Her works sell alongside industry heavyweights like Ben Quilty, Del Kathryn Barton and Patricia Pincinini, but Tewantin-based Margaret Builder is surprisingly light in her artistic approach.
Her ‘studio’, for example, is simply her ‘shed’. There she paints surrounded by some kids’ bikes, a bucket or two, a fold-out picnic chair here and there.
And despite her successes and spending hours in the ‘shed’ daily, Margaret said she “can’t possibly take art too seriously”.
“I don’t really take any notice of much except what feels right for me… And what feels right today may not feel right in two weeks,” Builder said.
Margaret opens her first Queensland show at Cooroy’s Butter Factory Arts Centre on Friday May 10. ‘Conversations between Internal Landscapes’ explores line, colour and form in her vibrant, lyrical style. Abstract studies driven by her intuition, and the many lessons learned alongside the great aboriginal artists of the Western Desert.
“Watching artists like Mrs Bennett (Nyruapayia Nampitjinpa) it was a beautiful process. And nobody taught them. It’s totally organinic, following their intuitive process took them to great heights. They elevated the symbols out of their culture into something that was universal.”
“So when I started to paint daily, I think all this was great training,” Margaret said. “And on the other hand, it makes you realise that nothing is wrong, really.”
“Whether it takes a week or two hours, the process of painting still takes a long time. You’ve got to digest all your experiments until something comes out.
“All the other stuff, when everything’s not working, it’s the process of ‘getting there’.”
‘Conversations between Internal Landscapes’ opens at Cooroy’s Butter Factory Arts Centre on Friday May 10, 6pm – 8pm. The centre also opens ‘Life Above and Below the Water’ by Rod McArter and ‘Behind BFAC’ a multimedia insight into the creative practices of BFAC staff. Free entry. All Welcome. Cash bar, nibbles and live music. Visit www.butterfactoryartscentre.com.au for more.
