Penelope Oates - Love Where We Live II
Koala Calling takes its cue from the Koalas that we often hear, however, don’t always see on our property in Grose Vale NSW. One particular day, not long after the 2020 bushfires I heard a Koala calling and swiftly maneuvered myself off the back porch and hurtled down to the bush managing to spot the Koala amongst the bush grass. She then made her way up a gum tree, but not too far up, I was able to take a number of pics of her whilst she happily sat there.
Halcyon Days pays homage to the beautiful bushland surrounds of the Hawkesbury that continues to provide much of the visual stimulus for my work. The shifting mist and clouds that hover over and move through the escarpments, valleys and bushland is one that I see so often in the early mornings and is one of my favourite times to view and experience the bush.
Creative Background
Penelope has had an extensive and varied career in the arts spanning a period of some 20 years. She completed a degree in Fine Arts in Sydney at COFA at a young age which was followed shortly by a degree in Stage and Costume design which she completed at the highly prestigious acting school, NIDA. She worked for several years through to her thirties in Sydney as a designer, concept illustrator and model maker before finally completing a Diploma of Teaching in Visual Arts which has allowed her to finance her foray into her own art practice.
Material and Conceptual Practice
Penelope’s technical approach to her practice is highly layered with its mix of coloured inks, acrylic paint and a trusty soldering iron which allows her to lightly etch into timber panels resulting in a distinctive, tapestry-like patina of overlapping lines. This introduction of a soldering iron into her artmaking practice has allowed her to introduce more of a drawing element back into her work and she sees herself as more of a ‘mark-maker’ than a painter.
Halcyon Days pays homage to the beautiful bushland surrounds of the Hawkesbury that continues to provide much of the visual stimulus for my work. The shifting mist and clouds that hover over and move through the escarpments, valleys and bushland is one that I see so often in the early mornings and is one of my favourite times to view and experience the bush.
Creative Background
Penelope has had an extensive and varied career in the arts spanning a period of some 20 years. She completed a degree in Fine Arts in Sydney at COFA at a young age which was followed shortly by a degree in Stage and Costume design which she completed at the highly prestigious acting school, NIDA. She worked for several years through to her thirties in Sydney as a designer, concept illustrator and model maker before finally completing a Diploma of Teaching in Visual Arts which has allowed her to finance her foray into her own art practice.
Material and Conceptual Practice
Penelope’s technical approach to her practice is highly layered with its mix of coloured inks, acrylic paint and a trusty soldering iron which allows her to lightly etch into timber panels resulting in a distinctive, tapestry-like patina of overlapping lines. This introduction of a soldering iron into her artmaking practice has allowed her to introduce more of a drawing element back into her work and she sees herself as more of a ‘mark-maker’ than a painter.
