General News
27 February, 2023
Val shares travels in art
Recording her travels across the country’s wilderness on canvas — a local artist is inviting the community to catch a glimpse of her decade long journey in an new exhibition. Artist Val Wilkinson will be taking over Dunolly’s Puzzleflat...
Recording her travels across the country’s wilderness on canvas — a local artist is inviting the community to catch a glimpse of her decade long journey in an new exhibition.
Artist Val Wilkinson will be taking over Dunolly’s Puzzleflat Gallery located at 82 Broadway from now until April 9 to launch her free solo show Glimpses of Australian Parks, displaying the landscapes she painted after traversing across the country’s national parks for 10 years, covering more than 100,000 kilometres.
In her radically modified 60-Series Landcruiser Ms Wilkinson “ticked-off” the parks on a state-by- state basis during what she describes as “the best decade” of her life.
“The geology, ecosystems and flora and fauna varies dramatically in the big parks,” she said.
“It’s impossible to sum up any single park with a single image be that a painting, sketch or photograph, or a journal entry.
“Early on in my expedition, I quickly realised I was never going to be able to fully explore every park. Time, fuel, food and water as well as access made that impossible. All I could ever hope to do, weather and terrain permitting, was catch a fleeting glimpse of the character and creatures of each.”
More than just paintings, Ms Wilkinson said the exhibition gives attendees a chance to appreciate the “icons of the country”.
“I think the one thing that really matters most to me is that I’m showcasing our very precious wild areas in Australia and it’s important for people to realise how special those areas are, and how many of them are under threat,” she said.
“[Visiting these parks] was a fabulous way to know my country. And the interactions that I had with the traditional owners of the country was really important, sometimes I sat and painted with them.
“These are all paintings of traditional land and that’s a significant thing that people need to be aware of. Each of these depictions are of very special places, they’re all national treasures.”
Due to the space limitations of her mobile home-studio, she was restricted to working on paper during her tours using watercolours, ink, graphite, or charcoal from the campfire — the acrylic canvas paintings on show at the gallery are all based on those initial works.
Puzzleflat Gallery is open to the public from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturdays and Sundays — entry is free.