Featuring a diverse group of artists from across the country, Terra Firma is a Boom curated group show exploring the ever-changing and always interesting Australian landscape. Shane Drinkwater “There has often been a reference to landscape in my work. In this particular series there is a more agricultural side to it: deep felt marks and lines carved by man into the soil mix with ancient landlines still visible. I have always been fascinated by aerial views of the geometrical patterns created by man in order to produce food. The Field Trip series is an on-going part of my work which is continuously evolving.” Brisbane based, Tasmanian born artist Shane Drinkwater has exhibited widely within Australia and Internationally. “Painting is something I’ve always needed to do and I’m enjoying it more and more: it’s the joy of putting colour ,shape and gesture on a surface. I’m interested in the making! I delve into the act of painting with a minimum repertoire of visual elements aiming for a maximum visual intensity. Ideas and images appear through the making of the work, language becomes unnecessary, I let the work speak for me.” Tarli Glover “The soft pastel drawings for Terra Firma further extend my interest in the ‘abstract landscape’ and continue with the Farm-LandSeries which has been the broad focus of my practice for the past few years. Canola Sea and Green Space are landscapes loosely based on the paddocks of canola, new crop growth and the windbreaks of Pine, Cyprus and Sugar Gum commonly seen on farms throughout the districts of Western and Central Victoria. Both drawings reflect an abstract vision while still maintaining a strong sense of place. Visual elements are parred down with the use of a limited, almost singular colour palette to create a dominating and powerful visual focus. Continual layering and manipulation of soft pastel, with underdrawing of graphite and charcoal, build a textural quality in the compositions that capture elements of a multi- faceted landscape and convey a manipulated and worked environment.” Tarli Glover is a visual artist based in Ballarat. With a professional art career spanning 3 decades, Tarli has exhibited widely throughout Australia in numerous group and solo shows. While Tarli’s art practice covers a range of creative disciplines, she concentrates primarily on painting, drawing and multi-media works with a focus on both landscape and figurative genres. Her work leans toward semi abstracted symbolism and representation. David Beaumont “As a painter I am interested in a sensory interpretation of the Australian landscape. I would spend a great deal of time, whether it be in the outback or by the ocean quietly observing, watching the shifting light, the influence of weather, the overall terrain and in particular my response to those experiences. Back in the studio these experiences begin to find their way into a painting. The references are often abstracted but endeavour to maintain the fabric of the experience; if you like a kind of truth in what has been observed and felt. The usual suspects of colour, pictorial space, surface and composition are a constant, haunting companion.” Local painter David Beaumont spends his time between the beautiful coastal seaside town of Queenscliff, his favourite inner Melbourne haunt (St. Kilda) and Spain. However he regularly stalks The Little Desert, Larapinta, Lake Mungo and the Flinders Ranges and has a strong emotional attachment to these beautiful unique places. Andrew Pye ‘The essential element in a National style (of landscape) is not the subject matter but a certain spirit that is embodied in a the work which can make itself felt in abstract art as clearly as in landscape.’ James Gleeson 1964 on Dobell. “For these new pieces we look to the Australian bush to inform the way sticks rest off trees, their spoil. The bush floor matter and its balance against the vertical lines of trees, weeds, disused fences that have grown back into the irregularity of the bush all interest me to no end.” Originally a Geelong local, Andrew now resides in North East Victoria, painting and sculpting daily across various bush studios. Leah Theissen “I have a deep affinity for the land, it’s a place for immersion, to experience and be absorbed. My work embodies the emotional gravity of a place, its memory, its pulse, its rawness and power. For me the paintings communicate a deep felt relationship with the earth, embodying a spirit of place and its atmosphere. My images are a direct emotional response to the bush, beaches and mangroves that surround my home. My paintings explore unique ways of capturing the diversity of the natural terrain. I am interested in local flora, protected plant species, seaweeds and noxious plants. I often start my paintings with the small delicate details found in the bush and then depart to a place of frantic energy.” “The course of painting is a primal impulse to mark. It is a physical and emotional experience. I paint in an expressive and gestural way capturing the force and energy of a place. I create a visceral experience through the use of mark making and the application of paint. My paintings are process driven and it is only through the act of painting over, scraping back and drawing into, that my work is resolved.” Leah grew up on the Northern Beaches in Sydney and relocated to Northern NSW in 2008. Growing up she always pursued the arts, studying fashion design at the National art school and working as a designer in the fashion industry. Moving away from fashion and seeking a connection to the fine arts, in 1998 Leah completed a diploma of fine arts in Sydney as well a certificate in ceramics and in 2014 she successfully completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts. Leah has exhibited widely and her work is held in many private collections throughout Australia. A mother of three teenagers, painting is Leah’s passion along with connecting with nature, walking and yoga. Terra Firma runs from June 22- July 15. To see a full exhibition listing click here.
