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Meredith is an artist and art teacher, passionate about the arts and how they can nourish lives. Her art is influenced by the places she visits and lives. Experiences with colour, texture, composition and imagination make up the majority of her subject matter.
Meredith was a graduate of UNSW College of Fine Arts. She has lived in South Korea, Miami USA and is currently living in Sydney, Australia.
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from the artist
Over the years, I have been searching for the perfect landscape. But what exactly does that look like? Was it the imaginative pencil drawings based on the books such as 'Lord of the Rings'? Or was it the English country paintings that looked like fantasy, especially when you grew up in a small town in central west New South Wales. It wasn't until I went to France in the summer and understood the light in the late evening wasn't just an artistic construct. To me, the Australian countryside from home was incredibly boring, flat, dusty, colourless, and more importantly, there was no mountains and water! The best part about travelling to Sydney was driving over the 'Convict Bridge', noticing the curve of the road as you drove up the mountain, then looking back at the great plains of flat pointless grey. Sydney was amazing- city, coastline, gardens and rain.
The Blue Mountains were were full of light and dark, cottages and colour. The process of thinking about landscape was probably more about my outlook on life at the time, rather than a realistic observation of the bush and all its intricacies. I know the bush has fascinated many artists for eons. As I grew up, however, I became obsessed with mountains and water, particularly when living in South Korea. Water, obviously, when living in Miami, and swimming pools. As for snow.. don't get me started.
Japanese paintings have such a wonderful simple aesthetic. I have been a ‘Japano-phile’ for many years now with Cherry Blossom Festival on the top of the bucket list. I think perhaps, they have achieved the 'ideal' landscape. Many Japanese woodblock compositions appear in my work.
When I studied Korean brush painting in Korea, my tutor gave me a book on Chinese brush painting. The '50 ways of painting bamboo' for instance was an incredible eye opener- bamboo in spring, bamboo in summer, wet bamboo, young bamboo … you begin to understand the rigour of painters that paint for many years to achieve the perfect stroke of bamboo. For many years, my paintings have taken me on different journeys. I have enjoyed the painting process immensely. I feel like I have been searching for the perfect landscape and I have realised that it only needs to be perfect for me. A combination of fantasy and reality, of deconstruction and construction, exploring perspectives and design. Looking at images by Ken Done, John Olsen and Brett Whiteley, you can see their obsession with the landscape, and , I think, of manipulation. To change it for themselves, to make music with it, to make wonderful images and compositions that went deeper and were more meaningful than a pretty picture. I see something different in their work every time I study one of their images
The Blue Mountains were were full of light and dark, cottages and colour. The process of thinking about landscape was probably more about my outlook on life at the time, rather than a realistic observation of the bush and all its intricacies. I know the bush has fascinated many artists for eons. As I grew up, however, I became obsessed with mountains and water, particularly when living in South Korea. Water, obviously, when living in Miami, and swimming pools. As for snow.. don't get me started.
Japanese paintings have such a wonderful simple aesthetic. I have been a ‘Japano-phile’ for many years now with Cherry Blossom Festival on the top of the bucket list. I think perhaps, they have achieved the 'ideal' landscape. Many Japanese woodblock compositions appear in my work.
When I studied Korean brush painting in Korea, my tutor gave me a book on Chinese brush painting. The '50 ways of painting bamboo' for instance was an incredible eye opener- bamboo in spring, bamboo in summer, wet bamboo, young bamboo … you begin to understand the rigour of painters that paint for many years to achieve the perfect stroke of bamboo. For many years, my paintings have taken me on different journeys. I have enjoyed the painting process immensely. I feel like I have been searching for the perfect landscape and I have realised that it only needs to be perfect for me. A combination of fantasy and reality, of deconstruction and construction, exploring perspectives and design. Looking at images by Ken Done, John Olsen and Brett Whiteley, you can see their obsession with the landscape, and , I think, of manipulation. To change it for themselves, to make music with it, to make wonderful images and compositions that went deeper and were more meaningful than a pretty picture. I see something different in their work every time I study one of their images