Coorong Bay (A)

I spent many years involved in research work, monitoring birds and plants in the Coorong. It is a unique place where a large saline lagoon sits behind a peninsula of coastal sand dunes, which protect it from the pounding Southern Ocean beyond. The monitoring work often involved rising before dawn to observe shore birds. We conducted full day observations of particular bays, regularly counting and recording the birds and their activities. When you spend many hours in a place like this you have the opportunity to see the lagoon at its most tranquil and reflective. On many cold winter mornings or late evenings the wind would drop and as the sun rose or set the golden hour would transform the place. On any given day the colours of the landscape would shift depending on the angle of the sun, the clouds and whether the sand dunes in the distant were wet or dry. These long days lead to an appreciation of the subtlety of the landscape, the lagoon, the light and the plants.

The painting is ready to hang with a float frame in natural timber.

This work will be available to view the Bluethumb Gallery on King William road, Adelaide, as part of the gallery’s Palette of Peach Exhibition from January 17th.

Follow

Lydie Paton is a South Australian artist. Born in Adelaide, she initially completed a double degree in Architecture and Landscape architecture at the University of Adelaide. Her background in landscape design and an interest in environmental science underpin her selection of subject matter. She works in a variety of mediums including printmaking. Her paintings and etchings often have botanical or ornithological themes. Within these common themes the representation can be quite varied – sometimes more representational while at other times more abstract.

‘I find the creative process informs the direction a particular work takes and often something discovered during an abstract exploration goes on to inform some detail in a more representational piece.’
Lydie has been painting her whole life, but in 2013, she began formal studies in fine arts at the Adelaide College of the Arts. The exposure in this course, to diverse mediums, led to an interest in varied art making techniques and an enthusiasm for experimentation with materials. In 2015, Lydie spent two years in Toronto, Canada, studying printmaking and etching under the tutelage of Brian Hoxha. Since then, she has been producing aluminium plate etchings.

Lydie says of her practice; “I create compulsively. I have three young children and so finding time to paint is tricky, but I squeeze it in, because I can’t help myself. I have always loved oil paints, frustrating and messy as they can be, they have a particular quality and I’m drawn to the texture, the evidence of brush marks and the rich colour they bring to an artwork.”
Lydie has been painting and printmaking professionally since 2012 and has been a Bluethumb artist for over 10 years. Her artworks are hung all over the world, including the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia.