Colley Whisson

COLLEY WHISSON

Colley was born in Brisbane, Australia on the 6th May, 1966. He is a third generation artist carrying the Whisson name. He has always had a love of painting the light and its effect on his chosen subject. After doing a year of picture framing he began oil painting in 1986. When painting Colley aims for a realist image with as much artistic content paying close attention to the arrangement of each painting to maximise the visual image.

With 25 solo exhibitions and many joint exhibitions, prizes, judging appointments to his credit, his teaching skills are in demand throughout Australia and in overseas locations. Colley has a genuine love of music and uses this to influence his working day.

"I have always felt I was a painter of light, but now believe if my paintings are to succeed I also need to be a good painter of shadow. When I am on my travels searching for painting subjects, the signal that tells me I have discovered something worthwhile is when I am so captivated by the scene that recording my response to it is more important than anything else. At that moment, nothing else matters. But it doesn't have to be a direct response to the landscape that captivates and inspires me. It can be anything. It can be music playing in the studio. When I listen to music in my studio I believe it propels me to a higher level. Love in whatever form can be an enchanted moment that helps me when I paint. It might be remembering the first time I saw my wife's face in the crowd or the smile on my young sons' faces it can be an innocent or everyday thing that lifts my work to another level. Once you understand how your mind works you will see that there is more to painting than making a straightforward technical response. Better paintings begin when you are totally captivated by the subject."

Even though I paint in a traditional style and have enormous respect for the great masters of the past I have a strong urge to paint in a fresh modern manner. I aim to keep away from tired old subjects painted only because ego or lack of foresight does not allow me to see the big picture. In an ever changing world I believe my subject matter, colour skills and technical handling of a painting needs to be accurate giving the end result a hint of the future and not just an appreciation of the past.

Colley (www.colleywhisson.com) will be holding one workshop during the festival. This is detailed below.

WORKSHOP: Impressionist Oils (Code CW1)

Workshop fully booked, but please still register for this workshop as you will be put on the waiting list. We will contact you if a place becomes vacant. If we have sufficient interest, we will try to arrange another workshop after the Festival.

DESCRIPTION:

In this workshop students will be learning techniques so they can produce works that are bold, confident, using paint mixes that are clean and vivid in colour. From the arrangement of the palette to the final touches he will reveal the making of skilfully handled paintings filled with sunlight. This workshop will inspire you to take your artwork to another level.Everyone from beginners to advanced and over 18 years is welcome in this workshop.

TIME AND PLACE: July 19 to July 22 (4 days), 8.30am to 4pm, Studio 2, Community Arts Centre.

WORKSHOP FEE: $280 plus $30 for optional Ferryman working session.

ART MATERIALS LIST: Download Material List. Also to be supplied on registration.

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