however, is seasonal – and there
are times when it gets very quiet
in town. I had many moments of
doubt and thoughts of throwing
it into the ‘too hard basket’ and
finding myself a ‘normal’ job.
But now the gallery is slowly
starting to take shape.
A number of local artists are
discovering the convenience of
exhibiting locally, and some have
approached me for solo exhibitions.
Last year one of our local
artists, Sally Darling, had her first
solo exhibition of still lifes. It was
a complete sell-out at opening
night. Sally did her Arts Degree at
Claremont School of Art – many
well established West Australian
artists have had their arts education
there, including Leon Pericles and
Antony Muia. Sally’s exhibition
was a fantastic encouragement
for her to keep painting and to
find appreciation for her work.
The year 2008 was filled with
some very exciting exhibitions.
‘Icons 2008’ was a group exhibition
where artists were invited to interpret
the theme with an open mind.
The result was a fantastic eclecticmix of artworks. Artists included
Wendy Holmes, Ian Molyneux, John
Pascoe and Frank Wilkinson. The
exhibition has a history of more
than three years, and each year
has seen the standard improving.
One of the more memorable
exhibitions was by 92-year-old
Trudy Smith, who works under the
name of ‘Rillawood’. She has been
painting since she was 50 (while
her husband was away), but she
has had no formal arts training.
She felt she was ready for her first
exhibition and ‘just wanted to have
a party’ with no expectations.
I thought it was very brave of
Trudy to approach a gallery, as
many artists experience ‘stage
fright’ when it comes to exhibiting.
It turned out to be one of the most
successful shows. The standard
of her work really caught me by
surprise. Over many years she had
developed a very individual style
of good quality. Trudy Smith is
planning her next show already.
That event taught me that, as a
gallery owner, it is important to keep
an open mind and to be flexible
about who and what you wouldGalleries