burning koala

Angela and I have been impressed with several of the artists that show at our friend David’s gallery, and recently we did something about it. We don’t have much art, and what we do have is packed up and stored in the US. But we decided for Xmas last year to treat ourselves to something and kept our eyes open. It wasn’t until the last few months that we settled on something.

Peter Cameron
David works with an artist named Peter Cameron (link .pdf) who’s works are somewhere between literal and abstract renditions of the Australian landscape – mostly comprised of pieces inspired by Guthega, in the Snowy Mountains.

We were really impressed with a specific one that leaned more to the abstract, but also evoked a strong resemblance to the impression of rural Wisconsin where Angela spent some of her youth. It is comprised of many layers and is dynamic in it’s impact depending on the light and viewing angle, changing character at each viewing. With the full use of texture and its palette of earth-tones, the painting plays easy on the mind and I find it wonderfully satisfying to view.

Guthega 33, by Peter Cameron

We’ve spent a few dinners and a gallery openings getting to know Peter and we find him such a deep and kind man that it only adds to the enjoyment of the painting to also be so impressed with the artist himself.

Yong-joo Marbot
Another artist we’ve become familiar with at David’s gallery is Yong-joo Marbot (link .pdf), whose work is fanciful, precise, traditional, and contemporary all at the same time. We’ve really liked some of the pieces that she has done, and are becoming more and more impressed with the direction she is taking her ouvre as of late. But there was one piece that stood out amongst the others in that it had a decidedly cubist feel, a la Chagall. It is named, simply, Laughing Bird and it combines the theme of most of her works with a hint of the countryside and then something more whimsical – a surrealistic bird. Wonderful!

Laughing Bird, by Yong-joo Marbot

We hadn’t planned on getting another piece, but were more and more attracted to her work every time we visited the gallery. So, one painting makes an acquisition, but two is the beginning of a collection. And what better way to capture a souvenir of our time in Australia than with a couple of great paintings by Australian artists? No matter where we find ourlseves in the future, we’ll be able to have a little bit of Australia living with us as part of our home.