

MARYIKA WELTER

Maryika was born and raised in country Victoria. She was among 12 Australian artists invited to participate at the Florence Biennale in 2009.

Mariya uses mixed media and experimentation, trusting the creative process instinctively to produce much of her abstract and representation works on canvas and paper. Her inspiration comes from the land, nature and the human form.

Maryika says “My art is an emotional response to an experience or concept and is developed in 3 stages. Firstly, the ‘contemplation’ process, physical and mental, gathering of the information. Secondly, is sorting for ‘clarity’ or the usefulness of the relevant information. Thirdly, the ‘conclusion’, an end-product or information that is express interpretive and is resolved legibly.”

SHARON WILKINSON 

Sharon describes herself as a leisure painter who likes to paint without boundaries.  She uses a range of media, including her favourite, watercolour. 

Wind Flower “Take the chance to explore.  Let the elements move you and do not resist”. 

Inside Out “A wider and more fulfilling life lies beyond the door.  Step outside and explore.”

NGAIRE WINWOOD

Ngaire has a fascination with Australia’s natural history which she attempts to understand on an intimate level to appreciate her version of the inherent beauty of her chosen subject, In particular, the complexities of her subject and the interactions the subject has within its direct and indirect environment. Additionally, storytelling and symbolism weave their way within her portraiture artworks whether they are of people or Australian flora or fauna.

The work she is exhibiting in this year’s show is about having the courage to break free from dysfunction relationships and lifestyles and to combat resistance when a person starts to follow one's path of purpose in life.

SUSANNE WOOD

“Humans share their homes and habitat with wild animals including insects, lizards, rodents and birds. There is a communication gap between these animals and ourselves, but a relationship is nevertheless formed.

My work uses the richness of pastel to examine what birds express, by isolating them from their traditional natural environment. My birds understand that they are watched and sometimes managed by us.

The Sentinel shows a palm cockatoo who has detected us - undaunted, alert but calm, self-assured, and ready to become friend or foe. The cockatoo reveals its poise and independence.

The Observer shows an emu observing us – interested and confident.

The Leader shows a peacock gauging our presence – steadfast, in control and respectable.

Always Keeping an Eye Out shows a Tawny Frogmouth keeping its still gaze on us – nonchalant.

DARREN WRIGHT

“Pechey Fire Tower – The photo comprises almost 100 individual photos stitched together to create a star trail. Taken late at night in the Pechey forest, with a full moon rising to light up the fire tower.

Over Lake Broadwater – Over 100 photos stitched together to form a star trail. Photographs taken at Lake Broadwater Conservation Park.”

JENNIFER WRIGHT SUMMERS

“Still StandingEmerging from deep wounds of domestic violence, the ‘Junk Lady’ has grown strong, whimsical and happy as she lets go of old feats that lead to expectations and judgements. Taking her ‘hands off’ what is not her business has freed her to sing, dance and share ‘cuppas’ with friends, connect, converse and create.

Finding Calm

This installation invites viewers to shed fear, stress, worry, resentment and busyness and take time to relax and feel calm.”

ANNE-MARIE ZANETTI

Anne-Marie’s photorealist paintings feature rich luminous colours, dramatic use of sunlight and intricate details. She is devoted to a singular purpose, to illuminate the preciousness of objects and moments in time that may otherwise seem insignificant or ordinary and to invite viewers to enter a meditative place by feeling a sense of intimacy, wonder and awe.