Join Sandra Blackburne for an engaging talk as she explores the diverse beauty of Australia’s rivers, sharing stories behind her paintings that capture everything from lush tropical landscapes to the serene stillness of inland waterways.
To paint a river is also to paint the surrounding landscape. Rivers is not only the story of water, but also of the trees and plants which grow along its banks to which the river gives life.
For this exhibition I have been following rivers along the east coast of Australia, into the hinterland and beyond. The paintings tell the stories of some of them, and depict the diversity of nature -the deep green-black of the tropical North, the rushing waterfalls of Mosman Gorge, the coastal rivers of NSW changing to teal as they flow to the sea. The ebb and flow of the mouth of the river subject to tidal flow, or the the quiet stillness of evening on the western plains rivers of the dryer inland.
My Approach to Landscape Painting
In this talk I will explain how I approach the subject of rivers. My approach is opposite to many of the European and English painters think of Turner’s Burning of the Houses of Parliament or Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party. For most of these artists, the river is subservient or a backdrop to the actions of man. In this exhibition the river is the hero. My work is based on my en plein air sketches and paintings produced on site throughout my travels. I focus on what I see in front of me.The paintings are rich in colour and display a vibrancy which pays homage to the beauty of these rivers and their surrounds. They give a true sense of the love affair we have with the bush and remote spaces.
Artist BIO
Sandra Blackburne, a Brisbane-born artist, studied Illustration and Design at the Queensland College of Art and later pursued painting under Roger Crawford at The National Art School in Sydney. She holds an honours degree in Australian Literature from the University of Sydney. A passionate conservationist, Sandra’s work focuses on the intersection of modernity and the natural environment, particularly the Australian landscape. Painting professionally since 2010, her art explores the textures and light of the land, reflecting its raw energy and beauty. Sandra teaches at the Willoughby Art Centre and runs workshops in drawing, plein air painting, and studio painting in the Hunter Valley.