Goolwa Portraits, 'Confronted' Light Square Gallery 2013

As an artist I have always attempted to interpret the world around me in a visual way, to make sense of it, to find my own way in its complexity and variation. I take pleasure in being able to communicate, through my art practice, new ways of seeing the familiar and sometimes the odd. For me there is a great joy in being able to simply see what is there and to express that within the traditions of art. However this new body of work has come from an entirely different source. True, the outcome is still a visual representation of the real, but the drama within the subject and techniques came from a deep personal turmoil.

Artist Statement

Let me explain; From living a comfortably creative life in the familiar Adelaide Hills for most of my life, to attempting a sea change in a seriously different environment, I somehow erupted my sense of equilibrium and self. I became a displaced person. In a rush to discover new adventures, experiences, landscapes and to become involved in a new society, I abandoned all that was previously taken for granted. I felt that being a senior artist did not mean becoming a senior retired person and yet I found myself being swept away from my beloved life into an alienated one. At once I needed to be quieter, both in my work and my ideas, I was out of place, out of time and surprised at the intensity of the rupture. I was confronted by the present, the attitudes of aging, being older amidst a contented community of older retirees, who seemed happy to live in a lovely place and become volunteers to help each other. This had not been my intention and I railed against it from the first understanding that this was to be my new destiny, but my work was as important to me as ever. 


How else to resolve the dilemma then but through my work. It took a year to find the way to do so, but with kindness from those around me, and encouragement, I began again. Gently and with respect I asked to draw the people, those in the nursing homes, in the hobby art groups, some of the neighbours, friends, the Centre for Positive Aging. Most agreed and I was able to construct a folio of lively pen and ink drawings of these people. Later I began again to experiment with some new printmaking methods, always a challenge, looking for a way to express the slippery fleeting emotions inherent in the faces of the wonderful characters I had come across. The work had to have substance, to somehow explain the shock of looking at the world from a new perspective. Travel, of course does this, but I also needed to communicate this experience, that’s what I do. It can be confronting, as it must be, even for me but somehow it all seemed too dark. 


Writer, Bill ‘Swampy’ Marsh came around one day and in a moment of inspired creativity became compelled to add his quirky captions to my images. Suddenly they became resolved with all the grace, humanity, humour and wit of all I had intended. Finally, in early 2013 the exhibition was completed and I am now back in the Adelaide Hills, with a new understanding about what my life is all about. Please just look at my work, and know it has been important to share it with you.
 



Artwork in Series

'Actually I am in charge. Carol Gaston' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal   70x50cm
'Actually I am in charge. Carol Gaston' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Anyway so there was this big tall cop just standing there. Hey there he said, and I just froze. Michael Bryant' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal  70x50cm
'Anyway so there was this big tall cop just standing there. Hey there he said, and I just froze. Michael Bryant' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Blind' 2012 Mono Type 87x63cm
'Blind' 2012 Mono Type 87x63cm
'But they can do so much in medical science these days cant they' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal  76x56cm
'But they can do so much in medical science these days cant they' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'Do you do that for a living or is it just a hobby' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Do you do that for a living or is it just a hobby' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Don’t you just love it here' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Don’t you just love it here' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Graham Pankhurst' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal   76 x 56cm
'Graham Pankhurst' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76 x 56cm
'He drinks a bit too much for my liking' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal  70x50cm
'He drinks a bit too much for my liking' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'He was such a good dog - the very faithful type' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'He was such a good dog - the very faithful type' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'I am' 2012 Monotype 85x62cm
'I am' 2012 Monotype 85x62cm
'I guess it really comes down to whether you still love me or  not' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'I guess it really comes down to whether you still love me or not' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'I'm really worried about you Bob' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'I'm really worried about you Bob' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'It's Heracy - Lindy Downing' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'It's Heracy - Lindy Downing' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'It's just criminal what they did to that person' 2012 Monoyype 70x50cm
'It's just criminal what they did to that person' 2012 Monoyype 70x50cm
'Just think about it please - promise me; just this once' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Just think about it please - promise me; just this once' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Next Please' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Next Please' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Ok so I was wrong, what is the bit deal about that - Jenny Worth' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Ok so I was wrong, what is the bit deal about that - Jenny Worth' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'Pankhurst' 2012 Monotype 76x56cm
'Pankhurst' 2012 Monotype 76x56cm
'Sexual gratification. You call this sexual gratification!' 2012 Monoyype 70x50cm
'Sexual gratification. You call this sexual gratification!' 2012 Monoyype 70x50cm
'She sometimes used to pass by here' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'She sometimes used to pass by here' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'So, where do we go from here' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 56x76cm
'So, where do we go from here' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 56x76cm
'The difference between two similar lives is the difference between two lives' 2012 Monotype 76x56cm
'The difference between two similar lives is the difference between two lives' 2012 Monotype 76x56cm
'The road to revenge is filled with treacherous detail - Michael Bryant ' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'The road to revenge is filled with treacherous detail - Michael Bryant ' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'Touche!' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'Touche!' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'Waiting for eternity' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'Waiting for eternity' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 76x56cm
'Was he a black person or a white person, do you remember' 2013 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Was he a black person or a white person, do you remember' 2013 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Why' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'Why' 2012 Monotype & Charcoal 70x50cm
'With age comes wisdom - Sometimes' Age Wisdom  2012 Monotype 76x56cm
'With age comes wisdom - Sometimes' Age Wisdom 2012 Monotype 76x56cm
'You are'  2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'You are' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
'You know over the years I would've spent thousands on x-lotto and what have I got in return; bugger all' 2012 Monotype 70 x 56cm
'You know over the years I would've spent thousands on x-lotto and what have I got in return; bugger all' 2012 Monotype 70 x 56cm
'As you say, Today is just another day. But then again tomorrow could be different' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm
As you say, Today is just another day. But then again tomorrow could be different' 2012 Monotype 70x50cm