PROFILE Janet Dawson 091

the same landscape but the shift in scale and proportion and the turnabout of familiar landmarks caused queries in my mind. At they are conical peaks poking above the village trees and houses, so they have a strong immediate presence. mind. The move from bush to village was only about 5km so I inhabit your first since you moved from your rural property ‘Scribble great long flanks topping undulating foothills. Here in the village How has this move from bush to village affected your work? Rock’ to a small cottage in the nearby village of Binalong in NSW. Rock’ to a small cottage in the nearby village of Binalong in NSW. Resonance, scale and proportion are three words which come to Janet, your current solo exhibition at Stella Downer Fine Art is ‘Scribble Rock’ the two hills that dominated our western skyline were CHRISTINE FRANCE STORY Janet Dawson Janet Dawson’s deep interest in the multiple meanings and systems which existJanet Dawson’s deep interest in the multiple meanings and systems which These in the visual world has led her to work with both abstract and figurative art. lyricalunite in her consummate skills as a painter and draftsperson to combine the sources of her art with her exploration of space and objective investigation. from the age of 16, where she won the 1956 National Gallery of printmaking. In 1974 she moved to rural New South Wales and began printmaking. In 1974 she moved to rural New South Wales to abstraction and on her return to became one of this through direct observation and the process of painting. After 40 years this meant for her work. nearby village of Binalong, and I was interested to see what changes and 20s and attended the National Gallery of Victoria Art School and 20s and attended the National Gallery of Victoria an intense study of structures and systems in nature and perception which she carried through to work on the specificities of objects on a rural property, Dawson recently moved to a small cottage in the Dawson recently moved to on a rural property, country’s major contemporary artists and a pivotal force in Australian major contemporary artists and a pivotal country’s Victoria Travelling Art Scholarship. In London she became receptive Art Scholarship. In London Travelling Victoria was a precocious artistic talent in her early teens JANET DAWSON 01 090 PROFILE Janet Dawson 093 04 05 05 In the 60s I accepted flat In the 60s I accepted but then I got painting, I wanted with it. bored depth and optical movement peeling from trees had a resonance which related to the visual referenced the composition of works you had studied in London’s referenced the composition of works you had studied in London’s that your experience of well-known landforms from other viewpoints painting, but then I got bored with it. I wanted depth and optical for the recall and adjustment processes, as quite often my eyes see for for the recall and adjustment processes, as quite tree in another way. instance a tree but my memory presents the proximity to small buildings. surrounding light, air, rocks and vegetation enriches the immediate surrounding light, air, some standing as street trees. In the bush these great trees are often some standing as street trees. In the bush these shifts and changes particularly with the great street trees in close would stimulate your enquiry into the way in which we see things and how they might alter from what we have previously known. My knowledge of the If I look at a hill it is not just what I see. know. vocabulary you were using in your non-objective work. movement. This can be achieved with pure colour, for instance movement. This can be achieved with pure colour, rear over low-level clusters of buildings, shops and yards. It is rear over low-level clusters of buildings, shops the 1960s you leading abstract painters in of this country’s against the hills, the open spaces and the undulating curves and swells against the hills, the open spaces and the undulating do that, I have to express what I accept the retinal image. I can’t on open ground, clear of the surrounding bushland. They are seen on open ground, clear of the surrounding bushland. seem gigantic as they of the terrain. By comparison the village trees is the word I use enjoyable now to explore all of this, and ‘resonance’ enormous old eucalypts, some isolated in small domestic paddocks, enormous old eucalypts, some isolated in small Some artists have a courageous acceptance of how things look and visual impression. National Gallery, such as Paolo Uccello’s ‘St George and the such as Paolo Uccello’s National Gallery, Dragon’ (1964). Later when you moved to the country the bark Resonance has always been a starting point for your work. As one The process of perception has always interested you, and I can see It is the same with the trees in the village. Here there are many It is the same with the trees in the village. Here The study drawings I am currently making are concerned with these Yes, these things were often a starting point. In the 60s I accepted flat Yes, 03 02 At ‘Scribble Rock’ the two hills that dominated our western skyline our western dominated hills that the two ‘Scribble Rock’ At in the Here foothills. topping undulating long flanks great were and houses the trees peaks poking conical village they are above 092 putting red next to green. The red moves forward while the green recedes. Linking this knowledge to objects people know makes a work more emotionally and visually interesting.

Over the years you have worked in a variety of studio spaces but at Scribble Rock you did a lot of preliminary work en plein air before finishing it in a purpose-built tin shed studio. In town your work space is much smaller which I suspect will limit the size and content of your work. My work slowed as I resettled. This cottage has a beautiful light throughout. Its warm, white interior spaces mean I have been able to check over older drawings and rework them to a higher level of energy and precision. There is a room ideal for painting. It’s small, but with two large windows which sunlight never reaches and the reflected light from outside is magnificent. I am looking forward to working small, with pen and wash studies, which will be good for my concentration. The pride of the cottage is a raised porch overlooking the quiet street. I have a work table with a small easel out there and have started a series of drawings from that position.

As I have mentioned before I have been very interested in the great eucalypts around the village especially in terms of proportion and emotional content. I have photographed these trees in detail, printed them out in sepia on paper as working images, and am about to start 06 some drawings which I hope will lead to some grand paintings in the future. The advantage of this subject is that my models are nearby and I can visit them every day as I walk my dog Bosco.

Other still-life painters are very particular about arranging their compositions. Your works never seem posed, they appear to be painted just as you find them. Your still-lifes of plants and animals are accurately depicted, yet they have a quality which draws the viewer into a deep but not sentimental empathy with the subject. The historian Michael Fried in his book on the artist Adolf Menzel talks about embodiment. One definition of embodiment is “to invest a 094 spiritual entity with a bodily form”. When I paint plants and animals I am aware not only of the beauty of the object or creature, but of its singularity as a living or once-living thing. If that has resonance for the viewer I am pleased.

You are a great colourist. Your work is painterly and you seem to achieve volume through subtly graded colours as you integrate your subjects into their environment. Do you think your initial training as a tonal realist has helped you achieve this? Yes, I studied at the National Gallery Art School, , under William Dargie. Today when I look at Dargie’s work every 07 brushstroke has a fresh presence. He taught me to mix, put it on and leave. I think this is very important to learn. A lot of painters today overwork their surfaces with poor results.

You have worked with both figuration and abstraction; your work is now investigative and observational but as Deborah Edwards I am looking forward to has said you have enfolded abstraction into a vision that is centred on the specificities of objects, on states of the natural world and on working small, with pen and the process of painting. Yes, recently I have been doing a series of drawings focused on the wash studies, which will be roof of the house next door. I see a large, long, neat, slope of green- good for my concentration painted corrugated iron. The ridge is topped with two mushroom shaped, whirligig air vents.

Sunlight on this roof produces complexities of colour and tone on the corrugations and the silhouettes of the whirligigs concentrate the light and colour of the sky. It is rich in pictorial possibilities. It is there every day, always changing with the movement of the sun. So here I am sitting on my porch, looking at something ordinary, which is wonderful. I want to hold the past and re-fashion it to the present. 01 Cauliflower on a Plastic Bag, 1994-2013, charcoal conte pastel, 97 x 55cm 02 Mandarin Peel with Pips and Teabags, 2010, colour pencil and pastel, 29 x 38cm 03 Two Trees – late sun, 2014, watercolour, gouache and pastel, 18 x 32cm EXHIBITION 04 Apples and Stones, 2008, gouache and pastel, 17 x 25cm Janet Dawson 05 Pork Scraps in a Baking Dish, 1998-2015, oil on canvas, 51 x 64cm Until 29 August, 2015 06 Quinces and Glass Jar, 1999-2013, gouache and pastel, 18 x 26cm Stella Downer Fine Art 07 Sprouting Cabbage and Clouds, 1992-2015, oil on canvas, 51 x 61cm

www.stelladownerfineart.com.au Courtesy the artist and Stella Downer Fine Art, .