Gympie artist Lizzie Connor’s latest exhibition, Moments in Time, is a vivid collection of memories, brushstrokes and wild coastlines – drawn not just from sight, but from the soul.
Opening on 2 August, the exhibition is the result of a deeply personal creative journey sparked by a road trip to Victoria and a return to Lizzie’s hometown of Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.
That windswept corner of southern Australia, with its dramatic skies and untamed shores, has long been a wellspring of inspiration for the artist, whose connection to the sea runs through both her life and work like a tide.
“When I put in the proposal for this exhibition, I had just returned from a road trip to Victoria, and my old home town of Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula, a place that is very close to my heart,” she said.
“This area has always and continues to be a very big influence on the subject matter of my art.
“My heart will always go to the wilder places, which have more interest for me than those places that are now too built up, and too many people.”
Many of the pieces in Moments in Time are impressions captured during that trip – fleeting observations, dramatic weather, and views that lingered long after the journey ended.
Her creative process begins with journaling – a method that’s become an essential and enjoyable part of her work.
“I like to do a lot of journaling – this part of my art process makes it quick, lightweight, and can be the first step in the journey to creating a more major work,” she said.
“Easy to put a journal, watercolour kit, pens and pencils in the car – as opposed to easels, canvases and other bulky and unnecessary luggage.”
A professional artist and tutor with around 30 years’ experience, Lizzie has lived and worked across the country, exhibiting widely and sharing her expertise in locations as varied as Norfolk Island, the Greek Islands, and Fiji.
Originally from Victoria, she left the Mornington Peninsula in the late 1970s, eventually settling for a time on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.
In the 1990s, she moved to Gympie, where she stayed for 11 years while raising her family, later relocating to the coast before returning to Gympie three years ago.
Her surroundings, particularly the marine environment, have always played a central role in her work.
“I could say that the ocean has been my muse,” she said.
“I always get brought back to the ocean, or water environments – I can’t seem to get involved in creating images without water in them.”
She also finds inspiration on the road, and many of the pieces in this collection are anchored in the idea of travel and transience.
“I also love a good road trip, and this is the basis for this exhibition, Moments in Time, as most of the works included in this exhibition are just that – moments of observation whilst passing through places that have had a significant impact on me.
“There are lots of special places down there that have a very special hold on me, and the calling is always there to capture the energy and wild character of the Victorian coastline and the often wild and unpredictable state of the weather.”
As for what’s next, she hasn’t settled on a specific subject yet but is considering a change of medium.
“Truthfully, I haven’t given it a lot of thought at this time, but I am thinking of switching from painting to completing a body of work with drawing mediums of graphite, ink, maybe a touch of watercolour in there somewhere.”
Moments in Time will open at the Pomona Railway Station Gallery on Friday, 2 August.
Lizzie has chosen not to hold an official opening event.
“I have decided not to have an opening event, I’m not really into those sorts of things, just let the art speak for itself.”
And speak it does – of salt and soul, of shifting skies, and of landscapes remembered and reimagined.
The Pomona Railway Station Gallery is located at 10 Station Street, Pomona, and is open 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am-2pm on weekends.
