LINDEN EDWARDS

Linden’s work explores the relationship between the natural environment and human intervention, notions of sustainability, the transience of nature and time, regeneration, and transformation. It is a celebration of the beauty, fragility, and strength displayed in nature. The arboglyphs (scratched messages in trees) incorporated into the work display layers of human interaction with nature through seasons of growth and renewal. I am interested in these often-fragmented marks and messages that create a snapshot of contemporary life.
The sculptural forms are created from found and recycled materials referencing our throwaway society and habitat destruction.

Encaustic painting consisting of beeswax, natural damar resin and pigment. Applied warm, each layer is fused with heat. Predating oil painting it is a resilient and durable finish, examples existing from 3000 years ago.

KATHY DOLEY

My artistic practice is inspired by my love and appreciation for Australian flora. I approach my work in an intuitive manner, blending elements of abstraction and close observation to capture the essence and unique personality of my subjects.

I am particularly drawn to the rugged, resilient beauty of Australian flora. In my current series, I have focused on painting iconic Australian species such as wattle, bottlebrush, protea and banksia, often found in our own neighbourhood. 

Through the use of vibrant colours, and a focus on the essential qualities of each plant, I strive to capture the essence of my subjects and evoke a deeper appreciation for the beauty of Australia's native flora. 

CAT LEONARD

For this exhibition, Local, I chose to paint some of the dogs I meet at the dog park and down the beach when I take my dogs for their walks. I was pleasantly surprised at how delightful this project turned out to be.
My collection of Park Dog paintings is eclectic because every dog I meet is unique. They are creatures with personalities as individual as their appearances, and those are incredibly diverse in size, stature, colouring and coats, long, short, curly, straight, thin, thick, black, white, spotty... the way they run, amble or waddle, sit, roll, jump, chase, beg and bark... yap...

Dogs are ice breakers...they are great at introducing themselves to other dogs and their humans. Thus I’ve met a lot of people and made many friends, during the process of this project, thanks to our dogs.

BERNADETTE WOODWARD

We are so fortunate to live where we do. Most of these works originated from a snap taken from the passenger seat during family drives. The rest were taken while we walked. They are a springboard for me to explore the colour, shapes and light of places we’ve shared.

Painting gives me the opportunity to slow my looking and properly observe all the wonders in front of me.Awe and a sense of wonder can be found in the everyday. Painting gives me the opportunity to slow my looking and properly observe all the wonders in front of me.

Haze
Oil on canvas
79 x 95cm
Bernadette Woodward $1,080

SIMONE LINEHAN

I am an Australian (predominantly self taught) artist. In 1989 I started my career in graphic design and illustration, first working for local design studios then in 1996 I began her freelance career in graphic design then adding an art teaching business in 2008, still running in Parkside as Sim+Co Art Space.

Combining real and imagined worlds in colourful and magical scenes, I wish to evokes the viewer to reconnect with their inner child. The playful, the innocent and the imaginative.

After a solo caravan journey in 2021 and seeing the seasonal whales in Folwers Bay, whales for me now represent freedom and magic. The experience of viewing these magnificent creatures in their own environment up close, looking into the eye of the beautiful breaching beast was an unforgettable experience.

They fly because this is how I viewed them, breaching and launching their enormous bodies so gracefully out of the water into the air before me. Utterly spellbinding. Also I talk in my work about the significance of our environmental concerns, ‘if we ruin the ocean where will the whales go’?

I wish you to ponder, dream and imagine while viewing these pieces.