DOWNUNDER ARTIST

 

Kookaburra King

Regal Perch

At this time of year, my mind traces some recent past travels as I pine for a warmer clime.  Seven years ago one of our Oblates gave me a trip to Australia (a top number on my "bucket list") It was a wonderful six weeks, where I met old friends and made new ones.  My first stay was with renowned artist TRICIA REUST whom I have known for 30+ years, when she and her husband and young family (then 3 girls) lived in the USA. 

While Tricia was born in Sydney, she has spent the past 25 years living north of Brisbane.  She attended the Newcastle Art School for over two years, holds a Basic Art Certificate from the Art Instruction School in Minnesota, and is a graduate with Distinction from the Open College of the Arts, Queensland.

Royal Stance

Tricia at work

Tricia exhibits regularly in regional shows and competitions and is very active in the art community, especially since having coordinated the Redcliffe Regional Youth Art Awards with artist and friend John Robinson. Tricia teaches and presents workshops at various art societies throughout Australia. She works in oil and watercolor as well as collage.

She has won many awards for her art and two years ago took Best in Show at the Mortimore National Art Show.

 

Gaggle Line

When I visited Tricia and her husband, I was fortunate to stay in her art studio, which sits high off the ground, surrounded by windows. I would wake each morning to brightly colored birds singing in the trees which surround the studio rooms. It was like being in a tree house.

Trish, like many Australians, knows her birds and took me to many wonderful places, but vivid in my memory is the first morning, bright and early, to an area near her home along the water.  There in front of us was a royal kingfisher in all his glory.

Trish is also a Catholic, very active in her Church Community.  My first Sunday there gave me one of my favorite Australian birds, the galah. The lawn in front of the Church was covered with this bright pink and gray bird, a member of the cockatoo family. 

Jabiru

Trish has an amazing sense of color, certainly inspired by her native land. In many cases I am reminded of our Southwest, but then there are the many jungles and woods and of course the seas of many colors.

Creek Flight

While Trish paints and draws many varied subjects, my favorites are her birds.  She is an amazing woman- mother, wife, bird watcher, and artist!

Lotus Place- Mixed media

Becoming- Pastel

Halted Morning Walk