Pat Waters

Landscape Graffiti - works on paper

West Gallery 10 – 28 September
Opens 6pm Friday 10 September

Mark making is important to Pat Waters whether working figuratively or with abstraction. Working with paint on canvas, drawing, printmaking or with mixed media as in this exhibition, gestures, lines and dynamic shapes have been the artistic language Pat uses to make her strongly felt statements about the world and her environment.

For many years personal dream imagery and ancient mythology were the subject matter of this Briagolong artist but in recent times landscape has become the focus of her work. Once again it is the more elemental aspects of the subject matter which attract and excite her. The love of mark making is combined with individual elements of the red gum forest close to home and the 500 year old trees on her own property. For Pat twigs are represented as scribbles against the night sky, branches become sensuous floating line, the spaces between trees are filled with crisscrossing patterns of the landscape behind and patches of colour are extracted from the trunks and bark of the trees.

Mixed media characterizes the works in Landscape Graffiti, charcoal, watercolour and oil paint are used and layers of transparent colour allow imagery to emerge from layers beneath the surface. The artist often scratches into top layers to allow vibrant lines and shapes to form. Some of the mark making will remind viewers of graffiti seen in urban environments but the artist assures us that nearly every mark reflects what she sees in the natural world.

Pat Waters has been exhibiting in Gippsland and Melbourne for thirty years. Her exhibition at EGAG opens at 6pm on Friday, 10 September and continues until Tuesday, 28 September.

Pat Waters will give a floor talk at 6.30pm at the opening of Landscape Graffiti.

Linden Dean

Watercolour and Washi

East Gallery 10 – 28 September
Opens 11am Saturday 11 September

Bairnsdale-based artist, Linden Dean, creates naïve-style paintings which are the result of artistic efforts that began in 1992 with naïve artist, Gwen Clarke.

Over the years Linden has developed her own style and experimented with mixed media in her signature contemporary naïve style.

Linden has been involved in many exhibitions with the Art Naïve Gippsland group, from Lakes Entrance and Bairnsdale, to Cowwarr and Melbourne, and has had three solo exhibitions in Bairnsdale. Linden’s artworks take on a narrative style and often depict images focusing on social issues.

Her artworks have been represented on cards, book and magazine covers and international calendars, and have received awards in the high commendations and outstanding categories in the annual Daffodil Day Art Awards. She has sold locally, nationally and internationally, with work currently in collections in Italy, Slovenia, India, Japan and the USA.

Painting & Washi Paper Workshop

Washi is a type of paper made in Japan. Washi is commonly made using fibers from the bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub or mulberry bark, kozo, but also can be made using bamboo, hemp, rice and wheat. Washi comes from wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper, and the term is used to describe paper made by hand in the traditional manner.

Linden has been incorporating washi paper into her art ever since she discovered it on a trip to Japan in 2009. This workshop is for those artists who already have drawing/painting skills who may want to use this traditional paper in their own art works.

Painting & Washi Paper Workshop

Materials: Bring to the workshop
• Pair of paper scissors
• Drawing/painting equipment
• And idea or drawing approximately A4 – A3 in size

Bookings are essential. Contact EGAG by 14 September to book a place and pay the $20 fee.

This workshop has been funded through the East Gippsland Shire, Arts and Heritage Alliance Grants.

Artist Floor Talk 10.30am Saturday 25 September

Linden will talk about her exhibition and her recent trip to the Gallery of Naïve Artists, Trebnje, Slovenia as an invited participant.

Join Linden and the Friends of EGAG after the talk for light refreshments.