GLENMARY SWAN

To me, art is about creativity. It can be on any surface and with any material. It can be planned carefully, and made well so that it will be an heirloom for many years to come. Or it can be done as an impromptu in a couple of minutes and disappear, in reality, in a few hours. One of my favourite bits of art is the portrait of me done in biro on my hand by a young family member. (Please see my profile photo.) I love colour, light and shape. The only thing that I really dislike is a blank canvas. 

Art Media and Background

I was wanting to get back into art for many years, but, as is often the case, life got in the way. About ten years ago, I found a painting that I loved. I bought it and then found out that the artist, Sandra Biggin, through Royal Queensland Artists Society, taught painting classes using oils. I took her classes and learnt a great deal. I also did workshops with other art teachers eg Lyn Diefenbach.

When I came to Brisbane I did the Brisbane Institute of Art’s Marine Art Course with Jane James and followed up the course with continued lessons. This brought me to the use of acrylics and also water colour pencils. These two mediums tend to be my choice now. I also learnt a lot more by doing Painting IV with Jill Barker at Brisbane Institute of Art.

Art for Sale

My paintings have been entered and sold in many exhibitions over the last ten years and I have successfully completed commissions.

Some of my art is shown below. I don’t really think I have favourite subjects, but I do like still life, the shapes of birds and I like to put people into landscapes. Sometimes I like to “switch off” my logical planning brain and allow myself to paint abstracts or semiabstracts intuitively. Interesting techniques and effects often emerge.