Long Beach artist Naomi Crowther is the Featured Artist at The Gallery, Mogo from June 19 and has a new collection of paintings on show.
Often referred to as ‘The Poppy Lady’, Naomi uses the iconic image of the poppy in her playful yet meditative works on canvas. Her thickly painted ‘Poppies’ series are easily recognisable and are a visual delight.
The 44 year old artist creates works that appeal to a wide audience, with most of her paintings hanging in private houses, many also belong to Australian Government collections, including the Australian Defence Force Academy and numerous corporate collections from businesses to schools.
Seven large Flanders Poppy paintings were recently commissioned for the Defence Mentor schools throughout Canberra, and now hang in the school foyers commemorating Remembrance Day.
Naomi especially enjoys creating bespoke paintings for private homes, incorporating colours from the existing interior space to visually tie in the elements of a room.
She says, “It’s wonderful to personally deliver a painting and see my customers’ faces when it completes their interior. A painting seems to bring all the various aspects of a room together, a sort of grounding of the overall feel of the space. It’s not just about the colour or the dimensions, it’s also the flow of line work and the complexity, or simplicity, of a painting that can offer a sense of drama, or serenity, to a home depending on the chosen design.”
With her whimsical yet monumental artworks, Naomi redefines the boundaries of stylised composition and painterly rhythm.
Naomi has had many successful solo and group shows from Bungendore to Brunei and has been a finalist in the Hills Grammar Art Prize and Canberra Art Prize, and was featured on Foxtel’s ‘Selling Houses Australia’ TV show.
Describing her approach to painting she says, “The greatest influence on my art is simply spending time each day in the natural world, revelling in the playful patterns of both the wild landscape and private gardens. I then emulate and stylise what I see and love, using a palette knife to apply luscious layers of thick paint. I then embellish the work with silver or copper leaf, often incorporating stencilled motifs for graphic affect.
“I take cues from nature, then interpret this onto the canvas with a touch of subtle ‘bling’.
“I truly believe art should sing to your soul, it’s like walking into an open house and knowing it’s simply meant to be your home.”
Naomi’s work will be featured at The Gallery, Mogo until July 9.
The Gallery is a co-operative venture of Creative Arts Batemans Bay Incorporated (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.
