THE MACLEAY Valley Community Gallery at Gladstone will again host Gordon Rossiter's Spring Exhibition.
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Last year the local artist had been preparing for his spring exhibition in the Gladstone Gallery and had to cancel at the last minute due to the devastating bushfires in the area.
The new show will feature the paintings that were painted for that 2019 exhibition, plus some made this year.
"The fires started in Willawarrin on November 8 and my show was due to start the next week in the Gladstone Gallery. We had to cancel and I then spent all my time preparing and defending our properties," Gordon said.
"On December 8 when the conditions were at their worst the fire came through our Nulla Nulla Creek property. It burnt out 90 per cent of our country, around 800 acres, but fortunately we managed to save the house, sheds and livestock.
"I've spent most of this year fencing and cleaning up after the fire and done very little artwork."
Gordon prefers to work on site - surrounded by subject.
"Autumn and winter are the best times for me to work on location," he said.
"The sun is lower in the sky, giving an interesting light to the landscape, the temperature isn't too hot and it's usually less windy. I find painting landscapes is best when working outdoors, everything is there around you and you can see into the shadows.
"There is also a limited time to spend on a painting, usually around three hours until the sun shifts, with less chance of overworking the painting.
"Other paintings often evolve while being on location."
Gordon has been painting and exhibiting in the valley and in other locations for more than 30 years.
"I want my paintings to tell a story, be impressionistic and true to location. What a wonderful landscape we have here, I'm inspired when I visit other places, however this valley has so much to offer in many ways, including artistically," he said.
"I took a friend from the UK on a coastal sight seeing trip recently, we went up through Hat Head National Park to Hungry Head where we saw whales and dolphins cruising close by, then over to Hat Head and a swim in Trial Bay on sunset. Wonderful. I have paintings in the exhibition of all those places."
Gordon paints with oils on canvas and there will be around 30 original works and a collection of limited edition prints in the exhibition, mostly of the local area.
The exhibition will run from November 18 to 29 (10.30am-4pm). The gallery is run under the COVID-19 regulations.
