Just Do It

In Lynn’s own words …“Art. Once you get into it – it gets into you. Then your journey begins.”

- Lynn Bowman

I loved art at school. It was my favorite subject! Then I left school, started working and life just took over. I married, had children, then became a single parent and worked. Life was so busy I rarely even thought about art. I would admire any artworks I saw in offices, and very occasionally would visit a gallery … and sigh. ‘One day’ I would get back into my art.

About 10 years ago I married again, and we moved from suburban Adelaide to rural South Australia. We bought an old schoolhouse which was built in 1880 and sits on two acres of land situated about 20kms out of Mannum. It was the best move of our lives. We both love the country, its people and the lifestyle. There is a sense of community in the country that simply doesn’t exist in cities.

We all have our share of trials in this life and I was no different. I hit a personal low a few years back, and I was struggling to get back up when one day I was walking past our local community center noticeboard in Mannum and stopped to have a look. I saw a notice about a new art class starting up. OH YES! For the first time in ages, I felt the stirrings of excitement. My time had come! I started an art class on that first lesson and began painting, and I haven’t stopped since! Art has been the best medicine.

Four years on and our art class is still going strong. We meet for three hours on Mondays to laugh, paint and exchange ideas. New art products are discussed and tried, and that weekly get together keeps us all inspired. Between us, we have different styles and medium preferences, so there is a diverse range of artworks that come out of our group. Last year I organized two exhibitions of our artworks which were well supported by locals and visitors, and we raised some money for the Community Centre.