Artists

My style is a mix of realism, stylized works and occasionally, a "play on words". Elements of nature and the human form are the dominant features of my creations. Through my pieces, I aim to capture a sense of grace, symmetry and connection to the earth. I love the challenge of transforming neglected objects into something beautiful, meaningful and practical where I can. Whether it's a bird, a fish or a plant, each sculpture tells a story and invites viewers to interpret it in their own way.

Art and crafts have always been an important part of my life. It is only since retiring that I have rekindled my love of art. I love to try anything new and to share what i have learned. My life has been enriched by the art community in Eltham.

The simple painted impression – when done well nothing much is more pleasing to my eye. Here, brush marks are respected, both for their potential and execution and a good impression will have them dancing and scything – cut sharp and clean- with deliberate economy across the canvas or paper. What a simple, yet elusive pleasure it is! Greg Allen has earned the reputation as one of Australia’s foremost watercolour artists. He is also a remarkable teacher who can analyse and explain the features of composition and technique which contribute to excellence. Armed with a passion to draw and blessed with creative parents – his father was a noted architect – Greg Allen began to develop a precocious understanding of design and materials, and the stuff of art, in his teenage years. Allen was born in Australia in 1958 and studied at the Caulfield Institute of Technology in Melbourne. He established himself as a professional artist when he was 23 and had his first solo exhibition that same year. In 1982 he was awarded the prestigious Camberwell Rotary Travel Scholarship for five months of study and travel in Europe. In 1990 he studied pastel painting under Daniel Greene in New York. In 1991 he won the Alice Bale Watercolor Prize. He has won the Camberwell Rotary Watercolor Prize twice, in 1990 and 2000, and has 24 other major First Prizes and Best of Show Awards for watercolor. Greg is a much sought after tutor and has been a guest lecturer at Melbourne University.

Jane is a ceramic artist, who has lived in Warrandyte for the last 30 years. She has taught ceramics in schools, TAFE Colleges and at Potters Cottage, Warrandyte and has exhibited and given workshops internationally. Her ceramics are in the style of “Terre Vernissee’’ terracotta slipware, influenced by her time working and travelling in France. Jane has been running ceramic and art related tours to France since 2004 as ‘Zeste French Tours’ and has organised the Pottery Expo event in Warrandyte for the past 22 years. She is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics. Her work is primarily functional with rich honey and green glazes, and thick slip decoration. Her pieces are intended for the table to enjoy using everyday.

Artist Biography – Andrea Arenas Andrea Arenas is a Colombian-Australian multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the relationship between life, transformation and impermanence through biomorphic sculpture. Working with cement, ceramics and wax, she creates organic forms inspired by the structures, rhythms and processes found in the human body and nature. With a background in graphic design, dentistry and aesthetics, Andrea brings a unique understanding of form, balance and detail to her artistic practice. Over the past decade, she has developed a deep connection with wax as a material through her candle-making practice, exploring the possibilities of texture, shape and craftsmanship. This experience has influenced her appreciation for the beauty of handmade processes and the relationship between material, time and transformation. Since moving to Australia, Andrea has undertaken extensive training in sculpture and visual arts, continuing to expand her knowledge through ongoing study, experimentation and research. Her multidisciplinary approach combines scientific observation, artistic intuition and a lifelong curiosity about the structures that shape living systems. Andrea’s work investigates the contrast between permanence and fragility. She transforms materials traditionally associated with strength and durability, such as cement, into soft, flowing forms that evoke growth, movement and vulnerability. Through ceramics, casting and handcrafted processes, she explores the dialogue between the organic and the manufactured, the temporary and the enduring. Currently based in Melbourne, Australia, Andrea continues to develop her practice as a sculptor, ceramist and visual artist. Her work invites contemplation on cycles of existence, transformation and renewal, celebrating the beauty found in impermanence and the continuous evolution of matter.

I have lived in Nillumbik for over 60 years and loved painting since I was in primary school in Research. I was lucky enough to spend my secondary years at Eltham High school where wonderful art teachers nurtured my creativity. Since then I have been privileged to study under David Moore at Monsalvat, and currently under artist and teacher Ron Reynolds. Two inspiring painting trips to Umbria and Tuscany with David Moore and Peter Wegner were also highlights. I have found my inspiration from the beautiful landscapes and colours in Australia, but particularly in Nillumbik. I have exhibited in group exhibitions at Monsalvat, the Nillumbik prize, Eltham Library, Rose Street Gallery and in Bennabio, Tuscany.

Grace Bardini is an artist whose creative journey began in Eltham, where she lived with her family for over twenty five years. Surrounded by  the regions nature and bushland, artistic culture and strong community spirit, she developed the foundations of the quiet, atmospheric style that defines her work today. After moving to the Mornington Penninsula, Grace continued to refine her contemporary abstract practice, drawing on light, texture and a sense of calm, translucency, movement and light. Graces commitment to sustainability is reflected in her use of FSC certified timber framing and carefully considered materials. This is an important learning that was entrenched in her years while living in Eltham. Grace has previously exhibited with Nillumbik where all three of her selected works were sold, affirming her ongoing connection to the Shires community.

After retiring I pursued my love of art and  completed a Diploma of Visual Arts at the CAE in Melbourne.  Although my major interest is painting I also enjoy printmaking with wood engraving and lino plates.There is great pleasure in visiting the many and diverse art galleries in Melbourne Recent submissions to several art shows and exhibitions have been well received and have influenced my choice of current and future works while staying true to the areas of interest I enjoy, which are things I see in every day life while out and about the neighbourhood. 

Artist Statement   After a fulfilling career as an educator, Elizabeth Barr has returned to her art practice as an emerging artist as a printmaker and painter. She paints in watercolours  primarily and  prints extra-long monotype works that are part of her ‘wrapped’ and ‘unwrapped’ landscapes. Some of these prints are formed into her ‘Serene Lightscapes’ suspended by floor lamp stands.   Her current body of work ‘Reflections’ is based her sketching and plein air painting at the Yarra River and wetlands of Banyule. Through these varied approaches, her work reflects an ongoing engagement with place, observation, and the quiet rhythms of the natural world.   Since graduating with a Diploma of Visual Arts in 2024, Elizabeth Barr has presented in group exhibitions including Holding the Line, Monsalvat 2025, Emerging Artists, Hall and Wilcox Law Firm, Melbourne, 2025 and Prelude, Australian Galleries, Collingwood 2026.  Her work has been shortlisted for the Australian Monoprint Prize, Fire Station Print Studio, Armadale, 2025 and the Waverley Woollarah Art School 9 x5 Landscape prize in 2026.   Education   2024 Diploma of Visual Arts, Northern College of Arts and Technology, Melbourne. 1982 Bachelor of Education, Primary (major in Art), Victoria College (renamed Deakin University), Melbourne.

Nicole Benkouar is a multidisciplinary artist and Bachelor of Fine Arts graduate from RMIT University (2017). Working across oil painting, taxidermy and entomology, her practice is rooted in an enduring fascination with the palette, textures and quiet transformations of the natural world. Grounded in fieldwork and close observation, she explores the tension between fragility and structure, mapping geological time against the intricate forms found in nature. Earth, salt, pigment and specimen meet in works that honour both landscape and life’s smallest architectures. Nicole’s work invites a deeper connection to the subtle forces of time, decay and natural form.

Cathie is an established Realist Artist with over forty years’ experience. Cathie is a Multi Award Winning Artist. Always continuing to learn and challenge herself, Cathie has studied Life Drawing, Portraiture, Landscape Painting using a variety of mediums. Cathie loves the way, light, colour and the use of a simple line, all tell a story of her Artwork. Cathie has embraced her creativity which has resulted in a challenging and rewarding career

Lizzie Bohan is an accomplished Ocean Grove-based traditional tonal artist specializing in oils, mixed media, and collage. Over an extensive career, Lizzie has honed her practice under respected tutors at the Victorian Arts Society, Grampians Arts, and across the Bellarine Peninsula. Her diverse practice spans lifelike portraiture, en plein air landscapes, and still life compositions featuring collected vessels and botanical elements. In her collage work, Lizzie creates whimsical, dreamlike, and gothic narratives. As a founder of The Art of Collage workshops, she has taught extensively across the Bellarine and Surf Coast. Her unique classes stand out by integrating the core principles of design and colour theory. Lizzie is an award-winning artist, having won First Place in Mixed Media at both the Geelong Art Show and Birregurra Art Show, as well as a Highly Commended award for oil painting at Birregurra. She regularly exhibits in local art exhibitions and with the Victorian Arts Society and had a group exhibition at the Barwon Heads Arts Council.

I am a Melbourne-based artist, illustrator and writer whose work explores the relationships between people, animals and place. I work across painting, drawing, printmaking and illustration, moving between observation and imagination and combining representational subjects with abstraction and design. Whether painting urban streets, wildlife, landscapes or more abstract subjects, I am interested in personal connection, light, atmosphere and memory.

Karen Bowen is a Dandenong Ranges artist coming to a formal art practice following a teaching and management career. Using mostly oil on canvas, Karen paints familiar objects and landscapes in her compositions using intense, bright colours and bold lines to create works that celebrate the joy colour brings to her and the viewer. Karen spent 3 years working under Melbourne artist, Nell Frysteen who shared a love of colour with her and started her on a journey towards colour mastery. Influenced by Matisse, the Fauves and Expressionists, Karen’s contemporary, domestic scale paintings and cards and prints have found buyers through social media outlets and at Kapi Art Space, Kalorama. ​​email: karenbowen28@gmail.com Instagram:@abracadabra_designs ​

Sally is a registered nurse of over 30 years. She is also an artist based in Eltham, Melbourne, Australia. She is not formally trained though has attended painting classes for since 2014 with Red Door Painters of Nillumbik Shire and exhibited in many group art shows as a member of the local Banyule and Nillumbik Thou Art Mum women's art group. One particular highlight exhibiting at Montsalvat fora TAM “Out of the Blue” Exhibition. Sally’s painting CHANGE was chosen as the image for the exhibition promotional invite and also won People’s Choice Award for the exhibition. Sally is a diverse artist using mainly oils but also uses watercolours and inks. Sally likes the challenge of studying and painting varying themes but her true creative addictions belong to water and bees. Sally is continually inspired by and passionate about painting bees as a reminder to herself and to others of the fragility of our world. She admires that these small creatures create such beauty in our world: procreating more flowers to grow, pick, and paint; to provide our food source and to be paramount in our co-dependence for our survival. Sally is also obsessed with water in any form. Creating serene and evocative watery artworks is a wonderful escape for Sally influenced by the diverse environments of slow creeks, ripples, reflections, ponds, waves and beaches. Using oils she has explored different techniques from detailed glazing to opaque semi abstract patterns and realism to produce her varied works.

 I have worked as an artist and Art teacher since I graduated from Melbourne State College with a degree in Secondary Art & Craft Education. Following many years teaching in secondary schools I am now running classes from my home studio and developing my own painting work; selling privately as well as through exhibitions and online. My paintings, although varied in subject matter and medium, are explorations of the effects of light on objects and in the landscape and the way in which light, shadow, shape and colour create movement and atmosphere. My aim is to express and communicate a sense of the aesthetic qualities of the simple and unremarkable in our surroundings as well as the profoundly beautiful.

Creative expression, in its many forms, has always been an important part of who I am. In 2017 and 2018, I attended art courses at the Eltham Living & Learning Centre, where I was introduced to mixed-media techniques. This experience opened a creative path as an emerging artist. Over the past eight years I have continued on that path to develop my practice using acrylic paint, papers, inks, pens and pencils. Curiosity lies at the heart of my work. I collect papers, recycled fragments and textured materials from the urban environment, often finding creative possibilities in things that might otherwise be overlooked or discarded. Through layering, collage and rubbings, I create marks and textures that reflect elements of the natural world, including bark, stone, leaves and earth. My subject matter is varied, with each piece reflecting something I love, notice or find meaningful. Much of my work rests between realism and abstraction, allowing recognisable forms to emerge while leaving space for imagination and personal interpretation.

A career in Advertising and Illustration has since become a love of Watercolour and Teaching. Snow Gums, Portraiture and Maritime are themes he likes to explore with an emphasis on technique and painted texture.

I have been blacksmithing as a hobby for over 18years. I enjoy creating sculpture using a hammer and anvil. I am a member of the Association of Sculptors of Victoria and I coordinate the sculpture exhibition at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. I also teach blacksmithing and a senior member of the Wandin Blacksmiths.

Bio - Behind The Art I was born into a large Italian family, my parents migrating to Australia in search of opportunity and a better way of life. Born in Melbourne, I spent my youth immersed in drawing, ink rendering and painting. I aspired to go to university to study commercial art and turn my hobby into a career that I now knew I would love. Unfortunately family pressure deemed this an unfit path for an Italian girl of my standing. So instead I was led into a career in hairdressing as an appropriate path that would lead to marriage, security and raising a family. And so it did! My creative desire not forgotten but placed on hold. Now with my husband, we created two beautiful children. My son was born when I was thirty years old and my daughter arrived three years later. It was fulfilling in so many ways and every time I look at my beautiful children I am reminded that, “This is the ultimate act of creation”. An Interest Evolves Even so, lurking in the background remained the desire to explore the other creative side in me placed on hold years earlier. So I dabbled here and there creating with needlepoint and other crafts before undertaking night classes titled, Exploring text with ink”. So now I began again to walk a path of my choice and life was at its most rewarding in all aspects. Continuing with night classes in other mediums and when my children started school, I began work in a local art shop that ran classes by professional artists. I did whatever I could to immerse myself in art but it never felt enough. I knew that my confidence in life drawing was lacking and if I wanted to continue this path, then mastering the physical form was necessary. Appropriate Pathways So I undertook a certificate course in illustration. After twenty years of self guidance and aspiration my first formal class had begun. The first day was a class on rendering. I could barely sit still as inside I was bubbling with joy, so overwhelmed knowing that I had finally reached the day of sitting in a college course for the arts. The next year I signed up for the Two Year Diploma. I was fortunate to receive a scholarship for the first year and, with the support of my supervisor, who saw my potential, I was encouraged to continue. At this time my husband and I were parting ways, so now I was doing a full time course as a single mother. After graduating, the journey on my chosen path was disrupted yet again as I began working full time to provide for the family, making it hard to find the time to promote myself as an artist. However, I managed to obtain the odd commission here and there. A Spiritual Understanding Meanwhile a different path called me & I started practicing yoga with teachers who shared the deeper knowledge and wisdoms of yoga. My interest in yoga thus stimulated continued and I gravitated towards a yoga school where I started a regular practice. There I found a place where I could ask the difficult questions and obtain answers on a spiritual level.I graduated as a yoga teacher in 2005. This is when my art world turned from commercial work to images presented to me in my quiet times of meditation and in my dreams. As I was discovering myself through my yoga, these images were representing my struggles in my own personal development. These were to become my inspirations. The Future Now I move straight to my canvas without preparation and transport those images, allowing them to evolve and take form. These are the introductory Images depicting my journey to date. I still enjoy illustration and would love to continue work in that field. I trust that will manifest if need be. In the meantime I will keep projecting onto canvas what my inner world wants to express.

Born in Geelong, Bill Caldwell first studied art by correspondence at the age of  nine. Graduating from RMIT, he pursued a successful career in graphic design, while painting as a hobby. Turning to painting full time, he has won numerous awards, including Camberwell, twice. His work is represented in collections in England, USA, France and Japan, as well as throughout  Australia. He is a member of the Twenty Melbourne Painters Society (currently as secretary), and teaches at the Peninsula Arts Society.

I am a self-taught, visual artist, working mainly with both oil and acrylic.  Having lived in Strathewen and Smiths Gully for many years, I have a particular resonance with the sceneries and kaleidoscopes of colour and light that permeate the Yarra Valley and its surrounds.  Working in an impressionistic style, I love trying to capture the morning and evening dance of light and shadow across the hills, bush and changing skies.

Dr Jo Canning is a Montsalvat’s studio artist working working with UniMCRI- Royal Children’s Hospital and involved with her husband Adam in advocacy for arts inclusion  for those with disabilities.Her PhD under her married name Griggs involves natural interventions for neurological disorders.  Jo has a strong arts and science research record. Major highlights are her book  “Miracle in Potential” (Griggs, 2010), working as a dancer at The Australian Ballet Co. and then actress MTC. Her art work has graced 100 meters at the Melbourne Aquarium and is in many private collections. Jo’s recent artwork is related to capturing the translucency of figures under water. 

 Kimberley Cardow is a Melbourne-based contemporary artist whose practice encompasses both painting and contemporary sculpture. Inspired by Australia's landscapes, wildlife, and the experiences gained through extensive travel, she creates expressive works that celebrate colour, texture, and the beauty of the natural world. Her creative career spans more than four decades in the fashion industry (1974–2023), where she developed a refined understanding of colour, pattern, texture, and design. This extensive design experience continues to inform her artistic practice, bringing a distinctive visual language to both her paintings and sculptures. Since relocating to Melbourne in 2008, Kimberley's work has evolved from detailed floral studies to a broader exploration of birds, landscapes, people, and sculptural forms. Working across two and three dimensions, she combines vibrant colour with layered texture and expressive composition to create works that invite curiosity, evoke emotion, and celebrate the connection between people, place, and nature. Since 2016, Kimberley has maintained a consistent exhibition presence, regularly exhibiting in selected and curated art shows throughout Victoria and interstate. Many exhibitions have selected her work across multiple consecutive years, reflecting the continued recognition of her practice. Her work has been exhibited at the Camberwell, Bendigo, Robert McCubbin, Mornington, Knox, Frankston, Sorrento, Walkerville, Red Hill, Canterbury and Yarra Valley Art Shows, Sol Gallery Group Exhibition, the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show, Linden Postcard Show, Albert Park Art Show and Deco & Design. She has received awards at the Amaroo Art Show in consecutive years and was selected as Featured Artist at the Mt View Art Show. Her work is represented by Bluethumb and Saatchi Art and is held in private collections throughout Australia and internationally.

Josephine has been working with clay for over 20 years and has been teaching pottery in Eltham for over 4 years. Josephine creates wheel thrown functional dinnerware and unique items for interior décor, focusing on the natural textures and tactile beauty of the clay mixtures and subtlety of the glaze mixtures. She specially loves to create unique jugs and vases to decorate the home. Josephine grew up on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean and moved to Australia as a young adult. She is an inveterate traveller. Her journey as a ceramics artist has included living in countries overseas, gaining a wide range of experience in ceramics through working in different potters’ studios and attending workshops and residences run by expert potters. Josephine loves teaching and sharing her passion for ceramics. Her approach is to focus on the unique qualities and needs of each individual student to encourage self-expression and creativity through clay.

M.A. (Fine Arts), B.A. (Fine Arts), Grad.Dip.ArtEdn David Chen was born in China and holds both Bachelor and Master degrees in Fine Arts. He studied a nine year art Curriculum in seven years as a dedicated Academic. He was awarded art scholarship three times from 1981-1985. David taught Fine Arts at university for several years. In 1988, he became the first person in China history to hold a Post Graduate Diploma in Art Education. Late in 1988 he was appointed an editor at the Peoples’ Fine Art Publishing House in Beijing where he edited several art magazines. In 1989 the French embassy in Beijing invited him to hold a solo exhibition, however, the exhibition was cancelled and his work banned as he endured the difficult political climate in China after the events of June 1989. The BBC in Britain and Newspaper in Hong Kong reported David’s story. He later emerged as a respected artist and went on to win national and international acclaim. He was selected to participate in ‘100 Famous Chinese Artists’, a worldwide travelling exhibition in 1991. The painting “Hope” won the first prize at national art competition In Beijing 1991, and in 1992 his painting “Path To My Home Town” won the top award at the Fourth International Art Contest, Nice, France. It was permanently collected by The Chinese Government. David arrived in Melbourne in early 1993. He was invited to be part of the HYDRA Art Group that was funded by the Australian Government and Art Council. Since coming to Melbourne, David has worked as a full time artist. As well as conducting various painting workshops, he has held several exhibitions. In 1994 his three works was exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria. In 2001 his beach painting “At Noon” was exhibited at national museum in Canberra and selected to be hung at the Unite Nation Conference in New York. David has won many prizes including the Camberwell Art Show 2013 winner for “Best in Show” with his painting titled “Memory of Princess Bridge.

Emily Chibwana lives and breathes creativity. When she’s not in her art studio or working on a new picture book, she’s playing with her four young kids. Her goal in life is to leave the world a little brighter than she found it.

Soo is inspired by interesting faces & figures and loves playing with colours. She is largely self-taught, and paints expressive portraitures mainly in acrylic and watercolour but always keen to explore new mediums & techniques.

As an adult I took some classes in traditional drawing techniques with charcoal and graphite and discovered that I could draw and that I enjoyed it immensely. I took up watercolour and pastel and took part in a couple of group exhibitions of pastel landscapes and watercolour flowers. I discovered the attraction of the detail, but it wasn’t until we moved to Melbourne that I found the Saturday botanical illustration classes held by the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens (FRBG), Melbourne. It was there that I started to develop my understanding of botanical art and improve my techniques. I love to experiment with new methods and materials but I still regularly return to my first love of pencil drawing. Once I retired, I had more time for art classes and other related activities. In 2011 I joined the Botanical Art Society of Australia (BASA) committee to help support Australian botanical artists and I have been President or Vice President for the last 11 years. During this time I have also been painting in oils with Nell Frysteen and at the Red Door Studio in Eltham where I enjoy experimenting with other media including linocuts and printmaking.

Former Greensborough painter who specializes in Oil and Watercolour of country scenes.

EXHIBITIONS Hurstbridge Wattle Festival "Median to Rare" Mansfield SCRAP Swanpool Tesselaar Tulip Festival Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show ASV's Annual and Awards Exhibition Alexandra Information Centre Rennies at Acheron King Valley Art Show Alexandra Art Show Yering Station Sculpture Exhibition Lot 19 Castlemaine Sale sculpture exhibition AWARDS: Honourable mention - MIFGS 1st prize MIFGS online King Valley Award People's choice - SCRAP Permanent Public Art - Goughs Bay Special mention MIFGS People's choice MIFGS online 1st prize - Median to Rare - Mansfield People's choice Herring Island People's choice Neerim Bower Exhibition 1st prize - Alexandra art show Yering Station award Award and Honorable Mention - Castlemaine Highly Commended and Backroom Award Eltham Art Show Best female sculptor - Spirit of the Land, Lochart

Living on the Mornington Peninsula his whole life, he loves the way of the ocean and bay and the sea life it holds. His childhood was spent in the water and his art reflects that. He is always creating , be it steel,stone or wood. 

Ted’s Bio Ted has been a practicing artist most of my working life. Having first worked as tickwriter, sign-writer and graphic designer and, Secretary Manager of the Victorian Artist Society which he held from 2001 - 2012 before starting a part time career teaching watercolour painting.  Maritime themes have always been a favourite among his subjects.  He has been received numerous awards including the VAS Artist of the Year award in 2007 and the ANL Maritime Award in 2017. His work is held in private and public collections in Australia and overseas in New York, the UK, China and VAS private collection. 

Born in Warrandyte 1971. Raised in an art-filled environment with creative parents, siblings and family friends . 1993 Advanced Certificate in Art and Design. Box Hill Institute. Work full time in the medical administration sector and create in home studio: Grey Mare Studio.

Nancye Davison is a current member of the Victorian Artists Society, Australian Guild of Realist Artists, Watercolour Society of Victoria and Box Hill Art Group. She is a retired lawyer who enjoys working mainly in watercolour, pen and ink . She has won a number of awards over the time she has been exhibiting. 

Joan has been painting in oils for 45 years, won over 300 prizes and other prizes. Tutored by Marjorie Martin and Fiona Bilborough. and Brian Armstrong and in watercolour by Jeffrey Gilmour. I live din the UK and sold many painting there.

Since childhood I have loved to draw and would often surprise my parents with drawings of cartoon characters on cork coasters and basically anything I could get my hands on!   I am largely self-taught,  but I did study art in Year 12 and then first year Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne before switching to psychology. After working for over 20 satisfying years as a clinical psychologist, I decided to return to my first love - drawing and painting - and to combine it with my love of animals.    Hence, “Pet Portraits and More” was born.  I advertise on Facebook and use photographs to draw custom portraits of treasured pets, landscapes, human portraits etc using my favourite medium, pastel.  I have had many commissions and sold work independently at exhibitions. During university vacations, I was an Administrative Officer at the National Gallery of Victoria for several years. This work allowed me to wander the Gallery at my leisure and my appreciation of art grew during this time. I am a member of the Victorian Artists’ Society and have studied under Shirley Straford and Barbara McManus. Currently I am studying landscape painting in pastel with Cathy Van Ee.

I have been a practising ceramicist for the past 25 years and have exhibited locally and nationally in selected and group exhibitions. In 1999 I established Claydreamers, a teaching studio in Eltham, where I run classes for beginners to advanced students. My art practice includes making a range of wheel thrown porcelain, domestic ware, together with a body of work called Sand series. My Sand series design is inspired by our amazing Australian Coastlines, and the marks left on them by the elements and the creatures that call them home. These sands always fascinate me and constitute an ever evolving, living artwork. The vessels are wheel thrown using porcelain, altered, etched, carved and refilled. The interior is often clear glazed and the exterior is carefully sanded and polished after firing. They are contemporary in form and design and are both decorative and functional

Born in Melbourne and growing up in Canberra, Nadine has a passion for depicting the natural world using watercolour as her primary medium. Now based in Melbourne, her work is influenced by the precision of botanic art and the elegant simplicity of Sumi-e Japanese ink painting. These two seemingly contradictory styles are used to draw the viewer’s eye by combining detailed brushwork at the focal point with clean, loose strokes portraying the remainder of the subject. Watercolour performs beautifully to capture the movement and freedom of the subjects she paints, with a fluidity and clarity that are key to compelling watercolour painting. For her the most rewarding paintings are those with the fewest strokes and greatest tonal contrast, with her minimalistic approach making her work immediately recognisable. In 2015 Nadine left her career as a research scientist to become a professional artist. The decision to paint full-time has been rewarded with numerous successful solo exhibitions and award-winning paintings.

I am a local photographer. I enjoy many subjects to photograph. I am looking at sharing my passion with the eltham community. And meeting others who enjoy my works. Its my first time entering this show and i am very proud and honoured.

I am a passionate hobby artist heavily involved in the Watercolour Society of Wictoria.  I love to paint animals and landscapes with interesting colours.

Hello! I’m Kristy, a passionate self-taught artist based in a picturesque mountain town in Victoria. My creative journey has been fuelled by a love for bright colours, flowers and foliage, My paintings reflect my experiences, emotions, and the vibrant world around me. I love using recycled materials to create unique textures and looks. Second-hand canvases, bits of collage from old books, paint skins - whatever looks interesting and fun!

DOROTHY FIELD I have been painting and drawing as a hobby for as long as I can remember. At age fourteen I became a foundation member of The Heidelberg Artists Society and learned to paint in oils with the wonderful artist Ernest Salter. In later years watercolour has been my main focus. It is a very exciting and often unpredictable medium. I love the glazes, the textures and the ‘accidental’ blends of colour that can be achieved with this medium. While acquiring initial watercolour techniques I spent time studying with John Orlando Birt and David Taylor. The artists that currently inspire my work are international watercolourists Anne Blockley and Shirley Trevena. Permanent ink and watercolour have featured extensively in my paintings of native flora. I am currently very much absorbed with combining flowing watercolour and water soluable ink. I love to experiment with runs and blends in order to achieve a desired mood in a painting. My particular subject interests are Australian native flora, native birds, atmospheric landscapes and animals. I have exhibited and sold work at Montsalvat and The Vines and have held gratifyingly successful solo exhibitions in various local cafes and at The Eltham Library Gallery. I have won Best In Show and Best Watercolour at Plenty Valley Arts’ exhibitions and have frequently sold my work through the Camberwell Rotary Art Show. I do sell privately and am happy to take commissions. I have enjoyed being a member of TAM for about nine years. This year is my eighth year teaching watercolour at Camberwell Community Centre. Phone: 0412175431 Instagram: dorothy.g.field

EDUCATION 1972- completed Year 12 at Eltham High School 1974- Weaving and wool classing course 1978 - Degree of Fine Art at Preston Institute of TechnologyT  1982 - La Trobe University - Humanities -Art history  1983 -1990 Life drawing classes  1992 - Bachelor of Education RMIT 1995 - 2015 various workshops in pastel , print making and ceramic classes  EXHIBITIONS 2023 Eltham Art Show  2023 - Sorrento Rotary Art Show  2023- Red Hill Art Show 2022-Red Hill Art Show  2021 - Flemington Art Show  2020 -Mornington Art Show  2019- Warranwood Art Show - First Prize  2018- Toora Art Show  2018- Dromana Art Show  2014 -2018 various local markets