Sherbrooke Art Society Inc

November DemonstrationLynette Shepard - Portrait in Oil

2011-11-16T04:52:00.001-08:00

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Lynette told us she had just moved house; everything was still in boxes, with more boxes than she needed labelled Miscellaneous! She had to go hunting for her paints. She at least found some basic colours to work with, namely the primaries and black & white. Being the good artist she is, this was good enough.

She began by mixing up some skin tones, and with a much darker tone she scrubbed in her loose back-ground, after getting the measure of her subjects head. The sitter Phil (someone told me it was her son) had a gorgeous profile, of film-star proportions, but he told us he didn't like his nose! Isn't it funny how we are never satisfied with our own looks? and yet they are what people recognise us by. He had less to worry about than most. Some would be envious.

Phil was a bit fidgety to start with, but finally settled and Lyn got his position fixed. It was a nice angle, as if he was listening to music, or thinking about something, anyway it was restful pose.

When Lyn started to use her black, she realised it wasn't; it was a deep purple, but that didn't faze her; it was dark enough with a brown mixture to warm it for her purposes. This is in itself a good tip. Use what you have, and play around with colours to get as near as you want for the work in hand. It's a challenge and can be fun.

Phil’s shirt, a short-sleeve, open-neck was of a dark grey/purple tone anyway, so it came out right after all. He had thick black hair that was cut to enhance his features, although at the angle Lyn saw him, it was almost straight on.At one time, having one of several mini-breaks, she looked at the screen, where the colours aren't shown as so bright, so got an almost 'black-glass' view, and told us it was good, as she could see her tones, and where she needed to do extra work.

Lyn worked quickly, making and losing edges, giving her work with limited colours a Rembrandt look. The background is dark and the clothes not really for attention - the character of the face being the most important. This of course was only the basic 'thin' coat' and she would finish 'fat' another day. The likeness, was excellent, but as anyone knows who has done portraits, this can be lost so easily with a careless brush stroke. But knowing Lyn's work, this is unlikely. She inspired many of us to have a go. So try it for yourselves, mainly from life, as photos are 'dead' and often wrong. Well done Lyn, it was most enjoyable.

- Maureen King

Student Exhibtion 2011

2011-11-16T04:04:00.001-08:00

A large group turned out for the official opening of the 2011 student exhibition. Students, thier family friends, society members and committee members joined to celebrate and recognise the fantastic achievements of Sherbrooke Art Society's students under the professional and caring tutorage of Michael Goff, Stewart Benson, Jeff Murphy and Molly Roche.

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John's Demo Painting Wins Major Prize

2011-10-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations John Duncan-Firth

The painting which John demonstrated for us in June was not completed at the demo, so was completed, in John's home studio in San Remo at a later date. The first competion the painting was entered into was, the 2011 Hamilton North, Rotary Art Showwhich was held in October, the painting won First Prize in Section E listedbelow, the price on the painting was $725.

Section - E - Southern Grampians Livestock & Real Estate Best Painting of the Western District (within 150km of Hamilton) Sale Price $400 -$900 Acquisitive $ 700

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The result of the demonstration.	The prize winning painting

Springtime Exhibition 2011

2011-10-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Major Prize winners

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Mavis Hill Award Christine Cafarella	Best Oil Painting Dawn Pankiewicz	Best Pastel Barb McManus

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Best Water Colour Glen Hoyle	Best Black and White Janette Matthews

Catorgory Winners

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Maiden Proze John Good	Best 9x5 Molly Roche	Best 'In the Dandenongs' Elizabeth East

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Best Floral Study Jeff Murphy	Best Animal and Bird Study John Dunne	Best Portriat Jenny Feller

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Best Still Life Hellen Farthing	Best Landscape Sue Garret	Best Seascape Lois Banister

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September DemonstrationSeascape in Pastel by Maxwell Wilks

2011-10-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

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Max had a black Canson paper glued rough side down on a board. He told us he has Seniors make these up for him, as they are very good for transporting pastel paintings, and protecting them well. He also added they were not exactly cheap, but cheered us up by saying that a pastel painting can be scrubbed off, and the paper used again, albeit a differentslightly colour from the original. It would be a costly business if your work wasn't going well, otherwise.

Max started off by saying he likes to get a really bright background down to start, and started in with a cerise colour which he stroked on for the sandy cliffs. This he 'cooled 'slightly with bright orange. A vibrant ultra- marine was introduced for shadows, and here he 'cooled' thiswith a fluorescent green. I know some blokes are colour-blind, but Golleeee! Actually I liked it, as against the black background it looked like a psychedelic dream!(Not that I ever experienced one of them, but I have a very wild imagination!)

Max say he always starts brightly and gets everything where he wants it. But not immediately. This is where near enough is good enough. He likes lots of 'elbow room' so doesn't fill all the areas to the edges. You couldn't hear a pin drop from the audience, as the colours themselves were singing! It was great fun to watch, so much so, I could barely get everythingdown. Excitement in the room was palpable. Gradually adding a bright yellow, some of the green lost its zing, and you could see as Max worked it did start to cool down slightly. Then he changed tactics and filled in the sky with a bright candy pink. This quietened down eventually with a mauvy blue, after a heavy battering of ultramarine.

The strip of sea was also ultramarine. This was finished with a pure white wave, with a Schminke pastel. The sand wasnext, bringing out the dunes in a burnt sienna. The original ultramarine area was cooled with bright green, being the strongshadows under the cliffs.

As Max said, if you go into paling down too soon, you can't go back, so you have to be sure. He brings in an avocado green in grasses of the dunes, which he cools down with yellow ochre. (I am giving you colours of 'things' as I saw them so that youcan visualise them, as I had no idea what actual colours Max was using. All his pastels in his box were an overall muddy grey- buthe knew his way around them. The colours we saw were so bright!)

Max eventually used a warm white to highlight here and there, and the final brightness of thesand was pure Schminke white. So there it was - a hot tropical beach (no palms) with the bright blue sea and sky as is seen on a hot day. It was nothing short of a brilliant piece of work!Max explained that the bright colours underneath sparkled through, taking away the flat colour and giving a zing. It was'Pixel-ated' alright. Can we have more?- Maureen King.

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Bendigo Bank Supports Sherbrooke Art Society

2011-10-06T06:11:00.001-07:00

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Up it GoesThe long awaited sign adds finishing touch

2011-09-30T21:22:00.000-07:00

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At last the long awaited signage for the front entrance has been erected proudly displaying our signature lyre bird painted by Nick Costello and our sponsor, Bendigo Bank of Belgrave.

The frame work was constructed by Michael Freshwater with some help from Kevin Berry with the welding.

Mother nature made the desicion that we would be doing the entire job in the rain but that did not dampen the spirits of the workers although our clothing was quite damp by the end.

Thank you to Kevin Berry, Nick Costello, John Allgood , Jeff Murphy and Michael Freshwater.

Portrait Painting

2011-09-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

The first class dedicated to the art of portraiture has produced some amazing results.

This is a new class conducted by Jeff Murphy teaching the tonal approach to lively dynamic portraits.

Techniques covered are, understanding tone, anylising the subject, understanding the order of importance, colour and palette and proportions.

Contact the art society for more informatin about joining this class.

Italian Scene in WatercolourSeptember Demonstration with John Orlando Birt

2011-09-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

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John Orland Birt's paper was Arches 33gm cold pressed. He fixed it to his board with tape. He says it is heavy enough not to have to soak it first, and by using the tape on the corners he can release any bubbling that occurs. He uses mainly Winsor and Newton watercolours. His brushes are quality squirrel, but he uses cheap synthetics to mix his paints, keeping his 'squirrels' in condition.

John is lucky enough to be able to go travelling overseas twice a year, usually Spring and Autumn, and paints plein air every time. He says he very rarely touches them after he gets home, as he said he feels that the initial spontaneity can be spoiled. On the other hand, he believes you have to know just what you are going to do, before you apply the paint, so that the work is completed at the venue.

John had drawn his scene of Amalfi, in pencil so that he could get straight into it. Using a pale ochre wash in the sky, he brought in cobalt blue for the background mountain, behind the church tower, which was his focal point. He pointed out that ultramarine tends to be too dark, so he stays with cobalt throughout the picture. One of Johns favourite colours is a gold ochre, and he used this for the shadowed side of the tower, and by weakening and strengthen it, he added the roof tops of the cluster of houses.

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When this was nearly dry, but damp enough to move it, he used a wider brush, and with one downward sweep coloured the fronts of the buildings, and as this didn't come all the way down, left the bottom of the building white, as if lit up from the light being thrown up by the unseen road. As these were all in the sun, the tint of ochre was just right. Behind the top line of roofs he painted in trees- running along behind the buildings and down the side of them on the right. To get this green he mixed cobalt with the golden ochre, adding light red to warm it. The gold ochre was used again with violet added for the cooler shadows.

As John pointed out, although all the colours he used were light, they were heavy enough to capture the sunny scene without anything dark as it would have been obviously too heavy. His colourful trees were made up of light red, cerulean, permanent rose. Once again sounding very light, but was right in this case. While it was before being dry enough for 'cauliflowers', he flicked a turquoise onto the paper over it, in the foreground, and let it dry in.

A road wound its way from the bottom right, narrowing as it went up into the bottom edge of the buildings and disappearing into what I thought of as the town square, behind the houses.

This was the focal point and was the lightest part of the picture. Once this had dried, John then went in with his darker colour of green - a mix of cobalt and light red. This was dark enough, to bring out the shadows. He also brought in pencil pines, without them, it wouldn't have been Italy! They just love those pines, especially in Tuscany.

The trees that were down the right side of the houses and down beyond, were then worked on, and showing the town was literally, high on the mountain side, and we could see more of the descending valley through from there.

As his darker trees in the foreground was drying, he removed some of the colour here and there, to show the sunny spots on the tree tops, creating an interesting texture of leaves.

By the time John had finished, I think we all nearly felt like rushing home, and having a go ourselves. I know I did. It was beautifully done, in a fuss free manner, typical of John.

- Maureen King

TRAVEL EXPO ART SHOWTravelscene Monbulk in conjunction with Sherbrooke Art Society

2011-09-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

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As part of the Travelscene Monbulk Travel Expo on September 12, 2011 the organisers decided wouldn't it be great to include an art show with awards of paintings depicting travel destinations.

The art show was held at the New Monbulk Hub, a perfect venue with a lovely gallery space. Due the success of this exhibition all the available hanging space was filled with some excellent work.

The show was judged by Jeff Murphy, President of the Sherbrooke Art Society.

Special thanks to the sponsors of this event, Travelscene Monbulk.

As this show was such a success we are already in the planning for another show next year.

Congratulations to the winning artists, Glen Hoyle who took out the first prize, Cathie Berry second prize and Robyn Dawson with third prize.

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With Brush in HandBarb Beasley Southgate Retrospective Exhibition

2011-09-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

With Brush in Hand, a retrospective Exhibition is actually a story; Barbara’s story. It is a story of one artist’s journey spanning a long career through the challenges and setbacks, lost chances and unexpected opportunities of life. It is a story of courage and determination mixed with philosophy and ambition.

Barb’s journey into art and painting began when she was 18 years old when she decided that she would paint a couple of landscapes to brighten up the lounge. Since then Barbara has become a renowned artist in her own right having won many awards. Her first art prize was when she was awarded two lollies for a pastel drawing of the Virgin Mary at school.

Barb’s talent was evident at the age of thirteen when her teachers advised her to pursue art as a career. Unfortunately, through family circumstances Barb was forced to leave school at the age of fourteen to get a job.

Her mother then enrolled her at art class at Melbourne Tech on Saturday mornings, but again, that was cut short when she was asked to work on Saturdays.
Then came marriage and children, and although she dabbled a bit it would not be until 1966 that she decided to take painting seriously when she became one of the first members of the newly formed Sherbrooke Art Society.

Barb began teaching here at Sherbrooke Art Society which was then known as the Red Mill when Nicholas Bentinck asked her to take over his class whilst he was in hospital with cancer. ‘You’re the one, I want you to do it’, he told Barb. From this opportunity Barb established herself as a tutor and continued teaching for many years after that. This was to be the turning point for Barbara.

Before long Barbara became the manager of the Sherbrooke Art Society and held that position for three years whilst living in the small flat which is now studio one.
Barb then attempted to take her art further and applied for a Fine Arts Degree. She was knocked back because she didn’t have her Matriculation. Although cross and disappointed she came to realise that this was not another setback but one of those unexpected life opportunities. The opportunity to develop her own style and explore new directions doing the things she wanted to do.

With brush in hand, Barb has captured people, places and events of the times. Each work is different as Barb adapts her style to subject and medium in her own language. From intimate vignettes of life to the dramatic Australian landscape, still life to subtle portraiture Barb has captured the essence of her experiences to tell a story and reveal the inner spirit of the artist.

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"Strong brush work together with vivid colours"

From the breif impressionistic plein air studies to bold colourful studio epics, each painting in this retrospective exhibition has somthing different to say. Landscapes to portraites, still life to people in places, these paintings are dynamic in thier style and masterfullly painted.

Barb has a rich sense of colour through out her work. She captures a light and atmosphere of her subject and energises the surface of the canvas with deliberate brush strokes.

The range of genera in this exhibition demonstrates the artist's skills and how she adapts her technique to suit the medium and the subject.
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New Portrait Class Masterpeices

2011-08-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

The new portrait class on Thursday mornings is seeing some fantastic results from the students. Starting of with just one student at the beginning of the term it has now grown to four students with new enquiries each week.

Students are being taught the Meldrum Tonal method of painting portraits. From simple exercises to encorporating new lessons each week which have developed the students skills.

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Contact Jeff at Sherbrooke Art Society for information about joining this class.

Classes are held Thursday morning from 10am to 1pm.

Sea Scape in PastelBy Lorraine Wigraft

2011-08-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

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Lorraine brought in a beach scene she had done previously. The clouds were the dominant factor, and the day was a calm one.

Lorraine's paper was a Colorfix - in a pale sandy shade, which was the right colour for her beach. Starting off with a bright cobalt shade of blue she started getting her sky in. To this she added cerulean and a slight peach colour. Her clouds were lightly peachy too, and she added off-white to lighten the tops of them, giving them shape. With a blue violet she then worked on the shadows underneath.

Changing direction, she worked on the scrubby shoreline, working from left and narrowing in a slight arc to just left of centre. There were no trees to stop the eye following its shape. Then she lightened the sand in the distance, pushing the scrub even further back. She paled the middle distance sand, bringing her white pastel down loosely to the foreground, which gave it a sunny colourful look.

Working on her sea, Lorraine used her cobalt blue for the distance and the horizon, introduced a slight green blue into it, then changed to cerulean along the edge of the water, again coming down towards the foreground loosely so that the 'sandy' paper showed through slightly.

Then it was just the matter of the whitening of the waves and water’s edge. The sea was a calm one, and the whole scene was very restful. As I stated earlier, the sky was where the action was - in the clouds - and these took up the top half to below the mid-line of her paper. Lorraine only used 75% of her paper. It was bigger than the original, but I wondered why she didn't use the whole sheet. Maybe she already had a matt for that size. She forgot to bring a mat, and just outlined it with masking tape, to show it at the end.

- Maureen King

Make Colour Work for YouHelga Ivany

2011-07-21T16:32:00.000-07:00

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Looking around our gallery, Helga kept saying, “I don’t know why I’m here!” She liked our great display. I think she thought there might be people who would benefit from learning the basics of colour. Well, she was right. We tend to forget newer members joining the society might not be ‘au fait’ with colour mixing. I myself went to Barbara Beasley-Southgate’s beginners class, after I had been painting and selling for twenty five years previously!. I was self taught - observance and library books, but always had the feeling that maybe there was something I needed to know from the beginning. Was there something I should have known?

As Helga pointed out, colour is important to humans:
Physics: electro-magnetic rays hitting surfaces;
Physiology: how your optic nerves interpret colours; and Psychology: the impact of colours and how you interpret them.
I can add another: Pleasure: How many colours that you dislike do you see in roses? She gave an example: imagine at a barbecue being given a steak beautifully cooked, but the chef had painted it green! Would you eat it?
Walk into a cool blue room, on a hot day - how calming that would be; or into a warm salmon-pink bedroom-wouldn’t you feel cosy? How do you feel about a room painted entirely in black, disoriented?

Albert Munsell in 1905 devised a newer colour wheel, where opposites weren’t quite where they were before - such as when mixing opposites: red and green make brown (but there had to be other tints added to get a workable brown); and red and blue made a muddy purple. So Munsell divided the colours into a wheel, including the secondaries, and these became a better mix to oppose the primaries. Helga told us he had worked out a numbered system to make 30,000 colours.
Whew! I don’t suppose he had time to ‘paint’.

There is a ‘Munsell’ colour wheel demonstrating them in Harley Brown’s book 'Eternal Truths For Every Artist'. It is an excellent book, and very informative.
As we have all worked, or should have worked, on the tonal system from white to black, with its many shades of grey, Albert Munsell applies this to all colours. Pastellists can see this in art shops with pastels in narrow drawers, where colour goes from pure pigment to its palest, in every row.
Still 30,000 sounds an awful lot. Helga suggests reading a reference book by William Charles Libby 'Colour and the Structural Sense'.

Helga has her palette tinted a light grey, as she said white shows up better. She referred to her white as a toner, the same as chalk in pastels. White is light, Black is dark. She had colour charts she made up of various colours, and showed how she mixed colours to match her existing colours, darkening with black or lightening with white,to get the right shades she would need - useful if she had used up her original ‘mix’ on her palette and needed more. She painted on a small piece of paper to hold against the chart, adding what was needed to get it exact. You can also place a small dab on the colour itself, if you can’t see it - it’s a match!.

When Helga started her demo, she told us about her very first one, where she was so nervous her father suggested a nip of vodka, to calm her. She said with several ‘calming’ nips, she did very well. We joked about it through the evening, but in reality, you need your wits about you in colour mixing, otherwise your regrets the next morning might not be just a hangover!
Maureen King.

June DemonstrationJoanne Seabury-Pastel

2011-06-20T05:12:00.000-07:00

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Jo-Anne Seberry was supposed to do a picture of Venice, but had been working on a large picture of Portofino, and her mind was still on it. I can understand why her mind was on one thing, and how hard it was to suddenly do something else. It's best to go along with the 'Artistic Muse', while it is there; if you have a bee in your bonnet, you fix it don't you?

She did bring a picture she had done of Venice, of one of the back canals, and as she said, the theme is the same except no gondolas! Buildings and Waterfront.

She had done a drawing in charcoal pencil, on beautiful warm plum-coloured Canson paper, the smooth side. As she pointed out, the place was buzzing with activity, but was an enchanting place to paint. However she wanted to do a more relaxed atmosphere. She took many photos, which was just as well, as the Church clock said 5.10!, and the light would have faded. But she took notes. As she pointed out, when you pay a lot to get to see these places, it isn't always the right time to paint; she was only there a matter of hours.

Using a darkish pastel she filled in some of the many windows on the tall colourful buildings, doing an occasional canvas awning or window box here and there. She also did two boats, so that we'd see space and perspective. This included a building facades and reflections.

She was working all over the place, but as she pointed out, time was of the essence and she wanted to show as much as she could in the time allotted. It would take days to get to the finished picture anyway. But by doing this quick 'short-hand' picture, we got the idea of how it was going to look.

It wasn't such a bad idea, getting it down like that, as you felt 'into' the picture, after about twenty minutes. She normally works from the top, down. That way she said there's less chance of smudging. Jo-Anne works to the very edge of her paper; she has a 'tamed' framer, and it gives him room to manoeuvre too.
She doesn't use any sprays, she just taps the paper, and lets the dust fall as it will. Her pastels are chosen for their colour first and foremost, and as she says, she finds working over a soft pastel (such as a Schminke) with a hard pastel, she can often create some nice effects.

She passed around her work record books, and we could all see she is a very fine and talented artist. I hope we will see more of her work.

- Maureen King

Open Studio Day June 2011

2011-06-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

Successful Open Weekend 28 & 29 May

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More than 150 visitors came to Sherbrooke Art Society over the Dandenong Ranges Open Studios Weekend. Nick Costello’s epic painting literally stopped traffic (both car and foot) encouraging people to come inside. The flags, balloons and signage outside gave the place a festive atmosphere. Inside the place was bustling with people. Visitors watched artists painting in the gallery or demonstrating in the studios; they browsed the paintings exhibited on the walls and they chatted and relaxed over a free cup of tea or coffee. Visitors were impressed with the size of the gallery, the quality of works and the friendly welcoming atmosphere.

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Burinja Open Studios Exhibition

2011-05-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

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Jeffrey Murphy, Bill Braithwaite and Wendy Havard attended the opening of the Open Studios Exhibition at Burrinja on Friday Night the 20th of May. Bill Braithwaite's painting of two rainbow lorikeets entitled 'Wild at Heart' was Sherbrooke Art Society's representative at the exhibition. Bill Braithwaite was chosen to represent the gallery as he had won last year's Jack Montgomery A-grade competition. The exhibition consists of a piece of work from each of the artists participating in the Dandenong Ranges Open Studios. The exhibition ends on the 26th of June. Burrinja is located at 351 Glenfern Road, Upwey.

May Demonstration ReportWith John Duncan-Firth

2011-05-16T00:59:00.000-07:00

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The first thing I did when I saw the size of John’s paper, was to twit him about the size for a demo. (I have known John and family for over forty years.) But
John, as usual where Art comes in, had the last laugh.

The said paper, was about 10x15 inches. It was pale sky blue. The picture was of (I think) Mt Abrupt, near Dunkeld. It was a great picture because the mountain skyline had several variations in height in a short span. Below in misty paddocks were fully grown trees, not all gums, and in front more paddocks leading forward to sheep grazing on the bank of a river, or dam.

John used the pale blue paper as the mist, so made the mountains much darker, as with the well spaced trees. These were about one and a half inches to two in height, not a great deal of room to move about. His ‘sky holes’ he did with a green pastel. These were really minute, but John is a stickler for detail. There will always be someone, who would notice! The green, was very light, but wasn’t blue as you would expect, because the foliage would interfere with looking right through, so if blue, they would stand out looking like winking lights. This shaping gave the trees character.

The paddocks were golden ochre. The water in the foreground was mostly left as blue paper and reflections, but in an area where John wanted highlights he said that was where pure white light was put in, without picking up any contamination from other colours. It’s all so simple, especially if you spend years and years working from nine to five each day in your workshop! You have a wealth of tips to call on.
So the mountains and trees took up almost half the paper by the time John got to the bottom. You would say it was done. NO! it wasn’t.

John then started to work on it. He lightened, he darkened, he put bare paddocks behind the row of trees, pushing the mountains further back and darkening the foreground bringing it forward. Sounds crazy? but that was what he was doing. All within ten inches depth. The whole thing was a masterpiece, because he added ‘atmosphere’ into it.

It’s no wonder John wins prizes. But he deserves them. Maddening for other competitors, but with his observations, and the detailing that goes into his work, it just shows his skill. It was still a bit tiny for a large room, but what we learnt from watching, certainly made us sit up and take notice. Thanks John.

Maureen King

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April Working Bee

2011-05-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

What a perfect Autumn day for a working bee. Mild weather and sunny skies were the perfect setting for volunteers Leonie Summerfield, Glenda Van Trojan, Wendy Roads, Nick Costello, Reg Henning and Michael freshwater to tackle the tasks outlined for the day.

On behalf of the Society and Committee I would like to thank Glenda, Wendy and Leonie who started on the far side of the creek pulling out Black Berries and weeds and who Nick moved the large pile of earth from behind studio 2 which was the result of last years renovations. Thank you to Michael who continued work on the frames for the signage by applying the first coat of paint.

Special thanks also to Agnes Parcesepi who has worked one day a month for almost a year in the garden on maintenance and clearing of weeds. Just this week Agnes planted a hedge of beautiful camellias along the fence line behind studio one. The camellias will create a beautiful screen with spring colour.

If you haven’t already, take the time to explore the grounds of the society. Clematis creek, once over grown and choked with weeds is now a beautiful asset to be proud of. Recent sightings of a platypus, fresh water crays and our resident eel testify to the health of the creek. An ideal location for painting or just relaxing and taking in the gorgeous surrounds.

There is still plenty of work to be done and we are always in need of volunteers to help out. If you can assist in any way please contact the gallery for information about future working bees.

Jeff Murphy
President

March Demonstration Report: Fiona Billborough Portrait in Oils

2011-05-04T17:51:00.000-07:00

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The colours used - only alizarin crimson, yellow ochre, and black and white! The K.I.S.S principle personified.

I have long been an admirer of John Balmain's work, and when I read in our Newsletter that Fiona Bilbrough was once his pupil, I was looking forward with anticipation to the demonstration. I must admit I hadn't heard of Fiona Bilbrough, but from her demo on the 3rd of March she has another 'devotee' to add to her growing collection. The late John Balmain, would either be very proud of her, or extremely jealous, as her work is on a par with his!

I will try to recapture the evening, not only for the enjoyment of those there, but for the benefit for all the unfortunate people who couldn't be there.

Ted Rowbottom, the model, was sitting on the stage, with a back-drop of drab-olive material. Fiona had brought her own spotlight which shone down on Ted's right, catching the top of his head, and giving a beautiful 'chiaroscuro' (light/shade) of his face, with just a small light on his upper left cheek. Ted has the most gorgeous crop of white unruly curls. He was wearing a navy sweater, with the white collar of his shirt, echoing his hair.

Fiona had an MDF panel with white canvas, about 18" by 12". Mixing a little black into the yellow ochre, with just a smidgin of 50/50 oil, she almost dry brushed the olive over the entire board. Standing back and measuring and placing dots put Ted's head in position. It was about 2/3 normal size - a good size for a portrait.

Taking a square of well washed flannelette, Fiona wiped back the light areas en bloc - forehead, nose, and chin. Adding pressure she wiped out the shape of the white hair, almost back to the canvas. Taking up her brush she placed her darks, gently wiping, getting the tones correct. Took all of ten minutes, but it was TED! To many, this seems like cheating, but think a minute. All your edges are soft, so you can 'hard edge' where needed, and you have the overall colour of the background running through out your picture. Piece of cake!

Fiona then added skin tones, starting with the strong red areas, namely, nose ears, and cheeks. She worked this up slowly and carefully, as Ted had aruddy complexion. As she pointed out, she can always correct by adding or wiping back. She said it was useless painting over mistakes, as do you not get it right because the paint already there weakens the paint you add. It is better to wipe it off and then do the correction.

Fiona stopped, to give Ted a break, and told us that she was working more quickly than normal because of the time restraints. She was always told by John Balmain to be slow and sure. Time and accuracy shouldn't compete. Slow and accurate is the way to go, and gives more satisfaction.
She is a delightful person, and a very good teacher, and I think we all benefitted from her demo.

Leaning against the stage, where I kept studying it, was her self portrait. She picked it up and explained the same colours were used although her skin tone was much lighter. She was wearing a black dress, or blouse with afrilled collar. The background was the same drab olive, which is great for bringing out that skin tone. With highlights picking out her dark brown hair, her face glowed, like that of an old master. It was magnificent. She even managed to avoid that concentrated look, that one usually sees in self portraits.

Getting back to Ted. Fiona added a sea-green to his navy sweater for more contrast, and when she put in the white collar of his shirt, Ted almost jumped off the canvas. Fiona then settled down to details and refining. This she naturally couldn't finish as time had flown by, but it is the refining that takes it to 'fine-art' and she is definitely one of the best.

PLEASE, can we have her again!
- Maureen King.

April Demonstration Report: Landscape in Acrylic with Michael Goff

2011-04-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

Click image for larger view

Lucky Michael went on holiday to Scotland to the Isle of Iona. As he was with family he obviously didn’t have the time to paint, but like all good artists he took a wealth of photos to work from later.

The scene he chose had a dramatically dark cloud. As he said, the sky often gives the picture the drama, or the setting needed for the picture. The same scene with different skies can be done this way.

In the upper middle was a stone 18th century bridge with the water running over rocks towards you. It was peaceful scene, enlivened by the cloud.

Keeping everything in pastel tones he put in the blue of the sky, melting downwards into pink then blue, where the softness of the distant hills brought the land into play.

Using a buttery yellow he painted downwards towards the bottom, and by adding a soft orange each side, he covered the rest of the landscape, blending as he went.

In the bottom of the top left quadrant, he loosely painted in the bridge, with had two large arches. To show the river he painted in a wiggle of sky blue, and edging it to show it widen towards us, with a soft purple. This was the picture laid down.

Next he started to strengthen his colours. As he pointed out, we artists love our colours. The picture was typical of Scotland, with a more Australian touch to give it a glow. Scotland can often glower at one, but a fine day can create heaven.

Standing back he decided the cloud was a little too forceful, and softened it back a bit, bringing in a little more blue. It still had its drama, but more in keeping with the picture.

It’s always a pleasure watching Michael, as he comments on things as he goes, so even the basic beginner can follow, yet the well advanced learn more in little ‘zingers’ of information. Art is a study that is ongoing through life.

Thanks Michael - Maureen King

March 2011 Water Colour Work Shop with Malcom Beatie

2011-03-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

Click image for larger view

2011 Streeton Roberts McCubbin Awards Exhibtion

2011-03-14T11:43:00.000-07:00

Click to view larger image

2011 Winners
Streeton Award:
Di King-Winner
Ern Trenbath: Highly Commended

Roberts Award
Barbara McManus-Winner
John Duncan-Firth-Highly Commended
Barb Beasly-Southgate-Commended

McCubbin Award
Janet Matthews-Winner
Johnn Dunne-Highly Commended

Judge
Walter Magilton

Opening Speaker
Mrs Bev Mc Allister OAM

Exhibtion Co-ordinator
Gordon Richardson

January Demonstration Report with Peter Smales

2011-01-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

WOW! What a start to our 2011 calendar with Artist Peter Smales demonstrating his painting technique of a coastal scene.

For Peter it was a sense of being home for it was Sherbrooke Art Society where he first began exhibiting as a young man in his teens

Peter began his demonstration with some talk about composition and the importance of making the scene work as a painting. He used the original photograph he had taken of Anglesea as well as a painting of the same scene as his subject.

Peter used primed cotton duck canvas that had been fixed to board. He had toned the canvas before hand with a soft buff apricot pink. Peter explained that this helps him get his lightest tones on straight away.

With fluent and free strokes of the brush Peter began by creating a few sketch lines marking out the important shapes of the of the coastal area. He used Flinders Violet knocked down with a bit of raw umber for his initial blocking in of the major land masses.

He then turned his attention to the sky using a turps wash of emerald green mixed with white. For an impression of clouds cavalier strokes of warm pink were applied.
For the distant sea Peter used a warm wash of Ultra marine blue mixed with a bit of white.

Whilst cheering us with his humour Peter gave explanation to his technique and the thought process behind the decisions he made on the canvas. A gorgeous stroke of warm red was added to the foreground before he began building in his shadow masses of trees and structures with a warm umberish dark. Following the shadow areas he begun to adjust some of the tones in the background headland and the sea in the horizon area.

By the time Peter called for a short interval the painting was well underway with all the major areas established. It gave a chance for a close up look to get a better understanding of the dynamic free brush strokes covering the canvas.

Peter resumed the painting wasting no time correcting the shape of the headland that formed a positive shape against the sky area. By adding some yellow warmth to the sky colour he gave the sky a final run over and then began work on the middle area adding lighter tones to the shadow areas he had created earlier. To represent light on the distant trees Peter added an opaque lighter tone of ‘pinkish – green ‘.

Peter explained that at this stage of the painting he was still making adjustments to all areas by studying the tonal relationships together with the colour relationships. Having been taught in the tonal school, Peter placed emphasis on the importance of tonal relationship in a painting; though his style is more one of a colour impressionist today.

After Peter finished adding some brief details of warm mauve lighter areas on the distant headlands his deft brush began work on the street scene in the immediate foreground and the inlet and treed area in the middle distance. He added warm pinks and blues to the trees and a few gestures with the brush to represent shops and caravans.

Finally Peter was ready to place a few figures in the street with just a few impressionist strokes as a final touch.

I must confess, I am a biased fan of Peter Smales, and have admired his work for as long as I have painted. Peter’s demonstration was a perfect start for the year and I look forward to the opportunity to having Peter back in the future.

New Saturday Painting Group

2010-09-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

Join the Saturday Painting Group in Studio 1 for fun, socilalising and creative sharing.

The first painting group starts 16th October 2010.

If you are interested in joining please contact Sherbrooke Art Society Wednesday - Sunday between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm to register.

Please Note: These are non tutored sessions, materials not supplied.

Bring along something for morning tea or lunch. Tea and coffee provided. BBQ facilities available.

To register or Email an enquiry click here

2010-09-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

A fun time for children at the Fairy Green book launch at Sherbrooke Art Society. Glenda Wise, a long time member and tutor at Sherbrooke illistrated this magnificant set of books; the first in the Fairy Green adventures. Read more....

More Information

Read the story and view the illustrations
Visit The Great Hall of Dreams

2010-08-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Large Crowd Attend Fairy Green Book Launch

A huge crowd attended the Fairy green book launch here at Sherbrooke Art Society on the 29th August.

Children dressed as fairies and characters from the books helped serve food to guests as well as participate in story reading and games. Amongst the guests were friends of the author and Glenda Wise, media, 3D web developers from ExitReality, SAS members and of course friends from Glenda's network of artists.

The four book set of the Fairy Green Stories are written by Michael Kelly and beautifully illustrated by Sherbrooke's long standing member Glenda Wise. Signed editions were available for sale on the day as well as other merchandise including posters, mugs and even Fairy Green tea blended by the fairies.

Director Ian Burns gave a history of Fairy Green and the ambitious plans they have for taking this book to children around the world. Their aim is to encourage children and parents to become more involved with their world and to bring to life their dreams, hopes, and aspirations through the medium of storytelling and online and offline adventures and experiences, relevant to individual cultures.

The purpose of Fairy Green says Ian Burns is to "inspire and connect the children of the world.

Our Vision is a world where children are actively involved in creating and maintaining as adults a fair and just society within a sustainable environment"

More Information

Read the story and view the illustrations
Visit The Great Hall of Dreams

Mosaic Masterpeice by Linda

2010-08-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

Sherbrooke Art Society Service Auctions are proving a great hit. The opportunity for people share skills and knowledge with others like Ilsa Gordon has with mosaic lessons is wonderful. Here is some great feed back.
"Hi Ilse,

Thank you again for the mosaic lessons you gave me. After Saturday's grouting lesson I kept working on the pot, carefully scraping off the excess grout around each mosaic tile, polishing it and then sealing it with the sealer you generously gave me. I am very pleased of the result and as you can see, planted up with a cyclamen in it, it really brightens up my kitchen table.

Thanks again,

Linda

A TRIBUTE TO BARRY MAXWELL BARTLETT

2010-08-13T04:50:00.000-07:00

By AGNES PARCESEPE

After finishing year twelve at seventeen, Max was awarded a scholarship to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney where he spent four years doing Drama, Radio, Dance and Movement.

He was offered a position in the Theatre Company, but decided to do TV instead. He started at Channel 6 in Ballarat as compére of a children’s show. Max was transferred to Channel O in Melbourne, where he played a character in Adventure Island with Nancy Cato for a number of years. He also interviewed women from 10 am to 11 am. From there he worked at Channel 7 in Perth interviewing women until Holmes à Court took the Channel over and dismissed all staff except the news reader.

Max took over the Octagon Theatre for the University of Western Australia. He became the manager for Perth’s Royal Agricultural show. He also was in charge of the Commonwealth Swimming Games and produced wonderful fashion shows for visiting fashion designers.

Max decided to come back to Melbourne in 2000, when he semi-retired, and he became Event Manager at Knox City Council and then at the City of Bendigo.

Max helped the Sherbrooke Art Society during his three years as president
(2004-2007). He initiated the application for Government Grants to renovate the Gallery and came to the opening when it was finished. The week Max passed away, he produced the lovely Art Show in Noble Park.

Apart from all these things mention, Max accomplished much, much more. Max will be always remember and greatly missed by all.

Thank you Max.

September Feature Artist: Peter Goodman

2010-08-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

Peter’s academic career started with Architecture studies at RMIT which included drawing, perspective, sciagraphy (shadows), and several Art subjects. Later he travelled to UK and Canada, working in drawing offices and in exhibition design where imaginative concepts and creative presentations were required.

He first came to Sherbrooke Gallery when it was owned by Nick Bentinck, and known as The Red Mill. The gallery was purchased by Sherbrooke Art Society and the instructor was Max Casey who demonstrated the Tonal Realist Method of painting. Max had been a student of Max Meldrum, its originator.

Peter painted each week for a few years until business and babies intervened, Many years elapsed before he joined Stuart Benson’s
class to work in acrylics and pastel. Two years later Peter transferred to Jeffrey Murphy’s classes for training in oil painting and rediscovered the delights and discipline of Tonal Realism. Jeff studied with Glenda Wise who had trained in the Meldrum school.

Another two years and the Meldrum connection continues. Peter’s present teacher is Fiona Bilbrough who was trained by John Balmain, himself a student of Max Meldrum.

Peter’s painting work has developed. He recently received commendations at Camberwell and Knox Rotary Art Shows.
As Featured Artist of the Month for September he is showing a variety of paintings including still-life, landscape and some portraits.

Contact Information

To contact Peter Goodmanplease email

July Demonstration Report

2010-07-15T15:39:00.001-07:00

Janet Hayes Demonstrates a portrait of hands in pastel

Jack Pithouse generously gave up his curiosity of wanting to watch Janet Hayes paint hands and volunteered his own mitts, to be the subject for our study. He was excellent too!, as he completely relaxed his hands onto a blue tablecloth. It was a good subject to study, as hands are very complex things to do in painting. If they had been held even fractionally taught, the painting would have just been an exercise. As it was, the painting when finished gave the feeling of relaxation, from a completely different angle. Hanging on a wall, it would encourage a busy person to relax too. Such pictures become 'masterpieces'. We all 'felt' the message.

Janet was working on a neutral warm grey background, and roughly sketched in, in block form to start, with charcoal. She did what I call 'scribble drawing', more or less leaving the charcoal on the paper and do a very rough drawing, scribbling lines into place, and rubbing off any lines that weren't needed with her other hand. The fingers she did 'en bloc' as at this stage the fingers would have taken her away from the immediate task of getting the hands positioned. Once that was accomplished she then darkened in her shadows, getting rid of any excess charcoal.

Using Burnt Umber she got her mid-tones in, indicating the shapes of the fingers, and their complex angles. Taking a pastel she called English Red, which was a warm pink, she added some highlights, just by patches of colour. Having done that, she decided the tablecloth should be included here, which would also help define edges. She did this in a cool blue/grey. After this she decided Jack needed to have a break. He laughingly told us, it wasn't the hands that needed it, it was his left buttock that was going numb! He wasn't sitting correctly, and his weight was in the wrong place. He would be a bit more circumspect when he sat down again! Meanwhile Janet went to the back of the room to check her work. Getting back to it, she constantly worked backwards and forwards across the painting, adding softer pastels as she went, moulding Jacks hands, and deepening shadows.

It was a brilliant piece of work, because you felt, if you were to touch it, the hands would have felt warm! It just goes to show that sometimes thinking 'outside of the square' you can still make an attractive picture. I hope to see more of Janet in the future, and I'm sure you will all agree. Many missed out, probably thinking the subject not interesting, but next time, might think twice, as Sherbrooke Art Society always picks Artists of quality, no matter what their subject. Thank you Janet. Maureen King

Auction Generates Cash For Sherbrooke Art Society

2010-07-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

On the 10th of July Sherbrooke Art Society held an art auction to raise much needed funds to go towards the building fund.

This was the third of such auctions within the last ten years.

The auction was attended by an approximated 30 people who successfully bid on a third of the 100 paintings on offer. Auction Lots included pastels, oils and watercolours by renowned and merging artists. There were also some wonderful paintings by amateur artists, all of whom donated not only the painting but the time and effort in creating it.

Special thanks to our auctioneer Garry Watson from Belgrave for his entertaining and professional work.

The highest successful bid gained for the day was a framed pastel by Barb Beasley for $500.

Successful bidders took advantage of the number of great works up for auction. It was great to see some young and very enthusiastic bidders amongst the auction crowd.

Congratulations to all involved who helped make the day a success.

The auction raised over $5000.

Feature Artist of the Month

2010-07-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

Jeff Murphy

Jeff Murphy started his painting career here at Sherbrooke Art Society twenty years ago under the tutorage of Glenda Wise where he learnt the Meldrum Method of tonal painting.

Jeff is now a popular tutor at the society running 6 classes a week in tonal painting.

Jeff's style has been described as direct and loose with lost edges and subtle exquisite tones and colours. Jeff's work is mainly still life and floral although he also paints landscape, figures and portraits.

Jeff's work can be viewed for the month of July 2010

View Jeff's demonstration at Sherbrooke Art Society, 'Finishing a Still Life Painting'

Contact Information

Jeff Murphy is available for demonstrations for society and groups.
Jeff also runs extra workshops for those interested in specific subject matter like florals, figures and portrait also field trips for plein air workshops.

To contact Jeff Murphy please email

See Jeff's website

Art Auction

2010-06-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Original Paintings, Massive Savings
Saturday 10th July
Viewing 11am - 4pm Thursday 8th -9th
Saturday Viewing: from 11pm

More Information

Original paintings in oil, water color, pastel and acrylic from renowned and merging artists.

The Sherbrooke Art Society Art Auction is an annual fund raising event. Paintings are donated by members to be auctioned to raise funds to help maintain and complete refurbishments on our 80 year old building.

Auction items will be available for preview from 11am to 4pm on the 8th and 9th of July.

There is no reserve on auction items.

This is your chance to purchase quality original art with massive savings.

For more information contact the Sherbrooke Art Society during gallery hours on 9754 4264

Fund Raising Raffle

2010-06-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

RAFFLE DECLARATION NO: 55565

First Prize:
GOLDEN PASTURES

Framed pastel painting valued $2,500 by renowned artist Barabara Beasly-Southgate

Second Prize:
POMEGRANATES
Framed oil painting valued $1,200 by renowned artist Molly Roche

Third Prize: Sellection Of Wines
Value: $250

Raffle drawn at Sherbrooke Art Society General Meeting 2:30pm Saturday 5 June 2010

Winners:
1st Prize: Micaeal Goff (Ticket No. 2344)
2nd Prize: Ron Kreymborg (Ticket No. 1579)
3rd Prize: Heather Henning (Ticket No. 0625)
DECLARATION NO: 55565

Fetaure Artist May 2011 Wendy Havard

2010-05-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

April 2011 Feature Artist:
Wendy Havard
A painter – a creator of illusions, who is striving to become an artist – a story-teller who can evoke visions, feelings and memories to contribute to humanity’s collective culture and imagination”

Click to view larger image

Wendy is a past student of Peter Smales, learning tonal and impressionist oil techniques, and of Nell Frysteen, learning pastel and colourist techniques, and now she continues the journey exploring techniques in oils, pastels and water-colour often borrowing techniques from one medium to explore another.

An inspiring visit to the desert, influences many of the paintings in this collection. Imbued with a deep appreciation for the natural environment Wendy seeks to express in paint moments witnessed in being in and of nature. Wendy layers colour to accentuate the character and light in a landscape, finding the combination of colours that convey a sense of a particular place. Intrigued by animals in their local habitats and their interactions with humans, Wendy delights in painting them to portray their individual character.

Wendy has won several prizes and has had several successful solo exhibitions.

Her next exhibition will be held at BRUMFIELD WINERY at
539 QUEENS ROAD (Cnr Beenak Rd) SEVILLE Vic 3139
from Saturday 30 April to Sunday 26 June 2011.
Phone (03) 5961 9081 for details.

2010-03-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

January 2011 Feature Artist: Barb Beasley-Southgate
Multi award winner exhibits at Sherbrooke Art Society’s Gallery in January

www.barbarabeasleysouthgate.com
Born in 1939, Barbara has enjoyed a long and successful career pursuing her first love and passion - painting.

Although guided and influenced by several well-known Australian artists, she is basically self taught. Her expertise has developed over four decades, and although retired from teaching these days, she was an established and well-respected teacher in both oils and pastels for many years.

She demonstrates her techniques at Art Societies and Rotary Art shows throughout Victoria, and over the years has judged many of these events. As well, she has won many awards, gaining much recognition throughout her career.

Barbara paints mainly in pastels and oils these days, but she is also noted for her work in gouache and sometimes watercolour. Through these media, she has captured with true colour and clarity of vision, her love of the Australian countryside. Her dynamic yet restful paintings are full of freshness, energy and movement, inviting all to share her enthusiasm and insights into the nature of things. Barbara has travelled extensively, exploring her inner vision and re-defining anew her spiritual relationship with the Australian environment, and more recently in the British, European, and New Zealand environments, and even more recently the USA.

Over the years Barbara has held regular solo exhibitions, and in 1998 & 2000 held two very successful solo exhibitions in England, UK.

Barbara is a signatory member of the Victorian Artists Society; an ex-councilor and Fellow Member of The Australian Guild of Realist Artists (A.G.R.A.F); an Honorary Life Member and Past President of the Sherbrooke Art Society, and a member of the Pastel Society of Victoria.

Contact Information

To contact Barb Beasley-Southgate Please phone Sherbrooke Art Society
(03) 9754 4264 International Phone: 61-3- 9754 4264
Email
See more of Barb's Works at her Website

Previous Feature Artists

Heather Gannon
Janette Albicini-Garbuio
Peter Goodman
Jeff Murphy Web Site

2010-01-11T02:24:00.000-08:00

November' Feature Artist: Janette Albicini-Garbuio

During the years of learning and studying Art I have wished to follow my desire to develop in all areas such as oil , pastel, drawing and watercolour in order to gain a full meaning of art.
I wanted to travel and personally view the fine arts in other countries and culture. My personal ambition is to create visual impact that will not diminish with age and explore all the mediums available to enhance my art.
After bringing up a family and working full time I now feel that I can focus on my art so that I can attempt to approach my ambition. I look forward to an exciting period in my life and all the years before were a preparation for this to happen.

Education

Traditional Tonal painting with June Barnett at Ferntree Gully Art Society. 1978-80

Traditional Oil Painting with Sue Hall at Sherbrook Art Society . 1983 - 1985

Casey TAFE for art studies ( Part time) - Diploma of Fine Arts 1988 – Graphic Design, Drawing, Mix Medium

Finalized Diploma of Fine Arts at Casey 1990 – Painting, Life Drawing and Drawing

Studio Work

Traditional Oil Painting with Ann Randle 1987

Oils & Pastel with David Moore 1989 – 91

Watercolour with David Taylor 1999 - 2000

Mix Medium with Walter Magilton -2002 and Oil painting with Shirley Bourne at Victorian Art Society 2004,

Traditional Tonal Oil at Barbara McCallum’s art studio – 2005 -2006

Malcolm Beattie Watercolour/Oil – 2008 – 2009

AWARDS

Highly Commended at Ringwood Art Show 2001 – Pencil Drawing,

Highly Commended at Belgrave Art Show 2001 for Wild Life – Colour Pencil

Warrandyte Art Show 2002 for fine drawing - Pencil

High Merit Award for any medium – St Edwards – Blackburn 2003 - pencil

Artist of the year B Section Sherbrooke – 2006 & Ringwood Section B – 2007 ( overall works for the year)

Artist of the year Maroondan Shire – Highly Commended 2010 ( judged on 3 Art works on different themes & at least 2 different mediums)

OTHER

1980 traveled oversea 3 months in Italy with the family. Extensive viewing of art/museum galleries in Rome, Florence, Venice and other smaller galleries and monasteries

1997 travelled to Israel and Italy for two months.

1998 invited to attending a conference in Parma Italy in reference to Immigration and afterwards traveled throughout Italy and Sicily for further experience of culture and art.

Preparing graphic and illustrative work while working full time as a Medical Administrator at the Angliss Hospital.

Experienced in Gallery duties and selling to the general public – Membership with Ferntree Gully Art Society, Sherbrooke Art Society , Ringwood Art Society and Australian Guild of Realist Artist

Over the years I have done commission work, art works have gone to Europe and I have participated and organised various exhibitions.

Group Exhibitions in 1989, 90, 2000, 200, 2008, 2009 and private sales and commissions

Secretary of Sherbrooke Art Society 2002 - 2005

Invited to exhibition in Budrio-Bologna Italy 2005- “The Dreams of the Immigrates – Arte senza confine”

Organized Tuscany/Emilia-Romagna Art/Cultural Tour 2006, 2008,2010 May, Malcolm Beattie Workshop Sept09

Feature Artist: Heather Gannon

2010-01-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

December' Feature Artist: Heather Gannon

My inspiration comes from God’s creation, the ever-changing world around me. I marvel at the play of light and colour, the beauty of everyday things.

I have lived in the beautiful blue Dandenongs for over forty years and have now retired from teaching Art/Craft to Primary School children. This gives me time to explore and experiment with water colour. My spirit comes alive as I express my inner self in watercolour with all of its challenges and happenings.

As an award winning porcelain doll maker, I have a great awareness and the ability to tackle fine detailed studies.

I’ve exhibited in local art shows and at the Sherbrooke Art Society. A recent solo exhibition at the Friends on the Hill Restaurant in Monbulk was very successful and well received. I successfully participated in an exhibition at the Box Hill Community Art Centre with other students from Nell Frysteen’s watercolour class. I’ve also studied under Pat Winnett and John Orlando Birt. All of these artists have taught me techniques that have enhanced my own style and have encouraged me to explore and experiment in other mediums.