The Table Before Noon

Acrylic, Canvas, Framed by Artist

49cm (W) x 49cm (H) x 4cm (D)

Certificate of Authenticity Included

Framed by Artist

A$950

Arrives 19–21 Sep

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Artwork Description

This painting is a quiet study in balance - of form, colour and light. The lilies were fresh from the local Saturday market and I was taken by how sculptural they looked in the morning sun, all gentle curves and sharp shadows. They practically arranged themselves in the jug.

This painting was awarded the Runner Up for the Ewart Prize in 2024

Working in acrylic, I built the composition slowly, blocking in the broad planes of blue and then layering in the details of the petals and leaves. The background - flat and bright - was deliberately chosen to give the lilies space to breathe and to echo the soft ceramic tones of the jug. There’s a quiet conversation happening between the three vessels here: each a different material, shape, and tone, but together holding the composition in place.

Stylistically, I’ve always admired the restrained palettes and careful arrangements in works by Morandi, but also the vivid simplicity of Gauguin’s colour fields. This piece is somewhere in between - observational, but with an interpretation of clarity and calm explored through paint.

There’s nothing hurried here. Just the everyday grace of flowers in a jug, holding still long enough to be seen.

Artist Bio

Sue Roberts trained at the Cambridge College of Art and Technology, where she received a Diploma in Visual Art before moving to London to work as an illustrator and graphic designer.

After relocating to Sydney with her husband and young family, Sue stepped away from professional practice for a time. When she returned to the studio, it was with a renewed focus and a commitment to further study. She completed diplomas in painting and printmaking at Hornsby TAFE, followed by a Bachelor of Fine Art Sculpture from the National Art School in Sydney.

Working fluidly between painting and sculpture, she has been widely exhibited and is held in private and institutional collections. Her accolades include the Kooindah Waters Acquisitive Sculpture Prize and the CCAT Travel Scholarship. She has been recognised across a range of juried exhibitions, including the UWS Sculpture Exhibition, Sculpture in the Vineyards and the Ewart Art Prize.

Through shifts in geography, disciplines and life stage, Sue has continued to follow a central thread: an enduring fascination with landscape - not just as subject, but as memory, emotion and elemental force.

Much of Sue’s practice is grounded in close observation of the natural world - echoing the contrasting topographies of both hemispheres: her early years in the rolling hills of northern Englands Lake District to the bold and often rugged forms of the Australian bush. Acrylic is her primary medium, though she moves fluidly between materials, allowing each piece to dictate its own process.

Commissions

Sue's studio is in Sydney