‘Hammersley Gorge’ 90 x 60 cms $750

2015 and the year is off to a flying start with six paintings sold in the last 2 months! Whew!

A lot of paintings completed too, all new works, mostly outback paintings for the fast approaching exhibition to be held at the Wintergarden Gallery in Geelong in the month of April. This is a copy of the Artists Statement for the exhibition.

Under Cerulean Skies
by Moyra Le Blanc Smith NaturalArt 

This exhibition is a collection of paintings inspired by my trips around Australia, often to the central, desert areas where the sky is always cerulean. Cerulean is a paint colour which describes the vibrant blue sky in outback Australia.

Australia is the driest continent on earth and as such, water is it’s most precious resource. The people who have survived in the deserts for thousands of years have learned how to preserve every last drop of this most valuable, life giving liquid. Their art, painted and engraved into rocks and caves, often depicted symbols for water and ‘maps’ of where the next source was to be found.

The plants too, have adapted to survive in these harsh conditions. At permanent rockholes, beautiful, huge trees can often be found and these are, my most favourite subject to paint.
Whilst painting plein air (outdoors) on my travels, the experience of standing painting in the shade of one of these big giants is one which stays with me long after the painting has been completed and packed away into the wet painting box for the journey home. The joy of absorbing the visual feast of vibrant colours, red rock faces, cool water, shapes of the gnarled old gums with their pale green foliage and smooth, pale, trunks and twisted branches, the feeling of the warm breeze, the sound of the birds and of course the cerulean sky is what I am attempting to convey in my paintings.

The endless beauty of flowers is another of my favourite subjects. There is an infinite number of gorgeous shapes and colours to be found in even the most common garden flowers. I have lifetime of inspiration to explore within the petals of flowers everywhere.

Increasingly we live in a world where there is a huge focus on the violence around us and notoriety to be found in depicting images more shocking than the last newsworthy item. I have made it my life’s mission to bring the beauty of my adopted country Australia to attention. In doing so I hope that I might highlight the fragility of our natural environment. The destruction happens so easily with economic pressure to use more and more land for wealth from underground, cities, housing and food production. I’d like to give people pause to reflect on the fact that these areas, once destroyed, can never be recovered. It’s essential to find a balance in all these things.

It is my belief that natural areas are essential for the wellbeing of ALL people and it’s my wish for my children, and grandchildren that beautiful, peaceful, natural places remain for them to enjoy forever and long after I am gone. I’d like for my paintings to hang in places where people can enjoy them and be constantly reminded of the beauty of our country and to find sanctuary in them no matter what is happening around them.

ENJOY