Cooktown School of Art Society Inc
Lou Derry
Lou's Web Site
Louise was born in 1962 in East Africa, where her parents lived for a number of years. She was later brought up in a small rural village in Staffordshire, England, surrounded by countryside, the farms, fields and woods providing a vast playground for any inquisitive child. She loved the outdoors and also developed a love of painting. After taking English and Art A levels at school in Stafford, she went on to study Art and Design at St John's College, York where she graduated with a BA (Hons) Degree. After several years working in signage, design and print she opted for a more adventurous lifestyle overseas.
She spent some years travelling through Europe, Australia and South East Asia, taking on various casual jobs in order to maintain her explorations of the globe and continue painting. Her passion and fascination for travel and foreign places still drives her today and continues to inspire her work.
She travelled back and forth to Australia for years, a country whose vast landscapes and spacious scenery never ceases to engage her imagination. She is currently living in Far North Queensland, where the wild rugged coastlines and landscapes of Cape York are tremendously inspirational for her.
Louise enjoys using mainly Pastel for her work. She finds the immediacy of the medium ideal to capture the ever changing quality of light and mood on the elements.
Her paintings describe wonderful, sometimes magical moments in time as the dramas of Mother Nature unfold, from raging moody storms to glowing hazy sunsets, from wild windy oceans, to calm tranquil waters. Her evocative images are imbued with mood and atmosphere enabling the viewer to feel the sense of actually being there. She has the ability to capture the very essence of a place, with clarity, passion and a special sense of magic and mystery.
Her scenes are usually always devoid of the presence of people or man made structures, reflecting the artists’ preference for the untamed wilds of Nature, where she herself feels most at home.
Louise has held 8 solo exhibitions and been part of many group shows. Her latest show, “Where there's Water” opened July 11, 2008 at Gallery 53, Cairns. Her work can be found in private collections in the United Kingdom, USA, Europe, Japan, Dubai, New Zealand and throughout Australia.
Where there's Water ~ 2008
The link between these works is simply water, whether in the form of rolling oceans, slow flowing rivers, mountain mists, shady streams or heavy storm clouds.
Water, our most vital resource and precious element. 70% of the earth's surface is covered by it, the human body consists of between 60-70% of it, and all known forms of life depend on it. Historically cvilizations have flourished around major waterways and many religions cosider it to be holy and a symbol of purification and ritual cleansing.
As humans we are drawn towards it for recreation and relaxation. We are enticed by water views and seek out waterside areas to spend our time, delighting in the calming and soothing effect on the soul and spirit.
This collection of paintings attempts to capture the eternal inspiration and aesthetic appeal of water in all it's moods, from brooding and tempestuous to calm and serene. As mere mortal beings we are compelled to return to it's shores and banks time and time again. We ponder and reflect upon it, letting our thoughts wander. Just as the meandering river returns to the ocean, finally returning to its very source, we too are inexplicably drawn.
Who can deny the appeal of water?
Artist's Comments on Previous Exhibitions
SENSE of PLACE ~ 2007
They say “every picture tells a story” and so indeed these works are my visual stories of places where I spend much of my time. Over the years, these are areas that I have become very familiar with, grown fond of, and become very attached to. Each place has meaning to me. Each place has it’s own feeling, unique atmosphere, it’s own magic and mystery.
Each place is special.
I endeavour to capture the magical moments in time of these special places. I hope to evoke the senses of the viewer to “feel” what they view, to be able to gauge the time of day, feel the heat of the sun, the rush of the wind, the smells in the air, to enter the painting and relive the light, colour and sensations of that particular moment of the scene before them.
In essence, to truly experience the very “Sense of Place”.
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibitions 2008:
Where there's Water
Gallery 53
53 Spence Street, Cairns QLD
July 11 - August 2, 2008
Solo Exhibitions 2007:
Sense of Place
Nature's PowerHouse
Cooktown, QLD
June 1 - July 1, 2007
Group Exhibitions 2007:
Cairns Art Society Annual Exhibition
Cairns Regional Gallery
Cairns, QLD
October 12 - November 25, 2007
Artists of The Far North
The Tanks
Flecker Botanic Gardens
Cairns QLD
October 26 - November 4, 2007
Solo Exhibitions 2006:
Chasing The Light II
Hidden Gallery
42 Macrossan Street, Port Douglas, QLD
Chasing The Light
Gallery 53
53 Spence Street, Cairns QLD
July 14 - August 11, 2006
Solo Exhibitions 2005:
Refections II
The Foyer Gallery
Atherton, QLD
October 1 - 28, 2005
Reflections
Nature's PowerHouse
Cooktown, QLD
July 10 - August 12, 2005
Group Exhibitions 2005:
Atrium Gallery
Pardise Palms
Cairns, QLD
May 7 - June 30, 2005
Solo Exhibitions 2004:
Spirit Of The Far North
Gallery 53
53 Spence Street, Cairns QLD
August 6 - 27, 2004
Lay of The Land II "Cooktown and Beyond"
Nature's PowerHouse
Cooktown, QLD
September 3 - October 4, 2004
Group Exhibitions 2004:
Cairns Affordable Art Fair
The Tanks
Flecker Botanic Gardens
Cairns QLD
October 29 - 31, 2004
Solo Exhibitions 2003:
Lay of The Land "Views Around Cooktown"
Nature's PowerHouse
Cooktown, QLD
Group Exhibitions 2003:
Elements
Hilton Hotel
Cairns, QLD
August 11 - November 11, 2003
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