Local picture framing and art supply business Doo Town have announced that a dedicated section of their Ingham Road store will be made available as an Art Gallery Space.
Owners Mick and Fay Cawley have recently marked 35 years in business and are launching the new gallery space as part of the celebrations. The idea came after seeing the need for artists to have the ability to display and sell their artwork in a retail environment.
“Most art galleries hold exhibitions where you can purchase art, meaning that if you’re from a remote town or community and you want to buy something, you usually have to pay for it and leave it behind, arranging either another trip into Townsville to collect at the end of the exhibition, or organising shipping to home,” explains Fay.
“At Doo Town we won’t be holding exhibits. If you’re in the shop and you want to purchase a piece in the gallery space, you can take it home with you right then and there.”
The first group to have a collection of their artworks in this new Gallery Space are three Townsville-based artists Tina Maher, Chris Gray and Sue Luxon, and will be featured up to the end of the year.
Each artist has a unique style and will be exhibiting original pieces, covering themes such as local scenes, modern botanic art, florals, local bird life and indigenous art. Two of the artists, Tina and Sue are trained illustrators, and Chris is an indigenous dot painting artist.
Tina Maher has been honing her artistic skills since 2010 and says her connection with the natural world holds fascination and inspiration for her works. She likes to work in watercolour and gouache using a layering technique, so some elements peak through and other aspects remain hidden. Her artwork warms the heart of the viewer, and her original pieces will be available to purchase at the Gallery.
Sue Luxon gained her Bachelor of Visual Arts degree in the 1990s and has continued to develop her style and skills during her artistic journey. A love of colour, design, and nature drive Sue to create her artworks. She is heavily influenced by the beauty of flowers, birds, and reef life. Sue has chosen her favourite traditional medium, acrylic painting on canvas, to capture her subject matter. Bright colours and simplified but recognisable shapes within the images are her trademark style.
Chris Gray is a proud Goori man from Bundjalung Nation. His style of art is to tell a story through symbols and dot work, while building connections with people from the community. He says, “my goal for all my creations is to make people feel relaxed, at home and connected to dreamtime stories”. Chris likes to paint using acrylics on canvas to create his beautiful paintings.
Local art lovers and supporters are invited to attend the launch of the new Art Gallery Space on Friday, 1st September 2023 from 6pm. Light refreshments will be served, for catering purposes please contact the Doo Town team if planning to attend – .
You can also keep up to date with the latest news from Doo Town via Facebook and Instagram.
Main image: (L-R) – Tina Maher, Sue Luxon, Fay Cawley, Mick Cawley and Chris Gray at Doo Town’s new art gallery space.
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