An end of year collection of work from local and nearby artists gathered together in time for Christmas gift giving!

Showcasing an eclectic mix of work from this Warren artist, the exhibition includes plein air paintings, studio paintings, abstract works, collages, drawings, artist books and ceramic wall pieces - a sample of the diversity of her practice.

The enduring themes in Jude’s works are the love of country, a sense of place and a feeling for the space. Many of the works relate to her life affirming interest in landscape and in texture and surface qualities. The exhibition is unified by a fearless and experimental approach to art making with some use and juxtaposition of recycled and unlikely materials.

The assorted paintings in this exhibition are from several series of works over recent years. The COVID pandemic became the spoiler for all my artistic plans!

I have been making abstract works recently, a change of genre for me, having complete artistic freedom using intuition and emotion has been therapeutic and cathartic. At the same time, I am enjoying painting Tracks and Trees, a series of impressionistic, natural walkways that depict dappled light through tree canopies.

Past series of works have included the environment, considering introduced species within a surreal, pastel Australian landscape, bringing attention to the upsetting of natural ecosystems. Participating in group exhibitions has allowed me to create other subjects, such as still life.

When I am not working on a particular series, I tend to practice the human portrait in various forms with varied mediums. I also enjoy painting the occasional, commissioned pet portrait.

Local artist, Jude Fleming, offers opportunities for children to paint and draw at her Westwing Studio each week. For this exhibition, she has chosen from the best works produced so far this year.

Guided by the elements and principles of colour and design, Jude leads the children through the great Masters of art, and contemporary and modern artists. Together, they work their way through art genres - the figure, portraiture, landscape and still life, art as a narrative and a means of personal expression.  There is an imperative to make lots of work and to try different techniques, whilst looking and learning from one another and clocking up brush and pencil miles in their practice as artists.

Jude says, “I take a very sensory approach to art making as touch, sound, taste, smell and sight are the ways we experience the world. Art works are as much about ourselves as the subjects we portray.”

“Looking at the paintings, handling them and choosing which works will hang, always makes my heart sing - I couldn’t ask for a more satisfying task.”

Before I was 40, I counted all the places I had called home. There were at least 35 different houses, flats, cities or towns. It’s little wonder a lot of my work is about place, home, maps, locations and belonging.

My work connects me to where I am and where I have been. It is about attempting to live by the idea of finding joy and beauty in where you are, in any moment, no matter how plain or exciting. Every moment matters.

Anna is a potter, painter and fabric designer. She helped establish the Coonamble Ceramics Collective in 2011 and has been creating, teaching and mentoring in the region ever since.

I paint in acrylics and my work is always inspired by rural life - meadows, flowers, birdlife, people in country settings. There is hardly a day goes by that I don’t paint or sketch.

I came to painting late in life and it gives me great joy to see my pieces find homes with other people, who love the same things that have inspired me.

Julia was born in the UK and has raised three sons with her husband, Ted, on the edge of the Pilliga State Forest.