VAL JOHNSON | BONJOUR AND G’DAY
MEDIA RELEASE | 29 JUNE 2020
Viewable Online and By Appointment 2 July - 26 July 2020
“I love to paint and I love to travel. It has been the inspiration for most of the solo exhibitions I’ve had. I do the sketch on site and the painting back in my studio. Sometimes I paint en plein air. What interest me are the people, the places and the landscape. I believe that every painting has a story to tell. I love the outback of Australia and have painted out there many times. I love to travel overseas and especially love France. I am an intuitive painter. My work is entirely individual and painted with a passion for the subject.”
This vibrant exhibition features Val’s paintings from recent travels in France and Outback Australia. The paintings complement each other,and provide two contrasting aspects of Val’s travels.
The two gallery rooms separate the works. Each place has its own identity – the soft purples and greens of France,and the reds and oranges of outback Australia.
The paintings include oils on deep edged canvas, miniatures in gouache and watercolour, and some work from sketchbooks, to show the viewer how the ideas for Val’s work often come from travelling ‘diaries’.
Val is a Fellow of the Royal Art Society of N.S.W, a member of Art in Miniature Canberra, Strathnairn Arts Centre Canberra, the Artists Society of Canberra, and Queanbeyan Art Society.
Her career began in the sixties studying Commercial Art at East Sydney Technical College whilst employed as junior artist at David Jones, Sydney. As a senior artist she designed the animated Christmas window displays for a number of years. In the 80’s Val moved to Bathurst and attended David Wilson’s Macquarie Art School furthering studies in life drawing, still life and portrait painting. She also studied printmaking and Fine Crafts at Mitchell College of Advanced Ed Bathurst.
Throughout her career Val has had a number of joint and solo exhibitions, ‘Colours of Cornwall’ was Val’s first solo exhibition at Strathnairn Arts in 2018.
Due to Covid19, Strathnairn Arts is temporarily closed to the public. This exhibition will be viewable online and also by appointment. Please contact us at the office should you wish to see the exhibition in person. info@strathnairnarts.com.au.
The exhibition will be live from the 2nd of July 2020.