Meet IAVA’s newest member Lynne Johns. We asked Lynne a few questions about her art practice.
Lynne with her art.
What was your earliest memory of an interaction with Art?
My grandmother, Foddy Woolley was very creative. She had original large artworks hanging in the lounge room which she had painted using oils on both wood and canvas. One of the images she painted and which fascinated me shows a field bordering the edge the cliff edge overlooking the sea. On the right there is a winding path that leads the eye to a thatched cottage. A young child stands in the field handing her mother a red flower. The mother’s apron already holds many picked red flowers and her attention is not on the child but on the horizon gazing out like Penelope, maybe waiting for someone to return. It fascinated me and I often gazed at it making up stories. Foddy also had a massive loom in her backroom where she made different fabrics for clothing, bed and household linen. Whenever I visited I was allowed to rummage through her drawings but I had strict instruction never to touch her loom. At home and school we were always colouring-in so I never really knew a time without art materials within reach.
How would you describe your art practice?
I have always considered myself a painter & printmaker but recently I have been playing around with sculpture, mainly relief work, using wood or strong cardboard. I paint on the surface and draw into it with whatever is at hand. I am really enjoying the divisions the shapes create. Each division becomes a story or painting within itself and the challenge is to make them all work together.
Do you have a favourite artist and/or artwork? What is it that makes them your favourite?
Favourite artists, I have lots; Chagall for one. I loved his ‘floating people’, they always looked so happy; another is Matisse and his ability to communicate the essence of his subjects through simple brushstrokes and colour. Max Beckman’s works always knock me off my feet because of their emotional intensity. John Percival is a particular favourite. His lyrically painted lines give me such joy as do his Australian subjects. Joy Hester has been a role model. In a patriarchal environment, she was true to her medium of choice (ink) when it was considered a lesser form of art. I was in awe of her strength as a free spirit who bleached her hair and dared to wear bright red lipstick. She didn’t worry how others perceived her. Two other role model/artists are Barbara Hepworth, a sculptor who produced exciting large abstract forms and Kathie Kollwitz for her drawings and prints of working class people, two successful women ‘doing a balancing act’ as mother and artist. I have many favourite paintings but one that really stands out for me is Brett Whiteley’s ‘Big Orange (Sunset)’. The saturated colour seduces me and the composition keeps my eye within the painting not allowing me to escape.
Most recent adventure or achievement?
In 2022 I submitted for the first time an artwork into the Thirroul Art Festival and was awarded 2nd place. It was such a wonderful surprise. In that year I also received a 2nd place prize for the Woollahra 9x5 Landscape Prize. An outsider’s appreciation of a finished work sustains the creative soul.
Any current goals you’re working towards?
My current goals are to keep producing works that communicate and are resolved.