Gwendolyn Stephens
What part of the process of creating art do you like best?
The excitement of the initial concept and the discoveries encountered pursuing it, whether by plan or accident, is the part of the creative process I like the best.
What is your working environment like?
My working environment is a studio attached to my home with a garden of trees, flowers, birds and the occasional wildlife. I have a large storage capacity for my canvases, in my garage.
What kind of (formal & informal) art training have you had?
Formal: Certificate of Art (CIT); Diploma of Art and Design (CIT); Diploma of Education (MSC); Post Graduate Diploma of Graphic Communication Education (HSC). Informal: Workshops, in pastel, oil, and water colour. Classes in modern painting.
How has your art training affected the kind of art you produce?
My art training developed my skills and my insight into the work of other artists both before and in my own time, to whom I may draw some parallel and guidance from for my own work.
Name some important influences and inspirations in your art career.
An early influence in my art career was being told, "A Gothic cathedral was a work of art, the creation of it belonged to the Gothic period, we must create art of our own time". French exhibitions influenced me.
What has been the most difficult thing you have encountered in your work?
I find a difficulty in that paintings do not progress consecutively I try to remember Donald Friend saying that he invited his friends around once a year for a barbecue and to burn all unsuccessful paintings.
Have there been major turning points in your art career?
Workshops with Jeffrey Makin was a major turning point in my art career, because I use nature as a starting point as he does, then I relate the forms and colours to my two dimensional canvas. Jeffrey gave me confidence.
What has been the highlight of your art career?
A highlight of my career was being chosen to have a solo exhibition for two months in the Casey Art Space.
Artist comment about “Moralana Creek”
Enjoying 'plein air' painting at different locations along the Moralana creek, the images which most overwhelmed me were the majestic river gums and the vivid colors of the gorges. I chose to transplant & exaggerate nature to accommodate my needs to paint on my two-dimensional canvas. Smooth statuesque trunks of the mighty gums, contrasting against an almost abstract tapestry of color. I could paint them again and again in pursuit of the ultimate.
Artist comment about “Inverloch”
To capture the dappled light on the wind-blown trees which partially shrouded the view of the inlet on a bleak day, I painted ‘plein air’ on the cliffs of Inverloch. In my painting, I exploited the snake like forms of the tortured trees with their chequered trunks to contrast against the frothy people less seascape beyond allowing me to have a variety of imagery to use as I pleased on my two-dimensional canvas.