Horses have always been a favourite subject to paint. Growing up around them and, in the past, riding and owning a few, it seems that they are my go to animal to try and capture through art. This art piece recently won the Oil/acrylic section of the Wondai Regional Council Art Competition
It seems sometimes things may take a long time but the outcome can be so worth it. This sculpture was made over four years ago and became the property of the South Burnett Regional Council Art Collection after winning an acquisitive art prize. Even though it was an honour to win, it seemed that the sculpture may never be properly appreciated. They started in storage and a few other places but now they have finally made it to their permanent home in the small country town of Proston. The setting has been a joint collaboration with the Proston Community and the Local council. They have done such a wonderful job and the setting was far more than envisaged when they were first made.
Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time. Meeting Joel Fergie aka ‘The Zookeeper’ who was in town painting a mural, turned out to be quite the adventure. Such a lovely person and willing to share his knowledge. Helping on the mural consisted of doing some base coats for his beautiful piece and gaining lots of insightful information. Working lower to the ground suited and a brush was way more comfortable than a spray can. So blessed to have been given the opportunity. Thankyou Joel.
Celebrating harmony day was theme for these six panels. Approached by local council, the objective was to design six panels for the public to paint on and then they would go on to be displayed. The panels represented that we all come in different shapes and sizes. They were depicted in different scenarios. the one below for example is of a farm.
Inspiration comes from all places. With another huge exhibition done and dusted Artist Robyn Dower has time to reflect on the list of challenges she accomplished. The Exhibition “INSPIRE” was held at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery in December2022/January2023. It included art installations, large and small paintings and large and small sculpture. The Art installation ‘Forgotten Heroes’ was based on a poem by her sister Kay Gorring. A beautiful heartfelt poem about a man reminiscing on his experiences in the war.
Some challenges were bigger than others when it came to this exhibition, none so more than that of building a life-size pony who was nicknamed ‘Dave’. He was quite the hit with the visitors
Then came some smaller sculptures all making up a successful exhibition
‘I have been so pleased with the results of the exhibition. I always like to challenge myself. Whether it is to sculpt bigger, paint smaller there is always an element of testing my limits to see what I can achieve’
After a slow time in her arts practice, Robyn is back to work producing some competition winners on the way. After a couple of years of constant changes, including Covid 19 and personal losses. She is back and has been working hard on her up Coming exhibition “Inspired” “It is great to get back to work and looking forward to my latest exhibition in December at the Wondai art gallery.”
Sometimes you just have to follow what your heart tells you. Robyn has long followed a diverse arts practice ranging from sculpture/ painting/ installations as well as public art. Having such a range of mediums to work with is always a challenge but one to relish.” I have always found the challenge of trying different things one of the most enjoyable things about what I do. I am never bored. “
Most recent wins were in the South Burnett Regional Council Art awards in October 2020. This was in the Sculpture section for an art work entitled “Feathered” and in the David Bryce Rural Art Awards with “First Officer” in December 2020
In the middle of 2019 Robyn was approached to do a series of Five paintings to represent the history of peanut harvesting for the Kingaroy Heritage Museum. It was originally meant to be one metre by one metre boards. They were to depict horse drawn implements up to the modern day machines. From 1920 through to 2020 to celebrate the centenary of peanut harvesting in Kingaroy. Of course, as usual, the project got bigger than expected with the original ideas expanded on to make it visually more appealing
The actual picture ended up spanning over 8.3 metres. With each picture creating it’s own challenges.
“The first challenges where changing black and white photos to colour. The next was marrying up photos to create the image required, this was sometimes up to four different images for one painting. This also required me to get people to model in order to get the right images. The pure size of the pieces made them difficult to move around and work on, not to mention the space it took up around my house. This whole project was a great challenge with lots of lessons learnt. It is now up in place and although it wasn’t the easiest thing I have done I am very proud of the finished product.”
Robyn Dower
Outdoor Sculpture is just another artistic challenge Robyn has taken on. This time with the help of her husband Russell. The Joint venture resulted in winning the South Burnett Entry as part of the Biennial Kingaroy Sculpture Prize 2019 which is an Acquisitive. The South Burnett Council now has four of Robyn’s Artwork as part of their collection. ” I found outdoor sculpture a real challenge. I have made sculptures before out of paper but have never worked with a product that it not malleable. The rigidness of the steel and timber were a challenge in trying to make the calves in proportion. My ideas and what I could actually do didn’t always go to plan, with lots of adjustments needed and a lot of patience. Working with my husband added to the challenge. Don’t get me wrong, it’s just that I was used to working alone when it comes to my art and he fortunately brought his own skill set with him. So while we may of had a few moments where these poor calves were left alone for awhile, we did manage to finish them. I, as usual, have learnt a lot by challenging myself to attempt new things
‘The Weaners’ were made from fifty year old recycled timber palings that were originally a part of of the old farm house fence.
Sometimes we don’t all see the world the same way nor do we approach things the same way. Seeing the beauty in things is always an individual thing. “This piece- Weekend Conversation- was painted from an image that I took at a local Campdraft. Apart from the competitors catching up for a chat, its seems the horses themselves enjoy it as well, and that is what I tried to capture in the painting”