WILLS DOMAIN EXHIBITION SPACE
THE MOVE TO BROOME
UPCOMING EXHIBITION AT KINGFISHER GALLERY
SHORT COURSES
Kimberley Art Prize
Douglas Kirsop at Cable Beach Resort
PAINTING IN THE PILBARA
The abandoned Nimingara Homestead on Yarrie Station was our home in late July for ten days of drawing and painting in the stunning Pilbara landscape, with on-site meals provided by our own cook, Adam Lane, of Mealup-Everyday Gourmet in Dunsborough!
This was camping and working in remote locations.
Spinnifex plains, rocky hills, the De Grey river, station buildings and stockyards - a multitude of changing subjects, colours and challenges.
A great deal of work was done and a good time was had by all.
Thanks to the Coppin family of Yarrie for putting up with us (again)!
WILLS DOMAIN EXHIBITION SPACE
Wills Domain is one of the top producers of premium wines in the South-West of WA, and in one of the most attractive locations, with a great restaurant.
Recently they have undertaken a major expansion, increasing the restaurant to 200 seats, and building a 300 square meter gallery space.
I am very pleased to have been invited to exhibit there with leading Weast Australian artists.
I highly reccomend a visit to browse the art, try the wines and enjoy a meal and the views.
# 496 Yallingup Oil on Canvas 600 x 900
THE MOVE TO BROOME
I have been painting in the Kimberley for more than 20 years and bringing groups here each year to paint at locations along the Gibb River Road. Finally I have made the move to live in Broome!
The studio is set up and I am just getting started on my next body of work.
Kimberley TAFE has offered me the opportunity to teach painting and drawing. This is an exciting new opportunity and a chance to further develop the range of classes I ran from my studio in Quindalup.
UPCOMING EXHIBITION AT KINGFISHER GALLERY
On July 20th Jan Miller is again showcasing my work at Kingfisher Gallery in West Perth.
Remarkably for me, 32 paintings are completed, dry, documented, and already at the framers!
This new work develops two themes:
Imposing the Grid and The Map is not the Territory.
Imposing the Grid is a continuing exploration of the Victorian obsession to document and 'civilise' those parts of the Empire that they deemed to be 'wilderness'. I have chosen the Kimberley as an exemplar and superimposed the symbols and conventions of cartography onto land form studies. I completed my first works in this series in 1992 and these concepts continue to intrigue me and form a central theme in my art practice.
The Map is not the Territory is a part quote from Alfred Korzybski, the father of general semantics. Korzybski stated, "A map is not the territory it represents, but if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness". His contention was that an abstraction derived from something, or a reaction to it, is not the thing itself.
Korzybski was speaking philosophically, but I have been thinking of real maps.
I was very struck by this when I was at Yarrie Station, where a lot of this work was done. I had some very detailed maps of the area with me, and created some of these works while exploring the disconnect between the printed information and the reality on the ground.
In exploring this theme I am refining my longstanding fascination with the Victorian concepts of cataloguing and recording every aspect of the natural world.
If you are interested in viewing the complete exhibition or considering a purchase, all the paintings will be displayed on the Kingfisher web site (www.kingfishergallery.com.au next week. Jan or Annie will be very happy to assist you.
SHORT COURSES
'ESSENTIALS' COURSES
These are the courses I have conducted from my studio over the previous two years.They have proved to be very popular, and we have had some great results.I am planning to re-commence these courses and some week-end workshops in Broome in the next few weeks.
All courses are usually six weeks. For details of current and future courses, please call me on 0417 921899, or email williamo@iinet.net.au
Bookings essential 
Blokes and Bloke Art!
Kimberley Art Prize
I just completed my entries for the Kimberley Art Prize in Derby. I have never entered before, but it is claimed to be the longest Art prize in WA (more than 40 years). The opening bash is on the 9th of July.
We shall see
Douglas Kirsop at Cable Beach Resort
Doug Kirsop is Artist in Residence at Cable Beach Resort until Sunday 3rd July.
If you are in Broome, I encourage you to visit Douglas and view his work, both watercolours and oils.
He is working out on the Boardwalk
Cable Beach Resort is to be congratulated for their Residency programme which has been running for more than 20 years.
