Exhibition showcases the local landscape

GRAMPIANS artist Ros McArthur has brought 50 landscape, floral and contemporary paintings to Naracoorte for her exhibition entitled ‘Beneath Australian Skies’.

At the recent opening of her vibrant show at the Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery, Ros said she had been painting for about 40 years and described her art as the most exciting thing I do.

Living at Mirranatwa in the Victoria Valley, north of Dunkeld, Ros said she was totally surrounded by inspiration with colourful and powerful landscapes.

“There is so much to capture, it is my passion, my obsession,” she said.

Ros told the crowd at the opening she paints every day and sets aside two hours from 4pm to 6pm for her time to get lost in my own creations.

On the farm where she and her husband David live, Ros has her own studio and gallery surrounded by garden.

Visitors are welcome and many international visitors to the Grampians go home with one of her works.

“Painting for me is a joy and a necessity,” she said. “I love to create, share my work and push my art in challenging directions.”

In Naracoorte, Ros is showing landscapes inspired by her environment with dramatic skies and vistas.

Her floral studies are both traditional and large scale modern works to suit all tastes, while other contemporary abstract works are a new passion.

“I love painting contemporary images that perhaps belong in another world,” Ros said. “My imagination is on fire and I can’t stop myself.”

Visitors to the opening travelled from Melbourne, Hamilton, Mount Gambier and Penola as well as the gallery’s local supporters.

Local artist, Anne Emerson described the paintings as colourful and diverse.

“The landscapes capture the light and become more three dimensional when viewed from a distance,” she said.

‘Beneath Australian Skies’ can be seen at the Gallery – Wednesday to Friday 10am to 4pm and weekends 10am to 3pm.