ARTIST STATEMENT
Finding a name for my exhibition was easy….. I live on the top of the ranges amongst spectacular gorge country and lush grazing land. Inspiration to paint is all around me and I have a great passion for painting. I also love the coast, as I grew up near the sea and have always been drawn to it. My family therefore spends a great deal of time at the Mid North Coast in the small township of Bonny Hills. We travel down the mountain, through the ranges to this beautiful part of our country which also provides amazing inspiration for my work. I love to use bold colours and texture and enjoy applying paint with spatulas as well as brushes. Despite this, I feel that it is very important to also portray sensitivity, finesse, quiet and peace in my work. To me, painting is a very spiritual experience, where I enter a world of my own, which allows me to express my innermost feelings about the environment and how I fit into it. Having had a busy life raising four children with my husband Peter, I now cherish time to myself and relish in immersing myself in the tranquillity and splendour of peaceful landscapes…. a luxury which my life had previously not allowed me to the extent that it now does. This year, I have really enjoyed my art lessons at Tamworth Regional Gallery under the tutorship of Michelle Hungerford, whose positive influence and encouragement have helped me to have more confidence and feel more relaxed about my work. I would like to sincerely thank Tamworth Regional Gallery for giving me the opportunity to exhibit my work locally. As an emerging artist, I have strived to present work which is worthy of the faith which the gallery has put into my work by giving me this opportunity. I hope that you enjoy this exhibition and can take with you some feelings of happiness, peace and beauty which this wonderful country Australia provides for each one of us, if we are willing to embrace it wherever we are….. Linda Lockyer
