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Australian
artist Jillian Vanstone's family has included numerous artistic
members. "My father's mother painted beautiful watercolor
studies of horse, amongst other subjects, so I believe my interest
and talent is inherited," she theorizes. "I spent my early
years wishing deperately for a horse, and many hours of drawing them
gave me some solace. My tertiary education involved four
years' study at art college, after which I was employed as an
illustrator. While raising my family, I painted horses and
other animals on a commission basis and encouraged others' artistic
endeavors-and really, that's still what I'm about."
Vanstone admits
to being very passionate about expression and about "feeling" her
subjects. "There should be a caught in time, but that moment
should be full of life!" she insists. "I use a range of
media and enjoy experimenting with various materials. I am a
great believer in getting out of your comfort zone, trying something
totally different. I have been having a great deal of fun with
pastels and charcoal on canvas. A sealer, then a glaze is
applied, and the finished work can be framed without glass, just
like an oil painting. I also enjoy working in acrylics and
mixed media."
Vanstone's
best-known work may be "Out of Egypt," depicting Nazeer, Morafic,
and Aswan in the same pose as the famous old painting "Pharaoh's
Horses," by J.F. Herring Sr. She also has produced numerous
painting for cover art, show programs, and magazine illustrations.
A member of the Australian Pastel Society, Vanstone is lecturing
this semester at a university and has given private lessons for some
years. Her paintings have found homes in England, Scotland,
Ireland, France, Egypt, Kuwait, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand,
Canada and the United States.
From the April
2007 Pyramid Report - Article by Linda White |
