PASSIONATE LOCAL artist Suzi Bourke is this week’s Murwillumbah Art Trail 2018 featured artist.
Mrs Bourke moved up to the Tweed when she retired from secondary teaching ten years ago, having longed to live here since the 1980s when she would holiday in the shire.
“It is not just the coast that I love but the hills and valleys of the caldera; the rivers and brooks and all the arty, creative people living here,” she said.
“When working full-time I could only get rare moments on art projects. I did casual courses on pottery, lead lighting and paper maché, but once I settled here in Cabarita I started at Shirley Kennedy’s Life Drawing classes at the TRG and then I joined Gillian at Artable and I was addicted.
Mrs Bourke said her passion for art blossomed when she started painting Australian landscapes in the representational style.
“Inside me there is an abstract artist trying to get out, but I just love capturing the light on our land in detail,” she said.
“I’ve tried abstract and failed badly. I paint freehand from a photo of an awe-inspiring place where I have been.
“When I paint I go into a zone of thinking and I actually can’t hold a conversation with anyone.
“I can paint for hours and not notice the time passing and sometimes I have to set my alarm to remind me to take the dogs for their walk or put dinner on.
“I spend a lot of time mixing my colours and standing back and looking at the shapes.
“I use acrylic paints which dry very quickly so I have to remember the colours I’ve blended.
“I often make up a bit extra especially for skies or seas so that if I move a tree or something I can touch it up.
“I aim to write down my blends but often forget and it takes about 30 hours to finish a painting, but really it’s only finished when it’s sold.”
Mrs Bourke said she has an Easter exhibition called Horizons, at M-Arts, for which she has been painting furiously – when she’s not being Sponsorship Manager of MAT18.
“For MAT18 I will be entering several landscapes with a group of friends,” she said.
“Our pop up gallery is called Elsewhere and I love the name because it really captures all of our styles for the MAT18 theme ‘Moving On’.
“Last year we were in the Hutchisons building and it was fabulously successful.
“Four different groups displayed their art and set it up to look so interesting.
“Locals were thrilled and surprised and they all wanted to know if it would be a permanent gallery.”
Mrs Bourke said she wanted to encourage anyone interested in painting to sign up for local art classes.
“There are many to choose from in the Tweed; they are high quality, welcoming and lots of them sponsor MAT18,” she said.
“When I started my first class I thought I was being a bit presumptuous because I wasn’t an artist – I’m sure that stops lots of people.
“But it was the best experience and I met such wonderful people who are good friends now and I learnt lots about painting and drawing.
“Anyone scared of starting should drop into Elsewhere at MAT18 and ask me about classes I have taken – or ask any of the other artists.”