Peter Neish

I went to this late Saturday afternoon. The crowds had thinned out and it was easy to have a good look at all the art – and I mean a lot of art! Over 2000 works of art were on display. Given the large number of works, I was impressed by how well the they were displayed. Almost everything was well lit and there were only a few corners that felt a bit ‘out of the way’. Also, some of the smaller works suffered a bit from too much crowding.

I was impressed by the range of works. From the artist information, I felt that the organisers were after traditional works – everything had to be framed and definitely no abstracts. However, within these constraints there was everything from Fred Williams-like landscapes and impressionistic still-lifes through to more traditional oil and watercolour landscapes and portraits.

One thing I particularly liked were a number of large scale watercolours. The use of washes and wet-in-wet was very impressive and skillful. Getting up close to some of these pictures revealed a swirling interaction of colours and tones that was very engaging. Likewise, many of the “traditional” plein-air paintings are alive with crazy jabs of paint that make the painting sing with energy.

The organisers did a good job of arranging related pictures with groupings for portraits, botanical studies, birds and animals, and miniatures. The landscapes, streetscapes and still lifes (which made up the majority of the show) were scattered throughout.

With a large show like this, you are unlikely to have a really good look at very many paintings and I find its often first impressions that decide if a closer look is warranted. I’m sure there are many gems in there that I didn’t discover.