Anne McMaster

NITMILUK GORGE
$1,200

As an artist living in the Northern Territory, I am drawn to the natural world for subject matter. Recently the vast landscapes and geographic structures of rock formations have been used for subject matter for watercolour painting. Nitmiluk Gorge was created last October during the peak of the build-up, when I was on Jawoyn country during a field trip in the Nitmiluk National Park near Katherine, Northern Territory.

Painting out bush using watercolour as a medium allows for a more convenient and transportable art practice. During the process of making the artwork I relied on an ongoing dialogue between the watercolor paint, the 38-degree heat and the oppressive humidity. I found that the very essence of water, vital to the watercolour paint’s expression, was subjected to the alchemy of evaporation, which in turn, left behind traces, puddles, layers and unpredictable transparent patterns. The mark making and drying process became a performative act, a collaboration between me and the harsh elements. My relationship with my watercolour paints and the intensely hot build-up temperatures allowed me to be completely absorbed and focused on the painting process.

Watercolour on paper
74 x 30cm

Artist Statement: Anne McMaster is an artist with an exhibition history of 37 years. She is currently teaching art and has her art practice in Darwin. In 2015 she completed a Master of Fine Art through Monash University while living in remote Tiwi Islands. Drawn to the natural world for her inspiration, she continues to use painting and printmaking techniques as her preferred medium to create her artworks.
She has collections in the National Gallery of Australia. State Library of Victoria. Print Council of Australia Archives. Australian Print Workshop Archives. Artbank. National Centre of Fine Arts, Giza, Egypt. Kanagawa Arts Foundation, Japan. Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan. Deakin University Art Collection. Mildura Art Gallery. Dr. Michael Lefebvre Collection, Sydney. La Trobe University. Warrnambool Art Gallery. City of Freemantle. Queensland UT Art Museum. Gladstone Regional Art Gallery. Burnie Regional Art Gallery. Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery. Bathurst Regional Art Gallery. John Curtin Uni Gallery, Perth. University of Ballarat. Impressions on Paper, Canberra. Arjo Wiggins/Canson Australia Pty Ltd. Scotch Oakburn College, Launceston. Westbourne Grammar School. Presbyterian Ladies College, Melbourne, private and national collections.