Penola’s Gallery 54 will be in full bloom when new exhibition ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’ by Naomi Zanker goes on display tomorrow.

The exhibition will be opened by fellow Nhill artist Gayle Newcombe on Sunday, September 18 at 2pm and will be showing from September 9 until October 16.

The exhibition features beautiful portraits of Penola roses that Ms Zanker studied when she visited Penola in Spring last year.

The exhibition title was inspired by the song ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses’ by Ethel Merman, which rejoices in spring, sunshine and roses after a period of hardship.

Ms Zanker said when she collected her work from Gallery 54 after the ‘Still Life’ exhibition last year, she was “thrilled” by the roses blooming in War Memorial Park and in front of the hospital.

“I have loved and painted roses for many years, but these presented new challenges,” Ms Zanker said.

“Just like people portraits and still life paintings, flowers require close attention to form and light in the execution of the painting.

“But, where people ‘sit’ for the artists and still life subjects can be set up and left and returned to later, flowers tend to move in the wind, or droop by the end of a sitting, or just not cope well in a vase.

“So, I admit to resorting to photographing the roses in those two Penola gardens, not once but many times, as if in preparation for a full-blown portrait.

“The sun was intermittent, the wind did not let up, but the roses of Penola won.

“Their portraits began to emerge shortly before Christmas and by May I knew they were ready for their first outing.”

Gallery 54 is open Thursday to Sunday from 10am until 3pm.