Peter Wallfried - a passion for water in the driest state of Australia

Peter Wallfried was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1952. His family emigrated to Australia in 1955, moving from state to state until finally settling in South Australia. His childhood was spent in the Port Adelaide/Semaphore area. Tertiary studies were completed at the S.A. School of Art (Stanley Street), Western Teachers College and the University of S.A. Peter is primarily a teacher of art but has concentrated more on his own work in the last 8 years, having four solo exhibitions in that time as well as entering various competitions and prize.

His works have very strong tonal qualities and demonstrate a lively observation of nature and its surrounds. They capture the very real image and transpose the viewer into a relaxing and peaceful space. His handling of reflections is entrancing, and one of the most noticeable features of his work.

http://www.peterwalfried.com.au/

Current exhibition:
Reflections on the Murray
2 - 30 October 2009
Pepper Street Arts Centre558 Magill Road, Magill(Corner of Pepper Street and Magill Road)Open Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 12noon-5pm
Contacts: Alex Cornwell and Sally Patterson
Phone: (08) 8364 6154
Email: pepperstreet@burnside.sa.gov.au

Dianne Gall

"Troubled Beauty" 2009 Oil on Linen 30.5x35.5cms

"One of the first images of my paintings from my upcoming show Noir, which opens in Canberra, at Beaver Galleries on October 15th 2009."

Dianne Gall - http://diannegall.blogspot.com/

Brancusi once said: "Nothing grows under the shadow of big trees."

"Australian Artist, Dianne Gall, graduated from the South Australian School of Art over 20 years ago and has had over 14 Solo exhibitions and more than 50 group shows.

I believe in creating art for the right reasons, because you want to create as a method of expression, not to make a dollar. This is why I have always worked full-time in another profession, to support my art, so as not to be in the position of painting for money, I cannot bare that scenario. Nor can I stand myself to just walk up to the easel and blindly paint just because I can. It is not a good way to conduct your art career (except when you are just out of art school and finding your feet), to exhibit just because its your turn in your galleries cycle. You must have something to say, it is for this reason, I sometimes don't paint, it is always on my mind, but I don't see the point of painting to fill an exhibition just because your dealers space needs 30 paintings to fill it. Its just not on, it is better to have 10 large, well constructed images, that are the best that you can do at the time, with a couple of studies on the walls, than more dross for the mill. I also feel that painting is a continuum throughout your life, whilst your subject matter may change over time, it is still this journey, one that I started when I was about 5 or 6 years old in earnest. I've always wanted to paint, I feel unsettled if I don't paint, all those things swimming around in my head just waiting to get out, its almost a cathartic process, that I need to go through."

Dianne Gall - 2009

Working full time, studying full time, being with Jim Thalassoudis full time and painting so profound because she must, when she must - Brancusi was wrong.

Sometimes two giants can live together and create beautiful works together.

You can see their upcoming show at:

Beaver Galleries,

81 Denison Street, Deakin, Canberra

15 October - 3 November 2009

Julie Stephens - Capturing the Spirit of Australian Wildife and Nature on canvas

"I live in Northern Country Victoria , and ever since I can remember I have been interested in art, I have painted in oils on and off for most of my life, and now I am retired I am taking my painting very seriously and paint every day, I also have a passion for Australian wildlife, especially birds, Even when I was a little girl I would spend hours just watching the habits of birds, and still do that today. I now concentrate on painting birds, but I also paint portraits, seascape and landscapes.

You can also view some of my work at
http://julie-stephens.blogspot.com"

Julie Stephens

Amanda van Gils - with an end in mind

With an end in mind - oil on linen

I love her early works and her quest for new expressive ideas.

I admire her willingness to help - her posts on Art Forum and Australian Art Forum are always informative and very helpful.

Talking with Art Interview about her work in 2006 Amanda said:

"My postgraduate was at the Victorian College of the Arts and my undergraduate was at Chisholm Institute (now Monash University) in Melbourne.

I started by creating very abstract landscapes. You could tell they were landscapes but they were not intended to be very accurate representations. I was painting the idea of a landscape. I also played with other things, but I would say that I have always been heavily based in figurative work.

Everything has evolved over time. If I look at the work I have created over the last seven years there has been an apparent evolution of the ideas. What I am doing now is very different from what I was doing seven years ago. There has been a natural progression from one piece of work or from one theme to another. I am currently painting children playing in the sky. That evolved from painting people snorkeling in the sky, which was one of those happy accidents. I just happened to put a photograph of myself snorkeling, while I was on holiday, next to a photograph of one of my drawings and the idea just somehow came to me. It was the first time that I actually worked with figures. I liked that idea and I began playing with the notion of limitless possibilities of being in the sky".

Amanda van Gils - Art Interview - 006

Enjoy Amanda's figurative work and more recent landscapes here:

http://www.amandavangils.com/

Gerhard Ritter - one of my dearest friends

Michael Atchison oil on canvas, 140cm x 75cm

Gerhard grew up in Berlin and in Adelaide attending both Adelaide University and Uni SA, where he received an MBA.

Gerhard is proud to be a fellow and Director of the Royal South Australian Society of Arts.

He has won numerous prizes in painting and sculpture and believes in sharing his experiences and giving back to the art community.

He has been a contributor to Australian Artist magazine and has produced a series of instructional DVD’s.

His popular demonstrations and workshops are filled with examples of his work, frequent anecdotes and an abundance of tips.

For more information you can visit his website

http://www.portraitsinoil.com.au/ or his popular blog

http://ritterart.blogspot.com/

David Arandle - The Extraordinary Tourist

"Generally I describe myself as an Artist but this tends to suggest only one aspect of my creativity. I have a creative interest in so many things. I write stories, poems, comedy, articles. I paint, draw, cartoon. I'm a graphic designer. I design and code web sites, program computers, create animation, video and multimedia presentations. Sometimes I'm a photographer, a model and a problem solver. Sometimes I invent things, design games, build stuff and manage people.
The point is that I'm a creative person. I don't put a limit on where I apply my creativity. You can't put me in a pigeon hole. I'd get bored if you did. It's just who I am.

My real name is David Arandle. It is only online that I am known as The Extraordinary Tourist. Most people just call me TET. In chat rooms I use the nickname etourist or some variation of it (as occasionally it's taken).
In April of 1999 I needed a new nickname for a message board, forum style, chat site called 'Whispers'. I was hoping to meet new people and make new friends so I wanted a nickname that would get me noticed.
Two years earlier I had created a character 'The Extraordinary Tourist', a traveler between perceptions. A guy who was different depending on your point of view. The character's name was a variation of a book title "The Accidental Tourist", which was later made into a film staring Gina Davis and William Hurt. I really liked that title and wanted something similar for my character.
To cut a long story short, the character had a cool name so I adopted it as my own. To some degree I have also superimposed the character into my own life - mostly adopting the idea of being 'Extraordinary'. I think it's an ideal worth striving for."

TET is one of my greatest inspirations, as one who has been where I am now.

Enjoy his journeys here:

http://www.extraordinarytourist.com/

Wendy Olsen - raising children and painting

I am Wendy Olsen, a 35 year old mother of three. I am a Gippsland artist who specialises mainly in acrylics and playing around with soft pastel, and the odd mixed media.
I am also self employed painting giftware and selling it locally and online as well .
I have always wanted to be an artist, and somewhere around four years ago it dawned on me that I actually had to create art to be one!
So... I began experimenting with pastels and mixed media and acrylic paints.
I then took 2 years off from painting art to have my third child, resuming earlier this year.
I have exhibited in several local shows and have work in many private collections across Australia and a few overseas. I have several pieces on show at The Town and Country Gallery in Yarragon Victoria.
I recently had a demonstration day showing the public how I create... this generated a lot of interest and I have been booked in to teach a workshop in Yarragon Victoria on saturday the 8th of August, to teach students (experienced and beginners alike) how to paint a realistic bird painting, covering composition, lighting and the small details that bring a painting to 'life'.

I paint wildlife, pets and people. I love creating contemporary portraits with mixed media and pastel, as well as contemporary florals.
I spend hours per day painting, and create at least one to two new works weekly...
I love painting, and I aim for this to show through in my work.
I have a website dedicated to showing some of my works. It is being updated on a regular basis, as new works get completed, I also have a blog, featuring some of my alternative art, and the stories and notes that accompany them.
http://www.wendyolsen-art.com/
http://wendyolsen-art.blogspot.com/

Martin Clarke - where the land meets the sea

"I'm an ordinary bloke with an extraordinary interest in painting. I've been told I'm talented, but I have to disagree. It's not talent, it's a knowledge and love of the subject, it's painting many, many pieces, it's making mistakes and learning from them, it's observing the light and the colour, it's the hope and belief that the next piece is going to be your best piece, it's the constant, unending striving for the perfection you know you will never attain, but for which you reach nonetheless. I'm fascinated by water, the coast and waves, the result of many years of surfing and searching for that perfect wave. Along the way I have picked up a pretty good knowledge of the ocean, and I'm interested with the way light can interact with the ocean, or with lots of objects for that matter. Light plays a major role in my work, the way it shapes and colours form, the way it can reflect and refract, causing a dazzling bright or a warm and mysterious dark.

People ask where my inspiration comes from. Have you ever walked on to a beach on an early Summer's morning, and seen the ripples dance over the multicoloured shallows with a dark ocean beckoning beyond? Have you ever sheltered behind a rock in a Winter's storm and seen the sun rays lancing down to light storm tossed, angry waves? Have you ever stood on the shore and watched and listened to the boom of huge Autumn surf pounding out the back, with the sun glistening off towering wave faces and the spray sparkling like a million diamonds as it's blown off the lip? Have you ever seen Spring's warming waters change colours as the weather changes, from steel greys to dazzling blues, from sandy yellows to breathtaking turquoises? If you have, you know where my inspiration comes from. If you haven't, I hope my work can help to take you there."

Marty

http://www.martinclarke-art.com/

Bob Abrahams - Artist

Paintings by Bob Abrahams are impressionistic in style. Essentially a tone and atmospheric painter, Bob searches for the light, using creative colour and painterly brushstrokes to enhance the effects. Since retiring from a successful business career in 2000 he has taken a more professional approach, painting most days.

Bob’s interest in art became serious when he completed an Arts Diploma at Perth Technical College while working full time in a demanding business career. As an artist specialising in landscape and still life, he spends much of his time painting from life and on location in and around the city of Perth. He has also made regular painting expeditions to the north west of the state and other regions. Recent works can be viewed from his Resident Artists studio at Ellis House Community Art Centre in Bayswater

Many paintings have been sold through local and regional art galleries, Artisan Gallery Subiaco, Monet Gallery Guildford, The Mill Gallery York and community exhibitions by WA Society of Arts, Riverside Painter’s, Ellis House and other. Successful exhibitions have been held at Dalkeith Dome with Bernice Wright and at the Old George Gallery with Maureen Silc and Panisca Carnaby, and with David Hinchliffe at Ellis House. A growing list of Bob’s painting awards such as the Presidents Selection and Laurie Bennet plein award at WASA and the hundreds of happy art collectors on E-Bay are a good indication of the quality of his work.

Bob’s E-Bay Painting Store
http://stores.shop.ebay.com.au/ABRAHAMS-ORIGINAL-PAINTINGS__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Bob’s Every Day Painting Blog
http://abrahams08.blogspot.com/

Ursula Theinert - the power to start again

"Werner and I are a small part of the whole of Victoria
affected by the Black Saturday Fires. We all felt that
we were under siege and that we had to deal with
what life had dealt us.
The stresses and hardships varied from person to
person, but what was shared was the bonding of that
terrible summer and that soul searching day. Out of the
darkness of the fires came the great spirit of the
community to help and heal each other.
Werner and I feel incredibly lucky and will never
forget all the support and kindness, and we will carry
all of these experiences into our future.
Thank you."

Ursula Theinert

http://ursulatheinert.com.au/

staging.rav.net.au/storyboard/assets/black-saturday-callignee-7th-feb-2003.pdf

Adam Bogusz - a family man

Our favourite spot - Adam Bogusz

"My passions in life are my family, my wife Sarah and my two awesome kids John and Sophie. I love painting and the freedom it gives me to work at home. I wouldn’t change it for anything."

"Bosusz says becoming a painter was partly a
quest for identity.
The artist concedes the other inpetus to
becoming a painter was financial. He wasn't
making a living from music and was still
living at home. However, Bogusz says it is
hard to be true to the creative impulse when
commercial considerations come into play.
"It's like this monkey over your head all the
time," he says. "When a gallery phones and
says, ''We could have sold that painting 20
times over', a part of me wants to rush off to
the studio and reproduce the work - almost
like rubber stamping. I've done that in the
past, but as soon as you do... something dies.
You don't know it is happening, but it's no
longer fresh."
Bogusz feels the best work results from
spontaneous moments. "The best way I can
describe it is when a piano player is able
to stop looking at the keys and just play
the music," he explains. "It's the same with
painting. When you're not thinking about
it and it just happens. There's such a sense
of magic and you have no control over it."

Affair - Arts and entertainment
I love Adam's almost naive style and his contrasting colours - there is so much life in his paintings.
The two works I own are two of the happiest places on my wall. Take a look at his impressive collection. Enjoy!

http://www.adambogusz.com.au/

Mike Barr - always loves a challenge

Walkerville Art Show

Walkerville Town Hall, 66 Walkerville Tce, Gilberton, July 16-19

10 paintings in 3 hours -painting challenge

During the show on Saturday July 18 Mike will set himself the challenge of painting 10 paintings from 1pm - 4pm.

These small demonstration paintings will all be for sale as soon as they have left the easel.

They will be nicely finished and ready to hang.

All demonstration paintings will go for $150 each.

Come and see art in the making and chat to the artist at work.

http://www.theartofbarr.com/

Murray Edwards

Distant Light - Murray Edwards

"There's more to life than art - but not much more.

Painting in a distinctive style with a strong use of colour, I use all mediums, mainly in landscapes and figure works with an occasional still life. Impressionist technique and style with emphasis on communicating my response to subject matter. More involved with concepts, moods and personalities of things than with realism. " - Murray Edwards

If in your travels you ever come to South Australia, you must go to Clare to see the Corella Studio.

The experience is well worth the trip. The views are magnificent, the man is a blessing to talk to and his art is an inspiration for anyone who loves colour and landscapes and art.

Corella Hill Gallery studio is usually open to the public seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm. It is closed only on Christmas Day.
The studio offers a glimpse of personal and intimate aspects of the creative side of being an artist. It's located 2 kilometres out of the small village of Watervale in the Clare Valley wine region. Only about 1.5 hours drive North of Adelaide.

http://www.murrayedwards.com.au

Ian Roberts - inspiring passion for nature

Splendid Wrens on Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp megalocarpa

Born and raised on a farm at Blyth in the State of South Australia, Ian is recognized as one of Australia’s premier bird painters. The combination in almost every art work of birds and flowers make his images somewhat unique in the world of bird painting. Ian’s earliest paintings were of the seedlings of Eucalyptus species (Gum trees). From these humble studies Ian has progressed to painting the flowers of eucalypts and other native plant species of Australia and to combining that passion with painting of Australian birds. Ian was introduced to Australian plants (& in particular Eucalypts) by his grandfather at an early age. He was encouraged by him to collect seed & grow these to plant on his Father’s farm. Since 1980 Ian has grown 500 – 4000 plants each year; some 60% are species indigenous to Blyth and district and are used to revegetate roadsides and degraded woodlands. The balance are grown to provide subject matter for the paintings that can be viewed on his site:

http://www.medikagallery.com.au/

Jim Thalassoudis - beauty with an edge

Love art - The South Australian Art Gallery

My love - love relationship with Jim started when I read his advice on artforum (http://www.artforum.com.au/) - a real inspiration. And then I've discovered his sunsets. His sunsets are the most beautiful things I've seen in my life. I simply fell in love with them.

"Beauty with an edge is the aim. As an artist working with and using imagery that can be seen as beautiful, I keep myself from slipping into mere beauty by the haunting words of Wagner. In one of the best artistic put downs ever Wagner dismissed the composer Daniel Auber's music as: "The work of a barber who lathers but forgets to shave". Daniel Auber was hugely successful in his time, with 50 operas to his name, he became wildly rich, but little of his music has survived into this century....mainly because so much of it was light, fluffy, beauty for the sake of beauty and for success."The work of a barber who lathers but forgets to shave". It should haunt ever artist.......I should write it on a note, pin it on top of my easel and have it remind me never forget to have an edge! To use beauty and not be seduced by it, nor to use beauty as the only means to seduce the viewer of the painting. "

Jim Thalassoudis

http://www.jimthalassoudis.com/

Jim's current solo exhibition is running at the Greenhill Galleries in Perth until the 13th of June.
http://www.greenhillgalleries.com/exhibitions/exhibition_details_thalassoudis.html

The trouble with Jim is that him, like myself, is an Aries.

Grant Gittus

"There is a Moreton bay fig in Albert Park, which is one of my favourite trees. It cries out to have something secretive amongst its massive roots, that most people walk past without noticing." - Grant Gittus

Grant inspires by simply being him - a child with a huge heart that refuses to grow old.

With an exceptionally subtle and kind sense of humour, he keeps the school kids in line on Art Forum: http://www.artforum.com.au/. He is also a great Rotarian.

His works are always an inspiration, coming from a guy who believes that if he can do it, anyone can. Take a look at his works to see how wrong he is:
http://www.gggraphics.com.au/

Tony Moffitt

"In 6 years Tony Moffitt went from a guy who had never picked up a paintbrush before in his life, to one of the "outstanding artists of the new millennium". He has won prizes in national competitions and prizes in juried shows in America. His work has been exhibited in Australia, The USA and China. His art has been featured in over 50 articles worldwide in magazines, newspapers and radio.All this without ever reading an art book, never attending an art class... and never going to an art gallery in his life..."

Needless to say why I am so attached to this guy.

Today Tony is helping emerging artists to kick start their careers with his Art World blog:

http://www.tonymoffitt.blogspot.com/

Welocme to Artists That Inspire

A site dedicated to artists that have, over the years, inspired me.

I hope you enjoy their work and ideas, as much as I do.