Angy Labiris - 'Miscellaneous'

Wednesday 8 - Sunday 26 November 2017

 

"As long as I can remember, people have claimed that I am able to draw. So from a very young age I have had a desire to paint pictures. So I drew and painted whenever I had the time. As I got older I took up art in high school. I went on to university and studied Art History. As the course didn’t include practical work, I attended life drawing classes at RMIT. After completing an Arts degree, to be able to earn a living, I went on to become a librarian and spent many years in the public library system. I continued to paint with acrylics on canvas, board and on any other surfaces. I had an exhibition in the nineties in a gallery on Bridge Road, Richmond.

After being made redundant due to Jeff Kennett’s (God bless him, even though I didn’t and wouldn’t vote for him) policies, I became a businessman. Being very busy and also discouraged by the art world, I did very little painting for many years. 

After selling my businesses, I returned to painting and have held several exhibitions.

As you might conclude, I am basically self-taught. My Art History background has given me a love of painting, the works of the old masters and their subject matter. As you can see, my subject matter in this exhibition consists of landscapes, still life and the human figure.

I paint mainly on board as well as on canvas. I have also transitioned to oils as I felt that acrylic had shortcomings. When I changed medium, I realised that oil paint was too slippery and took much longer to dry. To create a rich, textured surface I developed an impasto technique using predominately sticks the palette knife to apply the paint and to a lesser degree the brush. I believe that the painter has to create a “successful” picture – by any means.

I have always loved landscape especially when the illusion is created of being able to enter and explore it. I like the adventure of entering an inviting, happy, mysterious or sinister world. I am also fascinated by the ambiguous and abstract forms found in nature. I hope my landscapes give the viewer an opportunity to enter into their fantasy world."