Michael Burge

Michael Burge

CREATIVE PRACTICE

An author, journalist, publisher, bookseller and artist, Michael has edited and written for Guardian Australia, Fairfax Media, Australian Community Media, Intermedia, Margo Kingston's NoFibs, United News & Media UK, News Corporation and The Journal of Australian Studies.

His crime and historical novels explore prejudice and resilience in rural Australia.

He is a board member of the BAD Sydney Crime Writers Festival and a member of the Australian Crime Writers Association.

CONTACT

80 Tenterfield Street, Deepwater, NSW, 2371
p: 0400 977 816
e: burgewords@bigpond.com
w: https://burgewords.com/ fb: https://www.facebook.com/MakersShed/

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Leah Bullen

Leah Bullen

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Visual artist working across painting, printmaking, drawing and mixed media

ARTIST STATEMENT

My painting practice is centred around the representation and mediation of the natural world. Currently, my work is concerned with representing locations that reconstruct nature, such as gardens, aquariums, and museum displays. These locations act as a model through which I explore how we experience and consume the spectacle of nature more broadly within contemporary culture.

BIO

I completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) and a Doctor of Philosophy, Creative Arts, at the School of Art & Design at the Australian National University in Canberra. I have worked extensively in arts education as a lecturer at the School of Art and Design from 2008-2016 in the Painting Workshop. Currently I work as a freelance arts teacher across the public and private sector.

In 2021, I won the Stanthorpe Art Prize and The Pring Memorial Prize as part of the Wynne Prize. In 2016, I won the Trustees’ Watercolour Prize in the Wynne Prize. I have been a selected finalist in art prizes such as the Mosman Art Prize, the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, McClelland Watercolour Prize, the Elaine Bermingham Watercolour Prize, Flowing Water: Taoyuan International Watercolour Biennial (Taiwan), and the Fabriano International Watercolour Biennial (Italy).

Across my career, I have exhibited work in artist-run-initiatives as well as commercial and public art galleries around Australia and internationally. I have undertaken artist residencies at the Bundanon Trust, Hill End Artist Residency Program, Hazelhurst Arts Centre, The Old School Mount Wilson, the Australian National University and the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain. In 2016, I became a member of the Australian Watercolour Institute and an Artist Ambassador for Winsor and Newton Australia.

CONTACT

0402 037 345
leah@leahbullen.com

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Lisa Marple

LISA MARPLE

CREATIVE PRACTICE

I am a mixed media artist and artisan creating artwork, jewellery and sculptural pieces.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am continually fascinated by the innate beauty and potential of my sometimes unconventional materials, experimental techniques and the ability of my art making to tell stories upon a canvas.

Viewers of my work describe it as ethereal, magical and rich in texture and detail. I have been an artist since a small child when I "made do" with the materials I could find around me and manipulated them into objects and artworks which I found to be beautiful and full of meaning. I am largely self taught and for more than thirty years have mapped my own journey of experimentation which lead me into ever new fields of creative expression.

My artwork is for an audience which appreciates the artist who strives to be authentic, skilful and true to representing their unique vision of the world.

BIO

2021
Lisa Marple – Artisan and jewellery pieces online

2019
“Elemental” Solo exhibition and artist led art making workshops at “The Link, Ginninderry”, Canberra
Solo exhibition at Café Dolcetto, Yass

2017
“Tryptych” Exhibition at Strathnairn, Canberra

2016
“The Red Thread” Solo Exhibition held at the Yazzbar, in Yass

2015
Creative Arts Exhibition at Yass Public School Artist Collaboration

2014
“My Dog Is A Piece Of Work” Exhibition

2012
“Chrysalis” Solo Exhibition at the Anthony Rose Gallery, Yass

“Clonakilla” Murrumbateman Winery Exhibition & Meet the Artist talk

2011
“Winter” Group Exhibition in Binalong Exhibition Space
The Yass Arts Trail Open Studio Exhibition

2010
“Ten” Group Exhibition at the Anthony Rose Gallery, Yass
The Yass Arts Trail Open Studio Exhibition

2009-2011
Private art classes for adults and children from my studio

2009
Yass Council Collaboration “Artspace in the Park” Program
“Makers” Exhibition in Gundaroo
Ryde Art Exhibition

2008Open Garden Scheme Red Cross Artist Collaboration Exhibition at “Weetalibah”

2007
“A Collection of Whimsy” Solo Exhibition at the Anthony Rose Gallery, Yass

2006
Paper Dolls Artists Group Exhibition

2005
Oddfellows Hall Gallery, Yass, Inaugural Exhibition
Featured artist at Oddfellows Hall Gallery

2003-2016
Permanent featured artist at the Anthony Rose Gallery

2002
Group Art Exhibition at Dubbo Artspace

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CONTACT

lisa.marple@outlook.com
0438 347 911

Tania Hartigan

tania hartigan

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Paper Maker, Lino Printing, Landscapes, Portraits.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Tania Hartigan is a woman of the land with great knowledge of bush foods and owner of ‘The Artshack’ at Wallabadah, a paradise with deep history in its soils. She grew up in Woolbrook and belongs to the Gamilaraay people with family ties connecting her to Barraba, Quirindi and Gunnedah in the New England North West. Tania grew up surrounded by family and strong role models, with grandparents who always put family first, aunties and uncles that contributed her growth and cultural knowledge.

Those same priorities of a tight knit family have been instilled in Tania, she started her family tree as a young girl and has been adding to it ever since.

“I love organising family reunions, I am moved to inspire my kids, nieces and nephews to keep their family close,” she said.

Tania uses these bonds as inspiration, capturing family portraits in pastels. Amongst her other inspirations, she describes herself as being earthy, connected to country and all it’s whispers of history and life. ‘The Artshack’, Tania’s farm, is her happy place,

“It feels like equal part luck and fate that I ended up here. The terrane the country the trees the ruggedness of the land felt instantly like home.”

Tania loves to be immersed in the landscape, around the gum trees and native plants and lively nature. While on a walk around her property, she discovered evidence of sacred sites that is evidence Gomeroi people have travelled through and lived there for thousands of years. Tania says,

“We all look, but we don’t see. Art has taught me to slow down and take in the little details that slip past you when life is at full pace.”

Tania loves working across the board with mediums, painting is her go to and getting lost in the tones and hues. She also has a talented hand for portraits, print making and weaving.

BIO

2021
5 Friends Exhibition, Sold 3 paintings + 2 Commissions, ArtShack@Wilgabah

2018, 2020
Sunflower Exhibition, Raise Funds for Fire brigade Quirindi

2007 - 2014
Art & All That Jazz Exhibition, First Place -Portrait Wallabadah

2015
Kootiganal Art Exhibition, First Place Oil/Acrylic, Kootingal

2016
Colours of Autumn, First Place Print making, Bendemeer

2010 -2015
Currububula Art Show, Sale of paintings Currububula

2010 - 2018
Frost Over Barraba, Art sales Barraba

CONTACT

taniarod@bigpond.com

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Kate Owen

Kate Owen

CREATIVE PRACTICE

I live in Northern NSW and work from my purpose built studio that sits a few minutes walk from the front of our house surrounded by beautiful views of undulating farming country. It is a perfect creative oasis where I paint daily. I am inspired by any number of things but my work definitely leans toward the organic shapes found in nature. Plants provide a perfect balance of colour combined with line in unpredictable and surprising ways. I absorb everything and use the impressions of my memories to inspire the work. I prefer to work on canvas and use acrylics in order to work quickly and intuitively capturing spontaneous gestural marks. Working in this way the outcome is never apparent from the start, the piece takes on a life of its own as I go with each mark informing the next and dictating a certain path. I am continually excited by colour combinations and fascinated by line using graphite, pencil and oil stick and scratching back through layers of paint to add dimension. Collage is a favourite, which I find incredibly therapeutic and this more controlled part of the work satisfies my need to arrange forms for a visually pleasing aesthetic.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Each time I walk over to the studio I try to leave expectations behind so that when I start I am open to possibilities. The outcome is not so much the aim as is the journey to a resolution, a series of marks shapes and colours that form an experience that resonates with me. Each work serves to teach me that I have more to learn which keeps me coming back. My work finds resolution most often in abstract florals, colourful forms and lines that assemble to suggest unruly bouquets. I recognise these as interpretations of elements I see around me, most often at home especially on my walks. Prickly pear growing up along the roadside, weeds and brambles entwined in the fence line, a little pop of colour from a wildflower, these things make up my vocabulary of paint. I use a variety of media in colour, layers and textures to express my internal landscape, which is made up of all the emotions associated with my everyday life. My visual culture is vivid and joyful with the intent to enchant the viewer and inspire optimism.

BIO

2021

Art Lovers Australia Annual Prize - Hidden Springs - Shortlisted

2020

Inverell Art Gallery Art Prize - Open Section 1st Prize

Art Lovers Australia Annual Prize - Secret Garden II - Shortlisted

2019

Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi - Contemporary Art Prize

Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi - Allens Pharmacy Acquistition Prize

2018

The Inverell Art Gallery Art Prize - Open Section 2nd Prize

Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi - Goondiwindi Engineering Acquistition Prize

The Inverell Art Gallery Contemporary Art Exhibition - Fresh Acquistion Prize

2017

Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi - Drawing and Graphics 1st Prize

Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi - 2 Highly commended

2016

Aspects Art Show Goondiwindi - Highly commended

QUALIFICATIONS

2010 - present

Aspects Art Show Curator

1987

Diploma Fashion Design KVB College of Visual Communication

CONTACT

hello@kateowenartwork.com.au

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Karen Munster

Karen Munster

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Karen is a creative artist working in acrylics, watercolour, pen and wash, linocut printing and mixed media. She paints a wide variety of subjects and themes.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Creating artworks is therapy for me. It’s something I really enjoy and find it very relaxing but also challenging. I like to paint subjects that resonate with me - a beautiful landscape, an inspiring scene, a loved family pet, an interesting face. There is nothing more satisfying for me as an artist than to find a new home for my artwork where it can be appreciated and enjoyed.

BIO

Karen has had no formal training but has benefitted from many informal classes and workshops. She has exhibited regularly at Redland Yurara Art Gallery and Studio, Thornlands Brisbane, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland Brisbane and more recently Glen Innes Art Gallery where she was highly commended at the Glen Archies Portraiture Competition in 2019 and 2021

Solo exhibitions

September 2017

‘Exhibition of Works’ at Redland Yurara Art Studio and Gallery, Brisbane QLD

Joint exhibitions

August 2018

‘We Three’ at Redland Yurara Art Studio and Gallery, Brisbane QLD

July 2019

‘The Nature of the Trio’ at Redland Yurara Art Studio and Gallery, Brisbane QLD

October 2021

‘A Time for Colour’ at Glen Innes Art Gallery, Glen Innes NSW

CONTACT

kjmdoobert@gmail.com
0438 243 885

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Hilary Latta

Hilary Latta

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Visual arts

ARTIST STATEMENT

My name is Hilary Latta l am a visual artist my joy of colour is apparent in my paintings I paint what I feel using many mediums. I love installation, ceramics, monoprinting. I have a advanced diploma of fine art and certificate 4 in ceramics. I am inspired by many artists John Percival and John Olson for example.

BIO

Certificate 4 ceramic diploma of fine arts Hervey Bay TAFE, advance diploma of Fine Art Nepean Art and Design Centre. Solo exhibition first 2003 Sandy Street Gallery, Hervey bay. Many joint exhibitions. 3 solo exhibition in Gatakers Artspace Maryborough Qld. Many solo exhibitions Hervey Bay regional gallery, solo exhibition Dog Bar St Kilda 2013. I won my first at prize at the age of 12 and have had many since.

CONTACT

hilarymorten@yahoo.com

Stu Carpenter

Stu Carpenter

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Visual artist (traditional and digital), and amateur illustrator.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I like to chalk my reasons for doing what I do down to my disabilities, mostly because I think it’s funny. But in truth, it’s also precisely what has been one of my most consistent sources of inspiration and motivation.

When you’re autistic (if you ever decide to try it out), you often feel as though you’re looking in from the outside. As if there is always a thin gossamer film between yourself and everything else in life. It’s this point of view that I owe a lot of my inspiration to, and it’s given me a unique outlook to work from. Art has been one of my most reliable forms of expression, and I love trying to depict the indescribable sentiments and experiences in life through visual storytelling and abstraction of the mundane.

More recently, as I've been taking on commissioned work, I’ve been working at developing my illustrative style and character design as well.

BIO

Work experience at NIDA, and Armchair Productions (formerly The Magnificent Itch) animation studio in Sydney. (2017)

CONTACT

0459 511 222
stucarpstew@gmail.com

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Jimbo Stokes

Jimbo Stokes

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Portraitist (Oils & Graphite)
Country Music Singer/Songwriter

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am an artist and musician from Tamworth, New South Wales.

Art: I specialise in portraiture (oils & graphite) with a focus on expression, and a drive to capture the person and their personality. I am also currently part-way through the sketch series #Countrycharacters, portraying distinct and interesting characters from all around Australia.

Music: Was training as an operatic tenor in Sydney before deciding to revert back to roots, and passion for country singing and songwriting.

BIO

General

BCom (Fin/Eco) & MEc (Economics) Distinction from Sydney University & Frankfurt University.

Music

Classical/Operatic tenor - Christine Douglas (Sydney)

Art

Julian Ashton Art School

Member of the ACE (Artist's Country Exhibitions) collaboration. @ace.artshow

CONTACT

0419 255 596
jfstokes4@gmail.com

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Joanne Stead

Joanne Stead

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Visual arts

ARTIST STATEMENT

Joanne Stead is a self-taught artist based in Tamworth, NSW. Describing herself as a “mum, artist and life enthusiast,” she recognises and draws on her surroundings, current issues, and “everyday magic” in her artmaking. “I believe that two of most important things in life are a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose,” Joanne says. “Feeling that you belong connects you the world around you, and feeling that you offer something meaningful connects you to society, so to have both is critically foundational. Reconnecting to my artistic side, as a reflection of what I can uniquely offer to the world, has been a major turning point for me.” A diverse artist, Joanne works across mediums including scraperboard, acrylics and linocut, with works depicting a range of subjects from her own experience and imagination. Climate change, species loss and the creation of a shared vision for the future, form a recurring theme in her current work. A founding member of the Tamworth Regional Art Collective, Joanne has also worked on seven public art projects over the last five years, including a number of murals and three large mosaic installations.

BIO

Solo Exhibitions

Sep 2019
Reflections of Country at Miss Ju Ju’s, Tamworth NSW

Nov 2017
Unmeasured Moments, at ME Artspace, St Leonards NSW

Aug 2016
Choosing to Fly, at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Herston QLD

Feb 2016
Scraperboard and Other Amusements, at cafe2340 gallery, Tamworth NSW

Joint Exhibitions

Apr 2021
Blindspot at Ceramic Break Sculpture Park, Warialda NSW

Jan 2021
Blindspot at Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth NSW

Sept 2020
Waste to Art at Gunnedah Bicentennial Creative Arts Gallery, Gunnedah NSW

Feb 2019
Tethered: Embodying the Mother-Artist Model, University of Southern Qld, Toowoomba Qld

Sept 2018
Finding Extraordinary in Everyday Ordinary at Splash on Peel, Tamworth NSW

May 2018
Threads and Brushes at Gunnedah Bicentennial Creative Arts Gallery, Gunnedah NSW

May 2017
Reconciliation Week Exhibition at University of Newcastle UDRH, Tamworth NSW

Mar 2017
Black and White at the Armidale Cultural Centre and Keeping Place, NSW

Jan 2017
Our Mob Creates at the Inland Cafe, Tamworth NSW

Public Art Installations

Apr 2021
Mural: Timbumburi Public School

Jan 2020
Mural: Tamworth Regional Council Cavalcade float

July 2018
Mosaic Installation: Tamworth Regional Youth Centre

Nov 2017
Mural Series: Electrical Substations, Tamworth

Sept 2017
Mural: Bondi Beach Sea Wall, Bondi NSW

Nov 2016
Mural: Ooranga Mobile Preschool, Currabubula NSW

Oct 2016
Mosaic Installation: Bicentennial Park, Tamworth

Mar 2016
Mosaic Installation: Tamworth Regional Youth Centre

Jul 2015
Entrance signage and Special Features: Tamworth Adventure Playground

CONTACT

joanne1stead@gmail.com

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Erika Sorby

Erika Sorby

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Emerging artist who experiments in drawing and painting. Primarily explores themes of portraiture, self-portraiture and still-life.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Erika Sorby is an emerging artist, born in Newcastle in 1995. She completed a double degree in Secondary Teaching and Fine Art (majoring in drawing and painting) at The University of Newcastle in 2017. Sorby has exhibited in many group shows and art prizes. She currently practices art around her teaching commitments.

BIO

Tertiary Qualifications

2017-2019 Master of Education, Curtin University, WA.

2014-2017 Bachelor of Teaching / Fine Art (Honours), University of Newcastle, NSW .

Exhibition History

2021

• Camberwell Art Show (Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC)

• Palimpsest Group Show (Live in Art Gallery, Double Bay, NSW)

• ‘Portraits and Possessions’ Solo Show (Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, NSW)

• Lethbridge 20,000 Small Scale Art Award (Lethbridge Art Gallery, Paddington, QLD)

• Moree Portrait Prize (BAMM Gallery, Moree, NSW)

• Outback Archies Art Prize (Outback Arts, Coonamble, NSW)

2020

• Newcastle Emerging Art Prize (Newcastle Art Space, Newcastle, NSW)

• Evelyn Chapman Art Award (S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW)

• Tony White Memorial Art Prize (Arts in the Valley Gallery, Kangaroo Valley, NSW)

• Persistence Art Competition (Live in Art Gallery, Surry Hills, NSW)

• Muswellbrook Art Prize (Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre, Muswellbrook, NSW)

• Percival Portrait Painting Prize (Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, QLD)

• Lethbridge 20,000 Small Scale Art Award (Lethbridge Art Gallery, Paddington, QLD)

Awards

2021 Awarded Newcastle Art Space Emerging Artist Mentorship.

Awarded Packing Room Prize in Outback Archies Art Prize.

2020 Awarded New England Regional Art Museum ‘At Home’ artist residency

2019 Second Place in the Narrabri Show Landscape Prize

2016 Awarded the Friends of the University of Newcastle Art Prize

CONTACT

e.sorby@hotmail.com

Elizabeth Priestley

Elizabeth Priestley

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Landscape artist working in encaustic, oils and mixed media

ARTIST STATEMENT

The earliest of our memories is what fascinates me. I am always striving towards pinpointing that connection between our first impressions of our environment, and its emotional corollary within our future lives. The work is a result of that endeavour. Landscapes articulating a personal reaction to the recollection of that fundamental impact. Expanding on this, I desire to explore further the connection of "bequeathed" memory. Asking the questions of past generations no longer here, whether we are the product of their emotional experience of landscape and environment. By producing encaustic works, which in themselves are products of layers over time, I aim to pose these same questions to the viewer. Landscape is our conduit for the spiritual, this has been illustrated across cultures and generations. By using encaustic, I am alternately building and layering, and reducing, carving and scraping out an image. There is a revelation in the work as it progresses, and in its final form. This process is a physical representation of searching those layers of memory. The resulting image is the vehicle in which the viewer will resonate with their own epiphany of those small personal, binding memories.

BIO

Solo Exhibitions

2021 Dark Light – Fierce Love New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale, NSW

2020 The Solitary and the Sublime

Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral, NSW

2019 Disappearance of Days Gallery 503, Sydney, NSW

2018 New Works Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral, NSW

2018 Waterways and Wonderments

Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, NSW

2016 Petrichor Milk Factory Gallery, Bowral, Bowral

2016 New Work Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, NSW

2014 Burnished Light Civic Arts Centre, Gunnedah, NSW

2012 Latest Works Nexus Gallery, Bellingen, NSW

2012 On the Outer Tamworth Regional Gallery – Ray Walsh House, Tamworth, NSW

2009 Solo Studio Show Peel Street Studio, Tamworth, NSW

2007 Inland Washhouse Gallery, Balmain, Sydney

Group Exhibitions

2018 Balmain Art Show Balmain

2016 Changing Face of the Peel Tamworth Regional Gallery

2016 A Regional Mix Janet Clayton, Paddington

2015 New Works by Marilynne Barnes & Liz Priestley

Tamworth Regional Gallery, Tamworth, NSW

2015 Balmain Art Show Balmain

2014 End of Year Group Show Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, NSW

2014 Balmain Art Show Balmain

2014 Frost Over Barraba Barraba, NSW, Invited Feature Artist

2014 New Works Nexus Gallery, Bellingen, NSW

2014 Wax Impressions Gallery 126, Armidale, NSW

2012 Crossing New England Armidale Art Gallery, Armidale, NSW

2009 Australian Heart Collective Bondi Pavilion, Bondi, Sydney

2007 Reflections Gallery 41, Woolloomooloo, Sydney, NSW

2004 Australian Heart Collective Bondi Pavilion, Bondi, Sydney, NSW

Art Prizes

2019 Winner Barraba Art Show

2011 Finalist, Essential Energy Art Prize, Bathurst Regional Gallery

Public Collections

NSW Regional Healthcare Manilla Palliative Care Unit

Tamworth Regional Art Gallery Collection

Selected Bibliography

2020 Art Edit Magazine

2020 Highlife Magazine

CONTACT

0414 256 870
www.lizpriestley.com.au (under construction)
lizpriestleyart@gmail.com

Yvonne Overton

Yvonne Overton

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Watercolour

ARTIST STATEMENT

Yvonne is a practising artist in the New England of New South Wales, based now in Tamworth and formerly of Moree. She holds a Fashion Teachers Certificate and a Fine Art Diploma from TAFE NSW, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Newcastle University. Yvonne principally works in the elusive medium of watercolour, the natural environment, whether it be landscape or fauna, is the basis of most of her work. She recently has been working on commissioned portraits, with oils the medium of her choice for this practice. She has exhibited in many private and regional galleries, in both solo and group shows. She has been a selected finalist or winner in such exhibitions as Senses TAFE NSW, Country Energy Art Prize NSW, Mortimer Prize, Norville Prize and many local events such as Frost Over Barraba, Twin Rivers Gunnedah and Kootingal Art Show. She is currently teaching a watercolour class with U3A Tamworth.

CONTACT

0400 463 261
yvonneoverton@rocketmail.com or use the form below.

Hugh Oliveiro

Hugh Oliveiro

CREATIVE PRACTICE

My creative practice encompasses a lifetime of artistic endeavour & multiple disciplines. Before I studied art & design in Australia I was already working in the art department at Shaw Brothers in Singapore & then here in 1959, during my first year at National Art School, an elaborate hand painted period set I had completed received a standing ovation at the curtain raising, appraised by the Russian ambassador attending the opening at the New Theatre, an iconic touchstone for burgeoning theatrical talent, fostering some of our leading names. Later in my career I designed sets & costumes for the Australian Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker. A massive 74 paneled mural for the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne, now a heritage listed work of art was a commission in 1983. A deep connection to theatrical themes & symbols continues to permeate my work even today. Aspects of fantasy within nature & architecture are often combined with surrealistic elements as I continue to work in all the mediums that interest me; painting, paper construction, mixed-media sculptures, fabric design, fashion... These mixed media works use my particular techniques to build rich, textural patinas, combining Eastern & Western styles intrinsic to my practice & heritage. I always apply my creative instincts to eclectic pursuits, so whether designing celebrity jeans for The Children’s Medical Research Institute charity (Jeans for Genes), creating an oil portrait of Dame Joan Sutherland or civic works, like the lacquered wood sculpture for the Australian Defence Building in Sydney, I trust in my own unique vision and approach everything with a strong emphasis & concern for originality. Commissioned work is welcome for special occasions on a personal level. Public sector projects are also open to discussion.

ARTIST STATEMENT

“Art is ruled uniquely by the imagination. To see and create beyond a framework of established ideas and concepts is to open doors to individuality where images are its only wealth.......” Hugh Oliveiro

BIO

Born Singapore 1938.

Artist/Designer – Mixed Media

1964:

Graduated National Art School, Sydney.

1965 -1972:

David Huston Art Studio, Sydney. Creative Director

Solo Exhibitions:

1973 -1978:

6 shows. Oil paintings/mixed media Munster Arms Gallery, Melbourne.

1978 -1992: (Multiple Galleries, Australia wide)

Barry Stern Gallery, Allegro Gallery, Cooks Hill Galleries, David Jones Gallery,

Greenhill Gallery, Anvil Gallery, Westpac Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre.

2014: ‘A Passion to Create.’ Retrospective, Tamworth Regional Art Gallery.

2016: ’Somewhere... a horse.’ Weswal Gallery, Tamworth.

2017: ‘Ambience.’ Australian High Commission, Singapore.

2019: ‘Out of this World.’ Tamworth Regional Art Gallery.

Group Exhibitions:

1988:

World Trade Fair. Screens & Carpets. World Trade Centre LA.

The Rites of Spring, sculpture. Hanson Gallery, Rodeo Drive, LA.

1992:

’Lever de Rideau sur les Antipodes.’ Paintings. Australian Embassy, Paris.

Cannes Sur-Mer International Art Festival. Paintings. Château-Musée

Grimaldi Provence, France.

Belgium International Art Festival. ‘Focus on Australian Art’ Paintings.

2005:

The New York Art Fair, Paintings. NYC.

2010:

6th World Eco-Fibre & Textile Forum (WEFT). ‘Tropical Rain.’ Hand painted

fabric. International Fashion Parade, Serawak, Malaysia.

Major Commissioned Works:

1983:

‘The Nutcracker Ballet’ Production Designer, Sets & Costume.

Australian Ballet.

‘Four Seasons’ Entrance Foyer Mural, oil & glaze, marine ply, 12.8 x 7.31m

Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne.

1979-1989:

Artwork for Australian fashion designer Jill Fitzsimon: Gallery Fantastique,

interior & furniture design. Hand-painted fabric & garments. Masks for

Bicentennial Wool Awards, Fashion Parade, Opera House, Sydney.

1990:

’Icarus Descending’ Skygardens mural, Tony Masters Design, Sydney.

1995:

‘Defence’ Lacquered wood sculpture. Australian Defence Building,

Sydney.

‘Paradise’ Mixed media works on paper, triptych. Tunku Beach Resort,

Brunei.

1996:

‘Rainforest’ Acrylic on canvas. Hyatt, Kula Lumpar.

2000:

‘Millennium Sphere’ Hand painted ceramic sphere. Limited edition of ten.

Sydney Town Hall Collection.

2002:

‘Sacred Place’ Acrylic on canvas.

Yalumba Mawson’s Launch, celebrating famous Antarctic explorer with

new label. The Yalumba Wine Company, Sydney

Collections:

Private & international.

Australian Ballet Foundation.

Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne.

Institute of Science & Technology, Canberra. Institute of Advanced

Education, Perth.

Buena Vista Hotel, Los Angeles.

Kerry Stokes Art collection, Perth.

Mark Murand, Switzerland & Morocco.

Jill Fitzsimon & John Seymour, Sydney.

John Szangolies, Sydney.

Pierre Lejeune, Paris.

Langton’s International Agency, New York.

Awards:

The Adam’s Awards 1982-3, Dance Australia Magazine.

Voted for most outstanding contribution to set design, lighting and costume

design for Nutcracker Ballet, Australian Ballet.

CONTACT

oliveiroart@gmail.com

Christine Murphy

Christine Murphy

CREATIVE PRACTICE

I make hand built and wheel thrown ceramics. With a focus mainly on unglazed surfaces, predominantly smokefired finishes. Smoke firing is a process whereby bisque fired ceramics are coloured and marked by smoke rather than glaze. It is ancient technique used by many cultures around the world. These pieces are coloured by locally sourced sawdust: Cedar, Merbau and New Guinea Rosewood with a wide range of organic materials foraged and repurposed like egg shells, coffee grounds, corn husks and seaweed. Every piece is uniquely patterned and marked by the process and the elemental conditions at the time of the firing. This is a slow fired process that can take up to three days to burn out. Each piece is sealed in Liquid Quartz. This special sealer allows the ceramic pieces to maintain the natural ‘naked’ state whilst creating functional stain resistant and food safe tableware.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My ceramic practice is primarily seasonal with the emphasis on raw clay surfaces and finishes. Through the cooler half of the year I focus on the practice of primitive firing techniques. During the warmer months the work is centred on exploring different clay

BIO

December 2015 - '“The Craft Shed Collective” - Weswal Gallery, Tamworth NSW, Australia

December 2017 - “Same but Different” - Weswal Gallery, Tamworth NSW, Australia

July 2019 - “Friends of the Regional Gallery” - Tamworth Regional Gallery NSW, Australia

December 2019 - “The Response” - Weswal Gallery NSW, Australia

November 2020 - Winter Show - Thrown Contemporary, London UK

CONTACT

info@imagenationceramicart.com

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Sandra McMahon

Sandra McMahon

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Sandra McMahon is a visual artist whose practice includes painting, drawing and design.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My interest in how we construct spaces; spaces to live, work, play and the division and perception of space. I am also interested in our response to colour and the emotional effect colour can have on space; it can calm or excite; it can recede or dominate. Colour, shape, pattern, repetition, harmony, discord, balance and texture are fundamental elements. Removing an object or subject from my work allows me to concentrate on making these elements the primary reason for creating. My work then becomes a mind game of problem solving – how big, what format, what shape or line, which colour, how will they work together? I endeavour to produce work that is resolved and visually pleasing.

BIO

Sandra McMahon lives and works in Tamworth NSW. Sandra has been working in the Visual Arts for over 35 years. Staring out her career as a Visual Arts teacher/ lecturer at NSW TAFE for 8 years before moving into the gallery sector where she has worked across a range of positions at 3 Regional Galleries and 3 Commercial Galleries in NSW and ACT. Sandra holds a Diploma of Visual Arts (TAFE), a Graduate Diploma in Art History and Curating (ANU), and a Diploma of Management (UNEP). She also holds a Cert IV in Training Assessment and Education (TCC) and is a registered Art Valuer under the Australian Governments Cultural Gifts Program. Sandra McMahon was awarded the Windmill Trust Scholarship in 2004 and has undertaken residencies at Hill End, Bathurst in 2005, Tweed Regional Gallery in 2017, Annandale Sydney in 2019, at Kandos, NSW and at Cockatoo Island, Sydney in 2021. She has been a finalist in the JADA Drawing Prize, NSW; John Leslie Art Prize, VIC; Art on Paper Prize, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, NSW; Muswellbrook Drawing Prize, NSW; The Belle Art Prize, VIC; 10th International Polish Drawing Biennale, VIC. Her work has been included in numerous group shows and she has held several individual exhibitions. Her work is held in both private and public collections.

CONTACT

0438 235 657
sbmcmahon@bigpond.com

Alison Goodwin

Alison Goodwin

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Studio practice includes exhibitions and art commissions in two dimensional media. Oil painting and Works on Paper that include - water colour, gouache, mixed media drawing and printmaking.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My natural inclination to sketch and love of mark making are integral to the development of my art works. Inspiration for my artworks are frequently connected to the photographs that I take of my home environment and when I travel. Scrolling through my photographs provide the source imagery and affirm my landscape experiences, that are redolent of the change of season, the shifting atmospherics and the play of light and colour on shapes and landforms.

BIO

Artist and Educator. My studio practice includes exhibitions and art commissions. Experienced in program planning and delivery - my professional teaching and facilitation in the visual arts encompass community projects and tertiary engagements in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Qualifications include:

Post Graduate Diploma - Fine Art Printmaking

Post Graduate Diploma - Art Education

Certificate IV TAE40110 Certificate IV Training & Assessment

Artwork represented in:

Australian National Gallery Canberra

Art Gallery of South Australia

Print Council of Australia. Brisbane City Art Gallery

University of SA Library, Uni. of Central Queensland

Parliament House ACT

Flinders University Library Collection

Canson Australia PTY. LTD. Vic.

University of Newcastle Union

Private Collections in Australia and Europe

Solo Exhibition - Weswal Gallery - Reminiscence 2019

Group Exhibitions - Weswal Gallery Small Joys 2019

Group Exhibitions - Weswal Gallery Small Joys 2020

CONTACT

0427 138 357
alisongoodwin890@gmail.com

Glenn Cooper

Glenn Cooper

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Mixed media collage.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Glenn Cooper is a mixed media collage artist who is drawn to the incomplete, the fragmentary and the discarded. He likes to give new life to forgotten objects. His collages are composed of vintage materials such as antique books, letters, receipts, magazines, newspapers, mesh, postage stamps, cigarette cards and corrugated cardboard. Many of his collages are augmented with charcoal graphite and acrylic paint. He likes to find worth in what has been deemed worthless.

BIO

Solo exhibition at Blackstone Gallery, Newcastle, 2019.
Solo exhibition at Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, 2020.

CONTACT

0472 762 866
glennwaynecooper@gmail.com

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Leslye Cole

Leslye Cole

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Born in Sydney, Leslye Cole’s love of the Australian bush began in childhood, exploring the nature reserve in front of her family home in the leafy North Shore suburb of Lane Cove. After a successful commercial art career as a designer and illustrator in Sydney, she moved to regional NSW in 2012, commencing full time fine art studio practice the same year. She currently lives and works on a 100 acre cattle stud farm SE of Tamworth, NSW. A self taught artist, Cole’s genre works are realistic oil on canvas paintings, using the alla prima technique. Great importance is placed on composition, with objects cropped in a cinematic-style to create the impression of moving in on the subject or scene (a technique honed while working as an art director and storyboard artist). The slow drying and transparent qualities of oils suit the wet-on-wet style as Cole strives to capture the light, action and atmosphere of the moment. Her mixed media portraits are influenced by the Japanese aesthetic, especially their concept of ‘ma’ — or the space between the structural elements. Capturing the essence of the subject becomes an exercise in positive and negative space. A background shape is built up with layers of acrylic wash. Structural lines are drawn with pastel, shadows and highlights then blocked in with black and white gouache. The ‘accidental’ watery drips become part of the composition. The subject appears to emerge out of the background.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My body of work is a narrative of contemporary country life in Australia: the people who live and work on the land going about their day-to-day activities and the individual animals I come across, set in the beauty of the Australian rural landscape. I am especially interested in the interactions of humans with the animals they depend on, the trust that develops between them, and the extensive knowledge these people have of their environment and nature around them. With admiration and curiosity I observe country life with city eyes, using a documentary approach similar to a photojournalist. Alongside this pastoral work, I return to my first artistic love of portraiture, fulfilling numerous commissions a year.

BIO

Solo Exhibitions: 2019 Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, NSW

2016 Weswal Gallery, Tamworth, NSW

Awards: 2019 Finalist — Portia Geach Memorial Award, for Australian female portraitists, S H Ervin

Gallery, Sydney

2018 Packing Room Prize — Frost Over Barraba, NSW; Finalist — Stanthorpe Art Prize, Stanthorpe, QLD;

Category Winner “Traditional” sec2on — Nundle Art Show, NSW

2016 Category Winner — Nundle Art Show, NSW; Category Winner — Currububula Art Show, NSW

2015 Pat Hill Memorial Prize — Nundle Art Show, NSW

2014 People’s Choice Award — Frost Over Barraba, NSW

2013 First Prize — Quirindi Show, NSW; Finalist — Inglis Equine Art Prize, Sydney and touring exhibition

2012 Finalist — Sir John Sulman Prize, The Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney; Category Winner — Nundle Art Show, NSW

2011 Finalist — Inglis Equine Art Prize, Newmarket, Sydney and touring exhibition

2008 People’s Choice — Amnesty International ARTicles Exhibition, NSW

2006 Semi-finalist, People’s Choice — Amnesty International HumanRights Exhibition, NSW

2017 Judge for the Nundle Art Show, NSW

2004 Residence, Arthur Boyd’s Bundanon Trust, Riversdale, Illaroo, NSW

CONTACT

leslye.cole@gmail.com

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Marilynne Barnes

Marilynne Barnes

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Figurative artist in painting drawing and sculpture.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am a drawer, painter, sculptor of people. I love the shapes found in and around the human form. Body language is a fascination to me. I try to capture the slight nuances of movement within the human body that relay the mood of the subject. I want the viewer to be able to recognize what the subject is feeling, to believe that they are seeing some secret part of that person. I love to draw and draw and draw some more. Sometimes I think that painting gets in the way of a good drawing. Nevertheless, I do enjoy painting and my techniques vary from thin layers of glazes to thick textured surfaces. Every work is an experiment for me. I allow the work to dictate what technique I will use and often I am taken on a completely different direction to the one I started on. Every work is a new and exciting journey for me.

BIO

2001 Advanced Diploma Fine Arts Tamworth TAFE

2000 Diploma Fine Arts Tamworth TAFE

1997 Certificate IV fine arts Tamworth TAFE

1996 Book Illustration RMIT

1981 Bachelor Fine Arts Newcastle University ( 2 3rds completed )

1965 Lessons with John Ogburn Sydney

I have been lucky to have known and worked with some very talented artists who have been generous with sharing their knowledge with me. These experiences have been the most rewarding and influential ones in my artistic journey.

CONTACT

0417336278
marilynnebarnes@outlook.com

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