ABOUT THE ARTWORK
2024
Watercolour
A4
Over the years, I have paid many visits to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) - especially while undertaking my BEd in Visual Arts at the University of Melbourne. May favourite part to visit has always been the early Australian art section that features works by colonial, romantic and impressionist artists. Included among these is John Glover - an English-born landscape painter who moved to Tasmania in the colonial era. He, and others like him, were faced with strange, exotic vegetation and a markedly different colour palette when viewing the Australian landscape. They struggled at times to accurately portray what they saw and these early landscape paintings were often ‘picturesque’ in style and the colours were more akin to the European palette.
Earlier this year, my students and I examined artworks by colonial artist, John Glover - comparing his english landscapes with his portrayals of the local area where he lived in Tasmania. Each of us attempted to capture a typically Australian landscape using watercolours as if we were seeing it through European eyes - making scenes that look more manicured with lush, vibrant colours.
In Resting by the River, we have a scene showing the Werribee River in the 'picturesque' style. This is one of the delights I get to enjoy when walking not far from my home. It has often struck me how English this section of the river appears and it has translated across very well as a watercolour painting in the colonial tradition.
This image will be printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® paper (308 gsm) to best suit the original medium.