New show for art group offshoot

MEMBERS of an all-female offshoot of the Ballarat Society of Artists are seeing their works on display for the first time as a collective.

The Ballarat Belles’ Golden Futures: A Macro View exhibition is showcasing more than 30 pieces at Art Space Ballarat, with works ranging from pastel to prints, oils, and watercolours.

Trudy Nicholson is one of the group’s 12 members and exhibitors and said the show is about examining our day-to-day surroundings under a closer lens.

“It’s life and what it has to offer more closely,” she said.

“Things like plants, animals, or objects, it’s about looking at them in a more detailed way so you can see the intricacy and beauty of things.

“It’s to look at things very creatively and differently. It was a good challenge for us and something different from the Ballarat Society of Artists.”

Inspired by the BSA men’s subgroup The Colourful Bunch, the Ballarat Belles was established last year as a rejuvenating creative outlet following COVID lockdowns.

As well as Nicholson, Sue Clarke, Jenny Clark, Denise Adams, Colleen Simmons, Christine Segaert, Lyn Cooke, Jane Reyne, Glad Toering, Shirley Gourlay, Cathryn O’Connor, Lynette Werts, and Joan Day will be exhibiting.

Each artist is displaying about two to three works and Nicholson said the show is different from a typical BSA show.

“The fact that we’ve narrowed the focus of the art, people are really needing to paint and create to the theme of what we’re trying to produce,” she said.

“It’s not like the mainstream landscape or portraiture. It’s a different focus and emphasis altogether than the Ballarat Society of Artists. It’s something a bit different.

“If the group wants to keep going, it’s a matter of how successful this exhibition is and weighing it up together.”

Golden Futures: A Macro View is on show until Thursday 14 January.