Sylvia Ditchburn Fine Art Gallery
     

HOME      GALLERIES       ARTISTS       NEWS       ABOUT ME       CONTACT      LINKS      PURCHASE       PRIVACY

 

Hello and welcome

 

18/8/10

Sylvia's Art from Wild Places VIP night.
Sharon, Richard, Cr. Jenny Lane, Sylvia, Phyllis

 

 

     

 

Uli Leissmann's solo show Here's to Love, Lust and Laughter opened by Sylvia  at Umbrella Contemporary Arts Gallery Townsville on 16 July 2010.

 

     

Sylvia was a tutor at the recent ARTescape held at the Tanks in Cairns. ARTescape is a winter school in the Tropics and is organised by the Cairns Art Society from 19 - 23 July. Sylvia's workshop Colour + magic: painting in the tropics was fully subscribed. 'It was a fantastic workshop and everyone worked very hard to create great art work. ' A very rewarding time for Sylvia.

 

     

En plein-air workshop conducted by Sylvia on August 12 at the Townsville Palmetum.

A small group of enthusiastic painters enjoyed the lush environs of the Palmetum for a day's painting guided by Sylvia on the art of selection and application from the lush surroundings. Everyone created work they should be proud of on a beautiful Townsville winter's day.

Why not enrol in a Workshop

If you are interested in joining Sylvia for a workshop, email Sylvia or call into the gallery for info.   

 

NEXT EXHIBITION Tropical Friday

Artists are invited to enter the themed exhibition Tropical Friday.  Entry forms are available for artists to exhibit in a group themed exhibition in September 2010 either at my gallery or by contacting me by email.  The exhibition will run from 17/9 to 17/10.  Entries close Friday 10 September 2010.  Numbers are limited.   

Cardwell Art Prize

   

 

On the 9th June Sylvia judged and presented the prizes for the Cardwell Art Prize, Hinchinbrook Regional Arts Assn. Inc.  David Rowe winner of the Cardwell Art Prize with Gabrielle Krone and Sylvia.

 

1/5/10

News from my gallery and Townsville north Queensland is that we are on the brink of our gorgeous winter weather. Even though there is still a touch of humidity around it is gradually disappearing. We’re all suffering from ‘tropical cabin fever’ here so will be good to turn off the air con and let the fresh air rush in.

I started the year with my work in a group show Red Gate Studio to Umbrella Studio at Umbrella Contemporary Art Gallery Townsville with work from my Beijing residency and other Townsville artists who have also been on a residency with Redgate. We had a colour catalogue printed, opening night and artists talks. The show was well received with a review. A great opportunity to showcase our work and revisit our China experiences.

A group show at my gallery Be my Valentine on 14 February attracted a large crowd for opening night with 11 artists showing their ideas on Valentine’s Day. The next group exhibition by local artists at my gallery is Mum’s Day opening on Friday 7th May @ 6pm by Amber Church, Curator at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville. Light refreshments will be served on opening night so if you are in town do come along. Most, if not all the artists will be present so you can have a chat to them. There will be a variety of work from photos, paintings, collage, sculpture and paintings that address the theme of Mum in some way from the quirky to the personal. There are a couple of other openings also that night you can drop in on after this one. Check out the web site for more info. If you can’t make it to the opening the work will be up until 30 May for you to browse around.

Recently visited beautiful Tasmania for two weeks tripping around and about and up hill and down dale with plenty of twists and turns in the roads. The fruits and berries, cheeses, seafood and wines are delicious. Scenery is spectacular and just adored the waterfalls like Russell Falls with the beautiful walk in through the Tree ferns or Man ferns as they are known locally. The walk around Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain is mesmerising with all the twisted old trees and mosses. Just about wore my little pocket camera out but got some nice shots and hope to turn them into beautiful paintings – someday. Caught up with the tiny penguins at Bichneo and a few Tasi Devils and Spotted Quolls at their breeding stations. Some pretty tas birds too: the superb blue wren, yellow wattlebird and scarlet robin, wandering albatross and pacific gull. The colonial architecture is well preserved and many of the villages like to keep it just like it was in a bygone era so new buildings are hard to identify as it is a requirement to remain in the same style. Saw a lot of Glover style landscapes around Evandale just south of Launceston and a recently commissioned bronze statue that honours the artist as well as an annual Glover prize. So well done John. Glover died in 1849. Takes a while! As they say better late than never. The weather was pretty mild with a few showers except around Cradle Mountain where it was cold and windy. Couldn’t help but notice the lack of fans and air cons in the accommodation. Only layers of bedding, electric blankets and heaters. Well we are from NQ.

      

We visited as many galleries as we could find in Tas and managed to see some of the Glover paintings in Hobart State Gallery.  A lot of boutique galleries around Salamanca Place in Hobart with especially beautiful glass objects.  The Henry Jones Art Hotel showed graduating student work as well as it is close to the University Art School as well as established artists.  They have an art tour and a glass of wine or two on Fridays for visitors and guests and you can also see the old and new architecture coalesced in the hotel as it was previously an IXL Jam Factory along with a few photos and movies of its former days.

Stopped off in Brisbane on our way home and caught up with our beautiful grand angels Lilly and Jack for a few hours at the gallery where we all went to the APT at GOMA.  Some exciting art and definitely very different.  I especially liked the taxidermied elk with glass beads, the Funky Buddhas and unplayable guitars.  The Hat Show was on too - Hats: An anthology by Stephen Jones.  The amazing creations were a delight to behold.  All three rooms of them and a must see for hat lovers.

 

   

 

Back in Townsville and thanks to my dear friend Judy Robertson for holding the fort for me.  It was so good to have a break away and especially to visit Tasmania where we have wanted to go for so long.  However, the Townsville Mall is now a demolition site so shoppers in the CBD are in short supply and all of the traders are feeling pretty miserable about the whole state of affairs. Not much we can do about it but it is a conversation point and hope that it will be all right when its finished and soon. The Council fathers in their wisdom decided to cut out the two hours free parking just when there is barely any shops left to shop in. So now we have plenty of vacant parking spots but not many exciting shops left, except mine that is.

Well that’s all from me. Drop into the gallery and have a peep at the new work. You might even want to get your ‘plastic’ out and see if it still works, after so long in the shadows, to ‘invest’ in art. All made in NQ.

Bye for now.
Yours in art
Sylvia Ditchburn

 

If you would like to be on Sylvia's Artlover's email list to recieve an update of her forthcoming exhibitions please contact me with your email address.  You may withdraw from the list at any time by contacting me by reply email "unsubscribe Art Lovers".

Visit Sylvia and see more of her work at her Gallery:

Sylvia Ditchburn Fine Art Gallery
Shop 7 Metro Quays
86 Ogden St
Townsville 4810
ph 07 4724 3953
mob 0419 790 245
a/hrs 07 4721 2602

 

 

HOME     GALLERIES       ARTISTS     NEWS      ABOUT ME      CONTACT      LINKS     PURCHASE   PRIVACY