Rosemary is a Melbourne girl, born
and bred. She spent a short spell of 18 months in Darwin, until evacuated
as a ‘refugee’ after
Cyclone Tracy in 1974, and she lived in NSW for ten years, but now
she has come full circle and is living again in the Ashburton house where
she grew up.
"I used
to have a pony at the bottom of the garden", she says wistfully, "but my
mother sold some of the property and now it is no longer big enough for
ponies." There is still a substantial garden left, though, and Rosemary is
a keen gardener.
 |
She also loves animals, and
currently shares her house with a cat, a dog and four budgies.
Horses and dogs are favourite subjects, and she drew them from an
early age. Indeed, her mother used to complain that she "always has
a pencil in her hand!"
|
Rosemary
was educated at Korowa in Glen Iris (at that time a Church of
England Girls' Grammar School, now called an Anglican Girls' School),
where she had to choose in Year 7 between taking Art or
Latin as a high school subject. She went with Latin, but soon
discovered that this was not for her, and cajoled her teachers to allow
her to switch to Art.
However,
the instruction she received at school was not really sufficient and in
1968 she started taking lessons in watercolour painting from
C.Dudley Wood
(1905-1980), the acclaimed Australian landscape artist. He was a
superb draughtsman himself and insisted that Rosemary should learn to draw
before she could paint.
In 1994,
she joined
Malvern
Artists’ Society and attended classes there, learning oils from
Lynette Shepard, watercolours from Sandra Harvie and Joan Richard. Here
she met fellow-artist Merran Berry, who introduced her to the Waverley
Arts Society. Rosemary joined the Untutored Portrait class in 2001.
 |
 |
She paints mainly in
watercolour, and her specialty is racehorses.
|
She
attends race meetings where she takes her own photographs of crucial or
dramatic moments in a particular race: photos from which she then creates
a painting in her studio. She points out that she doesn't allow herself a
lot of artistic licence in these works, as they fundamentally capture a
historic instant. If a bunch of horses on one side of the picture spoils
the composition somewhat, so be it: she paints the true depiction of the
moment.
Her painting of Rogan Josh,
the 1999 Melbourne Cup winner, was eagerly snapped up by the owner,
Wendy Green of Shark Bay. Indeed, Rosemary receives many commissions
from horse lovers.
|
 |
|
 |
A spider web in the garden
caught her eye, and gave rise to a painting heavy with a looming
sense of foreboding.
|
She is
not solely a realistic painter, however: sometimes she gives rein to her
emotions and likes to paint imaginative works in a freer, sometimes
abstract, fashion. The disciplined, accurate draughtsmanship gives way to
a looser style, with dramatic colours.
Rosemary
exhibited in a shared exhibition in 1998 and in 2002 she held her first
solo exhibition. She has since entered and sold works in many exhibitions
around Melbourne and environs. She was also a guest artist at the 2003
Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival and had racehorse paintings on display
in the Kyneton District Racing Club’s marquee during 2003 Kyneton Cup Day.
She has won several awards and prizes for her work, notably Best
Watercolour at MAS Selected Autumn Exhibition and Best Watercolour at
Roberts McCubbin Primary School.
She works at home in a well-appointed studio,
which gets plenty of natural light and where she has ample work
space as well as custom-built shelves and drawers to contain her
work. When she is working, she releases the budgies into the studio
to keep her company. "They can sometimes be a bit messy!" she
laughs.
Painting
is not the only outlet Rosemary has for her artistic talents: she is
currently working on a set of Redouté roses in petit point. So far she
has completed four: it is very fine work and she can only do it in
daylight. When does she find the time? "Oh, I take it along in the car
and do it when I have a few free minutes", she says.
Rosemary
does not have many free minutes: she previously did relief teaching in
primary schools, but when there were fewer calls on her
time, she took on work as a carer for MECWA, a non-profit community care
organisation. For the past three years she has acted as a carer to people
who need help around the home, with personal care, shopping, respite care
or household tasks.
In
addition to this, she also gives of her time two days per week at a day
centre in Chadstone, where she works with people who suffer from acquired
brain injury. This refers to brain damage that occurred after birth,
caused for example by physical injury or stroke. Rosemary helps with the
occupational therapy for these patients, taking them on outings and
organising activities. They respond very well to the painting sessions
that she holds for them.
What
about her family? Are her artistic talents inherited? - She doesn't know
about her grandmother: a woman with seven children, she didn't have time
to indulge in hobbies! One of her aunts was an exceptional watercolour
painter, wood carver and made plaster sculptures. Her mother did fine
needlework, crotchet and knitting. Rosemary's three children are musically and
artistically talented and are all involved in various arts, crafts and
musical endeavours.
|
 |
 |
|
Bren and Geronimo |
The Birds |
|
 |
Rosemary, Nicole, Tristan,
Bren,
Carey and Larissa.
Click HERE to read a bit more about
the family |
According to Henry David Thoreau
(1817 - 1862), "success usually comes to those who are too busy to be
looking for it. " By this dictum, Rosemary is well on her way to being
very successful indeed!
back to the top of the page
