Landscapes question, what is home?

WHEN artist Kerry Fletcher moved to the edge of the bush near Smythesdale, the focus of her painting practice shifted.

She started to paint landscape scenes in her studio, depicting different elements of nature she had committed to memory.

Years later, Fletcher is showcasing a collection of works called Air. Water. Farm. at the Old Butcher’s Shop Gallery, developed since 2020.

Visitors to the space can see a mix of larger and smaller paintings, some which have been inspired by locations including the western district of Victoria, the Yarrowee River, Black Hill, Smythesdale, and the Surf Coast.

“It takes a long time of looking before I know how the landscape speaks to me, what I want to say about it, and how I want to present it,” she said.

“I never thought I would be a landscape painter… but I’ve been blessed with a good visual memory, so hopefully I can keep that up.”

Fletcher said the exhibition is all about moving, and the question of, ‘what, where, or who is home?’

“Looking back, I probably have had a fairly nomadic life,” she said. “My dad did call me a gypsy at one point.

“I haven’t lived in vary many places for more than a few years, although I did stay in Smythesdale for 10, before I moved to the western district where a lot of the images in the show are from.

“Once I’ve been somewhere it kind of influences everything.”

Air. Water. Farm. is on until Sunday 29 October, and Fletcher said she hopes the “soft, subtle” pieces encourage others to appreciate the natural world, and to take care of it.

“I’m motivated to show people what we have, so we can keep it,” she said.

Fletcher graduated from what is now the Ballarat Arts Academy in 1991.