About Alison and her Art
"To me, art encapsulates the beauty of the so called nonexistent, breathing into it, making it tangibly visible."
Alison's Philosophy
To me, art encapsulates the beauty of the so called nonexistent,
breathing into it, making it tangibly visible. The making of art works - paint, pencil, clay.
All mysteries until I have unwrapped the work.
Ideas come as messengers or through commissions.
I delight in line as it unfolds onto the paper. My drawing is a discipline, a way to train me to see.
Seeing the relationship of parts. One becomes a cartographer mapping faces, bodies and articles of interest.
I like the initial work to be drawn from life. I love the distortions that I include.
I then convey these to my other mediums. Painting as a two dimensional form is sympathetic with drawing.
The conversion of three dimensional (model) to two dimension (drawing and painting)and sometimes a return to three dimensional (sculpture) excites me. The conveying of solid on a flat surface or the solid mass in clay.
The wonderful inclusion of colour to support the feel of a work occurs in my painting.
I enjoy discovering colours and what is my palette? What colours do I move towards?
Creating works is so much about feeling connection to self and to the other.
What do I see in the model? What does that tilt of the head evoke for me, finding an essence far beyond the visible.
Art, for me, is a necessary continuum of discovery, a way of life, a composite of all the senses".
Alison Parkinson Artist Biography
Alison has had exhibitions (both solo and collaborative), in various commercial galleries around Australia.
Most recently she had a very successful show of portraits at the Backspace Gallery (operated by the Art Gallery of Ballarat),where she sold 30 paintings out of a total of 48.
Alison has work in private and corporate collections, both in Australia and internationally.
She works across a broad range of disciplines, including oil paint, graphite, ceramic sculpture and silversmithing.
Alison has extensive experience teaching art, including sessional tenures at the Art Gallery of Ballarat
tutoring the “Life and Portrait Drawing” classes and project work with BRACE.
She has appeared in TV Shows, tutoring drawing on ‘What’s Up Down Under’
and had work purchased by Channel 7 for use in ‘House Rules’.
ALISON PARKINSON CV
EDUCATION
Diploma of Art Majoring in Painting BCAE (now Federation University) 1969 - 1972
Drawing classes Camberwell, Horsham and Ballarat Arts Academy
French Polishing
Art Modalities
Painting Oils, Drawing, Sculpture, Silversmithing
EXHIBITIONS
Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition ‘Dancing Cocky’ Sept 1 -13 Oct 2024
Gallery 10 Ballarat Sculptures and Works on Paper 20th July - Aug 30th 2024
ASV Annual Awards at Victorian Artist Society Building 2024
Melbourne Garden Show Exhibition Building Melbourne ASV 2024
ASV Form and Philosophy McClelland Sculpture Park 2024
Blarney Biblio Book Prize 2024
YAVA Gallery and Hub. Interior Sculpture Exhibition 2023
Lot 19 Sculpture Prize Castlemaine accepted. Bust of Irish clay14th– 29th Oct 2023
Cats come to Creswick 29th September 2023 Porcelain Sculpture of ‘Mouse Plague’
Stillness Tin Can Collective Creswick July1 -23rd 2023 Painting, drawing and sculpture
Convent Gallery Daylesford ‘Love Where You Live’ Artist talk and Exhibition. June-August 2023
As above, sculpture: busts and painting. Sold Floribunda underglazed terracotta bust
Convent Gallery Daylesford Q & A April 2023 Sculpture: bronze and ceramic
Creswick Postcard size exhibition April 2023
Creswick Pavilion Arts Nov 2022 First Prize
“Naked” Drawings from Life. Leavers Creswick
Convent Gallery 2022 Sold three sculptured busts
Trentham Little Gallery The Winter Show 2022 Included Bronze Sculpture. Sold one sculpture and three paintings
Creswick Arts Pavilion Landscapes
Cresfest Art Trail 2022 Ausnet Protest
Leavers Ausnet Protest paintings 2022
Red Fox Café Creswick Landscapes 2022
Toorak Sculpture Prize 2022
Convent Gallery Ceramic Sculptures. 2021 Sold two ceramic busts
Creswick Arts Exhibition Nov. 2021
One hundred faces, 35 Artists. Playing in The Attic Ballarat. 2020 Sold three paintings
Red Door Clunes The Orphans 2020
Convent Gallery Shades 2019 Sold two ceramic busts
Words in Winter Creswick: Words and Visions, August 2019
People and Places, Backspace Gallery 11th July -28th July 2019
Cats coming to Creswick. Le Chat Noir and le Chat Blanc 7th – 10th June 2019
Convent Gallery DMRO exhibition. Yaya
Daylesford and Macedon Ranges Open Studio 13,14, 20,21&22 April 2019
Manet Maldon Art Walk. 16th to March 2019
Creswick Artists Exhibition. Creswick Town Hall 2018
69 Smith St Collective. Collingwood Gallery. Fitzroy The Line 2018 Drawing
Entered Paul Guest Prize 2018
Warracknabeal Artist in Residence and Exhibition Easter 2018
Revamp 60& 79s revisited. Ballarat Art Students from 1955 to 1979. Post office Gallery Nov 2017
Exhibition 2017 “Movement”. Ceramic Sculpture “The kiss” SOLD 2017
Yarra Sculpture Gallery 2017 with 69 Smith Street collective.
Ravenswood Australian womans Art Prize Entry “Florabundance” Sculpture 2017
Figurative Drawings Alison Parkinson Life and Portrait Drawings ContainArt Ballarat- Curated by Alison. 2017
The Art Gallery of Ballarat students.
BOAA 2018 Entry.2017 Accepted in “Give us your best shot” 2018
Kilmore Prize Entry. 2017
Maldon Art Walk exhibiting two oil Paintings. March 2017.
Ready to Hang an Exhibition at Redrock Gallery Horsham Dec 2016/2017 – 5 sales
Marie Ellis Drawing Prize Brisbane Finalist 2016
Paul Guest Prize. Entered 2016
Exhibition of drawings 69 Smith St Gallery Fitzroy “Sentient Moments” Two collaborating Artists May 2016 - 6 Sales.
69 Smith Street Members Exhibition 2015 one exhibit
Pavilion Arts Creswick 2015
Creswick Artists. Sold 3 paintings 2014 &2015
Maldon Portrait Prize. Sold Paintings 2014 &2016
Entered Archibald Prize 2014
Wall Exhibition sold 8 paintings 2013
Words for Winter. Illustrating poem. Creswick 2012
Rotary Club Exhibitions, Boxhill, Yea, Horsham, Bendigo Daylesford. Good sales Several prizes.
Lindsay Exhibition Creswick 2009
Radmac Ballarat Solo Exhibition 2009
Solo Exhibition “Repertoir” Springmount 2008 14 paintings sold
Exhibited “One Works” Art Hall Learmonth July 2007
Creswick Business Group “Rose” exhibition May 2007
Solo Exhibition Persephone’s Garden Creswick August 2006
Creswick Business Group Hard Art Exhibition May 2006
Castlemaine Gallery James Farrell Self Portrait Award finalist 2005
Solo, group and prize Dandenong Youth Prizes: First Prize - Drawing; Highly Commended – mixed media
COMMISSIONS
Portrait Painting - Many commissions
Miscellaneous. Set of Carousel Drawings, Animals Ink and wash.
Repertoir Gallery Sales. My own small gallery space, opened 2010 by appointment.
Two drawings of Hobby farmers with their animals. Gabrielle 2017
Cinerary For Dog. Ceramic dog portrait. 2018
Life Portrait of my wife, Tom 2018
TUTORING ART
Art Gallery of Ballarat: Weekend Drawing Tutor – Portraiture & Life Drawing 2013 – 2017
4 classes term weekends. Resigned Dec 2017
The Art Gallery of Ballarat - Drawing Intensives. Two days with same pose. - Portraiture and Life Drawing
After School and Holiday Programs. 2015/16/17
Archibald Support Portraiture program for children. 2015
The Art Gallery of Ballarat ARTLINK – Virtual Experience Transmitted to schools - Connected to Archibald Prize Exhibition. 2016
Educating schools at distance. Students bused to Art Gallery. Portraiture class 2016
Portraiture for Teacher’s conference at The Art Gallery of Ballarat. 2017
Working with people with Disabilities BRACE 2014
TV Connections
‘Whats Up Downunder” Tutoring presenters in Drawing. Channel 10 June 2017 at the Gallery of Ballarat.
House Rules. Sold Drawing to Channel 7 May 2017
Other Employment
FRENCH Polishing Business.
Ballarat, Warracknabeal, Toorak, Camberwell.
Craigs Hotel Ballarat. Interior
Mechanics Instatute Ballarat. Major furniture including Grand Piano
Antique furniture restoration and polishing, including large dining tables and many Pianos.
Womens Health Grampians Family Violence Outreach Worker.Horsham
Art Teacher St Pauls Technical School Ballarat