'Wanderings' paintings by Kristen Lethem, Kirsten Hillard & Verity Roberts, 1st to 12th June

Kristen Lethem- Blue
acrylic, biro and ink on board (35 x 30 cm)

Kristen Lethem - Perisher III
acrylic, ink and pencil on board (71 x 66 cm)

Verity Roberts - Venizia IV
mixed media on canvas


Verity Roberts - Summer Skies over Venice
mixed media on canvas


Kirsten Hilliard - Ratdog Hill
oil, acrylic and ink (50 x 70 cm)

Kirsten Hilliard - Outlook 1
oil, acrylic and ink (40 x 40 cm)


Wanderings 1st-12th june 2010
Kristen Lethem worked as an illustrator in London for 14 years before returning to Sydney where she now lives and paints in Balmain. Kristen’s paintings are primarily inspired by the the landscapes in and around her family home in the Hunter Valley. ‘After so many years in the UK, I was struck by the harshness of light resulting in almost bleached flat colour, with very dark areas of contrast. Solitary gums casting strange shapes on bleached hillsides.’ Kristen was awarded the UNSW COFA prize at the 2009 Paddington Art Prize

Verity Roberts’ paintings reflect her passion for life. With a background in art direction and set decoration, she is an expert of beautiful detail. Observations of daily life and the interiors where much of it takes place are an intrinsic part of her painting. Each piece reflecting an intimate moment in time: a scent, a meal, a place, a memory. Many of Verity’s more recent works have focused on her passion of travel. For an exhibition at Breathing Colours last year, she created a series of ‘postcards’ from around the world. The pieces she has created for ‘Wanderings’ are a continuation of that body of work but this time she has cast a smaller net and is focusing simply on her love of Venice.
Kirsten Hilliard is a Glebe based artist with a background in Art Direction and Graphic Design. Her paintings are based upon the ordinary aspects of life, and often engage the viewer to feel a sense of nostalgia. Kirsten’s palette ranges from very minimal and whimsical to bold and moody, depending on the narrative of the painting. She draws or uses scraffito technique to create her images, often using many layers of paint over a textured base. This is what gives the paintings their translucent feel.

Current Exhibition 3˚ from 9 to 20 September 2009

Work by Rachel Wells, Verity Roberts and Maryanne Parry

Rachel Wells is a Sydney based mixed media artist who works predominantly with encaustic (wax) and oil mediums. Her processes involve etching into the surface of the wax and applying paint in layers upon it. Rachel’s current work focuses on the built environment. She is fascinated by European, American and Australian architecture and an (architect) father obsessed with taking photos of buildings.

Verity Roberts’ recent series of work is inspired by her passion for travel. These “postcards” are painted in mixed media and contain acrylics, ink, shellac, bitumen, graphite, oil pastels and acetates. Verity has also used encaustic (beeswax) which helps suggest the passage of time.
This series represents the artist’s interpretation and reflection on these landscapes which she has passed through and over – the delicacy and oftentimes brutality which is reflected therein.

MaryAnne Parry is inspired by a constant fascination with the world we live in. The variety of environments and cultures, the miracle of growth, and the opposing nobility and folly of humanity, never cease to amaze her. Both the landscape of Africa, where she was born, and Australia, where she now lives, are evident in the burnt and intense colour featured throughout many of her paintings.