Art for Nothing

By Paul Harris

I have just completed three weeks at the Jugglers Norman Park Studios and found it a very rewarding experience. I enjoyed working with the talented Mr Anthony l Walker and found the actual studio space quite pleasant and inspirational to create in. This is a unique opportunity and came at just the right time for me.

I primarily work in pastels and oils, usually doing figurative and portraiture painting. One of the oldest forms of art is the creation of lifelike images from coloured pigment and portraiture is a prominent means of doing this, it is a form of art I really enjoy. I find that the energy and scope of a good working studio is very important to the process.

Jugglers have been very generous in having this program available to the Arts community especially to some of the younger artists. The Norman Park location is conveniently close to the inner city. It is an older style Queensland home with large rooms and in a suburban setting. It has very good storage area where you can keep your equipment at hand. It is a great opportunity and people should take the opportunity by the horns and run with it. The experience will be more than rewarding for you and will give the artist a great deal of self worth and propel you to strive for better.

Personally I have found that the sense of space and the room I have, the natural light and the airiness gives me a feeling of creativity and calm as I work. In my home area I had only limited space and was at times not to my full potential. There were also other general home distractions.

My working process involves varied ideas that I just go on, using newspaper clippings and magazines pages filled with modern projections of beauty with much trepidation. But once I work through the angst and nothingness of the beginning process something further takes place or should I say takes over and the process becomes a self propelling pleasure. The painting starts to form and get a life of it’s own. This flows on until the work is completed.

Creative people such as artists thrive on many different things, love, energy or routine. Having a studio space for yourself feeds you and your strong passion, keeps you going in the right direction . Which triggers my artistic senses, helping me produce works that I am satisfied with as an Artist.

I would like to thank Mr Peter Breen and Jugglers for giving me the opportunity to work in a professional studio for the past three weeks. I hope to continue on and also that the relationship is a long and fruitful one. I also hope that many other Artists realize what a great benefit this is to emerging Artists and that they take advantage of the opportunities offered by Jugglers.