Margaret Edwards—Disappearing Landscapes
6 Jun 2024 – 17 Jun 2024
Official Opening: Saturday 8 June, 1pm to 4pm
Location: Cato Gallery
Overwhelmed by the spectacular grandeur and beauty of this mysterious and mystical little known land, I was equally appalled by the confrontation of highly visible impacts of climate change on this fragile and environmentally significant region of our ‘blue planet’. Renowned for its magnificent fjords, south eastern Greenland is an extremely difficult area to access with the only means of transport into towns like Tasiilaq being by either helicopter or boat.
Painting has been my private joy and I have never had any desire to exhibit any of my paintings. My practice has mainly consisted of botanical subjects and portraiture. However my trip to this magnificent region of Greenland affected me such that I felt inspired and motivated to complete a series on their Disappearing Landscapes.
The lockdown years of the COVID Pandemic provided the perfect opportunity to apply myself to this work and I am now delighted to exhibit this series of paintings in the Cato Gallery of the Victorian Artists Society.
After enjoying Art as my favourite subject at school under the brilliant tutelage of Miss D Burns, I eventually returned to my original love of painting. I have now been painting in Watercolour for fifteen years. Attending Julian Bruere’s enjoyable weekly Watercolour classes at the Victorian Artists Society for a decade provided a positive, inspirational foundation and education in the magic of Watercolour, a medium well known for having a ‘mind of its own’. I have also been fortunate to attend workshops with Ev Hales, President of the Watercolour Society of Victoria, Tony Smibert AM, David Taylor, John Orlando Birt and Jill Rietmeyer. Recently I have completed classes in oil painting technique with Swathi Madike at the Victorian Artists Society. I very much enjoy the continuous stimulation provided by being a member of both the Victorian Artists Society and the Watercolour Society of Victoria.
Banner Image: Iceberg departing Tasiilaq with visible roads, 2021 46 x 61cm Watercolour
The magnificent 50 metre high Thrym Glacier, Skjoldungen Fjord in South East Greenland, 2021 58 x 76cm Watercolour
Niviarsiaq, Greenland’s National flower (Chamerion latifolium) and Arctic Cotton Grass (Eriophorum Callitrax), 2022 30 x 41cm Waterclour
Retracting Galcier, Skjoldungen Fjord in South East Greenland, 2020 58 x 76cm Watercolour
Shrinking Glacier with Cryoconite, Skjoldungen Fjord in Greenland, 2020 57 x 76 cm Watercolour
Acknowledgment of traditional owners.
We would like to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our building stands, their leaders, past, present and emerging.