Land Sea Sky Exhibition
1st July - 12 August
Venue
Art Lovers Gallery Melbourne
300 Wellington Street Collingwood
Open Wednesday to Saturday 10am - 4pm
Henri Matisse said that “an artist must possess nature, He must identify himself with her rhythm, by efforts that will prepare the mastery which will later enable him to express himself in his own language”
Art Lovers Australia’s newest exhibition, Land, Sea, Sky celebrates everything that is nature by showcasing the work of Rachel Rae and 17 Australian artists whose practice pays tribute to the horizon lines, diverse fauna, waterscapes, the energy of the universe, and importantly the depication of the Australian Landscape.
I am one of the exhibiting artists in this exhibition. The 8 paintings in the series “From Heath to Beach” depict the coast near my holiday house on the Great Ocean Road in Anglesea. Every time I visit I walk through the Anglesea Heath overlooking the lighthouse at Aireys Inlet. From Heath to Horizon depicts the colourful variety of plants through abstract mark making. The ocean stretches out to the staggered headlands on the horizon. Walking over the sandunes to the ocean I am hit with a blast of wind. The 4 minis highlight the ocean and sandunes named after various emotions evoked during the walk - Turbulence, Scattered, Harmony, Tranquility.
The beach is home to an endangered group of birds called the Hooded Plovers. They try to breed during summer laying their impossible to see eggs on the high tide line prompting the title of the painting Death wish of the plovers. The chicks are tiny, fragile and defenseless, making them extremely vulnerable to threats. Without help only 1 in 100 chicks survive and pairs often have more then 4 failed nest attempts each breeding season. Further along the beach there is a dog off the leash. Hopefully it doesn’t disturb the little family of plovers with their new chick.
Reaching the end of the beach is Pt Roadknight. When I was younger the rock formations seemed so big but the wind and the ocean has eroded most of it. I question if I should walk around the point but The tides coming in. Instead I decide to walk Over the Dunes. The blues, greens and golden colours of plants and the path lead me up the path with the bay peaking through the trees. The red cliffs of Anglesea tower over the beaches and the calmer turquoise waters of the bay. This truely is my happy place.
