PREMIERE FUNCTION: 15 APRIL, 2022, 5.30-7PM. FREE ENTRY
I am an artist, 38 years of age and originally from Yarram. This exhibition title originates from the name of the Won Wron home I grew up in, Bimbimbi “Place of Many Birds.” Dad made the sign that hung on our front fence, my parents loved birds and we had lots to interact with and care for in our backyard.
I continue to paint birds because of their fascinating characteristics and the versatility of being able to place them in any arrangement. I spent last year adjusting to life as a dad and taking on a different approach to painting. Having less time on my hands I ditched the more technical compositions for the simplicity of painting still-life native flowers which lead to my last exhibition TAKEN.
After teaching myself to paint still-life in my Seaford wetlands studio I have added an extra element of Australian birds into the mix. In this series, flowers and branches are TAKEN from the sidewalks where I live and are set in front of my Easel. I paint the arrangements first leaving a space for the birds to sit in later. The bird species are chosen from memories of Won Wron life, some are local to the Seaford Wetlands and some have be chosen from Inspiration of another artist, Whitely used a few of these guys in his own birds exhibition. Kookaburras are always a fun challenge to draw and paint, they can have many different personalities. I tend to change them a lot from my reference image, flattening their hair as if its been done with the comb or just giving them a slightly cheeky grin. they are very aware of fire and know that bugs and lizards are easier to find when a bush fire ignites.
In some of the artworks I have used aerosol cans to paint the physical flowers to change the colour of them prior to working on the linen, I found this also helps to slow the dying process, a plant that is constantly drooping and changing colour can be a tricky one. Once a flower arrangement dies, I will continue to paint it and just work from my imagination.
Having less time to paint I have experimented painting much faster with less detail, I have been applying the oil paint with a much thicker almost impasto technique. In doing this the paintings have become much more alive and I am enjoying the process much more.
In this exhibition my aim has been to bring a nice feeling to the paintings. I hope you think so too.
P. Gilliland, 2022
