Pam Edwards, a finalist in the 2014 Basil Sellers Prize, and mixed media painter is, until April 9, the featured artist at The Gallery in Mogo.
A field of colour spreads across the canvases of Pam’s distinctive and original paintings while other colours subtly suggest, rather than define specific features.
Pam says that she likes to focus on restful colours, enhanced with what she calls her ‘spice’ colours”.
‘Summer in the Country’, one of this artists works on show at The Gallery, hints at a dry, golden and brassed landscape that has only recently been fed by rain. Under a strong blue sky, purple rivulets zigzag their way across the canvas while a blush of mauve “new growth” recedes into the distance.
Pam enjoys the challenge of concentrating on abstract ideas while capturing the essence of the subject and allowing the viewer to see some realism. Word associations and events often give Pam the title of a work long before the painting begins.
Pam’s parents ensured she had the solid grounding necessary to enter the corporate world and she worked in both marketing and computer graphics. Pam may have missed out on a formal training in art – she had an early desire to go to NIDA and join the acting profession - but she has always taken an interest in the art world and attended many exhibitions and workshops and visited galleries overseas.
By 2003 Pam was fully involved in the local art scene – she had long promised herself that she would paint “when she had more time” - after she and husband Ian had retired to Batemans Bay. She says there were three turning points for her in the evolution of her art and is grateful to the mentors who encouraged her.
From plein air artist Sylvia Dieck, she learnt how to see the world and develop an ‘artistic eye’, and how to use her imagination. From the late experimental artist, Beth Monahan, she received a solid grounding in the use of modern materials and techniques.
The Gallery is a co-operative venture of CABBI, a society open to local arts and crafts practitioners. People interested in finding out more about CABBI should drop in to The Gallery, Mogo or phone 02 4474 2243.
