Art2Muse

Artworks available to view in Sydney

The origin of Kristine’s love of radiant colour began as a child growing up in the backyard beneath a stark Australian sun. This passion for colour and mood, is the driving force behind her current artistic practice. Dissolving landscapes in a kaleidescope of colour transport you to the magical wonderland
of fragmatism.

When teaching the process of creating art, I always find myself instructing students to ‘think like a six year old’. This uninhibited view of the world, a mind still full of wonder and magic, is what I enjoy translating artistically. To stimulate the senses with the sweep of pure colour is my greatest delight. Capturing the life of a subject, be it a tree, a building or a person, is a worthy challenge. All have personalities, and, like a chameleon, can change their colour and mood many times. As Australian artist, Roland Wakelin exclaimed... “I want to be able to make the picture sing with colour”, I too, aim to evoke a sense of place and atmosphere via the canvas.

I am inspired by everyday subjects. Those objects and locations which surround me. I believe it is always best to paint and draw from your own experiences. This quest for experience, to be immersed in the everyday, has led me to lands far and wide. From dark French alley ways to searing Spanish sunsets. But painting and drawing should not merely consist of duplicating what is in front of you. The response, that creative dialogue one has with the subject matter, is the exciting, intangible medium for an artist. It’s not what it looks like, but what it does to you, that counts. Often difficult to articulate, Edward Hopper said it best... “If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint.” My desire to convey ‘how it feels’ through colour and mood, using paint, pastel and charcoal is a delicious yet demanding (pre)occupation.

Being present to the rhythm of life is just a beginning. The recall of such sensory explorations are often an amalgamation of reality and experience. What we remember is often a dramatised version of the physical. This focus in my work has helped me develop a style that I define as ‘fragmatism’. A style which aims to capture mood through heightened sensations of form and colour. I have admired many great artists in Australia from the past who used exaggerated colour, shape and paint application to decipher their subject matter. Grace Cossington Smith, John Peter Russell, Horace Trenerry and Clarice Beckett to name a few. Others abroad, the Impressionists, the Fauves and Nabis, also sought to reveal an ‘inner life’ in their subjects in a new way. Artist’s such as Delaunay, Kandinsky and Picasso experimented with colour and materials. Drawing their inspiration from nature, everyday happenings they challenged the way we perceive and translate experience. My commitment now, is to be prepared to work hard at creating pieces that will engage others and transport them to an unknown wonderland that somehow seems vaguely familiar.
- Kristine Ballard

Selected Exhibitions

2007/8/9 – Friend in Hand: Life Drawing
2008/9/10 – North Sydney Art Prize
2008 – St George Art Society Annual Exhibit (Commended in Portraiture)
2008 – Combined Art Societies Annual Exhibition
2008 – Waverly Expressionists: Charles Hewitt Gallery
2009 – Royal Easter Show
2009 – St George Art Society Exhibit: “Inspirations”
2009/10 – Brunswick Street Gallery, Victoria: Small works show
2009/10/11 – Blacktown City Art Prize
2010 – Combined Art Societies Annual Exhibition (Finalist – Abstract Section)
2010 – Royal Easter Show (Highly Commended – Figurative Section)
2010 – Thirroul Seaside Arts Festival Show
2010 – Drummoyne Art Show (Commended – Modern Section)
2010 – Exhibit in La Rochelle, France
2010 – Liverpool Art Prize, Casula Powerhouse
2010 – Oxford Art Prize, TAP Gallery
2010 – St George Art Society (Commended – Works on Paper)
2010 – Waterbrook Art Prize, Sydney
2010/11 – Hornsby Art Prize
2010/11 – France: Pieces showing with Promenarts Gallery
2011 – Combined Art Societies Annual Exhibition (Finalist in Painting Section)
2011 – The Sketchbook Project: USA
2011 – Marrickville X Show. ESP Gallery Marrickville. (Art Month Sydney)
2011 – Royal Easter Show
2011 – Artist Portfolio Issue 2. California, USA. (Honorable Mention)
2011 – The Art Students League of New York: Residency Show
2011 – Pine Street Print Makers Show
2011 – The Kings School Art Show
2011 – ‘The Great Unknown’: Artsite Gallery, Sydney
2011 – Glebe Art Show
2011 – I heart Kirribilli Show (First Prize – Painting)
2011 – National Trust Harper’s Mansion Still Life Show (Finalist)
2011 – St George Art Society Annual Exhibit (Highly Commended in Abstracts)
2011 – ‘Intimate’: Wilson St @ Danks, Sydney
2012 Exhibition ‘Verve the language of colour’ with Christine Maudy at Art2Muse Gallery, Sydney

Private Commissions

2008 – Portrait: Making a Difference
2009 – Portrait: Antipodean Peaks
2010 – Wish you were here!

Biography

1970 – DOB
1988 – Young Ambassador Trip to Japan: Amagasaki & Kobe
1992 – Bachelor of Design (BAD) University of Newcastle
1992-2008 – Graphic Designer/Studio Manager
1999-2011 – Art Teacher/art facilitator (Director NSA)
2008- – Full time Artist
2009 – France: Plein-air Painting in the South of France. 2010 – Spain: Plein-air Painting in Barcelona & Andalusia
2011 – USA, New York: Art Residency with The Art Students League of New York
2012 – UPCOMING: Residency at Monsalvat, Melbourne