Ann, whose work has appeared on several occasions in Australian Artist Magazine, is an award winning artist and teacher with over 25 years experience, holding an Associate Dip. Fine Arts. Ann is a dedicated teacher with a philosophy that a sound foundation and understanding of materials and fundamental techniques will assist in the freedom to develop independent creativity. Ann works in a diverse range of mediums, which include Oils, Pastels, Acrylics and Collage and describes her style as “conceptual representational art”. Ann’s main focus is on figurative works and portraiture. MORE
Helen's images represent her passion and love of photography, colour and design. Having studied and graduated in Interior Decorating and further studies in colour and design in the 70's, colour and design have always been at the forefront of her interest in art, fabrics and fashion. Helen developed a miniature style of painting incorporating Australian bush flowers and her work was available to an international market via The Australian Image Gallery in The Rocks - over a 7 year period Helen was part of many successful exhibitions and occasionally has been invited back to exhibit as a guest artist. Helen continues to pursue watercolour and since travelling to Morocco with nine other artists, has been inspired by this unique experience leading to quite a few desert travellers walking across her Arches watercolour paper. Helen draws her inspiration from photographs taken on trips to Shanghai, Beijing, Morocco, Italy, Spain, U.K., New Zealand, Tasmania and locally. Helen displays her watercolour miniatures and gift cards in The Gosford Regional Gallery, Edogawa Koi Gardens Gift Shop. Helen’s painting of ’Newsworthy’ was recently hung in the Gosford Art Prize Exhibition 2015. ‘Dock of the Bay’ won a prize in the most recent Grandma Moses Exhibition 2015. At the end of 2015 Helen was accepted as an Exhibiting Member of the Ku-ring-gai Art Society Inc and continues to exhibit with the Central Coast Watercolour Society, 5 Lands, Killcare annual art show and other exhibitions. Helen has been hung twice in Gosford Art Show, 2016 with Case for Books and 2017 with Venice in Indigo. Also in 2017 Guest Artist at Easter Exhibition for CCWCS and continues to exhibit at the Ku-ring-Gai Art Exhibitions 3 times a year. Also completed 12 Dog portrait commissions this year and involved in open studios with 5 Lands Art Trail and 3 exhibitions related to this community organisation. MORE
Helen Cunningham "Landscape" watercolour
Norma Dunston 1/96 Ridgeway Rd Avoca Beach
Norma works in oils, acrylics and the medium of collage. "The environment is my subject: the rich flora and fauna of the Rainforest and strong earth tones of the Kimberleys. I like to paint my impressions, my feelings of the many landforms I have journeyed over. During the last two years I have been experimenting with natural vegetation to dye various fabrics, stitching them together with silken threads to form landscapes and also using them in a soft sculpture. I have always been a gatherer of shells, seed pods, leaves and rocks and have recently decorated driftwood totem poles with them as symbolic links between my artworks." MORE
Janet Hoyer Cobb gained a diploma in Figurative Art and Portraiture from Julian Ashton Art School, followed by 2 years of tonal studies with Graham Inson. She has also studied sculpture at both the Rhok Academie in Brussels and Tom Bass in Sydney. Originally a landscape painter her love of figurative art evolved as she immersed herself, exploring contemporary figurative art, in major galleries and collections whilst living in Europe. ‘Drawing is the foundation for my art work, executed in a wide variety of mediums, where I enjoy the tactile connection created by line in both edge and surface quality. Abstracted design underpins my artworks enjoying exploring the emotional impact of space and rhythm within the framework of Contemporary Realism’ Janet runs classes in Life Drawing and Workshops in Portrait Drawing and Watercolours at her Avoca studio. She has won many prizes, has had 10 solo exhibitions in Australia and Overseas and participated in numerous group shows. Her work is included in public and private International and Australian collections. MORE
Janet Hoyer Cobb "Reflection you may come tomorrow" (oil on canvas)
Willemina Villari creates mostly abstract pieces in 2D and 3D. Her creative process is driven by her interest in form, balance and colour and her desire to explore the possibilities of working with a variety of materials including wire, wood, stone and mixed media and collage on paper. She draws inspiration from the environment she lives in near the ocean and the bush. She has a Bachelor of Fine Art majoring in Sculpture from the National Art School (2001) and has participated in many exhibitions in Sydney, Adelaide, Byron Bay, Avoca Beach and New Zealand including numerous times in Sculpture by the Sea, the Paddington Art Prize and the Gosford Art Prize of which she was the overall winner in 2008 and the winner of the sculpture prize in 2009. She won the Artist’s choice award at Art in the Open at the 5 Lands Walk event on the Central Coast and the Mayor’s Prize at Sculpture at Sawmillers in Sydney in 2016. Her passion as a tutor is to inspire others to create.
Born in New Zealand, Margaret came to Sydney as an eager young display artist in the 1960’s and immediately supplemented her income by painting portraits. She is largely self-taught, with short stints at East Sydney TAFE (now National Art School) and more recently 3 years at the Sydney Gallery School. In the past decade Margaret has won many awards and her paintings have sold exceptionally well in a variety of exhibitions and galleries across Australia. Her paintings on silk are also popular internationally and hang in overseas collections in Canada, Japan, Korea, England, New Zealand and the USA. Margaret is mainly a two-dimensional artist and an occasional sculptor – two modes of creative practice that capture her love of natural beauty and quirkiness of spirit. Gathering inspiration from the idyllic environment in which she lives and her love of travel, she prefers to create her own images rather than duplicate actual places. Recognised for her unique techniques for painting on silk, Margaret has discovered a challenging, but very effective way of bringing to life the brilliant colours, deep reflections and subtleness of the Australian landscape. In a world often pre-occupied with materialism and ‘belongings’, it is Margaret’s desire to reawaken in people an awareness of the simple beauty of our natural surroundings, and the pleasures and rewards that come from it. By way of contrast, and to keep things interesting, Margaret’s etchings enable her to make social comments on things close to her heart. Margaret’s sculptures and works on canvas evoke a sense of humour and provoke thought about the modern world.
Jiri is a professional jazz musician and visual artist (a definition of poverty!) with a passion for classic jazz and sculpture created from pianos and found objects. Having played jazz from the early 60’s and developing his drawing skills since the 70’s, Jiri has been fascinated since the 90’s by the metamorphosis of one beautiful object – the piano and its visual sounds.When a piano is no longer serviceable we can say: The Piano is dead – long live the Piano
