It’s Show Time again! After two years of local shows being cancelled because of Covid, members of the Beaudesert U3A art group are happily at work preparing for a succession of local events.
Recently eight of them entered the Boonah show and seven members came home with a number of prizes, with an eighth selling one of his works to a show-goer who was impressed by the rural English scene it depicted.
Now it’s onwards to the Canungra Show on 20 August and shortly afterwards, Beaudesert on 2 and 3 September.
But exhibitors or not, it’s all part of the learning process for the 10-15 members who meet every Wednesday morning in St. Thomas’s Church Hall in Albert Street. While painting in acrylics is popular, members work in a number of different media.
“We are a diverse group with some experienced members who are happy with their art and don’t want to show it in public,” says the group coordinator Denice Knight. “And at the other end of the scale we have beginners including one who has just won a prize in the novice section at Boonah for her very first painting.”
Denice says it’s easy for people to feel a bit intimidated when they see finished work, often displayed fully mounted and framed, but as a once-raw beginner herself, she is quick to encourage anyone to have a go and see what they can do, with support (and some advice!) from more experienced artists.
Members who won prizes across a number of classes at Boonah were:
- Stephanie Costa – two firsts, a miniature plus acrylic board painting
- Peter Greening – a first for oil and second for acrylic
- Michael Goebel – first for acrylic and second for oil
- Denice Knight – two seconds, for oil and pencil
- Jenny Stedman – a second in mixed medium, highly commended for acrylic
- Denise Smallwood – second for watercolour
- Marlene Knights – second in novice for her very first painting of a grey rat
- Three members (Denice Knight, Michael Goebel and Paul Neal) sold artwork at the show
For more information on this group, contact Denice on mob 0402 012 267 or 5546 9879. For general information, go to http://www.beaudesertu3a.com or U3A Beaudesert Facebook.
by Cheryl Folley (U3A Media)
