New Farm

Maria’s Garden, Back of House

| janegrealy

Finalist, Lyn McCrae Memorial Drawing Prize, Noosa Regional Gallery 2018

maria's garden, back of house a4 copy

Maria and her husband constructed rooms under the house, the chook shed, an outside oven and climbing frames for the beans and other vegetables. Water was diverted from the roof into garbage bins and Maria uses a saucepan tied to a broom handle to distribute water to the plants. Surrounded by new development, Maria’s house and garden are unlikely  to survive the increasing pressure for higher density living.

Charcoal, pastel on Arches paper, 67 x 108cm

Maria’s Garden, Clothes Line

| janegrealy

Finalist, Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2018

maria's garden - clothes line final a4sm

It is at the clothesline that Maria’s garden combines practicality and decoration in an uniquely Australian way. The Hill’s Hoist is ringed by geraniums and mown grass, with an outer ring of pot plants and flowers, all grown from ‘cuts’.

Pastel, charcoal on Arches paper, 75 x 109 cm

Maria’s Garden, Summer Harvest

| janegrealy

Kedumba Drawing Award, 2017

Orange Regional Gallery (acquired)

maria's garden - summer harvest - a4

This is the sixth drawing of Maria’s garden. The beans cover every frame and trellis. The space is closed in, a vigorous green wonderland, that left unchecked, could take over the house.

Pastel, charcoal on Arches paper, 56 x 90cm

Maria’s Garden, Shed

| janegrealy

Winner,  Drawing from Nature

ArchiGraphicsArts Competition of Architectural Drawings, Moscow, 2017

maria's garden, shed-a4

I felt it was very important to show the detail, because much of Maria’s philosophy “waste not, want not” is in those details.  Maria has worked hard all her life since she arrived here at 14 years of age from a war torn Italy where she and her family often did not have enough to eat. Through her hard work and thrift, her garden has supplied her family with food.  Nothing is ever wasted. The structural materials that make up her climbing frames, sheds and tools have been recycled from elsewhere. Plants come from cuttings and seeds she has saved. Water is collected from the roof, directed into rubbish bins and ladled out with a saucepan tied to a broomstick.

Charcoal, pastel on Arches paper, 45 x 72cm

Boarding House, New Farm

| janegrealy

Finalist, Elaine Birmingham National Watercolour Prize 2017

grealy_jane_boarding house

I am interested in the remnant spaces and landscape between and behind buildings, and buildings that are unassuming, which may not even register with passers by. Are these places used and familiar to people or are they unnoticed, even abandoned? On a pre dawn walk I saw this boarding house – the windows lit like jewels. 

Watercolour 46 x 92cm

Maria’s Garden, Path

| janegrealy

Stanthorpe Art Prize

Two of my works, “Maria’s Garden, Path” and “Moonlight Trampoline” have been selected as finalists for this year’s Stanthorpe Art Prize. With $33,000 in awards, more than 1400 images were submitted from 507 artists from Australia and overseas. This exhibition is the highlight of the Stanthorpe Art Festival  which runs from 3rd June to 17th July.

Maria's Garden,Path 1200

The second in this series, “Maria’s Garden, Path” is of my neighbour’s garden, with its history of Maria’s long marriage and Italian post war migration.