Hues to view at the Gatehouse

THE Gatehouse Cafe’s latest exhibition is offering a snapshot of Ballarat and surrounds.

Local artist Brian Lawrence is displaying 27 works which depict scenes around the city, as well as his birthplace of Scotland, until Sunday, 4 December.

He said the show, titled Come View my Hues, is all about highlighting what Ballarat has to offer.

“It’s predominantly Ballarat buildings, icons and the like. They’re really snippets or vignettes of Ballarat life,” he said.

“There’s some smaller cottages in there, a sketch of Town Hall and a couple fishing ones in there too like Lake Wendouree as a call back to my hometown.”

Lawrence was offered an exhibition space at the Gatehouse after showing the owner a watercolour sketch of the building.

The five paintings of Scotland were inspired by his hometown of Ayr on the country’s west coast.

A member of the Ballarat Society of Artists, Lawrence has lived in Ballarat for eight years following his migration to Australia more than 30 years ago.

He said he hopes the buildings featured in the works evoke a sense of place for the audience.

“It’s part of the reason I moved to Ballarat. I love history and I’ve travelled a lot, but Ballarat is a unique place,” he said.

“Architecturally it’s awesome because of the gold that was really invested into the buildings.

“There’s some really opulent buildings in this town and I don’t know if people here really appreciate what they’ve got.

“I do like buildings, so hopefully this evokes memories for other people. When I think of Ballarat, I think of the nice architecture first.”

The Gatehouse Cafe is based at the Ballarat New Cemetery on Norman Street.