Art in profile

PAINTING TITLE: Birthday Creek Falls, Paluma (North Queensland)
MEDIUM: Oil
DIMENSIONS: 1200mm x 900mm
SUPPORT USED: Canvas
COLOURS USED: Sapphire, Cobalt & Prussian blues. Cadmium yellow, titanium white, Indian red, oxide of chromium, alizarin crimson.
BRUSHES OR TOOLS USED: Combination of sizes of filberts and flat edge brushes. Palette knife and fine liner brushes.

Vonnie Van Bemmel’s “Birthday Creek Falls, Paluma” won the 2003 BHP Cannington Award for a Landscape at the prestigious Townsville’s Art Society Annual Art Awards. It now hangs in the Townsville CBD offices of BHP Billiton.

Judge Bruce Anderson, one of the panel of four and retired senior lecturer in Fine Arts at the University of South Australia, visiting honorary lecturer at James Cook University and artist described her painting in a Townsville newspaper, The Rock Reporter (June 2003) as “The best painting in show. It is a very good painting, a very strong painting. It has a realistic, photographic quality. It is a very competent work. I think it was the most exciting and adventurous work in the show”

Vonnie talks to Sue Mackay about her Award winning painting.

“What is it about this painting that you would like us to appreciate?”

“The subject has a lovely balance achieved by the curved shape on the left of the scene within the dark colours of the rainforest, through the water to the right hand shore. I especially love the feeling of the water’s flow and the perception of height.

“The first thing that seems to strike viewers is whether the water is moving or the clouds? And although the water is flowing over the edge of the waterfall you must still use your imagination because I haven’t revealed its journey.

“This painting keeps you interested in an adventurous way – your eye is drawn to the centre, almost like a tunnel vision. The outer part appears to have less detail or is out of focus, which is more photographic in a way.

What were your main challenges in painting the picture?

“Firstly, through my paintings, people have access to the beautiful, unspoilt environments that inspire me so it’s important to place everything in the right position for the viewer.

“I aim to capture the light and feel of a certain place whether high in the hills or down at the beach so I have to consider the time of day, direction and the location.

“I often have to race against time and nature so I did a smaller version on location first to capture that realistic play of colour and light in a natural setting.

“What was your Design Plan?”

“I looked for balance and the waterfall drop is a very important element in this work. Creating its height was challenging as was the movement of the water flowing away instead of toward you.”

“The middle strip of the painting with the pool of water and the accidental ying-yang effect of the curve in the foreground reveals a lot about this painting. This is where the scene comes together.

“I used the reds, yellows and blues in a complimentary and refreshing way in the water and the sky. I like my direct and free brushstrokes in the clouds; it’s inspiring to be able to do that when painting the elements in a landscape.”

“Would you nominate a particular area or passage in the painting that you would like emphasised in detail and say what is so special about this area?

“Within the vortex of the canvas there is quite a bit of information as the water takes on speed and depth. I also feel that I have created the proper perspective of the waterfall’s height and the mountains in the background.

“The viewer is placed in the right position to truly appreciate the view and from this central point, the scene bleeds to the outside to give a loose and impressionistic look. My brush strokes are very direct so that the piece is not overworked. The landscape has been depicted as it looks in real life.

“I’m pleased that it won such a great competition and that the new owner appreciates it for its special qualities. You can look at a painting like this for a long time.”