Travels inspire Orelia artist

She first picked up a paintbrush when she was just a child but, more than 50 years on, Orelia artist Diane Newton is still learning.

At Beyond the Picket Fence — her first major exhibition in more than 10 years — the award-winning painter will showcase more than 70 works, the culmination of almost 15 years of travelling the country’s length and width with her husband Alan.

“We just get into our motor-home whenever we can and head off,” she said.

“Wherever we pull up, I’ll know after a quick look around whether there is anything I’d like to paint — and we’d stay three or four days then.”

Newton said the majority of her paintings, which will go on show at Gary Holland Community Centre next Friday, were realistic impressions of things she had seen on her travels, but there were also some abstracts, miniatures and flowers.

She said all the pieces, which range in size and shape, were framed using picket fences, to accentuate the artist’s great love for her country.

“The collection comes from all over Australia — from the bushlands of Tassie, to Queensland to Broome and Karratha — it’s just been a wonderful experience meeting people and quietly painting all over the country,” Newton said.

A member of Rockingham Regional Arts and the Quiet Painters, the artist said there was plenty of artistic talent in the region. Visit Gary Holland Community Centre from September 7 to 21.