Time To Relax

Some people play sport for relaxation; some read books. But this keen artist in Western Australia loves to get into her art work to recharge her batteries.

- Trevor Lang

Gillian Morey came to Australia in the early ’70s, from her birthplace in Suffolk, England. She is married to a farmer in the south-west of Western Australia.

The couple’s farm is host to Merino sheep for fine wool, White-Faced Suffolk sheep for fat lambs, and Aberdeen Angus cattle. They also cultivate wheat, lupins, barley, oats, canola and oaten hay.

“I’m very much a country girl,” says Gillian. “I find pleasure in the simple things in life. My two daughters are very supportive of my art hobby; as are my sisters and friends.”

Art, for her, is a time to relax and ‘recharge the batteries’ while taking respite from the busy farm’s activities.

“Some people read, or play sport,” she explains. “I love to get into my art.”

“Starting off in pastels helped me, I think,” she continues. “Pastels do not allow a lot of detail, but lend themselves to more impressionistic work.”

This artist also attended a watercolour botanical workshop which taught her a lot. It made her ‘really look’ at what she is drawing or painting … not just the shape of the subject, but far greater detail; and the real colours in the subject.

“I learned that black isn’t just black,” she says. “I began to recognise the colours that are reflected from the surroundings; and I began to paint what I can see … not what I know (or think) is there. I became much more observant.”