BELLINGEN artist Polly Wells, who has exhibited many times at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery amongst other local and statewide galleries, with success as a finalist and voted winner of People’s Choice awards, now has a show in Sydney.

The World Turns exhibition, showing at Studio W in Woolloomooloo from October 12 to 23 has its opening party on Saturday October 15, 3-5pm.

This exhibition of paintings takes as its subject the turning of the day, the ever-changing effects of the light on the sky, sea and land.

“I’ve more generally been known for my still life painting, but I’ve done equally as much landscape work, in response to this area of exceptional natural beauty,” Polly told News Of The Area, who has lived and painted in Bellingen for over 30 years.

“During the last three years I’ve spent much time, in all kinds of weather, walking along the coast, over headlands and along endless stretches of beaches being immersed in the immensity of the sea and skies.

“This has inspired my latest paintings which I decided to exhibit in Sydney because so many Sydneysiders come here to experience the power of nature…they love our area.”

With weather events abounding on the Coffs Coast, Polly said, “Weather is uppermost in our minds at present and being in nature prompts us to reflect on climate change and the precariousness of our world.

“I particularly like painting the light at the turning of day, when the sunrises are resplendent over the sea, and the dusk brings a soft violet flush in the east.

“Every day the world is reborn.”

Polly studied art in Melbourne in the 1980s and her first work was painting the environments we choose to create for ourselves to live in, our backyards and gardens, “those spaces that enhance our wellbeing”.

This theme has broadly continued.

“Nature heals us, we now need to learn to heal nature.

“I enjoy observing the forms and patterns of nature, so there is a strong element of realism in my work.”

Polly is interested in the structures of nature, and how things look, and enjoys observing and learning about the subject in the process of painting.

“Doing a painting of a cloud for example, means I learn about the architecture of clouds.

“But that is just the start of the creative process.

“From there onwards, I express my own personal view of the world.”

Polly has shown her work over the past six years through Frances Keevil Gallery in Double Bay.

Now closed to become an online gallery, Frances Keevil has shows throughout the year at a physical gallery, Studio W in Woolloomooloo.

She is particularly interested in showing artists from the Coffs Coast to which she has strong connections.

By Andrea FERRARI