Art, flowers and Paint Like Bill

artwork: North of here by Julia Flanagan; flowers from Elegant Blooms Flower Boutique

Having Gallery 139 next-door to Elegant Blooms Flower Boutique has meant that with each new exhibition, I look forward to buying a new vase of beautiful flowers to go with the exhibition and it certainly has been the case for this latest exhibition.  As you can see with the image above, the beautiful vibrant pink magnolia flowers contrast perfectly with the blue abstract painting by artist Julia Flanagan, making the choice of blooms an increasingly important part of each exhibition. 

I have particularly noticed this with the current exhibition, Paint Like Bill which runs until Saturday 3 October, the colours, shapes and textures that can be found in the flowers next door make it hard to resist popping in for a new branch of petals to brighten up my desk or a book shelf. The native waxy gum nuts in the image below right are another perfect example of how well the plants can complement the paintings in this show.  Pairing native flora with the works that are inspired by the art and life of the Australian artist, Sir William Dobell, to me makes perfect sense and I hope will add to the enjoyment of viewing the overall exhibition.  

Artworks in image below left from left to right are by Ashley Whamond, Deb Ansell, Val Watson and Libby Cusick. 

~ Ahn Wells