OTOMYS: Moving, Still is a shared experience between you and Kathryn Dolby. How did you and Kathryn develop the idea for this exhibition? 

Elynor Smithwick: This show came about so effortlessly. During initial conversations we discovered that there were many similarities that bridged our two practices. It was fantastic to connect with an artist that shares my appreciation for the natural world and works to capture the mood and energy of a landscape. After sharing one of my favourite books with Katherine, In and Out of the Garden by Klaus Ottmann, we were both inspired by the ideas and images within the book and could see parallels to our work. Working closely with another artist to create a harmonious body of work has been a new and exciting territory for me. It has allowed me to explore new themes, ideas and materials. Painting can be such a solitary profession, so it has been refreshing to collaborate with another artist. 

 

OTOMYS: Last year you completed an art residency in Provence, France. Within this exhibition, pastoral scenes of relaxed figures in verdant landscapes have strong visual links to French Romanticism and Impressionism. Has this residency influenced your work for Moving, Still? 

Elynor Smithwick: The paintings that I saw during my travels to Paris and Provence urged me to further develop familiar themes of bucolic landscapes and light-filled interiors. I was both inspired and comforted by the masterful artworks that I was surrounded by. The paintings I completed during my residency were primarily depictions of my immediate surroundings, focused on the lush gardens and interiors of the villas I was living in. Echoing the delicate atmosphere of the French countryside, these paintings had a softer palette and handling of paint. After returning to my studio in Australia, I was keen to strengthen the ideas I had developed in Provence. The paintings for Moving, Still show are a mixture of my direct experience in France and a homage to the work of Pierre Bonnard. Throughout this body of work I have been more heavy handed with the paint and explorative with my colours.

 

OTOMYS: Your paintings for Moving, Still feature a light and whimsical colour palette of pale blues, bright greens and romantic pinks. Is there meaning behind you colour palette?

Elynor Smithwick: The palette for Moving, Still is a continuation of the colours and mood that I have explored regularly throughout my practice. The palette is an intuitive decision, guided by memories and the emotions associated with these recollections. Interestingly, the palette for many works within this series was also guided by a series of black and white photographs I took during my residency. Referencing a monochromatic image allowed me to look to my memory for colour, elevating and altering colours in a way that I thought best.

 

OTOMYS: Moving, Still is a collaboration between yourself and Elynor Smithwick. How did this process work for you?

Kathryn Dolby: Before we began painting for this show, Elynor and I had been chatting a lot, sharing interests and influences when we found a common thread with the work of Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard. Elynor shared with me the book In and Out of the Garden by Klaus Ottmann, which explores the creative dialogue between Bonnard and contemporary American artist Jennifer Bartlett. The book also introduced to us The Poetics of Space, a concept first devised by Gaston Bachelard which explores the interplay of imagination, feeling, memory and fantasy within a space. Our dialogue snowballed from there as we both became excited about a body of work that felt deeply connected to both our personalities. In the book, two artists from different places and time periods are connected through their love of art, life and nature, similar to Elynor and I. Our work came alive through impassioned discussions about the role of nature not only throughout our everyday lives, but also within our imaginations. We are both captivated by the endless power and mystery of nature, and hold a strong gratitude for all that it provides. The paintings that we envisioned were not just literal scenes but insights into the metaphysical presence of nature. 

 

OTOMYS: Your paintings depict intimate and delicate impressions of outdoor life, with paintings in a range of scale. What is the significance of scale within your works for Moving, Still?

Kathryn Dolby: The key word you've used there is 'intimate'. I see the little 40x30 works as being a series of intimate moments, whereas my larger pieces are an extension of those moments. The larger works dive in deeper to the themes explored in the smaller works and are created with bigger, bodily gestures. Elynor and I decided early on that we'd like to create a trail of small paintings that work as a conversation, mapping our dialogue in a continuous line. The larger pieces slightly break away from that as we follow more personal explorations, but we've kept the size ratios the same to create an element of harmony.  

 

OTOMYS: Within this body of work serpentine silhouettes of tall gum trees are juxtaposed with idyllic fields of green grass and blue sky. Are the landscapes you create representations of real locations or are they inspired by your imagination? 

Kathryn Dolby: Yes, the landscapes begin as scenes of my backyard viewed through the window while nursing my newborn. This was a time of repetition and constraint that allowed me to engage with nature with a new perceptive; I was forced to observe nature from within the domestic sphere. I spent many hours staring into a garden of swaying trees and green grass, making note of shifts in the colour of the sky, light and shadow, form and movement. During this time I contemplated how this context altered my relationship with the outdoor world. The window came to symbolise a sense of curiosity and desire. These works reflect the dialogue between the inside and outside world. As the body of work developed and I moved out of those quiet days inside, my paintings become more intuitive and reliant on memory. As I reflected upon the subtle shifts in weather and the delicate sensations found between the indoors and the outdoors, my paintings became more blended.