Historical works of art

Timeless: Local artist Kim Lowe has been painting her favourite sights around town as part of her new exhibition Close Brush with Bendigo Heritage. Photo: JULIE HOUGH

SOME of Bendigo’s most iconic sights have been captured by local painter Kim Lowe.

Now, her new exhibition Close Brush with Bendigo Heritage showcases the town’s history, while offering a unique perspective through her artistic expression.

The exhibition features six works, including the Poppet Head in Rosalind Park, Sun Loong, the Mining Exchange, the Post Office Building clock tower, Alexandra Fountain and the yarn-bombed 302 tram.

Lowe said the exhibition was the perfect way to challenge herself after a long hiatus from painting.

“I started painting again after about a 20-year break, just due to family and other work commitments, so I started doing watercolour because that’s what I’m passionate about,” she said.

“I did some online courses and tried acrylics, I hadn’t really done much in it and I saw an artist who I really loved her work and did a course with her.

“I needed to practice my acrylic skills so I thought I don’t want to just paint just for the sake of it, so I thought I’d do a small exhibition of six pieces and they’re all focused on Bendigo heritage.”

Lowe said her connection to Bendigo’s heritage having previously worked in the Beehive Building, inspired her works.

“I do have a love of Bendigo history, I’ve lived here most of my life and worked for a lot of local organisations within these buildings, such as Sandhurst Trustees,” she said.

“I just thought the type of painting I was doing I just wanted to give a different spin on the buildings.

“Most people paint them pretty traditionally, but I use bold colour so I wanted to give it a bit of a different slant and just show how they still mix in with our current culture and people, so heritage can still fit in well with today’s society.”

In between brush strokes, Lowe also runs her own marketing and design business, 2Inspire, which offer advice to businesses, runs community and school painting workshops and even takes pet portrait commissions.

She also hopes to launch a clink-and-create event series, for guests to practice painting while enjoying a glass of wine.

Check out Lowe’s work at Exhibit B at Bendigo Bank Central until 31 May.