Emerging Branxton artist Kim Lundy is hosting her first solo exhibition this month.
BIG, BOLD & BRIGHT will feature at the Hunter Artisan Gallery and Café in East Maitland until April 25.
The work is a collection built from Lundy’s 2019 experience of time spent in a mental health facility.
“During this time in hospital I discovered that my life had been mission driven to be ‘successful’ in traditional terms of having a good education, a nice home, a good family and material wealth,” she said.
“Outwardly I had it all but privately I was falling apart. [I was] depressed and miserable.
“I had spent too many years living the life I thought was expected of me, rather than the life that was true to me.”
Lundy says one of the truths she’d come to ignore as an adult was the passion she’d once had for art as a young person.
“Criticism of this not being a ‘real’ profession led me to following a very ‘real’ profession in business,” she said.
“This trajectory after many decades left me incomplete.”
In 2020 Lundy says she learned to put her needs first and speak her mind rather than hold her tongue.
“I cut people from my life who were toxic to my soul, I stood up for myself, I accepted that I am overweight and decided I don’t really care. I found me.
“This is the theme behind my exhibition – BIG, BOLD & BRIGHT.”
The ‘BIG’ in the exhibition’s title Lundy says stems from her big personality.
“I come from a big and loud family. I am a big person. I paint on big canvases because I find this freeing and suits everything about me.
“Painting on big canvases allows me to be untethered by space,” Lundy said.
“I paint large blooms and petals as these express my need to create as it bursts out from me.”
Lundy also chooses bold colours and paints with bold brush strokes.
“I paint what colours I am feeling on that day,” she said.
“When I paint with colours such as raw sienna, black and burnt umber I am remembering my travels to Outback Australia.
“When I paint with navy’s and blues, I am feeling the peace of sitting by the ocean enjoying the sun.
“When I paint with colours such as turquoise and aqua, I am remembering the intrigue I feel at the beautiful design of a peacock.
“When I paint with hot pink, I am sharing a bit of my bigness, my boldness and my brightness.”
More information regarding the exhibition can be found at www.thehunterartisangalleryandcafe.com
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