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!

Dubbo Arts Society Biennial Exhibition

Well, yours truly had a lovely time in Dubbo last weekend judging the Dubbo Arts Society Biennial Exhibition. What a truly lovely group of people.

There were some exceptional artworks among the display and some categories were quite hard to choose between. Over 3 days, we judged, we talked, we hung, we ate and drank many a cup of tea, great scones by the way.

Well done Dubbo. I look forward to seeing you all again one day soon.

Sunset Roadkill & Hubcap

Well, you never know just what is around the corner and just the other day, I was invited to participate in a Landfill Arts Project in USA......

Being the serious artist that I am, I just couldn't resist to take a few moments rest from myself and put together a painted hubcap.

Scrambling around the junkyard was inspiring in itself....amazing array of stuff there.....sculptureal! Finding a great Thunderbird hubcap (must be a classic!) I eagerly paid my $5 and headed home to the studio.

I have to say i was fun...and now today, it is finished and I've made a little video of it in progress.....background music courtesy of Four Second Fuse (my son's band!).......semmed to fit....."gotta make it in time!"

Hope you enjoy it!

Art Class for Forbes

Hi everyone,

Well I've been flat out of late doing this and that so I haven't been back to my blog.....so much has happened and some will necessarily have to miss out.

Last weekend though, we had a lot of laughs and a great day at the Forbes Art Society's rooms learning all about perspective (what blokes know, bt we gals missed out on!) and an overview of some watercolour techniques to finish off each days' work with fun!

We splashed about and the results were pretty good! From the photos, the class seemed to be pretty intrigued with their watercolours....specialty for the day was creating 'hard edges' where you want them to be!


Next workshop will be with Robyn Ross in Orange.....Nov 8 & 9.......Don't forget!

ciao

nJoy

Masked Ball - Orange Regional Gallery

What a Grande event! Orange Gallery's La Grande Masquerade was an wonderful evening full of fun and laughter....much amusement as we all guessed who was behind the mask!?

The evening just got better as it went on......so here's a little show I made from it....forgive the arty shots, can't help myself......lot's of Alan Sisley enjoying himself! and others, can you guess who.......

"Under Autumn Skies" - all welcome!

Sunday 21 September sees me open my next solo show at Jayes in Molong. The gallery there has changed so much over recent months and now is dedicated to exhibiting the works of career artists.

There is a Smalls Gallery and the Cafe Gallery as well on site, along side a new sculpture garden being developed at the rear of the premises as well. So lots to see and do in this largerand more complex group of buildings and courtyards.......

Join me over lunch at 12.30 or just come along for the opening at 2.30.

I was inspired to paint these works by my travels along the road to Canberra from Orange during March this year. The colours were beautiful....rich wines and deep creams, cloudy skies and grey days........

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.

Go West for Inspiration!

Art is alive and well in Forbes! Yesterday, Wanda and I went wandering along the long road to Forbes, we stopped, took photos, laughed, and gained inspiration from a beautiful landscape.

It was getting ready to snow in Orange so we escaped a gloomy day and headed out in the car, cameras in hand. The mists were hanging over the landscape giving it a soft gentle light, and the blue gums were cerulean with grasses of apricot and creams.......an excellent day for painters to be out and about!

We landed in Forbes and took a peek at the Lachlan St Gallery, the home of the Forbes Art Society. They were all painting furiously and enjoying each other's company. A great little gallery fronts their workshops area and displays a wide range of loval arts plus a few from other areas.

It's a terrific space and one could feel the pleasure that these artists shared in their love of art and painting together. We were made to feel very welcome as we shared a cup of tea with them and talked about their work.

Bush Galleries

Out here in rural Oz, our exhibitions are mainly held in places of mixed business rather than purpose built galleries. But they are very exciting and great places!

Take Borrodell Cellar Gallery for instance - fabulous gallery space which is the cellar door for a heart warming range of boutique cool climate wines! Recent exhibitions which included my own "Living in the Landscape" achieved good sales and opening nights with over 100 guests. Nina, the Director is lively, educated and beautiful and as an artist of note herself, a great advocate for regional arts.

The next exhibition will feature local photographers - an event not to be missed!

If you are visiting Orange or coming this way, let us know and we will make sure your visit is filled with exciting places to visit!