Sue Gilmour’s paintings in ‘Under a Southern Sky‘ are atmospheric and idealised depictions of land and cityscapes. Educated in East Africa, Sue’s early life was spent moving between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. These remote and beautiful locations would prove to have a profound affect on Sue’s art career. After graduating from London’s Ravensbourne College of Art & Design with a Bachelor in Fine Arts (Hon) Sue moved to North Queensland to be closer to her family, she now resides in South East Queensland.
AC: Describe your art in a sentence.
SG: My work is not about representation but about the emotion it evokes.
AC: Who or what inspired you to become an artist?
SG: The seeds were planted by my parents, unwittingly probably. My father introduced me to classical music at 5 years and the illustrations on the record covers often depicted great painters such as Turner. They also loved art, theatre and ballet and our house had framed prints of Vermeer, Degas and some local African artists. I was hooked.
AC: Why do you paint the scenes you do?
SG: I am influenced by the weather and the environment and what’s happening such as floods or drought. I don’t make a conscience decision, I have a vague idea of what I want to express and then the painting takes over. I make the final conscious marks at the end of the painting.
AC: What music do you listen to while painting?
SG: Bob Marley and The Wailers, Paul Kelly and Beethoven.
AC: Tell our readers something about yourself that may surprise them?
SG: My favourite T.V. program is reruns of M.A.S.H.
AC: What is your favourite quote or saying?
SG: ‘You can’t call yourself an artist until you have resolved 150 paintings.’ Fred Williams.
AC: If you could work with any other artist from any era who would it be and why?
SG: Picasso. He lived in an amazing time, historically, culturally and socially and was a prolific artist for over 70 years. I never appreciated his work until I saw it at the Musee Picasso, Paris[ 2007], the real thing as opposed to books and print. His ability as a painter, draughtsman, sculptor, ceramicist, theatre designer and recycler of objects would make working with him an adventure. He was also a great art collector of his peers work.
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