Artists Tim Freeman and Caroline Healey have joined forces for an exhibition showcasing Warrnambool's seascapes in two very different styles.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Hardedge minimalist Freeman and fine artist Healey convey their interpretations of iconic south-west locations in their exhibition Sea Change which is now showing at The F Project gallery.
Healey said the collaboration came about almost by chance.
"Tim was brought along to my solo show in January 2020 by our mutual friend who said to me 'you have to meet Tim, he's an amazing artist'," she said. "I'd been following him and I knew he was an amazing artist, no one else does what he does with our great Warrnambool landscape.
"Obviously COVID hit shortly after and we all thought our businesses would shut and some of our income would be cut. I thought about what I was going to do and I thought about an exhibition but I didn't have enough for a solo show.
"I immediately thought of Tim and doing an exhibition of two different takes on the same landscapes."
To curate Sea Change Freeman used Healey's colour palette to compliment the two artist's work.
"It's really exciting to work with Caroline, she's an amazing artist," Freeman said. "What you see in the show is our contrasting love of the land here and what Warrnambool and the Great Ocean Road are.
"Even the name of the show is multilayered; the sea and landscapes here are always changing and to be an artist here, there's always something to inspire you. Neither of us are from Warrnambool so we've both moved here from our respective state and country to pursue a new lifestyle."
Despite growing up with a talent for art, Freeman said his upbringing in western Sydney suburbs didn't encourage him to continue artistic pursuits. Instead, he left school and moved into carpentry and then into a role at TAFE while dabbling in creative hobbies.
READ MORE:
- Warrnambool artist Caroline Healey opens the new year with exhibition at The F Project
- Warrnambool artist Caroline Healey has formed a community through her online sketchbooking group
- The F Project has launched an online gallery to support artists, reach international audiences
- Terang artist's landscape photographs on display at Warrnambool's The F Project
"I was always doing things like photographing seascapes and my technical skills as a carpenter really fed into my art. Around four years ago my wife bought me a watercolour workshop where I went to a warehouse in Kensington and painted for six hours," he said. "There I remembered why I used to like art.
"After that I would put the kids to bed at 8.30pm and just do watercolours. I was leaning towards the more defined lines but watercolour work is all free-flowing. I transitioned to acrylic and never looked back."
Freeman created his first seascape in the hardedge minimal style for his in-laws two-and-a-half years ago and has grown his business from there.
Healey completed a one year foundation course in arts in 1998 but her passion for art was incited when she moved to Warrnambool eight years ago and started Glen Morgan's Tuesday classes at The F Project.
"He encouraged me to open my first solo show in 2016 and after that I started doing markets, commissions and I was really encouraged by the community to build a business," she said.
"I was a teacher's assistant and when I went on maternity leave my husband said now is a chance to give it a go and I held another solo show at the start of last year."
Sea Change is now showing until April 25 at The F Project which is open Friday to Sunday from 10am-4pm with the exception of Good Friday.
A launch party for the exhibition will be held on April 3 from 6pm with RSVPs require via Eventbrite.
MORE READS:
- Warrnambool residents urged to be vigilant to avoid house fires, with 11 in a six month period
- Warrnambool Primary School principal Peter Auchettl retires
- Wind farm funds could be pooled for bigger projects under new initiative
- Warrnambool, Port Fairy's tourism providers are busy and booked-out over Easter
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.standard.net.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters.
- Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
- Tap here to open our Google News page.
- Join our Courts and Crime Facebook group and our dedicated Sport Facebook group.
- If you have subscribed, join our subscriber-only Facebook group.
- Subscribe.
Listen to the latest episode of our weekly podcast The Booletin and Beyond:
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.