Nature’s Therapy

Gallery 1

Colleen Helmore, Carmel Birchley, Maggie Spenceley

To soothe the mind and excite the senses, three Bundaberg artists explore nature in the region. When in the natural environment, we can slow down and savour the sensations impacting all of our five senses.

HEAR the water moving, birds calling, and the rustle of leaves.
SMELL the scents of the bush, perfumes of flowers, and the tang of the ocean.
TOUCH soft petals, sharp thorns, rough sand, and cooling water.
SEE the colours and shapes of plants and animals of all sizes – plus enjoy the changing light
as it creates bright spaces, and shadows.
TASTE (only when it is safe to do so!)

By venturing outdoors and taking time to look around, we sense so much more. Our appreciation of the natural environment is deepened. Our heart rate slows. Our physical and mental health improves.

It is hoped that these ‘artistic snapshots’ showcase the beauty that surrounds us, and increases awareness of the environment’s importance to our health and well-being. Our health and the health of the planet are inextricably linked.

The artworks for this exhibition represent a variety of mediums.
• Watercolour on paper
• Graphite on paper
• Graphite and colour pencil on drafting film
• Scraperboard
• Acrylic on canvas
• Oil on canvas
• Pastel on paper

The work covers a wide variety of subjects even though they are all derived from the natural environment. Some are hyper-realistic whereas others are closer to impressionism in their approach. This means that there is something for a range of tastes. The immediate feeling as one walks into the exhibition is of freshness, colour and light. The hope is that people who view the exhibition will leave with a greater appreciation of the natural world and feel lighter of spirit.

CARMEL BIRCHLEY
Has a passion for producing fine realistic art. As a retiree, she can spend more time on creative experiments and exploring our natural environment. “I particularly enjoy the challenge of photographing, amongst other things birdlife and butterflies to capture the fine details and colours for my artworks.” “A constant source of inspiration comes from observing, reading, and networking with fellow artists. The most notable influence on my art journey has been artist Bill Bonner who taught Carmel how to achieve fine realism in graphite initially, and introduced her to scraperboard, now one of my favourite mediums. I enjoy working in all mediums, and on various surfaces, both choices largely determined by the subject matter.” With her current works, Carmel is hoping to share knowledge of our flora and fauna and inspire viewers to spend more time out in nature enjoying the serenity and maybe finding their own hidden gems.

COLLEEN HELMORE

Has always liked to make things with her hands, “seeing the object or subject materialise and come to completion before my eyes, one step at a time.” So, after dabbling in many mediums, watercolour has claimed her attention and she has been captivated by its beauty and unique characteristics ever since. “I love the way it has a mind of its own, so once I earned its respect and learned to let it flow with less interruption from me, we started to have a successful partnership.” “I like to capture a moment in time when the subject is at its best whether that is due to the light or atmosphere. I paint with a limited palette of mostly primary colours, in a contemporary representational style and love the variety and detail involved in painting portraits and still life subjects.”

MAGGIE SPENCELEY
Has always had a keen interest in the environment, especially the flora. That interest has drawn her down different paths and is now focusing on representing nature through art. Maggie moved to Bundaberg in 2003 and there I met Bill Bonner who taught her how to draw and introduced me to the beauty of graphite and enjoys taking a pencil and creating a three-dimensional image on a flat surface.

Maggie has worked in several mediums but now focuses mainly on graphite, colour pencil and acrylic. Using these to “ represent what I think of as beautiful and interesting aspects of nature and hope that people seeing my artworks are as inspired by the natural world as I am.”

For more information, contact:
Kingaroy Art Gallery
Phone: 0488 793 419