Penola’s Gallery 54 will host an exhibition of oil paintings by guest Nhill artist Naomi Zanker.
The “Keeping It Simple – After the Masters” exhibition is based on compositions and techniques perfected by the old masters.
Ms Zanker has used simple subjects of treasures she has collected over the years as her inspiration.
“A week after my official retirement in 2003 I joined the local art group, consisting mainly of retired teachers, who gave me much encouragement, advice, constructive criticism, challenges and practical examples on my first efforts,” she said.
“The ‘girls’ fired up my enthusiasm to keep going, to have more fun. I thank them all for converting me to this art journey.”
Ms Zanker said a biennial challenge at Gallery Central in Nhill was initiated to copy the works of the “masters”, as a tool for learning like their apprentices did, but also to take the artists out of their comfort zones.
“In this context, I eventually challenged myself to reproduce a life-size, 17th Century Dutch work by Abraham van Beyeren, called ‘Still Life c.1665’,” she said.
“It was while working on this that I came to know and love Van Dyke Brown and consequently to appreciate the joys of simple subject matter.
“I also learned that Abraham and many of his friends would use the same props and themes repeatedly, that lighting was paramount, that I preferred not to paint dead animals, that part of the challenge lay in reproducing the various materials, textures and subtle colours of fruits, pottery, metals and textiles and that I actually had more treasures to paint than I remembered collecting, just in case.
“This collection reflects the shifts in my approach to the subjects, from the serious to the ‘seriously?’ But while good old Van Dyke Brown holds the key to uniformity in this exhibition and some of the items may be found several times with new friends, I hope each piece stands up as an individual expression of the joy I take in the simplicity of composition and the fun of its execution”
The exhibition will open on October 24 at 1pm with opening words from Isla Dart and will run until December 5.
