This bijou gallery is set in Weston Park, Yarralumla. It has a charming cafe attached with a range of cakes and proper lunches. The outdoor setting is delightful under the trees with the nearby 'English Gardens' providing outdoor colour at the right time of year (particularly when the rhododendrons are in bloom). The paintings and pottery provide indoor colour all year round.
When I called in, the exhibition featured three artists from Goulburn: Lesley Whitten, Marion Schumacher and Helen de Jonge. The theme was Feathers and Flotsam, and it is interesting to see that all the artists focus on a similar theme of birds, with different approaches to art. According to a Canberra Times article, "De Jonge loves Australian birds, Schumacher is a parrot fan and Whitten likes roosters." De Jonge is the artist of the wonderful watercolour kookaburra in the picture below, sitting pretty before the deep blue background.
Lesley Whitten said of the theme, "There are lots of paintings of birds, but the ‘flotsam’ tag also allowed us to exhibit other ideas.”
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| Three Pears from Ios by Lesley Whitten |
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| Quince Quins by Lesley Whitten |
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| Black-Headed Sheep by Lesley Whitten |
As well, the three often produce striking landscapes and seascapes, reflecting their love of the Australian environment. Marion Schumacher's scenic landscapes in oils and acrylics are particularly striking, and I also enjoyed the fun implicit in her painting Aquarium (second picture down).
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| Night Scene, Mittagong by Marion Schumacher |
It's a genuinely lovely little gallery, and I will definitely be back to see another exhibition (and eat some more cake).
