ANNE NEWMAN - ARTIST
Anne Newman painting Coming Home
I was born and raised in the gold mining city of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Being raised in an artistic family and allowed to paint on my bedroom walls, set me following a path of creative interests. I chose teaching as my career but hobbies were almost always closely associated with the world of art: painting, construction projects, visiting galleries, museums and the theatre, collecting naive art, gardening - and furniture restoration (one of my hobbies which most people don't know about!).
Images of the miners' cottages, weatherboards, red bricks and dry grass of my home country permeated my mind and remain treasured subjects to paint. Gold Dust is still one of my favourite renditions of this part of my world.
In my paintings, even my landscapes, I endeavour to create a story that takes the viewer on a journey to explore a scene that has been created from my observations of everyday life in Australian cities, towns and countryside. And occasionally I'll venture overseas, drawing on my many experiences of travel.
As a genre painter I seek to depict everyday people in typical scenes at home, at work and at play.I enjoy exploring backyards and lanes as represented by Watching the Cabbages Grow, The Morning News: Tom and Friends and Barney Glade and his Contentments.
Many of my paintings capture a moment from the European heritage from which many of us stem. This might be the last few resilient hollyhocks guarding the miner’s cottage as in Tyquin House, Taradale, Victoria; a snippet of life from an ancestral country as in English Landscape: Malmesbury, Wiltshire or the intricate ageing of an Italian wall such as you would see in San Gimignano or on Tuscan Steps.
May you journey down many lanes and may you take the time to admire the beauty in a piece of grass or the magnificence of a drop of dew as recreated in The Fence Post.
I now live in Melbourne which is a wonderful multi-cultural community. I enjoy the diverse nature of our culture, the humour of the Australian people, the pathos and the narratives that weave through their lives as depicted in Burbank Court Christmas Breakfast, Dockland Developments or Night Developments.
My artistic hero is Laurence Stephen Lowry, who painted dark and sombre scenes from the industrial area of Salford, now part of Manchester, England. Even though my paintings aim to be bright and alive, I have learnt a great deal from Lowry about recreating people so that they appear to be comfortably living in the environment that I, as their story teller, have created.
Along my life path I met significant others who augmented my artistic appreciation and broadened my view of the world: my parents (who encouraged creativity of any kind), a favourite uncle (who introduced me to artists and galleries especially in Sydney in the 1960s) and a very dear friend (who told me to paint from the heart and get myself a good teacher and when she died left me her library of art books which form the foundation on which my AnArt4Life blog posts are written.
Although I have no formal art qualifications I have always painted in one way or another from a very young age. When I first started painting I copied, then I moved through a naive period and eventually found the good teacher in Victorian artist John Lawry who helped enormously in developing a style that suited the way I see the world.
I am very fortunate to have a large two roomed studio in which to work and share with anyone who wants to come and paint.
Thank you for taking time to be part of my artistic journey.
Awards
Finalist in the MacarthurCook Art Awards 2007
Waverley Art Society Artist of the Year- Public Choice 2004
Highly Commended Ivanhoe Girls Grammar School 2003
Whilst my preferred medium is to use oil paints on canvas I have engaged in some drawing classes to improve this skill. I am far more comfortable with a paint brush than a pencil. But here is a sample of some of my attempts with pencil, pen, charcoal.
I have also dabbled a little in digital art which is very difficult and I am constantly amazed at the images being produced in this field. I would dearly love to be better at this art medium.
I did fancy following in David Hockney footsteps and start creating landscapes on my ipad. But I think I will stay with the oil paints.
Nevertheless, for me, digital art is wonderful for creating quick sketches to celebrate important occasions.
Remembering significant events and significant people.
For showing the artist at work.
And of course this artist likes to play.
My greatest achievemnt in digital art and created during the Covid lockdown period in 2020 was to make a Linerider video.
Finally let me share a little of my garden which is one of my greatest loves and remains my greatest achievement.
Where to next?
I know I am yearning to get back wallowing in oil paints. I think I will return to my birth country and start painting some more rusted corrugated iron and red bricks. Gives you goose bumps doesn't it?!!
Purchasing prints of my paintings
Canvas Print
A Canvas Print is a digital reproduction constructed from an image of the original painting. The canvas print is produced on a box canvas ready for hanging. Occasionally minor cropping needs to occur to fit the available canvas sizes. Where severe cropping has to occur a comment to this effect accompanies the information about the print.
Photo Print
A Photo Print is produced from an image onto high quality Matt paper. A photo Print requires a frame.Occassionally minor cropping needs to occur to fit the available sizes. Where severe cropping has to occur a comment to this effect accompanies the information about the print.
Photo Block
A Photo Block can be made from any of the images available for prints. Size 15cm x 10cm or 10cm X 15cm (depth 2.5cm). Each Photo Block comes with a small stand. A Greeting Message can be added (limited number of characters).
All prices negotiated on request.