ARTIST STATEMENT - LIZ CUMING

The driving force which propels a lifetime's pursuit of imagemaking is my and countless others' lot in life. Art is a broad brush reflecting infinite diversity of human nature and its response to the universe. Everpresent is the fascination with engrossing process and results of translating 3d to 2d. Whilst city based, I grew to love spending more time afloat and in the bush than in usual city kid activities. Swayed not by fad, fashion or theory, my passion is for nature and landscape, coastal or inland, and inspiration derived therefrom. Beyond the joy of plein air painting, photography and collecting memories to later brew studio works, the challenge of studio works never fades, and when a work joins the collection of another there is satisfaction in sharing.

From TAFE to a Masters in Painting at UNSWCOFA, then teaching at various tertiary art institutions, exhibiting, artist's residencies, many prizes, running remote area art tours and much travel both on and offshore, life is rich and rewarding. Now able to paint full time, it is full steam ahead in the studio with not a minute to waste and an endless imagebank just waiting to be painted, and more country to explore. Elemental themes are inexhaustible. Seas, wild or calm thrash the coast,deserts change from minute to minute and season to season. All is at the beck and call of the water cycle, then fire devastates and a new palette comes into play as clouds pass, light changes, storms darken, waterfalls plunge - all great visual fodder. Painting is a journey of discovery and experimentation I feel fortunate to be dedicated to. The layering in my paintings partly attributable to early printmaking practice. I work now in acrylic on stretched linen.