TRACEY PICCOLI
Every now and then an artwork arrives at the Gallery that stands out and speaks to your heart.
Tracey’s Indigenous heritage of visual storytelling is brilliantly told in her paintings. They help you connect to her deep and rich culture.
In the following Q&A Tracey gives us an insight into her life and what inspires her art practice.
So Tracey……..
Q. What inspired you to begin painting and when was that.?
A. From a small child I always enjoyed colouring in and painting with my crappy little watercolour set of primary colours and brushes. In the school holidays I used to go to my grandmothers house whilst my mum and dad worked and we would sit at her big kitchen table and paint .
Q. What is your favourite painting medium and why
A. I love acrylics and ochres. The vibrancy and quick drying affects you can achieve from acrylics and of course the ochre paints country provides. I love processing and combining traditional colour ochres into my artworks.
Q. Who are your favourite artists past or present?
A. To name a few, Blak Douglas who always pushes the boundaries, Penny Evans, Ceramicist whose work speaks truth, John Olsen, I adore his work for his original views of Australians landscapes and Vincent Namajira who is a boundary pusher and complete individual in his subject matters.
Q. Where do you get your inspiration for your paintings and craft work.
A. Nature and landscapes, family, friends, story sharing and telling. Anything and everything inspires me. .
Q. How has the Cassino Art Gallery benefited you as an Artist.
A. In the past few years the Cassino Art Gallery has reached out to local Indigenous Artists to promote their art during NAIDOC Week which has been fantastic not only for the Artists but also for the wider community to come and view the amazing talent we have right in our own community.
Tracey Piccoli
Contemporary Indigenous Artist
Phone: 0413 086 324
www.traceypaints.com.au
www.instagram.com/traceypaints2
Jeanette Bennette
Artist – Photographer – Graphic Designer.
Jeanette is a valued volunteer for Cassino Gallery and looks after all our graphics for Social media, website and all promotional work for the Gallery and its exhibitions. Also volunteers each week at the Gallery helping to keep our doors open.
So ….Jeanette……
Q: What inspired you to begin painting and when was that.?
A: : As a young child I was fascinated by my grandmother whose house was filled with her oil paintings. She inspired me to pick up a pencil and brush.
Q:What is your favourite painting medium and why ?
A:Watercolour, probably because I grew up painting with it and feel comfortable with it.
Q: Who are your favourite artists past or present. ?
A: love the work of Monet and Renoir, also Margaret Olley and the watercolourist Dellene Strong.
Q: Where do you get inspiration for your paintings?
A: From beautiful landscapes that I have photographed.
Q: How has the Cassino Art Gallery benefited you as an Artist?
A: The gallery has benefited me by giving me a venue for my work and introducing me to other artists.
Q: what is your favourite colour?
A: immediately thought of blue but I do love bright colours too – reds and different shades of yellow/gold.
You can see Jeanette’s stunning watercolours at the Country Living exhibition.
Katrina Daley
Katrina works in Casino as an Optometrist. She helps many of us to see life clearly and to enjoy beautiful works of art like hers.
Katrina loves her work but her real passion is painting and it shows in her richly detailed and vibrant paintings.
We hope she is going to keep exhibiting with us.
You can see Katrina’s stunning paintings at the Country Life Exhibition currently showing until May 30th…
So Katrina……….
Q: What inspired you to begin painting and when was that.?
A: I have always loved creating and getting lost in the process. In the last few years I have focussed more on painting.
Q: What is your favourite painting medium and why?
A: I love acrylic, I love the buttery texture and being able to dab wildly sometimes layering the colour and in contrast to oil I like that it dries quickly, as I tend to layer rather than blend.
Q: Who are my favourite artists ?
A: Arthur Streeton, Renoir and John Singer Sargent
Q :Where do you get inspiration for your art.?
A:When something stops me in my tracks whether from the sheer beauty or the play of the light or the interesting patterns I take a photo and create a painting later.
Q: How has the Cassino Art Gallery benefited you?
A: I am new to the Cassino Art Gallery community and am thrilled to be able to share my paintings and have loved seeing the work of other artists and getting inspiration from their wonderful works
Q: What is your favourite colour
A: Orange and teal . In paint Prussian blue and Burnt Sienna.
Thank you Katrina
Country Life Exhibition is open from Thurs to Sundays
Mary Shields
Photographer
So many Artists have their passion for Art or photography ignited by a friend or family member in early childhood,as Mary did.
This why we encourage our youth to participate in all of our exhibitions, to help fuel that creative fire until the child believes they can create beautiful art or photography.
So, Mary….
Q1; My photography obsession started when I was given my first camera when I was around 10 years old. My father was an avid photographer, who also took 9mm film. My camera was a small camera where you inserted a cassette which contained the roll of film.
I would photograph anything and everything, but had to save up my pocket money and wait to get the pictures back. Not like with instant digital today.
I then continued to TAFE, specializing in photography in second year.
There I learned all about black and white photography. How to take photos, how to drive all the controls of a fully manual camera, how to develop negatives and how to develop and create photographic prints.
Q2. At TAFE, I started out with a second hand camera from my sister, a Pentax K1000, which I used throughout TAFE and afterwards.
Then more recently I bought a Sony camera.
I also came across the artform photography of Infrared. This took me by storm! .
This has captured my attention for nearly 3 years, with poor old Sony being ignored a bit.
Most recently I have rediscovered the photographic artform of Mordancage. This is my next project. There is lots to learn and equipment to organise. So watch this space!
Favourite subjects: anything. I am an opportunistic photographer, always keeping an eye out for a shot. NO AI here!!
Q3. My techniques for post processing are usually minimal. A little colour here, a little sharpening there. Not much else.
I have an enlarger and darkroom, which I am planning to use in my pursuit of the Mordancage process which requires true printing of silver based prints.
Q4. Favourite photographers?
For black and white, Ansell Adams is the baseline for excellence.
Q5.My inspiration comes from nature, clouds, landscapes, people, buildings, whatever I am looking at at the time.
Q6. Cassino Art Gallery has given me an outlet to exhibit some of my works. I’ve met some amazing and talented people, who are dedicated to keeping the gallery alive and growing!
Q7, My favourite colour is black and white
Kathy Pollitt
Artist and Gallery Owner
is another one of our volunteers who helps to keep Cassino Art Gallery open for business. Kathy has had a long career in the Arts, not only as a painter but also running her own Art Gallery, so she brings a wealth of experience to our dedicated team.
So Kathy,
Q: What inspired you to begin painting and when was that.?
A: :I have always drawn and painted, since 18 mths old according to my Mother. Pocket money came via doing homework for class mates and entering competitions. In my teens and early 20s I sought tutors wherever I was living.
Q:What is your favourite painting medium and why ?
A: Acrylics are my favourite medium, just eclipsing watercolours. They are flexible, strong colours yet can be muted and soft, and applied in so many ways.
Q: Who are your favourite artists past or present. ?
A: Winslow Homer, J M W Turner,Tom Roberts, Hans Heysen, Herman Peckel, Warwick Fuller, Modigliani,Klimt, Kasey Sealey,
Q: Where do you get inspiration for your paintings?
A: Everywhere, the natural world, dreams, imagination.
Q: How has the Cassino Art Gallery benefited you as an Artist?
A: It provides a venue to display artwork, social interaction with other artists, a stimulus to continue painting.
Q: what is your favourite colour?
A: BLUE : cobalt, ultramarine, cerulean and pthalo.