Anne Newman: Artist
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Anne Newman

Anne Newman: Artist

I have always liked painting and making things with my hands from a very early age. When I was very little my mother would take my brother and me to Rosalind Park in Bendigo to collect acorns, leaves, anything we could find to take home to make into little creatures and so forth. My father would call in at the Bendigo Pottery on the way home from work and bring us a bucket of clay to play with. We made our own Christmas trees from the branches of elm trees which lined our street. And we drew on and decorated the walls of our bedrooms and no one turned a hair!

When I first started painting I saw myself as a genre painter striving to follow the school of the C16th and C17th Flemish and Dutch artists who created paintings that dealt with unidealized scenes and subjects of everyday life.

Genre painting was popularised in the 1500s by Pieter Bruegel, the Elder and I like to think some of my paintings, such as Burbank Court Christmas Breakfast contain a tinge of Bruegel.

Left: The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel, the Elder Right: Burbank Court Christmas Breakfast by Anne Newman

Genre painting flourished in Holland in the C17th especially in the works of artists such as De Hooch, Vermeer and Holbein. Genre painters depict everyday people in typical scenes at home, at work, and at play.

In my genre paintings I endeavour to create a scene that invites the viewer to engage in the composition: often to take part in a journey or be part of a story. The emotional response I aim to evoke is usually one of humour or community and often I strive to "entertain" my audience. Sometimes a painting might invite the viewer to explore a scene that has been created from my memories of growing up in Central Victoria or from my constant observations of everyday life in urban or rural Australian communities.

Anne Newman L: Dockland Developments R: NIght Developments

I was born and raised in the gold mining city of Bendigo. My love of the countryside around this area and the early buildings, especially the miners cottages, inspire me to this day. The collage below shows some of my paintings which were "born" in this wonderful environment.

Collage of some of Anne Newman's paintings based on memories of living in Central Vcitoria, Australia

I also love recreating the wooden fence posts which adorn the Australian landscape and which offer a home to the amazing species of grasses which grow here. A painter's paradise!

Anne Newman L: The Fence Post R: Morning

I have roamed the Australian landscape since I could walk and many of my paintings arise from childhood memories wandering through the rural areas, forests and seaside areas of Victoria with my parents - having picnics, collecting wood, wild flowers, and yes - cow manure for my parents' garden!!!

Anne Newman L: Lavender, Fields the Storm R: Escarpment

And I openly admit to being in love with the Australian eucalpytus tree in all its species.

Anne Newman L: Wilcannia Bridge R: Paired

In contrast, one of my greatest loves is to explore back lanes - the world over and not just in Australia. Here you will find a wealth of ideas for future paintings.

The Morning News: Marmalade, Molly, Tom and Friends by Anne Newman

But my real love is to paint buildings especially ones with lots of red bricks, fading weatherboards or walls where the rendering is pealing away from the bricks and a litle mould or moss is growing in the cracks.

Anne Newman L: A Little Bit of Italy R: Les Toits de Paris
Whilst all of my paintings are inspired by the outside world I am not a plein air painter preferring to wallow in the comfort of my studio where I can take many minutes a day to stop painting and gaze out upon my garden and the wonderful world created by the best artist of all - Mother Nature.
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