Drouin trees reignite painting passion
Imagine being asked to create 10 paintings in 10 days after not picking up a paintbrush for over a decade.
That was the daunting task facing Jo Caminiti when she signed up for an art residency with Friends of Drouin’s Trees as part of Creative Gippsland’s “Come and Play All of May” art festival.
Surrounded by her 10 paintings at a onenight exhibition at the Old Drouin Butter Factory last week, Jo said the experience had changed her artistic outlook from sculpture to painting whilst producing an entire body of work.
“The last time I painted was before my son was born and he started uni this year,” said Jo.
“It’s totally broadened my horizons,” she added. “I wasn’t going to be painting for years until I got my own studio. And now suddenly I’m painting and I’m thinking ‘that was fun’. I didn’t expect that to happen.”
During the residency, Jo painted a tree a day in all weather conditions whilst chatting with visitors.
She dealt with heavy rain, strong winds and cold temperatures – with one painting even gaining the unintended effect of rain droplets in one corner.
“I learnt about how to deal with the weather. The Baw Baw Shire marquee has never had such a good workout. We tested it in all conditions.”
However, the wet conditions also resulted in stunning backgrounds filled with misty rain, purple tinged clouds and autumn leaves.
The exhibition also featured the works of Carrie Dupe, Julie Ward and Don Hutchison who painted alongside Jo. Drouin Secondary College students also contributed charcoal sketches.
The residency was a success for Friends of Drouin Trees. It attracted renewed interest of beautiful trees within Drouin as well as broadening the group’s followers.