Going ‘Down South’, the area south of Bunbury is always a lovely break but this time it has been great! The Margaret River Region Open Studios programme runs from 11th -26th of September and is a wonderful opportunity to view the works of many fabulous artists. The program covers four different areas and features over 140 local artists. The four regions are Busselton, Dunsborough, Cowaramup and Margaret River and their surrounding areas. It claims to be the biggest art event of this kind in Australia.
With over a 140 artists in their studios offering insights into their works we needed to make a manageable list as we only had a few days. Although the program was online I went to a local art shop and got a hard copy so we could both read everything on offer and choose those we most wanted to see. Then we were able to create a schedule of artists we wanted to visit in each locality.
Many art forms were on display. There were painters, textile workers, ceramicists, jewellers, printers, book makers, photographers, furniture makers, sculptors, tattoo artists and more. The south west is hopping with artistic talent. It was hard selecting the studios to visit but we were really pleased with the artists we chose. We have no room for more art works at home but had to resist temptation to buy quite often!
The artist were friendly and welcoming and willing to discuss their inspiration, approach to producing works and their stories about settling in the south west. Here are just thirteen of the artists we visited.
DOROTHY DAVIES Dorothy produces beautiful still life paintings mostly with botanical themes. Her designer background is evident in her orderly, calm paintings. Her works are detailed and lovely.
STEVE VIGORS Steve mostly paints landscapes and seascapes. He is inspired by the beauty of the south west and I thought his seascapes were wonderful. Steve does great waves!
GLORIA HAYDEN Gloria makes quirky little books using recycled and new paper. Her background as a librarian is evident in the books’ bindings and each has whimsical secret patterned pages and tiny envelopes. So pretty!
CHRISSY WELDON Chrissy’s botanical paintings are detailed and accurate. They are very beautiful. These delicate botanical paintings reveal her love of nature, detail and colour.
HEIDI EMMA Heidi Emma is a painter and mixed media artist. Her still life paintings are awash with light, colour and energy. I loved her botanical still life paintings, my husband favoured her seascapes
ADAM ASHDOWN I was so intrigued by Adam’s printing process I forgot to take a photograph of him! He has mastered the traditional Japanese method of printing fish, Gyotaku. Using traditional sumi ink and mulberry bark paper, Adam relies on a wet mounting technique known as urauchi. He creates very beautiful images of fish, before eating them!
The sargent baker fish was shaped and arranged within a foam template carefully cut to support its shape and fins.
The fish is wiped dry before Adam applied the water based ink to it, reducing the amount of ink on places where the fish was naturally lighter in colour.
The printing paper is applied to the fish and Adam gently rubs over the shape, ensuring he has captured the features such as the fins and tail. He will do several prints of the fish, reapplying ink where necessary.
These fish prints are very detailed and attractive. I found the process and Adam’s explanations fascinating! I keep thinking about these fish prints, not only because I’d really like to do one myself but I’d like own one of his.
MOLLY COY Molly’s beautiful, tactile, multi -media books feature her artwork plus typography created on a vintage tabletop letterpress. An Aladdin’s cave of treasures!
KARMA SHATTOCK Karma enjoys the unpredictability of painting in watercolour. She likes painting the Australian landscapes but I really liked her paintings with blue and white china and flowers. They were gorgeous!
MARTINE PERRET A photojournalist, Martine’s exhibition was mostly aerial photographs of landscapes. These are intriguing photographs. They made me think of traditional Aboriginal paintings in colour and shape. I found these photographs fascinating.
ELIZABETH WHITEMAN Elizabeth works with paint and textiles. She mainly paints landscapes and lovely, ethereal portraits. Her paintings are full of light and are very beautiful.
STUART MCMILLAN Stuart is a multidisciplinary artist working with paint, photography, sculpture and print media. I enjoyed his colourful, energetic works.
FI WILKIE Fi paints the flora and fauna of the south west of Western Australia. Her botanical works are an explosion of colour and wonderful energy. She also teaches drawing, painting and collage. Her works are original and vibrant and I loved them!
CHRISTINE CRESSWELL Christine paints beautiful and delicate watercolours of well known exotics and wildflowers endemic to the South West. Her paintings are detailed and calm and so pretty.
The Margaret River Region Open Studios program is an annual event. We will watching out for next year’s dates. There are so many interesting artists participating and I was disappointed we could only fit visits to thirteen studios. This was a wonderful break down south.