My Source Of Complete Escape

This talented artist admits that while it’s rewarding to be acknowledged for your efforts, the most important reason why she paints is for the pure pleasure of creating an artwork.

Iwas born in Melbourne in 1945 and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t willing to spend time with a pencil in my hand. At 14 I entered a drawing competition and won a place to further my drawing skills. At the time I was unable to take this up but kept up with drawing and my love of the craft of artwork has been a source of complete escape for me.

I left high school to do a commercial administration course at a technical school. This school had a large art department and I spent all of my free time watching the class through a window. The artwork that was produced in the classes fascinated me and so I continued to draw when I could.

Then I started work, got married, had babies and was extremely busy and far from any thought of picking up pencils again. I finally got the opportunity to attend night classes and my interest was rekindled. I painted mostly in oil on board and was hooked again.

Early in my art journey I copied the masters, particularly Heysen, McCubbin and Roberts, which gave me a feel of oil on canvas and during this time I studied their techniques.

After a move away from Melbourne to East Gippsland for my husband’s work, we settled in to a new

community and had another baby. I eventually worked for the best part of 30 years with a dabble here and there when I had the time.

When all the children had left the nest I spent a few years enjoying folk art. Without too much of a challenge and a lovely group of ladies it was a very pleasant pastime. I have attended workshops in folk art and fine art and no matter what the subject is, you still come away with more knowledge and a renewed enthusiasm.

I became restless without that challenge and seven years ago my son and daughter-in-law bought me a semester of lessons in fine art with our well-known local art tutor, Jan Long. This was what I call my beginning in really understanding this wonderful pastime. With lessons from Jan’s classes, her generous sharing of knowledge and the great exchange of ideas and skills shared in her classes by all participants, this is my inspiration to stretch my outlook and also I have made like-minded friends who all speak the same language and we share our own experiences as well.

The lessons I have taken with Jan

covered drawing skills, which was a two-year course, painting in different mediums and how to draw portraits. In the past couple of years I have been attending a class called “Own Choice”, where participants bring along their own choice of artwork. This leads to a wealth of information for everyone because Jan advises each person on their project, effectively giving us individual tuition.

During Jan’s classes it was necessary to try pastel painting as a medium. I was not very motivated

– I considered pastel very dirty and messy and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to use this by choice. There was no choice in this class, we had tried several other techniques and this was the next one. The rest is history as they say. I haven’t been able to seriously use any other medium since. I have bought oil paints and canvases, watercolour tubes, gouache and paper and have tried, but I just can’t get over my obsession.

One of the real advantages of working with pastel is that when you put colour on the paper it is the colour you have chosen; it doesn’t change. What you see is what you get! Also there is no drying time and you can brush off any changes with a stiff brush and re-apply the pastel. The easiest surface to use, for me, is the Canson pastel paper which has a fine, irregular sandpaper type texture on the surface, has cardboard feel and comes in a large range of colours. There are other papers of course which also come in a range of colours which you may like to give a try if you are tempted to have a go at the pastels.

I have started to sell my paintings and have completed 10 commissions. My commissions have been mainly portraits and pets. I don’t really have a favourite subject, I paint from photographs mainly and it depends how the photograph appeals to me as to whether it becomes my next project.

To further my involvement in art in this area, in the past 12 months I have

joined the Bairnsdale and District Art Society (BADAS) and have enjoyed another group of like-minded people, all willing to share their journey and experiences.

BADAS ran a very successful

Art Show in 2013 called “Glorious Gippsland” which was a huge success for both BADAS and the Bairnsdale area in general. I sold a painting there and that was very exciting because it was the first painting I have sold in an Art Show and only the second in which I have entered a painting.

Towards the end of last year

BADAS had a portrait competition for its members called “Gippsland Characters” and it was well supported by our members. We had only two prizes in this competition. One was an Encouragement Award and the other was a People’s Choice Award. I won the People’s Choice Award which was such a wonderful encouragement to me. The portrait was of one of our local Doctors who very kindly allowed me to paint him.

At the Bairnsdale Agricultural Show in 2013 I entered three paintings and won Best in Show, 1st and 2nd in Animals/ Birds section and 1st in Flowers and

Still Life. This was another boost to my confidence which lead me to send three entries into Australian Artist magazine for Challenge No.55 – Still Life and Florals. To my surprise I won 2nd in this competition. The recent Bright Art Show saw two more paintings sold.

I am also greatly encouraged by the amount of commissions I have been asked to complete and look forward to continuing with this in the future.

Whilst it is so rewarding to be acknowledged for your efforts, the overriding reason why I paint is for the pure pleasure of creating an artwork. I feel privileged to have been able to pursue this God-given passion and to share this with others through different avenues.

Contact options for enquiries: Email: rowen41@bigpond.com Ph: 0418 560 010