David Kelly - Artist: Lisa is fascinated by the Outback art in this Adelaide Hills region gallery
An artist's studio tucked away in a secluded valley in Upper Sturt in the Adelaide Hills seems a long way from the stark rugged beauty of the South Australian Outback. But for David Kelly, there is a strong connection…
An aerial view of expansive Lake Eyre… becomes a deeply textured study of contours and landforms. The vast horizons and tortured mountains of Arkaroola are transformed into studies of colour and form.
David Kelly, Artist: "There's no right way (to do art). I think people quite often get a bit hung up on going to art classes and finding out how to oil paint, how to do things and follow the steps. Most of the time the best things come from ignoring the steps I find…"
Visit this former art teacher in his studio and you quickly learn that he threw away the rulebook long ago. David is fascinated by the effects time and the elements have on our surroundings. There's a definite lack of brush strokes in his work… and he purposely keeps things very fluid.
David: "I like to think I'm kind of mimicking what happens naturally because I'm using gravity now so things are moving naturally. And because it's so liquid you get lovely pooling and shapes that are natural. If I sat down and tried to paint this with a brush which I have many times and ended up so frustrated and I look at it and it's so contrived I just don't like it - it feels stiff and it hasn't worked."
After spending several years working throughout South East Asia David keeps coming back to the Australian landscape. The images he creates are incredibly lifelike… like his Eucalyptus series - inspired by a quintessential Aussie tree.
Then there was the period, almost 30 years ago, when David was working at places like Leigh Creek. The result is a piece simply called 'Parachilna' - a haunting outback scene that was well received at a special exhibition at the 2004 Olympic games in Greece.
David's paintings have always been available through Greenhill Galleries in North Adelaide but now you can experience his work first hand in his Upper Sturt studio. He's one of 8 artists in and around Stirling who are opening up their studios once a month to coincide with the popular nearby Stirling Markets.
The artists have formed Atelier - French for artist's studio. It's a new concept of opening up the creative process to the public.
David: "I think what the open studio scheme does is allow people to see inside, you can see behind the veneer of a painting - you're not just seeing a picture on a wall. If people want a picture on a wall they can go to a big department store and buy something that matches their couch. That's a different thing - what we are about is showing people what we do. But more importantly, how we get there, why we do it. This is our profession - this is what we're driven to - it's not a little hobby that keeps us happy on Sunday afternoons…"
All of the eight artists making up Atelier are within 10 to 20 minutes of Stirling. Pick up a brochure and map from the Stirling Markets in Druid Avenue on the fourth Sunday of each month between 10 and 4. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
'Atelier - Stirling Hills Artists'
Studios open 10am-4pm on fourth Sunday of each month.
Contact: 8339 4627Published 20th April 2008
