Maitland Region Society of Artists Inc. in Bolwarra, New South Wales, Australia | Community organisation

Maitland Region Society of Artists Inc.

Locality: Bolwarra, New South Wales, Australia

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22.01.2022 This year the gallery is hosting The Maitland Region Society of Artists Portrait Prize. Now in it's 4th year, the aim of the prize is to provide members of the... society with the opportunity to paint the portrait of a noteable Maitland person. In the past subjects have included Mr Milton Morris AO, Mrs Margaret Sivyer OAM and Mr Peter Blackmore. Mr Hilton Grugeon AM is the subject of the 2020 Portrait. The portraits will be on display from 9am until 3pm from Wed 7th til Sunday 11th Oct. The Society would like to thank Jo Chisolm from C Studios in Newcastle for assisting Hilton and Bev Grugeon in choosing the winner, which will be announced this Sunday. You can also be a part of the prize by popping into the gallery and voting for your favourite as our 'People's Choice' Winner. Best of luck to all Society members who entered this year.

21.01.2022 INTRODUCING AUSTRALIA’S NEW COVID-19 FRIENDLYPLEIN AIR DOWN UNDER ‘Virtual Paint Out’ Free to enter. In what we believe is an Australian first, Plein Air Down Under will host a Virtual Paint Out for Australian artists unable to attend the 2020 outdoor painting festival.

20.01.2022 3 years in 3 minutes!!!! Today marks 3 years since I officially opened our amazing art space! After many years as an iconic fine-dining restaurant, it was time ...for both 'The Old George' and me to start a new adventure...and what a ride it has been so far!!! Art, events, exhibitions, workshop, poetry, books, fun, love, laughter and fabulous creativity. Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support and love....long live 'Maitland's biggest little art gallery'

20.01.2022 Meeting today at Lorn park bowling club at 4.30, see you there!

18.01.2022 I will be on SBS TV Life Drawing Live- giving advice about Drawing with Maryanne Couuts ( artist and head of Drawing at the National Art school Sydney ) Prog...ram hosted by Rove McManus with a group of celebrity drawers.. Don't miss it !! Life Drawing Live premieres Saturday 4 July, 8.30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand. It streams live across Australia on SBS On Demand and live on SBS at 8.30pm AEST with a delay in WA, NT and SA. See more

13.01.2022 24th SEPTEMBER 1899 . . . Born on this day, 24th September 1899, Sir William (Bill) Dobell, renowned Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th centur...y. Sir William Dobell was born in Cooks Hill, a working-class neighbourhood of Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia to Robert Way Dobell and Margaret Emma (née Wrightson). Dobell's artistic talents were evident early. In 1916, he was apprenticed to Newcastle architect, Wallace L. Porter and in 1924 he moved to Sydney as a draftsman. In 1925, he enrolled in evening art classes at the Sydney Art School (which later became the Julian Ashton Art School), with Henry Gibbons as his teacher. He was influenced by George Washington Lambert. In 1929, Dobell was awarded the Society of Artists' Travelling Scholarship and travelled to England to the Slade School of Fine Art where he studied under Philip Wilson Steer and Henry Tonks. In 1930, he won first prize for figure painting at Slade and also travelled to Poland. In 1931 he moved on to Belgium and Paris, and after 10 years in Europe returned to Australia taking with him a new Expressionist style of painting as opposed to his earlier naturalistic approach. In 1939 Dobell returned to Sydney at the death of his father, he began as a part-time teacher at East Sydney Technical College. After the outbreak of war, he was drafted into the Civil Construction Corps of the Allied Works Council in 1941 as a camouflage painter; he later became an unofficial war artist. Dobell achieved recognition with an exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1942, shared with Margaret Preston, but the following year his fame turned. Having won the Archibald Prize with a stylised, exaggerated portrait of fellow artist Joshua Smith, fiercely conservative artists Joseph Wolinski and Mary Edwards condemned the work alleging that the painting was ‘a distorted and caricatured form’ and therefore not a portrait. In response, Dobell claimed that he was ‘trying to create something, instead of copying something’, insisting that ‘so long as people expect paintings to be simply coloured photographs they get no individuality and in the case of portraits, no characterisation. The real artist is striving to depict his subject’s character and to stress the caricature, but at least it is art which is alive’. The legal case brought against him and the Trustees was dismissed the following year. After the controversy, Dobell had a nervous breakdown and moved to Wangi Wangi on Lake Macquarie, New South Wales where he painted landscapes, slowly returning to portraiture. In 1949 he again won the Archibald Prize this time with a portrait of painter Margaret Olley. He also won Wynne Prize for his landscape Storm approaching Wangi in the same year. In 1954 he represented Australia at the Venice Biennale with Russell Drysdale and Sidney Nolan. Dobell's style was unique in being able to adapt to suit the character of his subject. This was best described by James Gleeson; "One of the astonishing things about Dobell's portraiture is his ability to adjust his style to the nature of the personality he is portraying ... If the character of his sitter is broad and generous, he paints broadly and generously. If the character is contained and inward looking, he uses brushstrokes that convey this fact. In his later portraits one has only to look at a few square inches of a painted sleeve to know what sort of person is wearing it." Dobell was a very private man, known almost always as "Bill". He died on 13 May 1970 in the City of Lake Macquarie suburb of Wangi Wangi. The sole beneficiary of his estate was the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, which was founded on 19 January 1971 and awards the Dobell Australian Drawing Biennial, which is named in his honour. Pictured: Photograph of painter William Dobell, 1942, Max Dupain. Courtesy National Library of Australia #australianhistory #australianartists #williamdobell #archibaldprize #wynneprize #dobellprize #sharinghistory #rtpa

12.01.2022 This awesome painting by Robert Ferguson gained 2nd place in the Maitland Portrait Prize!

12.01.2022 Winner of the Maitland Portrait Prize was Beatrice Esterbrook with this amazing watercolour of Hilton Grugeon AM!

11.01.2022 'The protected one' 25 x 25 cm. Oil on canvas Protected against what? Against staring eyes or against bird poo?... And what exactly is protected? Is it beauty that needs to be protected? Or health? In some countries a protection in itself is a comfortable way to not get sunburned. A way to stay unnoticed in the masse or to show the rest of us that you are part of a specific group. Also the protection is believed as conserving the beauty of the wearer and therefor symbolically decorated with beautifying elements. In any case, it won't fully protect from the bigger disasters in life, like bush fires or diseases.

07.01.2022 Some photos from our Rutherford Public school Art Exhibition with winners, art work and some of the wonderful art work from the students. It was a huge weekend for the school and the MRSA members who worked tirelessly to create an awesome Art Show with a record number of sales as well as a record fund raiser for the school! Well done Everyone

06.01.2022 ‘MAITLAND PORTRAIT PRIZE’ - Presented by The Maitland Region Society of Artists ANNOUNCEMENT OF JUDGE’S CHOICE: At the Hunter Artisan Gallery & Café 48 Melbourne Street EAST MAITLAND NSW 2323... SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER 3 - 5PM (Announcement at 4pm) ***Due to COVID 19 Restrictions only 20 persons are permitted in the gallery at any one time, with only 10 persons in each room at any one time. EXHIBITION DATES: 5 - 11 OCTOBER Daily 9am - 3pm Now in its 4th year, The Maitland Portrait Prize is an initiative of the Members of The Maitland Region Society of Artists. The aim of this Prize is provide members of the Society with the opportunity to paint the portrait of a notable Maitland person. In the past subjects have included Mr Milton Morris AO, Mrs Margaret Sivyer OAM and Mr Peter Blackmore OAM. Mr Hilton Grugeon AM, will be the subject of the 2020 PORTRAIT HOW WILL THE HUNTER ARTISAN GALLERY PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND APPLY ‘SOCIAL DISTANCING’ & COVID 19 REGULATIONS TO FEATURE EXHIBITIONS FOR 2020? Due to the fact that we can only have 20 people in the venue at any one time, we will be holding openings over 2 hours, with visitors booking the time that they will be attending, so that we adhere to the gallery’s ‘social distancing’ policy. Judging will be at approximately 4pm. The main gallery where the feature exhibition is installed can only have a maximum of 10 persons at any one time, so please ensure that when you visit you adhere to the social distancing and stay 1.5m apart. All visitors to the gallery will be required to provide their name and contact details for our COVID register. There will be plenty of hand sanitizer available for you to use. It is requested that you do not touch any of the artwork/cards/giftware in the gallery unless you intend to purchase. We do not have masks available but you are more than welcome to wear your own. We are a COVID 19 REGISTERED businesses and gallery owner Jennifer Nichols has also completed the Covid 19 Infection Control Certification (Australian Government/ Department of Health) Please refrain from hugging, kissing, singing and generally having any physical contact...let’s just love and respect each other with our hearts and words. I know there’s a lot to remember, but if we all do the right thing, we will all keep each other safe and well. Jenni Nichols The Hunter Artisan Gallery & Cafe 48 Melbourne Street EAST MAITLAND NSW 2323 p: 0407381911 e: [email protected] w: www.thehunterartisangalleryandcafe.com

05.01.2022 It's a tradition in the White House to celebrate the past President with the unveiling of his portrait. Trump is refusing. We on FB will have our own unveiling to celebrate President Obama. May this go viral.

03.01.2022 Goondiwindi Art Show

02.01.2022 Here is Rene Brager's winning entry to the AGNSW Members Art Challenge. It is a drawing using watercolour and Inktense pencils adapted from an image of the Rainbow Mountains of China. It is a place I would love to visit - No 1 on my Bucket List - and I hope to go there one day.