Narelle Pendlebury is a Perth Artist with a solid history in the Fine Arts world and Art Education. She works mainly in the areas of painting, textiles and ceramics. Her paintings include large abstract sea, cloud and waterscapes, as well as mixed-media work combining textiles, printmaking, stitching, maps, acrylic and oil mediums. These works are often figurative, and explore the themes of dream, flight, symbol, and the ocean.

JahRoc Galleries have been sucessfully exhibiting and selling Narelle Pendlebury’s paintings for over 12 years with clients enjoying her unique style and fresh approach to her art practice. In the Q&A’s below Narelle gives us some insight into the inspiration behind her work and the methods she uses to create exceptional art.

When did you first feel the desire to be artistic and realise you had talent?

Growing up in the era where children were encouraged to “go out make their own fun”, as kids we were used to making art and “stuff” out of anything and everything we could find. My father is an architect and my mother was a great dressmaker, and we were encouraged to create- building cubbies, making costumes, sculptures and artworks from all sorts of materials. Making and creating were a big part of my childhood, and I loved art at high school as it was a way to develop practical skills and processes, and learn about the world through its art.

Where did you learn your art?

Making and enjoying art has always been an integral part of my life, and my professional training began in 1980 when I studied Fine Arts at WAIT, now Curtin University, majoring in painting and printmaking. Later I went on to complete a Diploma of Secondary Teaching in Art, majoring in painting and textiles. Since then I have taught art in Secondary Schools, run adult workshops in ceramics, worked with large groups of primary school students to create large ceramic and mosaic wall murals, conducted workshops and performances in Wearable Art for senior students and am currently teaching Art in a Perth private school. I have been exhibiting as a professional artist for over fifteen years, and have continued to explore and acquire skills in a wide range of mediums for my own professional development.

What mediums do you use and why?

From my desire to work with a wide range of mediums and techniques, my mixed media works have naturally evolved. The processes of drawing, printmaking, painting and textiles are often fused, and an integral part of my work is the concept and activity of layering – literally, through the laying down of many layers of different materials, but also the accumulation of meaning, informed by each viewer’s experience. Materials used include printed. dyed and painted papers, marine charts and maps, lino relief rubbings which are painted in resist, printed transparent fabrics such as organza, dyed silks, and embossed and oxidised copper and other metals. Machine stitch is used to emphasise shape, pattern and texture, and oil and acrylic mediums are applied in layers and transparent glazes.

Describe the creative process.

These works have evolved over a period of time through my interest in textiles and printmaking, as well as painting. After exploration of a theme through drawing, some works begin by monoprinting images onto various papers, which are then painted using watercolours and acrylics. Machine stitch is added to emphasise line and texture, and pieces of handprinted fabric, paper and other materials are collaged and sewn onto the piece. Sometimes I create collages onto backgrounds of transparent papers which I have laminated, or rice paper which I have painted and dyed before sewing. These pieces are bonded onto board and then painted and worked into using a variety of media, with an emphasis on the subtle interplay of surface, texture and translucent layers.

What inspires you most?

The main inspiration for my work comes from my personal experience of living in this wonderful coastal environment, observing the land and seascape, and experiencing the natural elements of wind, water and waves. My figurative works are associated with the notion of travelling and journeying, and the role of dream and memory in our experience.

What message are you sending to the viewer of your art?

My abstract landscape works explore the themes of land sea and sky. These are approached from multiple perspectives- horizontal, aerial and topographical- to reflect the nature of the natural environment and our experience and perceptions of it. In some of these works, navigational maps of the local Western Australian coastline are used as a basis to work from. These are worked into using extensive layers of dyed and printed materials, as well as acrylic and oil mediums to produce a richly textured surface, but with an emphasis on the transparency of layers, and a unifying pattern. Graphic symbols included reference those used in maps and navigational aids such as GPS, and sometimes the image is gridded in a similar way to that which appears on satellite imagery such as google earth.

My figurative works often engage with notions of journeying and travelling- physically and metaphorically. The colours are rich, and the surface is embellished with stitch, metal and multiple layers of paint and texture to create a jewel-like effect. These works delve loosely into a contemplation on time, memory and the pilgrimage from one stratum of existence to the next.

Describe your studio.

Currently I don’t have a dedicated studio, but have many areas around the house where I can undertake the various aspects of my art making. I have spaces inside and outside where I work, depending on the size and medium of the artwork being created. Having works in progress around the house allows me time to contemplate their progress, and consider where to go next with them.

What are you working on now?

I tend to work on many pieces simultaneously, and move from one medium and process to the next. I am currently exploring some more urban imagery based on photographs I have taken and manipulated, as well as continuing with sky/landscapes, and figurative works. I regularly undertake commissions, and am also preparing a body of work for a solo exhibition in December 2016.

What do you love most about what you do?

I can’t imagine life without being engaged in some form of creative activity, so being able to combine art making with teaching art is my ideal. The two complement each other and keep me stimulated and motivated to share my passion for art, as well as being able to explore new techniques and approaches to art making.

Where can you see yourself in ten years time?

Hopefully doing what I am now.

Artist Statement

Narelle Pendlebury is an established Western Australian artist who has developed a unique and recognizable style by fusing many different mediums and processes together to create highly worked jewel-like paintings. Her journey began by studying Fine Arts in 1980, then Secondary Teaching in Art, and has worked as an Art Educator till present whilst also exhibiting as a professional artist. Her experience with a wide variety of art techniques has seen Narelle Pendlebury’s paintings naturally evolve, with the layering of different materials being an integral thread in her work. She draws inspiration from her personal experiences of living in a wonderful coastal environment, by observing the land and seascape, wind, water and waves. Her figurative works are associated with the notion of travelling and journeying and the role of dream and memory in our experiences.

Artist Statement

I am an established Western Australian artist with a background in Fine Arts and Art Education, and have been exhibiting as a professional artist for over 20 years within Western Australia and interstate. My work is represented by several galleries within WA, and is held in many corporate and private collections throughout Australia and overseas.

I have worked in many mediums and have developed a practice which fuses and extends the processes and disciplines of drawing, printmaking, painting and textiles, with an emphasis on the interplay of surface, material and texture. An integral part of my work is the concept and activity of layering. Dyed, printed and painted materials, often transparent and translucent, are stitched and embellished with embossed shims and printed surfaces. Acrylic and oil media are then subtly layered over these pieces to create highly worked and jewel-like surfaces.

Many of my landscape based abstract works explore the themes of land, sea and sky from multiple perspectives – horizontally and topographically to reflect the nature of the natural environment and our experience and perceptions of it, as well through the exploration of the layers of pattern imprinted upon the earth, seabed and ocean surface. In some of these works, navigational maps of the local Western Australian coastline are used as a base to work from. These are worked into using extensive layers of dyed and printed materials, as well as acrylic and oil mediums to produce a richly textured surface, but with an emphasis on the transparency of layers, and a unifying pattern. Graphic symbols included reference those used in maps and navigational aids such as GPS, and sometimes the image is gridded in a similar way to that which appears on satellite imagery such as google earth.

Small works representing imagery of the Perth CBD with a focus on the patterning and layering of the architectural and natural environment has allowed an exploration of a very different colour palette reflecting the diffusion of the artificial vibrant lighting within the night urban environment. Again, the subtle transparence and layering encourages the viewer to become immersed in the ‘sense of place’ evoked within the image.

Qualifications

1980-80 Completed 3 semesters of BA Fine Arts W.A.I.T. Major: painting Minor: Printmaking 1984-86 Diploma of Teaching (Distinction) -Secondary Art W.A.C.A.E. (E.C.U) Major: Painting Minor: Textiles 1984 Perth Technical College -Diploma in Art (part-time) Units in; Printmaking, Art Studio and Business Practice, Drawing 1988 Edith Cowan University Painting Units – Bachelor of Education (part-time) 1987-1988 Head or Art Department – Sacred Heart College, Sorrento 1999 – on Casual relief teaching – Secondary Art

Art Awards

1979 Miss Tothill’s year 12 Art Award – St Mary’s Anglican Girls School 1999 Brunswick Agricultural Society Art Exhibition Sponsors Choice Award

Publications

1985 Craft Arts Journal – Textiles 2001 Homes and Living Magazine – Ceramics

Exhibitions, Mixed, Invitation

1984
- Perth Technical College Printmaking Exhibition
1985
- Craft Council of Western Australia
1996
- South Perth Art Fiesta
1997
- Waratah Red Cross Exhibition, Dalkeith
1998
- Salec Minc Art Exhibition, Mount Lawley
- Waratah Red Cross Exhibition, Dalkeith
1999
- Brunswick Agricultural Society Art Show
- Salec Minc Art Exhibition, Mount Lawley
- Waratah Red Cross Exhibition, Dalkeith
2000
- ‘Art In The Park’, King’s Park, Perth
- ‘Art At Aranmore’, Aranmore College, Leederville.
- Waratah Red Cross Art Exhibition, Dalkeith
- Salec Minc Exhibition, Mount Lawley
- Brunswick Agricultural Art Show
2001
- ‘Art At Aranmore’, Aranmore College, Leederville
- Salec Minc Exhibition, Mount Lawley
2002
- Artcenta’, Newman College, Churchlands
- ‘Art of Humanity’, Red Cross Exhibition, University of WA
- Salec Minc Exhibition, Mount Lawley
- ‘Family Ties’, Christchurch Grammar School, Claremont
- Gallery 360, Subiaco – Feature Artist for December
2003
- ‘The Life, The Land, The People’, Mosman Park Art
- ‘Artcenta’, Newman College, Churchlands
- Salec Minc Art Exhibition, Mount Lawley
- Gallery 360, Mount Lawley – Feature Artist for June, December
- Town of Cambridge Art Awards, Floreat
- ‘Celebrations’, MLC Art Exhbition, Claremont
- St Hilda’s Art Show, Mosman Park
- ‘Fine Art At Hale’, Hale School, Wembley Downs
- ‘The Art Show’, Campbell Barracks, Swanbourne
- Trinity College Inaugural Art Exhibition, East Perth
- Guildford Grammar Art Show, Guildford
2004
- Gallery 360, Subiaco – Feature Artist for February
- Town of Cambridge Art Awards, Floreat
- ‘Art Divine’, Anglican Parish of St Nicolas, Carine
- Mindarie Art Awards, Mindarie
- Gallery 360, Applecross – Feature Artist for July
- ‘Fine Art At Hale’, Hale School, Wembley Downs
- ‘The Art Show’, Swanbourne Barracks, Swanbourne
2005
- ‘Artitude”- Perth Convention Centre
- ‘Stop The Cane Toad’, Challen and Rafferty
- ‘The Art Show’, Campbell Barracks, Swanbourne
- Trinity Art Exhibition, East Perth
- ‘Fine Art At Hale, Hale School, Wembley Downs
2006
- Gallery 360, Joondalup-Feature artist for January
- Art at PC, Perth College, Mt Lawley
- Fine Art at Hale, Hale School, Wembley Downs
- Guildford Grammar Art Exhibition, Guildford
- ‘Artitude’, Perth Convention Centre