Painted pieces about presenting place

THE latest exhibition at Kilderkin Distillery is bringing the natural greenery of the region into the venue’s rustic interior.

Called Little Gums, the show launched on Saturday and is the latest collection by visual artist Rachel Turner.

A Smeaton resident, she said the inspiration for the collection’s 24 paintings came from her bushland surroundings.

“I’m a landscape generally, and most of the paintings were of the Hepburn Shire region where I live and some of Ballarat as well,” she said.

“I love all the native trees we have around here, hence the title Little Gums, and it’s also because I still feel like an emerging artist or a sapling myself.”

Since studying art at the Queensland University of Technology and at the University of Melbourne, Turner returned to the practice after during COVID lockdowns after taking a roughly-decade-long break from exhibiting.

The works were created using a blend of acrylics and oil, depicting landmarks like the Seven Hills, and Wombat State Forest.

Turner said she wants attendees to come away from her display with a greater appreciation of the nature around them.

“I want the audience to take a second look at where they are,” she said.

“I want them to think about their local environment in a different way, to consider going out for a walk and checking out some of the cool things in their area.

“Even to look at landscapes in a different way because mine aren’t strictly traditional so it gives people a different take on what landscape can be.”

Little Gums is on display until Monday 14 August.