Simon Hemsley

I appreciate the simplicity of water colour and try in my art works to keep the subject matter as uncomplicated as possible. Water colour is a wonderfully unpredictable medium which lends itself to surprising effects. In order to accentuate this, I allow spontaneous mixing of my pigments on the paper picking up pure fresh pigment with each brush stroke and do not blend paint on a palette. This preserves the crisp clean luminous hues of the watercolour medium.

I have transferred these techniques to oil painting and have resisted the temptation to use tried and trusted methods to apply pigment. Pigments are again mixed not on the palette but with paint applied directly to the canvas and a variety of techniques used to move it around. The results are, at times disappointing and need to be discarded. However, at other times the results can be unique.

Since moving to the East Kimberly based in Kununurra, I have spent time with some of the aboriginal artists in the area and am experimenting with different natural mediums including ochres and natural tree saps.  My paintings provide a glimpse of the impressions of the Kimberley from two different perspectives. I feel that the Kimberley has a male and female aspect to it.  Close up it is hard, overbearing and unforgiving with extremes of temperature and rain which can be fatal, however from a distance the colours are more muted with a feminine softness and roundness with very female shapes.

I also have a special interest in life drawing and have spent years drawing on a regular basis. Good drawing skills are fundamental to good art works. It is often the simplicity of the drawings, subject matter and paucity of line that is so appealing. If you can capture the essence of a mood or emotion with some simple lines, often no more is required.Using  life drawing sessions with models and then deliberately distorting these images I have attempted to portray this on paper and canvas.

I spend most of my time deciding what to leave out of my art works and hope you enjoy the end results.