Lois Brown’s art lives on
VIEW
The last dinner meeting of the Warragul Evening VIEW Club was held at the Warragul Country Club on May 2.
Fifty-four members and three guests enjoyed a thoroughly engaging speaker. The guests were Carmen, Brenda and our guest speaker Lyn.
The club love to have guests at its dinner meetings. Sometimes they are visiting friends who come with members or are women who come to see if the group would be of interest to them.
Most meetings we have a guest speaker and in between dinner meetings the club have a social outing with whoever can make it.
After the treasurers’ report it was moved and carried that the club sponsor two new Learning for Life students. This will bring its total to eight students, both primary and secondary.
As a club we are proud of this for while we see our club as a social group , the support of the Learning for Life program run by The Smith Family is an important part of the VIEW commitment
The club has received an invitation to the zone gala luncheon on June 21. It will be held at the Keysborough Gold Club and guest speakers will be Peter Hitchener from Channel Nine as well as senior students from the Learning for Life program.
VIEW women love to hear the stories of the achievement of its scholarship students- always inspirational. Money for this event is due at the next dinner meeting.
Next month the guest speaker will be member Lyn Griggleston, who will share her experiences in the outback where she spent time as a governess. Members are eagerly looking forward to this.
The next dinner meeting will be on June 6 and members are reminded to book in or cancel with Lindy on 0409 022 076 by the Monday prior.
Members are also reminded that the club will have a trading table next month.
West Gippsland Orchid Club
The attendance for the May meeting was down due to illness amongst members but the night was both interesting and entertaining as newer members were coached along by seasoned growers while re-potting their plants.
Other aspects of plant culture were discussed and demonstrated as well and everyone came away from the night knowing more than at the start.
The next meeting will be on June 7 where the club will have Chris Pegg as its guest speaker. Chris is a member of the club and is a top grower of Australian native orchids. He will be well worth coming along to listen to as he gives his ideas and tips for growing prize-winning orchids.
The meeting will be held at the Drouin Scout Hall in Victoria Street. Everyone interested in orchid culture is welcome to attend.
If you would like more information, phone president Bob on 0408 525 134 for further details.
Warragul RSL
Anzac Day services held in Warragul were well attended with record crowds at both dawn service and main service.
It was estimated that 2000 attended the dawn service and 1500 people (and one crow) attended the main service. Many people commented on the service having enjoyed the service and the atmosphere.
The guest speaker was Caroline Argent from the Shrine of Remembrance, and she is very well-known among RSL members for her work around local schools.
It is well worth mentioning the Shrine, which is an interesting place to visit. If you wish to go, it will be necessary to allow several hours to inspect all exhibits. Some people may disagree, but this scribe believes it can match the National Memorial in Canberra for interesting exhibits.
The monthly meeting was held on May 7, where the guest speaker was Brian Grist of the RACV. He spoke about the health and safety among older folk. It was an interesting talk and most people there would be able to take home useful hints to make their life a little safer.
The next monthly meeting will be held on June 4 at 1.30pm. All members are invited to attend.
Warragul Arthritis Self Help Group
The next meeting of the Warragul Arthritis Self Help Group will be held on Thursday, June 7 at West Gippsland Healthcare Group community services, Pettit room 2, Warragul.
The guest speaker will be Warragul hearing consultant Meg Miklosvarey.
The guest speaker at the May meeting was qualified healing massage therapist Mandy Brydon who offers services including deep tissue remedial massage.
Mandy spoke about the various use of essential oils to enhance well-being and to ease and improve different ailments. The group had fun making their own aromatherapy cream with the array of many different essential oils, all with a variety of perfumes that Mandy brought along to the meeting.
The group reminds members and partners that its mid-year luncheon is on Friday, July 13 at noon at Warragul Country Club. Members are reminded to wear name badges.
The Christmas luncheon for members and partners will be held at Black Tie Restaurant on Friday, November 30 at 11.30am. Put this date in your diary.
Warm water exercise classes in the hydrotherapy pool are held at the Warragul Leisure Centre on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.
One class is held on Tuesday afternoons from 2pm until 2.30pm. One class is held on Thursday mornings from 9.30am until 10am. The cost is $5 per class which includes tea/coffee and biscuits afterwards.
Weather permitting the Nordic walking group meet on Fridays at Civic Park at 9.30am. Contact Don on 5623 2165 for any information.
The group, classes and training of its leaders come under the auspices of MOVE muscle, bone and joint health.
For information about group, library and resources contact Lesley on 5623 6255.
Warragul Parkinson's Support and Carers Group
The next meeting will be held on Monday, June 4 at West Gippsland Healthcare Group, Room 2 Pettit Centre, 31-35 Gladstone St Warragul from 1.30pm until 3.30pm.
The group will have a guest speaker so come along and join, and meet the friendly members in the peer support group.
For more information regarding the group phone Lisa Kimmitt 0407 221 779. For any questions regarding Parkinson's contact Parkinson's Victoria 1800 644 189.
Renowned local artist Lois Joy Brown, late of Drouin, died on Sunday, May 20 following a battle with cancer at the age of 64.
Lois leaves an incredible body of an estimated 4000 watercolour paintings and a remarkable record of more than 90 major awards spanning her 35-year career as a professional artist.
Born in Yallourn on May 26, 1953 to parents Bob and Betty Brown, Lois was the second of five children growing up on the family farm at Willow Grove.
Her passionate pursuit of art began early during her years attending Willow Grove Primary School and later, Trafalgar High School.
Lois further developed her artistic skills at the Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education and Melbourne State College, majoring in printmaking and obtaining a higher diploma of teaching art/craft.
During her 18-year employment as a secondary school teacher, Lois began experimenting with watercolours. In the mid-1990s, she made the courageous leap to leave the security of fulltime employment to live by the productivity of her paintbrush; a career move that Lois pursued with dedication and professionalism.
Lois rapidly established herself as a highlyrespected artist, amassing many impressive awards including the prestigious 2000 and 2008 Camberwell Rotary Exhibition ‘Works on Paper Landscape’ awards – selected from works by Australia’s best.
Despite watercolour often quoted as the most difficult of all painting techniques, Lois never ceased exploring and pushing herself in the medium. She had the ability to capture the mood and changing light of a landscape; her exceptional draftsmanship, the intensity of colour and depth of her paintings setting her work apart.
Lois generously shared her expertise through regular workshops and loyal students recalled her as a most patient, encouraging teacher.
A generous supporter of local art shows, Lois often mesmerised onlookers during her popular painting demonstrations. The pressure and high-level of concentration required to produce a painting to her standard was immense and yet she graciously talked her audience calmly through the painting process with all eyes intently on her every brushstroke.
Lois offered paintings for raffles to support the Warragul Rotary Art Show for many years. Likewise, she supported the Drouin Ficifolia Art Show, Trafalgar Rotary Art Show, Walhalla Easter Art Show, just to note a few.
The paintings of Lois J Brown proudly grace the walls of hundreds of homes throughout Australia and overseas. The diverse beauty of Gippsland timelessly captured with a sensitivity and detail that earned her a very loyal following.
Represented by Town and Country Gallery for 29 years, Lois obligingly produced countless commissioned works for gallery customers; the finished paintings often moving the recipients to tears.
Despite her success Lois remained humble, her greatest love was to scour the outdoors with her partner Ron Greer, an accomplished wildlife photographer.
In her final days, Lois spent precious time at Wilsons Promontory, taking in some of the views that inspired her life-long quest to capture the natural world in her paintings.
Lois’s fine art will live on and be appreciated for many generations – her timeless legacy.