AUSTRALIAN COLOUR – Ann van der Zwaag

AUSTRALIAN COLOUR – 10 March to 24 April 2022

The idea driving the development of my paintings for this exhibition, Australian Colour, is mainly to notice and enjoy the energy that happens when landscape colours work together. It’s not so much about reproducing the natural colours but about how one colour reacts to the colour next door.

People often ask, “How do you know when a painting is finished?” Usually that is simply when I can say, “Well I like it.”

Finishing these paintings has involved the multi-layering of acrylic paints, the frequent revision of the paintings and the employment of many imagined colours. Also important, but secondary to the colour, are texture, perspective, light and composition.

Oil or water colour would also have achieved a satisfying result, but the relative opacity and fast-drying qualities of acrylics have given me the freedom to change paintings quickly and completely, often several times in one session.

My paintings are not intended to have a narrative or didactic purpose. Even when they have a narrative element the most important thing is that viewers own their own interpretation. My hope is that they will delight and intrigue the viewer, that they will be enjoyed on someone’s wall while re-engaging us with the many Australian places we already know and love.

Ann van der Zwaag