Hearing the laughter of a kookaburra, spotting the Southern Cross in the night sky, seeing the earth curvature from Bondi Beach – these are just a few of the experiences that motivate local artist, Dottie Clark, to paint beautiful and inspired scenes from her many trips to the distinctive country of Australia.
Painting by Dottie Clark
My Australia
Clark has made four annual trips to Manly, Australia, a small beach town across the harbor from Sydney. On her first trip, she bought oil paints and arranged to paint with a local artist in her studio and continued to do so for the next two trips. During her stay this past March and April, she set up in an art school within walking distance from her daughter’s house, where she was staying, and painted when classes were not in session.
The event that sparked Clark's first visit down under was when her youngest daughter, Leslie, her Australia native husband, Sinclair, and their two boys moved from London to Manly. Additional journeys halfway around the globe were made when Dottie’s youngest grandson, now 2 years old, and then new granddaughter, 5 months, were born.
“What inspires me when I am in Australia are the new colors and different shades of light. The flora and fauna is similar to that on Saint Simons but on a much larger scale and the abundance of water is amazing. The animal life is very distinctive.” Clark also says that the contemporary abstract prevalence in Australia has crossed over to her art experiences here in Georgia.
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Painting by Dottie Clark
Watching You
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Painting by Dottie Clark
Aussie Mail
During October and November, Palm Coast Coffee Café and Pub in the Pier Village will be showcasing an accumulation of Clark’s work in Australia from previous trips and her paintings from St. Simons. From October 12th to November 23rd, ArtTrends Gallery on Frederica Road will be displaying new works from her most recent trip, which feature a more abstract influence.
Dottie began her painting adventure late in life. In her early years, the Chicago native left home to attend Purdue University and moved to St. Simons Island shortly after graduation. “The island has been my home where I raised my family and pursued a career in Interior Design for over forty years. It was only after my three daughters left home that I pursued my interest in oil painting. It was love at first brush stroke.”
Since her start in 2002, Clark has studied under renowned local artists Barbara Mueller, Dr. Ken Wallin, and Martha Carpenter. She has also taken workshops in France, Italy, and Ireland. Clark’s island inspired work often portrays wildlife (her turtles are quite popular), genre portraits of people engaging in fun activities such as playing on the beach, local architecture, and landscapes of the marsh and other regional vistas. “I paint these subjects and scenes because I like to engage the viewer to feel the joy and mystery of what surrounds me on a daily basis. The details are less important than the projection of awe and wonder of the emotional reaction to what we see.”
Clark has been so lucky to be able to travel places that most tourists do not get to visit in a lifetime. Thanks to her son-in-law, who loves to show off his country, she has taken multiple trips to the Blue Mountains and wine country west of Sydney; visited the capitol, Canberra; spent four days in Jervis Bay on a private beach surrounded by an abundance of kangaroos. She has also taken a 2,000 kilometer trip to the South Sea, during which she and her family stopped at gold mining towns and spent four days on a sheep farm. But, her favorite experience by far took place during her last trip. It was a “girls weekend” with her daughter and three week old granddaughter to the cultural city of Melbourne.
Painting by Dottie Clark
Bound for South Australia
Clark has enjoyed her travels and what it brings to her artistic life. She says, “‘To paint is to live in the moment.’ This quote from Mervyn Levy from Painting for All sums up my feelings about my quest into the painting world. ‘To take up painting, no matter the age, or point in one’s life, is to have entered into a new, and deeper awareness of the whole meaning of existence, to have tasted spiritual refreshment, and to have found the perfect form of creative relaxation.’”
Take your own walkabout this month to stop by Palm Coast Coffee or ArtTrends to see more of Dottie’s work.
