HDG-ARTIST PROFILES
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SANDI ABERNETHY
Sandi was born in Dorset UK, in 1958. She studied Graphic Design at Bournemouth College of Art, then worked in studios and advertising agencies in London. Here she met her Australian husband and moved to Brisbane in 1986 and ran a successful design studio in Paddington before family life became a priority. Having always loved to paint, draw and create, Sandi studied painting in oils and then sculpture with local artists including David Paulson, Madonna Staunton and Frank Lambert, and joined the Half Dozen Group of Artists in 1993. Inspired by it's many talented members she now exhibits with the group and at local galleries and art shows. Sandi enjoys painting portraits and the figure in oils, focusing on the gesture of the pose and the subtle colours and tones of her subject. She has won several art prizes, including the inaugural Courier Mail portraiture prize. |
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WENDY ALLEN
Wendy's career has been mainly in teaching, publishing and painting. Trained at the Brisbane Central Technical College and with Jon Molvig and Andrew Sibley, she has taught at every level from pre-schoolers to University and free-lanced throughout Queensland, lecturing in NZ and throughout the USA. She was painting tutor for the Qld Arts Council and the Australian Flying Arts School, and inaugurated the Qld Aesthetics Forum dealing with politicians on Town planning issues. In 1994 she was Australian delegate for the Eisenhower Ambassador Exchange Program in the Middle East and is listed in the Who's Who of Australian Women for services to art education. She has published three Art books, one being reprinted twice and still being used for University studies since first printed in 1989. The large artworks right, are from one of the 2009 exhibitions based on King Island, Moreton Bay. |
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GLENISE CLELLAND
Glenise has over 40 years of exhibiting at major galleries and selling paintings in Australia and overseas. She studied at the Brisbane College of Art-now Queensland University of Technology. Her career as a Fashion Designer of Bridal Gowns and Haute Couture culminated in her winning Queensland Designer of the Year. Her diverse expressive paintings include landscapes of Northern Australia, the Pacific Islands and inspired by 23years of living on the edge of the Noosa River at Noosa North Shore, plus many figurative images. Her vibrant contemporary paintings express her passionate love of strong colour, texture and dynamic forms. Glenise has won numerous prizes, such as the Ian Fairweather Memorial Prize & Sunshine Coast Drawing Prize. She has had over 15 solo exhibitions. She has been a finalist in prestigious National art awards like Tattersall’s Landscape Prize (4 times), Noosa Regional Gallery Prize, Pine Rivers Award, Celebrate Queensland Award, Flying Arts Award, Stanthorpe Award, Lethbridge Art Award and APQ selected exhibitions at Waterfront Place. Recently Glenise has won 3 awards at RQAS exhibitions. Her painting from the Aboriginal University of Australia Collaboration is now one of the panels in the Noosa Hospital Mural. Her paintings were selected for the Florence Biennale Exhibition in Italy. Her paintings are keenly sought and are represented in Government, Corporate and private collections in 15 countries and across Australia. Visit her youtube Channel to see more of her Australian landscape, figurative, Noosa & Pacific Art. Member of Queensland Art Society since 1980’s. Glenise has had 6 art books published showcasing her colourful landscapes & figurative art - available from her website. Bluethumb.com.au artloversaustralia.com.au saatchiart.com |
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MARGARET COLLIER
Margaret Collier is a Brisbane based visual artist. She was born in Dublin, Ireland. She graduated from University College Dublin and did a post graduate at Trinity College Dublin. She has lived in Europe and Canada where she has seen original works by artists such as Rembrandt, da Vinci, Van Gogh, Rubens and those of the German Neue Pinakothek, all of which have had their influences on her work. While living in Adelaide, Margaret studied at The Adelaide Central School of Art and taught watercolour from her home. Margaret’s main preoccupation in her work is colour and light. She will often begin a painting with an image – real or imagined, that has inspired her, but is flexible in her decision making, allowing the “Spirit Within” to develop the work. She has exhibited in The Adelaide Fringe in 2007, Central Studio Gallery, SALA Open Studios (Wakefield’s Studio), the Florey Medical Exhibitions and at The Hughes Gallery, Fullerton. Margaret has done a number of private commissions and one public commission, for the Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide. The Adelaide Hills Group “Bright Red Palette” was founded by Margaret along with three other hills artists. |
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KATHLEEN DEMPSEY
Kathleen was born in Bendigo, Victoria, in 1935 and later relocated to Melbourne, where she worked as a telephone operator. After moving to Brisbane, Kath's passion for creativity saw her making bark pictures. She then studied art at Kelvin Grove and graduated in 1983 with an Associate Diploma in Art. She went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts in 1988 at the Queensland College of Art, followed by an Advanced Diploma in Ceramics. Over her career, Kath has developed her skills in a wide range of different art forms, and now combines Printmaking and Painting in her artworks. Her works predominantly feature man-made architectural structures including cityscapes, bridges, railways, churches and street scenes. Kath has successfully exhibited paintings, ceramics and prints in many Solo and Group exhibitions. She was recently a finalist in the Brisbane Institute of Art's Milburn Art Award. |
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TREVOR DOWNES
I have worked full time in the advertising industry for over 50 years ... from message boy to operating my own studio employing fifteen artists. The majority of my work as a graphic artist was design and finished artwork for brochures, catalogues, packaging and press advertising. I have been fortunate to have worked in studios in Australia, Canada, U.S.A., England and Germany. I attended my first life class drawing session at the St. Mary’s "STUDIO" in 1958 as an eighteen year old and I am still enjoying life drawing fifty four years later. I am a founding member and a life member of the Brisbane Art Directors Club which was started in 1974 and is still alive and well. My son and daughter own and run the business I started. I am now free to draw and paint to my heart's content. After all these years, nothing excites me more than a blank piece of paper or canvas AND the time to draw and paint. |
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CHRISTINE GROH I am a member of The Half Dozen Group and the Clifton Hill Art Group. I have studied under Michele Retchlag and John McVeigh-Brown and have attended workshops by Michael Beattie, Rex Backhaus-Smith, Ross Paterson, Louis Beumer and Herman Pekel. I exhibit at the Kenmore Gallery Moggill Rd. Kenmore. I have won numerous art prizes, including best of show and best in section. I regularly sell my work and have successfully participated in a number of group and solo exhibitions. |
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HELEN GUNNING-STEVENSON
Helen Gunning-Stevenson grew up in Southeast England in a surrounded by art and artists. This environment has greatly influenced her style of painting. Her maternal family is Jamaican, she has visited that vibrant Caribbean island throughout her life and has been inspired by the bold use of colour, as well as the freshness and immediacy of many Jamaican artists. A strong connection to objects, particularly those with personal significance or history, informs much of Helen’s work. She enjoys incorporating flora into her still life works as well as painting local vistas. Helen paints in oils from life, her style combines traditional techniques of underpainting and tonalism with harmonious use of colour and broad loose brushstrokes, which give her work contemporary appeal. Helen’s training in art began at Atelier Art Classes in Salisbury. She has attended classes with various Brisbane based tutors including Nick Leavy, Wayne Van Eyk, Kay Kane, Scott Breton and Natasha Ruschka. Helen has been involved in the Brisbane art community for several years, having worked as a volunteer guide at QAGOMA, as well as being a member of the Royal Queensland Art Society and the Half Dozen Group |
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DELL HARRINGTON
Born in Mackay, North Queensland, Dell, as a child was always painting and drawing. At the Glennie School in Toowoomba her interest in art continued. Dell has been painting for some thirty years, attending classes and seminars in Brisbane and country, conducted by well-known artists and tutors. Dell's style is mainly representational and impressionistic. Working mostly in oils and acrylics, she enjoys a variety of subjects, particularly portraits and landscapes. In 1992 Dell became a member of Brisbane's Half Dozen Group of Artists and in 2008 she was awarded Life Membership. The Half Dozen Group has become an absorbing interest and she has held a number of positions within the group. Dell has travelled extensively throughout Australia and made visits to the UK, USA, Canada, Europe, Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia and New Zealand, always with an eye for the attractive scenes to record. |
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BEVERLEY HASELER My outside influences towards art have come from a career in hairdressing and theatrical exposure from a young age. My leaning toward quirky style and bold colours has come from different art groups over the years. I am now in my 70's and have found my "tribe" in my supportive friends in the Monday HDG-Workshop group. I love each and everyone of them, and admire their talent. |
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PAT HUNTER
Pat is a self-taught artist. Her main source of knowledge has come from books and from visiting galleries over the years. She has been attending a social art group once a week but realised that this was not sufficient to develop her art practice further. She needed the exchange of information and experience with a group whose focus was of a more serious art-centred nature. Since joining the Half Dozen Group of Artists she has found her art has improved enormously. She also has found that the sharing of knowledge, camaraderie and the generous spirit of like-minded people, irrespective of their experience or qualifications, has provided an inspiring and totally enjoyable pathway for her journey. |
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DEREK JOHNSTON
Derek 's first art prize was a stuffed koala and a set of coloured pencils in a competition run by an Australian tinned food company. This was in primary school in Scotland so he must have been fated to end up in Australia. He lived near Glasgow Art Gallery which had collections of famous artists, Rembrandts, Rubens, impressionists, post impressionists and many others which served to inspire. Part of his first job involved working in the Cultural Relations department of the Foreign Office in London and offered opportunities to further his interest in the arts. After working in various fields, he ended up in Brisbane and graduated from the Queensland College of Art majoring in Painting and Sculpture. He spent the next thirty years as a high school art teacher. He has kept up his skills through personal practice, workshops and art competitions some of which gained success or sales to private collections. Keenly interested in ceramics he completed the TAFE studio ceramics course. He is interested in all aspects of the arts, and the depth and breadth of the practice never fail to stimulate and engage him. |
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LINDA McINALLY
Linda has realised her lifelong artistic ambitions by regularly attending art workshops including watercolour with Herman Pekel, portrait painting (oil) with Pir Tareen and impressionist oil painting with Colley Whisson in 2016. She took up urban sketching as a challenge and joined The Half Dozen Group of Artists in 2015. She now paints and sketches with the HDG plein air group and also participates in the group’s untutored life and portrait from life workshops. Linda has been very privileged to be able to immerse herself into art practices and art history at the Queensland College of Art (QCA), Southbank Brisbane. An intensive study tour in 2019 is a highlight. This tour included visiting the 58th Venice Biennale which revealed many highly innovative approaches and methods of its exhibiting artists to portray their narratives. Countless galleries, museums and historical buildings in Venice, Trento, Florence and Rome were also visited. Study at the QCA has immensely expanded her knowledge and enjoyment of historical and contemporary art. Although portrait studies remain a great interest and satisfaction, more recently she is developing abstracted and figurative artworks. |
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KRYSTYNA NARANIECKI Krystyna was born in Birmingham, England, but is of Polish descent. She calls Australia home but never forgets her heritage. Krystyna is a self-taught artist and enjoys attending workshops for constant opportunities to improve her work. She works mainly in acrylics but has, on occasions, painted in oils. Texture is a particular focus for her and her work is quite distinctive in this regard. The Half Dozen Group of Artists has given Krystyna the motivation and opportunities to improve as an artist and she is an active member in its social activities as well as an eager contributor to its exhibitions. |
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LAURA RAMSEY
I have always had a keen interest in art however it is only in recent years that I have become a student of art. For me it is all about the expressiveness of marks and the beauty of colour. I hope to capture in a painting something beyond the subject that might say something about being human. I fight it out with the paint on the canvas and sometimes it works out very happily! I am grateful for the support and encouragement of my friends and mentors at HDG-Artists and BIA where I continue to learn and have fun. |
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JOHN SANDERS
John became interested in learning to paint since retiring. Initially he studied oil painting at Adelaide Central School of Art, before moving back to Queensland. With his oil paints currently in storage, John has taken up drawing with coloured pencils at HDG-Artists. John believes that while oil paints allow for more creativity, as they can be more easily manipulated on the canvas, and can be more forgiving, coloured pencils have given him a new focus on portraits and bringing faces to life with a limited palette of colours. "The importance of the accuracy of all features is critical when drawing with pencils". John encourages all people to draw and paint as a wonderful way to lose yourself in time. |
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VALERIE WARING
Valerie began her training working as a museum artist at QLD Museum with attendance at Brisbane Technical College Classes and later workshops run by the late Melville Haysom, John Rigby, the late Len and Kathleen Shillam and, more recently, Robert Wade and Greg Allen. Valerie has won several awards. She has exhibited with the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour at the Mall Galleries in London, the Queensland Art Gallery in the L.J. Harvey Drawing Prize and the Andrew & Lilian Petersen Memorial Prize. She has had a number of solo exhibitions and in 1988 she designed and painted the murals for the Univations Pavilion at Expo 88. She is represented in private collections in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada and Japan. As a Life Member of the Half Dozen Group of Artists, she has conducted Life Drawing Workshops at the Group's studio for over two decades. She is also member of the Water Colour Society of Queensland. |
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MEMBERS, HANG YOUR WORK IN YOUR ONLINE GALLERY!
It's very simple.
You only need to supply -
1: A photo of yourself
2: Photos of 3 artworks. Please ensure photos are of a good quality photos and taken without glass reflection or angled.
3: A short description of your history and/or art work (125 words or less)
4: Links to social media and/or website.
This profile gallery is a service to you, as a member of the Half Dozen Group of Artists. You can update your work and/or details any time you wish.
Please supply the requirements listed above via email to the website coordinator at [email protected].
Please also email the co-ordinator updated photos of your work and any changes to details.
If you cannot photograph your work and don't have a recent photo of yourself please let us know so that we can assist.
It's very simple.
You only need to supply -
1: A photo of yourself
2: Photos of 3 artworks. Please ensure photos are of a good quality photos and taken without glass reflection or angled.
3: A short description of your history and/or art work (125 words or less)
4: Links to social media and/or website.
This profile gallery is a service to you, as a member of the Half Dozen Group of Artists. You can update your work and/or details any time you wish.
Please supply the requirements listed above via email to the website coordinator at [email protected].
Please also email the co-ordinator updated photos of your work and any changes to details.
If you cannot photograph your work and don't have a recent photo of yourself please let us know so that we can assist.