Forbes Town - what a hoot!

Well, this last week saw some of my works shown at Forbes Town Hall some 150 kms west of Orange where I live. It's always interesting to take your work into another town, especially the smaller towns and see what the exercise brings! I'm not sure about anyone else, but I had a fabulous time..... the people of our Ozzie country towns are really the 'salt of the earth', super friendly and welcoming!

One very special lady I met called Lee wrote a poem about me and she has given me permission to put it here for you also to laugh at enjoy! Lee also liked my hand painted shoes (grand-daughter's art) so much that she was inspired to paint her own..... now that's my sort of person!

"Limericks de Joy"

To Forbes came this artist extraordinaire,

Environmental from her feet to her hair.

She was surely inspirational,

Her paintings quite sensational,

Yes, Joy, your a lady with flair.

Came this talented artist from Orange,

(which doesn't rhyme with anything)

For her spectacular paintings to bring

All that nature does impart

Painted right from the heart

Glorious colours that make your soul sing.

I have to say, I was wined and dined in style, Pam and Tony made me very very welcome and the last night party! well, what can I say except that 2 days later I am still recovering! Yes Forbes, you are going to be hard to beat!

I had to add a photo of one of the many floral arrangements that the Forbes ladies put around the show....... the colours of our bush flowers are really beautiful aren't they? We all just love those blue gum tips and bright red bottle brushes. I thought this would make a nice painting..... hmmm....

The Town Hall is really quite stunning inside with a colonial architecture that reflects our rather British heritage so the show looked quite good in the space provided. One hopes that the Forbes Council learns to encourage the arts further and support the hard work of their local people. Maybe an Arts Prize or an Aquisition from the regular shows that the people of Forbes voluntarily put on.It would be good to see these country councils participate more fully and engage their arts communities by building local collections of Australian art.

So this week, I'm off to Coffs Harbour, a trek of some 800-900 kms north and to the beach! Yay! My paintings will once again go on display only this time at Opal Cove Resort - so let's see if Coffs can come up to Forbes standard! It'll be a challenge!

Mezzanine - a great addition to the town of Forbes!

Further down the street in Forbes, you will find Mezzanine.....a fantastic place! Great coffee, good vibe, excellent art on the walls from Roger Bennie.......

The lively owner, Jane is friendly and looking to the future of art in the town with plans to expand her gallery to include a regular program of solo shows!

The height of the ceilings certainly make the space one of those rare finds; one that displays art really well......and the current show certainly holds it owns in the space.

It's great to see contemporary paintings in the outback.......Roger's work is expressive and full of life!

It certainly has to be on your 'best visit' list....be sure to drop in for lunch, coffee and view the art!

Orange Art Society Annual Competition

It's been so busy these last few weeks and so much to do, be done......well at last it's done!

And it was a great roll up at the Orange Art Society Competition the other week......about 2 or 3 weekends ago. We all gathered round to see a wonderful exhibition of local talent.

I was invited to judge the show, 7 or 8 sections and then formally open the evening's celebrations and hand out the prizes. There were some outstanding works amongst what was an excellent collection. There is no doubt about it, the local artists are good painters.....with some good teachers, past and present.

With four seasons a year in the region, from bright autumn colours, through winter whites and greys and into fresh spring greens and our sunburnt summers, this region really develops the senses. The Central West has always produced excellent artists, Tim Storrier (Parkes boy), Elwynn Lyn (Canowindra boy), Lloyd Rees (Bathurst way) and Brett Whiteley to name a few. There's also Reg Campbell of Sunny Corner, and his protegees, Greg Turner then Tony Mason who kept a line of good basic realism going, and gave a thorough understanding of European traditions to their students.

I travel all around the place, east to west, and visit many art societies and galleries, and really, Orange can hold its own.....

This year saw the CWA exhibit as well......so it was representative of a large group of painters. Well done to all who helped out and supported this venture. I hope to see more of these in the future.