Bringing artists, scientists and environmentalists together
to promote appreciation of
our natural wildlife and botanical heritage

Meetings

Members as well as non-members are welcome to attend our meetings. A $2 fee is requested from members and $5 from non-members to cover costs.

Upcoming Meetings

For more details of our upcoming meetings, see our Calendar.

• 14 April 2008 - Janeen Faes from Airbrush Warehouse will talk about airbrushes and there will be some "hands on" experience. If you have never done any airbrushing (even if you have!) come along and have a go.
• 12 May 2008
• 16 June 2008
• 14 July 2008
• 11 August 2008
• 8 September 2008
• 13 October 2008
• 10 November 2008
• 8 December 2008

Past Meetings

17 March 2008
Toby Jones, Greening Australia - presentation on revegetation of Cotter after Canberra bushfires

Toby gave a very interesting talk on the re-greening of the Cotter and other areas of Australia. He explained that Greening Australia is countrywide, has nurseries in many other areas and they all work together. He also said that it could not happen without the hundreds of volunteers who plant trees, clear areas, work in the nurseries etc. If you are interested in helping our environment, please contact Hadyn from Greening Australia on 6253 3035.

12 November 2007
Samantha Simpson Morgan - business entrepreneur from Rarified Framing Gallery

Samantha's topic was “Entrepeneurship and Creativity”. Her presentation covered her background as an artist and experience in small business. She outlined how she established her own business, her vision of the links between art and business and how important it is to align both of these with your core values. Samantha also explained how valuable a business coach had been in establishing the business and continues to assist Samantha and her team in growing the business, which has now been open for three years. Samantha responded to the questions from our members and generously shared many details about the resources she found most helpful in her endeavours.

8 October 2007
Tony Wood - Vice President of the Cactus and Succulents Society of the ACT Inc

We had a very interesting talk on succulents and cacti. Tony showed slides and had several specimens on show. It was a very varied display, from the weird to the wonderful! He explained the biology of succulents and how waterwise they are in the garden. Many of them had very beautiful patterns, textures and flowers, making them excellent subjects for art.

10 September 2007
Artist - Lesley Wallington - Art expression through changing techniques

Lesley, who is a long-standing and involved member of WABA, gave a presentaton on her development as an artist, and took us on a journey from her early through to her latest works. Lesley has experimented, and mastered, various techniques with different mediums and styles to great effect, and showed an enthusiasm for trying something new. I'm sure all the meeting enjoyed, and were inspired, by that enthusiasm.

13 August 2007
Orchids of Garuwanga and the Southern Tablelands - Geoff Robertson (Friends of Grasslands)

Geoff and fellow enthusiasts introduced an appreciate audience to a wide variety of native orchids: spider, sun, caladenia, double tailed, donkey and greenhood. We now know what to look for in identifying the form of these orchids and were pleased to see such tiny flowers, in the field, featured in large pictures on a screen.

I was reminded of a memory as a young girl, maybe 10, of finding a place in a paddock of bush on the family farm at Tumbarumba where greenhood orchids appeared beside a log each spring. We identified them from one of my mother's books about Australian Wildflowers.

These native orchids certainly have a special attraction and many of us were inspired to look for them on Black Mountain in spring. Thank you to Geoff for an interesting presentation and showing us his property, Garuwanga.

9 July 2007
Artist Bernie Coppinger

Bernie Coppinger’s presentation provided WABA members with an interesting insight into many aspects of both his motivation for painting and the approach he has taken for the works he has undertaken so far. Bernie’s work includes photo realist approaches for bird painting as well as portrait painting. This is based on close observation of both the subject and its environment – he talked about the need to look carefully at the full range of colours in each subject and that, for example, there is “no such thing as a brown bird”. Regarding the composition of paintings – observing your subjects in their natural environment is important. Bernie uses PhotoShop software to manipulate images – particularly the environmental aspects of his subjects. Painting techniques were described as the use of ‘colours under colours’ with wet and dry brush techniques.

Bernie’s future plans are to avoid formal training, and to continue to experiment with new techniques and mediums at his own pace. He also felt that it was important for artists to keep options open by not restricting themselves to one genre, and most importantly for artists to appreciate and notice the beauty that surrounds us.

4 June 2007
Waterhouse Natural History Prize finalist
Wildlife artist Wendy Jennings

After spending 13 years at a microscope as a medical technologist, Wendy Jennings moved to live in a remote National Park in South Australia. Since then she has spent over 30 years living in or with close association to many diverse National Parks and developed an affinity for the wildlife and the habitats. She began painting them in 1981, and now has had solo exhibitions in 5 states, and one in China. She has won silver and bronze medals and best watercolour with the Wildlife Art Society of Australia. One of her works gained a highly commended in the 2006 Waterhouse Natural history Art Prize. The late Arthur Boyd purchased one of her works.

Wendy will show what inspired her to take up a brush and paint. She will show some of the places she has lived, the wildlife and how they transferred into art. She will also show some of the techniques she uses and how she incorporates environmental messages in her paintings.

14 May 2007
Renowned Australian Botanical Artist Susannah Blaxill

“Occasionally as I stumble around the Art World, I come across an artist's work that brings me up short and throws a clear light on the qualities that make significant art. What makes Blaxill an outstanding artist... is that she compels the viewer to see the everyday in a new way. The good and the great have always had this capacity to take the obvious and infuse it with all the wonder of creative discovery.”

- Extract From The Weekend Australian December 15 and 16, 2002
Titled: “Our Famous Unknown”  By Michael Reid
Lecturer at The College of Fine Art. University of NSW, Australia

In this talk, Susannah will speak about the early influences that have helped shape her career.  She will also address the processes involved in composition, ideas for choosing colour, and the thoughts that underlie her current work.

2 April 2007
Mushrooms and Fungi for Artists - Heino Lepp, ANBG

Heino Lepp is an Honorary Associate at the Australian National Botanical Gardens and the Centre for Plant Biodiversity.  His scientific focus in on a particular group of wood-inhabiting fungi which are very poorly known in Australia.

This presentation will provide members with an introduction to mushrooms and fungi with particular emphasis on illustrating fungi in a way that is both scientifically useful as well as visually pleasing.

Slides will be shown to illustrate some of the variety to be seen in the fungal world as well as the essential features that need to be noted.  The slides will also illustrate some examples of fungal illustrations from various books published over the last three hundred years or so.

Come along for a fascinating meeting with a local expert and bring your notebooks!

12 March 2007
Insects of the ACT region and Friends of Grasslands (FOG)
Kim Pullen, Geoff Robertson & Alan Landford

Kim Pullen (CSIRO Entomology) and Geoff Robertson are members of Friends of Grasslands, a community organisation which promotes the preservation of native grassland habitat in the region.  Alan Landford is an entomology graduate from the ANU with a lifelong interest in insects.

This presentation will provide members with an introduction to the insects of the ACT region. Spectacular images and specimens of butterflies, moths, grasshoppers and other insects will illustrate aspects of insect structure and habitat. Methods of collection and preservation will also be discussed.

Artists will have the opportunity to learn about insects and their habitat for scientific illustration and other artistic purposes.

Bring your sketch books and cameras and meet the experts!

12 February 2007
Corroboree Frogs and other amphibians and reptiles
Dr. Murray Evans ACT Herpetological Association

Murray Evans is an ecologist with the ACT Government and is currently managing the rescue project for the corroboree frog, an endangered species. The ACT Herpetological Association is a community-based association committed to the ethical promotion of frogs, lizards, snakes and turtles of the ACT and surrounds.

This presentation will introduce WABA members to the ACT Herpetological Association.  The presentation will provide an overview of ACT region species, and information on the ACT Government’s efforts to save an endangered species, the Corroboree Frog.  The special features of ACT reptiles will be illustrated through slide presentations and live specimens.

Artists will have the opportunity to learn more about ACT frogs and reptiles for illustration and painting purposes.

Bring your sketch books and cameras and meet the experts!