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”

With another successful exhibition under her belt, the question is what to do next. The year has been busy on a personal and artistic level. It is now time to sit back and reflect on what has been achieved over the years and to find some direction for the future.

“I am afraid every time I start to try and examine my arts practice and start to tell myself that I should concentrate on a certain thing, my brain begins to panic. All the experts say that you should hone your skills to what your really good at. Maybe I just don’t know what I am good at. I am pretty certain that the thrill I get from trying something new and different keeps me motivated. Don’t get me wrong, I always come back to ‘familiar’. Frankly, I lot of my sales come from ‘Familiar’. I think it is the growing, the failures and successes along the way that make my artwork better.

As the name suggests ‘A LITTLE LEFT OF CENTRE’ explores the quirkier side of Robyn’s arts practice and the desire try new things.

‘The Naughty Beagle”- papier mache.

“This exhibition is all about being a little diverse. It is about taking a subject and presenting it in a slightly different way. For me, as the artist, it is about being a little braver and going against what I think people may expect from me.  My aim is to make the viewer look a little harder, think a little harder and to question a little harder, using subjects that we can all relate to. Along with a body of new work on display this will also showcase pieces from the highly successful touring exhibition ‘A Sense of Wonder’ with the work now being available for purchase.”

The Exhibition will be on show in Gallery 2 of the Kingaroy Art Gallery in Qld. for the month of August 2018. The Gallery is situated at 126 Haly Street Kingaroy, opposite the peanut silos.

‘The Secret Garden’ which sold at the Moonlighting Exhibition

After a successful ‘Moonlighting Exhibition’ which was a  joint exhibition with fellow artists from the South Burnett Qld attention now turns to a new solo exhibition coming up in August 2018 in Kingaroy Qld… Time is now being spent working on pieces for ‘A Little Left Of Centre’.

“This new exhibition will give me a chance to explore some different ideas. It will be fun to see peoples reactions.”

The Sense of Wonder Exhibition has now finally finished. What a successful journey it has been. It has been a long process, taking over five and a half years, right from the initial idea  through to the end of its five towns in five regions tour. The sheer logistics on how to travel such a big project were a feat in itself.

” This exhibition has been a wonderful experience and a lot of confidence has been gained. It was surprising that something so large and complicated was able to be so adaptable. Audiences loved it no matter where it went and could really relate to the story and its message. Although it is sad to say good bye to such an inspiring exhibition, it is time to get back to the drawing board and to test waters on something new.”

The Sense of Wonder project will be remembered by many people, not just by what they saw, but by how it made them feel.

Robyn’s latest creation is a window with a painted image on the inside and a 3d bird sculpture on the outside. This kind a work is called Trompe l’Oeil, which is french for trick the eye. It has recently been placed on the side of the Blackbutt Art Gallery  to attract people into coming inside and having a look.

“The window was made with the help of my father to match the existing windows. I painted the little child with his hands pressed up against the glass. He has an excited expression when looking at the bird which sits on a shelf outside the window. The bird has a piece of jewellery ( fake of course) in his beak at the moment but we will change it periodically to different things.It was challenging, but I like the combination of painting and sculpture in the one piece.”

Tambo has been the lastest destination for the exhibition ‘Sense of Wonder”. It is set up at the Grassland Art Gallery in Tambo Qld. and will run until the 15th of September 2017. This is the last of the funded tour.

“It has been wonderful to be able to take this exhibition to the outback. It has all been made possible through arts funding. With out it, it just wouldn’t of happened”

These are the most recent of Robyn’s paintings and have already sold. Robyn has work at the Blackbutt Art Gallery in Blackbutt.Qld.

“Working on the touring exhibition- Sense of Wonder- hasn’t left me a lot of time to just concentrate on painting, so it was nice to get a chance to get these finished. The added bonus of course was selling them both.”

For such a massive undertaking as ‘Sense Of Wonder’ is, this art installation  is, to a degree, quite flexible. It has been adapted to fit into six different spaces. Some have required more tweaking than others with the length of time to install and pack up not varying. It takes two days to install and two days to dismantle.” I try to work out a general layout of the floor plan (drawn to scale) and to utilize any moveable walls the galleries may have. I then rearrange the furniture and visualize the paintings and where they will fit. When installing, most times it just needs a little adjusting”