People's Choice Voting: Queensland Regional Art Awards 2019

Artist: Peter Lawson
Artist Location: ARCADIA
Medium: Knifed oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 68 x 103 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
I have captured the splendour and historical importance of Townsville and other communities around Australia and abroad all my career. I work from life with painting on location and Elements Of Time demonstrates the diverse qualities that make up the landscape I have represented.

I believe art should be definitive and communicative and the work of an artist is not to satisfy their own indulgences but to give a very clear and very effective message to the viewer. I often take students out into the environment and with them experience the diversity of that scene on that day. By combining unique styles and methods, we take time to get to know the subject and faithfully interpret each with authenticity.
I use light to add energy and life to paintings and bring the vision, imagination and message of the environment to canvas.

Photographer: Peter Lawson

Artist: Christine Brassington
Artist Location: Via Helidon
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 7.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Carpendale is a little more than “One Square Mile” – blink and you’ll miss it – but if you take the time to look, you will see diversity in the bush and the cultivation: a landscape of many colours that change through the day, the seasons, and the crops; red bottlebrush mark the course of Flagstone Creek, yellow wattle mark the season. Among the wildlife that reside here are wallabies, possums, echidnas, snakes; a big green frog lives in the post of my carport; pelicans visit regularly, but a black swan is an extra special treat. I moved a turtle off the road the other day; when we were kids we said turtles meant rain – I hope so! – but it takes a big flood to bring the platypus down the creek. I marvel at the multitude of birds – they’re my go to procrastination and favourite soundtrack.

Photographer: Christine Brassington

Artist: Gail Meyer
Artist Location: NORTH ROCKHAMPTON
Medium: Watercolour on paper on board, 2019
Dimensions: 42 x 29 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
‘Woven Together as One’
It is a big State of excitement and assorted adventures.
The remoteness of the outback could be calling with lyrical images of dry red sandy plains, bush pubs and country hats instead of city briefcases. As well, bushland will beckon, with its differing associated range of wildlife.
A variance could be the distinctive ecosystem of wetlands and unique array of creatures including the crocodile.
The warp and weft of environmental and regional differences has to include the verdant, moist rainforests beaches that hold back the coral studded ocean.
My approach to such contrasts has been to paint the many differing visual narratives including the Queensland Emblems; Brolga, Blue Sapphire, Cooktown Orchids, Koala Anemone Fish. These were fixed onto a backing and topped with a rough weaving together of strips of watercolour images that loosely form the cross on the State badge

Photographer: Gail Meyer

Artist: Tharusha Dias Mendis
Artist Location: BEECHMONT
Medium: Silk stich and ink on silk, 2019
Dimensions: 38 x 107.5 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
The mystery of this mountain is too beautiful, too powerful and too inexplicable for words. This is an unassuming mountain that holds all her living beings in her dreaming. She accepts every living thing in it’s entirety, whether it’s a native, weed, farm produce, wild animal, farm animal, local, visitor or immigrant.

She is the mother who holds us rooted in what is beautiful, what is true and connected to our own essence. Therefore diversity in this mountain is intentional, never insisted but a natural part of belonging. In this mountain nobody is superior, nobody is inferior and most importantly nobody is equal either. In this mountain everything is unique and incomparable hence everything contributes to their potential to life. She helps us remember our way and liberates us to be naturally wild. Her magic, mystery, whispers and secrets keeps us mountain folk forever in wonder.

Photographer: Tharusha Dias-Mendis

Artist: Wanda Gibson
Artist Location: HOPE VALE
Medium: Screen print on linen, 2019
Dimensions: 120 x 100 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
As an artist, I am particularly interested in creating work which documents my personal history, in particular, images of the places that I have lived, and the communities that have shaped the person I am today. My textile is called “Old Hope Vale” and it is a map of the Hope Vale mission as I remember it in the early 1970’s. Community life has changed a lot in the last 50 years, but places for community to come together and catch up remain as important as ever. My map shows all the places that were important to me and the community, including the house I moved into with my husband, the school, the shop and the Church, which my father helped to build, and which still stands at the centre of community life in Hope Vale today.

Photographer: Melanie Gibson

Artist: Grace Rosendale
Artist Location: HOPE VALE
Medium: Screen print on linen, 2019
Dimensions: 120 x 100 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Guuti is a series of large silica sand dunes. Behind it there is lagoon which holds sacred healing waters. It is an important place for the Binthi Warra people.

One time my father was working on a cattle station, when he became seriously ill. He couldn’t walk and everyone thought that he was going to die. The men had to go off fencing on the station. They had no choice but to leave my father behind. Before they headed off and said their goodbyes, my father asked them to take him to the creek behind Guuthi. The men then bathed him in the waters and then took him back to camp.

The men then headed off to work, they were not expecting to find my father alive on their return.

When the men returned to camp that evening, they were all happy and astonished to find my dad walking around.

Photographer: Melanie Gibson

Artist: Trudy Brooks
Artist Location: Dayboro
Medium: Watercolour,graphite and ink on yupo paper, 2019
Dimensions: 58 x 88 x 0.3 cm
Artist Statement:
Sometimes the diversity of our weather is too much to bear. After a devastating drought, our North Queensland graziers were hit by catastrophic floods earlier this year. The usually welcome rains have become another obstacle to survival.
This work depicts the despair of one grazier during the catastrophic Queensland floods. It symbolizes that the vast flood and its devastation have become a part of who he is. There may be light on the horizon but all that occupies the man’s thoughts now are horrific, reoccurring visions of his dead and dying cattle across the vista of the land. At this moment he is overwhelmed but in time and with support, he will endure what is ahead and survive.

Photographer: Trudy Brooks

Artist: Elena Suto
Artist Location: Regents Park
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 61 x 91 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Lake McKenzie is located on the beautiful Fraser Island and has been referred to as ‘Eden’ like by many of the visitors that have visited this stunning part of the Island. With clear blue waters ringed by pure white sand and fringing Blackbutt forest, Lake McKenzie is Fraser Island’s premier visitor site. This perched dune lake is one of the island’s most picturesque freshwater lakes which piques interest for many travelers. Lake McKenzie is a must visit the location which is absolutely amazing. Fraser Island is listed as one of the 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Australia.

Photographer: Elena Suto

Artist: Gen Anderson
Artist Location: Cairns
Medium: Digital painting printed on archival paper with pigment ink, 2019
Dimensions: 42 x 59 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Our Barrier Reef is a most valued natural environment, which is interrelated with all other eco systems. We SO need to look after all our diverse life forms.

Photographer: Gen Anderson

Artist: Madge Bowen
Artist Location: HOPE VALE
Medium: Screen print on linen, 2019
Dimensions: 120 x 100 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
I always like to paint my traditional homeland of Bulgan (Kings Plain). I feel a deep spiritual connection to my land, and the sacred sites on it, including the plants and the animals. Maramaka is a kind of fig tree that grows in Far North Queensland, and there are lots of them on my homeland. I love to paint them, because even though my family no longer live my land, when I see one, I feel that deep connection to Bulgan.

Photographer: Melanie Gibson

Artist: Gertie Deeral
Artist Location: HOPE VALE
Medium: Screen printed ink on dupion silx, 2018
Dimensions: 120 x 100 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
This is my fabric of “Yarun” which means “wattle” in my Guugu Ymithirr language. When you see that the wattle seeds are in bloom in this area, it is a special time of year. You know that the sea foods are ready to go – the crabs and the prawns are fully grown and ready to catch. The fish, sea urchin, oysters, even the turtle are fat and really yummy. We don’t know what time of year it is but we just look at the wattle in bloom, then we know!

Photographer: Melanie Gibson

Artist: Helen Dennis
Artist Location: CHINCHILLA
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 61 x 76 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
On our property runs Branch Creek, which flows to the Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment for the Murray Darling Basin. Our small creek has been a guide for Indigenous travellers visiting the Bunya Mountains, an area of vegetation and animal diversity in its wetlands, a place of lagoons where tall timbers grow, a source of irrigation for crops and domestic animals, and playground for all.
For our community the creeks are the mainstay of life. Without the creeks Indigenous travellers would not have moved through and camped, farms would not have been established, the railway would not have come, and modern townships would not be sustainable. Their waters are an essential element of life.
The roots of a majestic gumtree became the ‘Fairy Tree’ for our children, after a massive flood wore away its foundations, sending it tumbling across the creek and exposing its roots to the elements.

Photographer: Helen Dennis

Artist: Adrienne Williams
Artist Location: ELLIOTT HEADS
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 91.5 x 91.5 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
The northern headland of the Elliott River is my new home. This work is a conversation through markmaking about the diverse natural, cultural and elemental forces that continue to change and shape where I’m living. A perfect line of planted casuarinas perches atop red volcanic soil, underpinned by a coastline of basalt rock flung in messy patterns from an ancient volcano. Walking out to see these views each morning produces a surge of joy and disbelief within me… do I really live here? And this daily routine has bought a utopian dreamlike quality to this piece with it’s perfect line of leaning casuarinas, juxtaposed against tumbledown undergrowth and the jumble of rocky tidelines. Elliott Heads is both caressed and scarred by water and wind – literally the winds of change that will continue to extend it’s diversity well beyond my time here.

Photographer: Adrienne Williams

Artist: Grant Quinn
Artist Location: Bundamba
Medium: Photography, 2019
Dimensions: 55 x 55 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Nothing shows more diversity than man-made and natural environments. The diverse elements of the two sometimes collide to make up the environment and communities that we live in. As cities and towns slowly spread out its urbanisation we are losing our beautiful and diverse flora and fauna. However, in some cases, our flora and fauna adjusts and evolves to survive in man-made environments. In this image I have capture a Fig Tree with its roots desperately clinging to the side of a brick wall. It is determined to survive in this cold hard eco system. The sprawling roots, twisted branches and minimalist leaves combined with the painted brick wall and cement edging create a stunning picture telling a story of determination and a will to survive against all odds.

Photographer: Grant Quinn

Artist: Sarah Larsen
Artist Location: Thangool,
Medium: Mixed media on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 94 x 120 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
On contemplation of the theme diversity, I was drawn to speak about the diversity of race and culture so prevalent in Australian society now.
I have chosen to depict the ‘hats we wear’ to portray this statement. They are balanced on a piece of dried timber and supported by the wide red land and our beautiful open blue skies.

Photographer: Sarah Larsen

Artist: Lynelle Urquhart
Artist Location: Southwood
Medium: Digital photography, machine stitching & pastels, 2019
Dimensions: 21 x 28.5 x 0.3 cm
Artist Statement:
The old – cattle in the yards stirring up the dust, with the new – me on my mobile phone taking photos, checking for messages & looking at emails. Running a farm business office whilst doing cattle work on our mixed grain & cattle farm at Moonie on the Western Darling Downs. Queensland and Queenslanders are a diverse lot, comfortably mixing traditions with new ideas and just getting on with it!

This image mixes digital photography, edited & printed at home on fabric, sewn on my machine to highlight the steel yards, then drawn on with pastels. Trying to capture the incredible light of the afternoon.

Photographer: Lynelle Urquhart

Artist: Debbie Dieckmann
Artist Location: MILLMERRAN
Medium: Watercolour, 2019
Dimensions: 35 x 45 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
I have been a creator all my life being raised in the bush by my mother who was an artist. I began my artist endeavours by painting and then created using different mediums for several years .In the last 6 years I have returned to painting and mixed media but in the last10 months I have found a passion for watercolour and the wildlife in my bush community. For me watercolor best illustrates the fragility and subtly diversity of the bush, be it’s colours, delicacy of birds or fauna. Bush diversity is everywhere and is often overlooked as its subtle and changes with the seasons.
I am intrigued with my co inhabitants and try to record glimpses of their lives in my paintings. There’s over 238 birds, numerous marsupials and reptiles here so it’s going to be a long interesting journey without leaving home.

Photographer: Debbie Dieckmann

Artist: Karen Stephens
Artist Location: WINTON
Medium: Acrylic on paper, 2019
Dimensions: 20 x 29 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Boulder Opal with its dominant flashes of brilliant blue, is found deep underground at Opalton near Winton Queensland. Once an inland sea, the gem has been luring diverse nationalities since the late 1800s. Boulder Opal is unique to Winton making this remote region a state of diversity.

My painting is from a larger collection of recent works made in Winton about the coloured gem. I liken my practice of a landscape painter to the work of an opal miner – long hours in solitude and a belief in finding richness. There is this daily repetitive search, a type of chipping or scraping away and often I come home frustrated and empty handed. The prospect of finding wealth in this way is reflected in the eyes and words of the wider public which contain a tinge of madness.

But then sometimes I strike it lucky – I am fishing for landscape.

Photographer: Karen Stephens

Artist: Kristen Flynn
Artist Location: Chinchilla
Medium: Oil on fabriano paper, 2019
Dimensions: 27 x 43 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Garden Party celebrates the women of Chinchilla. Our community hosts an array of highly educated women and mothers that help our community run at all levels. Although a regional town, women here redefine their roles just like their city-living counterparts. The three women in Garden Party are all at different stages in their life and they have all individually defined what it means to be a woman in this time and location. They flip the male gaze on its head as their female stares pierce through their floral masks- symbolising their power, presence and importance to community. The three prints were created using digital photography, solar plate and traditional intaglio printing methods. My work pays tribute to all of the wonderful women in my small community and their contributions to make this a true state of diversity.

Photographer: Kristen Flynn

Artist: Charlene Attard-Slack
Artist Location: Mackay North
Medium: Mixed media on canvas, 2018
Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
An important part of my community is beach culture. ‘Windy day at the beach’ depicts my two young children immersed in the sun, and oblivious to the wind as they engaged in play. I recall as a child, special days at the many beaches in the Mackay Region and the immense fun to be had chasing waves, building sandcastles, finding soldier crabs, exploring rock pools and discovering all living creatures I could find. Protecting the ecology of our beaches is more important now than ever and whilst this artwork captures only a brief moment in time for its subjects, I hope that the darkening clouds in the sky and blurring of the dunes serves to remind us all of the preciousness and need for preservation of our beach locations for future generations of children to explore, discover and enjoy.

Photographer: Charlene Slack

Artist: Pamela Walpole
Artist Location: Sunshine Beach
Medium: Mixed media on stretched canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 100 x 110 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
After the storm the farmer (bottom right hand corner) inspects his property – the red soil is soaked and will replenish the land, but farm implements lie scattered, signs dislodged – fences damaged – livestock to be found and an uprooted crossing now lies along a once dry creek bed.
A country life is hard work!

Photographer: Pamela Walpole

Artist: Alana Read
Artist Location: CAWARRAL
Medium: Watercolour on Arches cold pressed cotton rag 300gsm paper, 2019
Dimensions: 36 x 51 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Near threatened, the “Pimelea Leptospermoides” shrub can survive only in the Serpentine Rock endemic to the Cawarral and Marlborough areas of Central Queensland, Australia. The opportunity to showcase this rare and uniquely Queensland plant located in my home town inspired me deeply. Through my chosen medium of watercolour, the fluid lines of the plant and accompanying rocks were conveyed in a sympathetic way. The colourful green and orange Serpentinite has distinctly dark textural lines, which I painted using my fingers and nails, by scratching and smoothing the wet paint across the paper. This cohabitants’ scene reflects the marriage of the lines and colour shared by the two in the artwork and also in the real life relationship between plant and its host in its natural environment. Endangered; Endearing; Enduring.

Photographer: Alana Read

Artist: Veronika Zeil
Artist Location: ROCKYVIEW
Medium: Acrylic onboard, 2019
Dimensions: 47 x 91 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
This painting depicts the aerial view from Mt Hedlow north of Rockhampton, documenting the highly fractured and extensively grazed nature of that landscape in minimal, expressive style emphasizing diversity of this ecosystem as well as extensive land-use. This marine plane consists of Hedlow Creek, tiny remnants of original melaleuca and blue gum woodlands, areas of ponded pasture and isolated islands of volcanic plug-mountains.

The Hedlow Creek wetlands are essential for bird breeding, provide a nursery area for fish species and freshwater and marine life, are recharging the water table, and are a cattle-grazing area.
Wetlands are vital for capturing freshwater flows and recycling sediments and nutrients before they enter estuarine systems, inshore waters and the Reef. The future prospects for the Fitzroy basin depend on the ability of people to ensure finding a balance between land and water use, and ecosystem health.

Photographer: Veronika Zeil

Artist: Scarlet Burke
Artist Location: BRASSALL
Medium: Digital photograph of acrylic sheet, baking paper, plaster wall, 2018
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
I recently went on a research trip to the Old Woollen Mills in North Ipswich as part of an exploration of local architecture, a place of rich history, cultural diversity, What was once a bustling mill, producing wool for Australian and allied troops for blankets and uniforms, providing income for local working-class people, is now reduced to crumbling decay. The decay is reflective of the war in which the wool was utilised most effectively. Interestingly, there is a lot of high-quality graffiti and street art covering walls, some of which include origami paper cranes. These paper cranes reminded me of Sadako, the little girl who developed Leukemia after the bombing of Hiroshima in WWII and whose mission was to make 1000 paper cranes as a symbol of peace. This artwork is a reflection on the diversity of people utilising the Mills over time and the impact of war.

Photographer: Scarlet Burke

Artist: Jaine Jackson
Artist Location: GYMPIE
Medium: Acrylic mixed media, 2019
Dimensions: 58 x 58 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
‘Golden Hues’ Encapsulates the rich colours of our diverse far stretching landscape. Where the ocean meets the coloured sands and estuaries bordered by mangrove flats. From ocean blues through our National Parks and forest darks to hinterland distant blues and misty hues through the Mary Valley and beyond. From fractured earth during droughts to flooded land when the Mary swells. Our city Gympie/gimpi sits on the banks with a golden history and some still to be found hidden under our streets.

Photographer: Jaine Jackson

Artist: The Ly
Artist Location: LOGANHOLME
Medium: Watercolour on 300 gsm paper, 2019
Dimensions: 55 x 75 x 0.1 cm
Artist Statement:
A Queenslander is a unique architecture in Queensland which is designed to be adaptive and responsive to the regional climate and environment. The characteristics are that the house is made of timber, elevated, and built with tin roof. It has large surrounding verandahs which help occupants to connect to outdoor spaces, create circular ventilations, and open to a diversity of fauna and flora.
The painting picked up a Loganholme Queenslander, including its Queenslander features and the connecting landscape. The house and the surrounding habitat join together as a whole. The painting showed a tranquillity life in Queensland country, but indicated lively activities of people, animals, pastureland and trees. The colour was selected in warmth, revealing a sunset moment in Queensland. By exploring space and time of the characteristic Loganholme Queenslander, the painting discovered a sense of place which can only be found in the diversity of Queensland.

Photographer: The Ly

Artist: Michael Daly
Artist Location: SOUTH MISSION BEACH
Medium: Poster Ink on synthetic paper., 2019
Dimensions: 60 x 84 x 0.1 cm
Artist Statement:
If you want a snapshot of cultural diversity visit your local food court. You might be eating sushi next to a family member dining on hamburger, curry or kabab. Chances are they will be having a vegan salad and you might opt for your coffee on almond milk…or not. If you are in Cairns during winter you will hear accents from Europe, Canada, Japan, Korea, China, New Zealand, and Victoria. The people are all ages talking loud on their phones, not talking at all on their phones. Eating food, playing with food, complaining about food. Over-dressed, under-dressed, working, not working, crying, laughing or default frowning. You will even see yourself walk past…oh wait that was a reflection in the cake display.

Photographer: Michael Daly

Artist: Cindy Grimes
Artist Location: HANNAFORD
Medium: Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 46 x 61 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Recent controversies like the vegan activism in feedlots sparked heated debates in regional Queensland. As an artist and observer, the line between extreme views and healthy diversity is not always clear. How do you know when you yourself cross that line? The farmers in Time for a Chat were once able to solve the world’s problems with a beer around the fire, but enough time given to listening? We all think and act differently. Does current debate over vegan activism, religious freedom, hate speech contribute to healthy diversity? How do we maintain our own values while still recognising respecting and encouraging those of others? Is there yes and no, right and wrong, or just a state of diversity?

Photographer: Cindy Grimes

Artist: Elena Suto
Artist Location: Regents Park
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2018
Dimensions: 76 x 91.5 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Between the rocky Cape Moreton and North Point lies Moreton Island’s picture perfect Honeymoon Bay. Looking like something from a movie, the hidden picturesque half-moon shape beach is about 50 meters wide, making it the perfect spot for a refreshing swim. Honeymoon Bay is the most famous of the four small pocket beaches near Cape Moreton. Honeymoon Bay is hard to miss whilst exploring the island. When my family and I first visited this location in December 2007, we were absolutely taken by this beautiful secluded location.

Photographer: Elena Suto

Artist: Esmae Bowen
Artist Location: HOPE VALE
Medium: Screen printed ink onlinen, 2019
Dimensions: 120 x 100 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
My artwork is inspired by the forms and colours I see in the environment and my love of plants. When you see plants and you’re so down and out the beauty of that plant can lighten your day. A flower can put a smile on my face for the whole day. My favourite flower to paint is the baby lady apples (also called bush apples) at the time just before the flower grows into fruit. Lady apples only fruit in the early part of the wet season, and I love to paint them so much because they remind me of my childhood Christmases spent down at the beach with my family, where we used to like to eat them with salt.

Photographer: Melanie Gibson

Artist: Rosie Lloyd-Giblett
Artist Location: NOOSAVILLE
Medium: Ink, watercolour , graphite in paper, 2019
Dimensions: 78 x 100 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
I live on the Sunshine Coast and regularly work plein air. I created this image from Lowes Lookout at Coolum. I was looking at the view towards The Noosa National Park. I am a regular visitor to the National Park and I enjoy exploring the tracks on foot and often lug my long board surfboard to Granite and Tea Tree Bay to surf with my teenage daughters.

The views from the water give one the sense of isolation, wilderness and the glorious feeling of freedom. The ecosystems within the park are so varied you can experience the shaded rain forest, peeling paperbarks and then walk towards Sunshine Beach and discover abundant Banksia shrubs. Natural spaces ares worth protecting for future generations to enjoy.

Photographer: Tonia Cecil

Artist: Tamlyn Geiger
Artist Location: Canungra
Medium: Watercolour, mixed media, digitisation printed onto lycra, 2019
Dimensions: 100 x 100 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
“My artwork ‘Nasturtium’ started as a watercolour, incorporated mixed media and comprises digitisation processes. An old-time style handwriting blends to give a worldly charm and continuity.
Canungra’s shared garden and our community of human personalities and interests is as diverse as the natural ecosystem. Withstanding drought and frost our State is like the community garden. To portray the “State of Diversity” in Queensland, did I choose Nasturtium or did Nasturtium choose me? I found the elements, massaged my processes and looked for what brings joy and fulfills purpose.”
Tamlyn Geiger creates artwork that evokes the beauty and organic rawness of Queensland. Artmaking is Tamlyn’s life: From a graphics background, Tamlyn’s full-time devotion to her craft has developed a freedom of expression that is evident in her surface designs.

Photographer: Tamlyn Geiger

Artist: Michelle Kennedy
Artist Location: CABARLAH
Medium: Acyrlic and aerisol on canvas, 2018
Dimensions: 76 x 101.5 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Having lived in remote western Queensland, Opalus was inspired by the amazing colour of the the western red hills, white gums, pebbled riverbeds & vastness ~ the diversity of environment & landscape of our state. Named Opalus, as much of the opal deposition is a conglomeration of vastly diverse volcanic product, and formed by water, silica from sandstone, decomposing fossil and other earthen sediment, formed over a longtime and deeply affected by wet and dry periods. It strikes me that the opal is a visual metaphor for Queensland, representing the diversity of colourful environments, climates, landscapes & peoples particular to each area of our beautiful state. Each opal, recognisable as such yet unique in its colour, personality and origin, yet non the less a Queenslander.

Photographer: Michelle Kennedy

Artist: Kym Tabulo
Artist Location: MOOLOOLAH VALLEY
Medium: gicle print on paper, 2019
Dimensions: 40 x 80 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
The Sunshine Coast’s scenic diversity is a microcosmic likeness of the wider state of Queensland. It is abundant with a variety of unique natural and built curiosities that draw people to live or visit here. This work, Snap Shots, transforms several iconic landmarks of the region into hypnotic images, as a way to entice others to look into the work and appreciate the array of attractions in the area. The forty-five panels capture local emblems in a moment of time, from the bunya pines and Glasshouse Mountains, to the beachside pandanus palms and the Caloundra lighthouse. And last but not least, the Big Pineapple, presented in the final panel as if it is the punch-line joke of a comic book story, because it always makes me smile. Viewers are invited to create their own stories about the region or perhaps relive memories of a Sunshine Coast holiday.

Photographer: Kym Tabulo

Artist: Terrence Martin
Artist Location: BURLEIGH HEADS
Medium: Digital, 2018
Dimensions: 60 x 83 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
The surf culture is part of Qld Gold Coast and what better than the burleigh headland . The rock formation immortalised in the Dreamtime storey of jabreen the spirit who legend has it swam to the horizon from the headland and on returning raised his hands and created the headland we see today .

The headland in turn helps create the swell sets that surfers enjoy to this day .

Photographer: Terrence Martin

Artist: Anneke Silver
Artist Location: TOWNSVILLE
Medium: Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 84 x 101 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
I was searching for ways in which I could include many aspects of Diversity. I always enjoy watching the large racial and facial variety in the supermarket down the road; this became the idea to tackle the theme. It occurred to me that we are all in some way in the checkout lane towards shaping this state. There is a wide range of facial expressions and characters, which seem only loosely united, predominantly younger, as we are as a state. Most have their own agenda. They are only united by the predominant colour of the earth in our state –red ochre. I used the most natural and least manufactured drawing material, charcoal, to indicate the early stages of statehood that we are still in. I wanted the overall impression to be optimistic and energetic, regardless of the differences. I hope I managed to achieve that at least a little.

Photographer: anneke silver

Artist: Julie Hollis
Artist Location: Highland Park
Medium: Acrylics on double thick gallery wrapped canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 61 x 61 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Julie has totally fallen in love with the Australian native flora in her area of the Gold Coast. She frequents the Botanical Gardens in Benowa and loves to take lots of photos of the amazing and diverse collection of flowers.
This particular Grevillea is from her own back yard and Julie loves the fact that this plant attracts Bees, Lorikeets,Parrots, Honeyeaters and various other bird life as well as Butterflies.
Julie considers herself so lucky to live in an area where such a diverse range of flora and fauna exists happily together and she has easy access to them to record their beauty on canvas.

Photographer: Julie Hollis

Artist: Wendy Bache
Artist Location: MOUNT LOUISA
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 60 x 90 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Painted in a park in Townsville, I was captivated by the funky shapes and colours of the cactus garden and how at home they are in the park, just a stones throw away from some rain forest within the same park.
I really think Townsville has the best of both worlds. It’s dry at times and lush, abundant and green other times.

I painted this en plein air, using acrylic paint in lots of layers. I feel that when you paint like this the energy of the area enters the art.

Photographer: Wendy Bache

Artist: Nick Hoops
Artist Location: TOWNSVILLE
Medium: Acrylic and ink on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 100 x 110 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
I love Boulder Opal. I love Opalton. I live approximately 830km away in Townsville. I also love the ocean. The blues of the Coral Sea. I make the journey as often as I can to fossick the Opalton opal fields. I don’t find a lot. I am a novice; this does not curb my enthusiasm; I am a future opal miner. The landscape changes from blue to green, undulating at first. Then the landscape flattens, the trees seem to disperse and the ground morphs from green to brown and then into a fine white dust. The air is hot. The flies are thick. The digging is tough. The pickings are slim. Is it worth it? The bloody long drive home from Opalton to the Ocean.
You bet it is!!

Photographer: Nick Hoops

Artist: Andrea Baumert Howard
Artist Location: EASTERN HEIGHTS
Medium: Junk mail, newspaper, egg carton, office paper, recycled craft paper pulp, 2019
Dimensions: 34 x 50 x 0.3 cm
Artist Statement:
Queensland is a state of enormous potential. We have natural resources we don’t value enough, and getting to the resources that hold value to mega corporations means destroying large tracts of the natural environment.
What has been done to the state in the name of progress and chasing the almighty dollar is shameful.
We are in danger of loosing the very diversity that makes up our home. The coastlines, rainforests, deserts, grasslands, big skies will be swallowed up by pollution, the creatures that live there pushed to extinction.
I have used a variety of recycled papers to create my landscape in paper pulp. Junk mail, newspaper, egg carton, office paper, recycled craft paper make up the body of the scenes.

I want to highlight the fragility of our environments with the fragility of the handmade paper and express my sorrow over what humans have done to our state of diversity.

Photographer: Andrea Baumert Howard

Artist: Grace McClymont
Artist Location: DICKY BEACH
Medium: Mixed media on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 80 x 118 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Places of natural beauty provide a setting for diverse groups of people to gather and embrace life side-by-side. In our area Currimundi Lake is one such location. Throughout the year the lake fills with people from all walks of life enjoying the many activities that it has to offer in the water, on the water, under the water, and around the water. New Australians who are daunted by the surf beaches, families with toddlers exploring sand and salt water for the first time are able to relax while confident swimmers drift on currents near the lake’s inlet. People in twos and threes planted serenely in the landscape talking, playing, building, resting. A beautiful oasis bursting with life and still peaceful. A place to be ourselves. Together.

Photographer: Grace McClymont

Artist: Abramo Papp
Artist Location: RUSSELL ISLAND
Medium: Digital photograph, 2018
Dimensions: 22 x 36 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
It took me a few years of living on Russell Island to realise that wetlands are not always wet, sometimes they can actually dry out. These pictures of the wetlands at Burrows Street on Russell island were taken in September 2018 (wet – on left) and June 2017 (dry – right – mirror reverse). The two images were taken at about the same time of day an roughly from the same position (without stepping into the water 🙂 ).

Photographer: Abramo Papp

Artist: Dale Leach
Artist Location: Doonan
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 91 x 91 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
This painting was inspired by two art groups I was tutoring.They were a wonderfully diverse lot of characters who had lived extraordinary lives both overseas and here in Australia, and they brought that richness of experience into their artwork. They had a range of skills from advertising, farm business and life experiences and also a great desire and curiosity to learn more. They were generous with their encouragement of one another and were willing to share their expertise. I came to learn a lot from them. I also ate some wonderful home made cakes and slices and drank the odd cup of tea. I loved their good humour and the room was always full of laughter.

Photographer: Dale Leach

Artist: Kerry Williams
Artist Location: WEST MACKAY
Medium: Textile and acrylic paint on paper, 2019
Dimensions: 50 x 57 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
In Mackay we celebrate our diversity and proudly wear it like a crown. A simple crown made from the rich gifts our residents contribute. People from every corner of the world have chosen this beautiful city as home. They share their culture and intertwine our ways of life with theirs. We have a connectivity to each other and our local landscape that runs deep.

The blue adornments honour our blue river, the ocean, reef and clear skies of tropical Queensland. The deconstructed fabric and crown shape illustrates the cyclical nature of assimilation and acceptance; new people coming, being accepted, more people coming and being accepted. Through acceptance we’re building this whole amazing, wonderful culture, that’s based on our diversity. We are truly fortunate to have the beauty, strength and simplicity of truly connected communities in Queensland. Ultimately our’State’ of diversity unites us.

Photographer: Kerry Williams

Artist: Dora Deemal
Artist Location: HOPE VALE
Medium: Screen print on linen, 2019
Dimensions: 120 x 100 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
This is my fabric of Wuguulmba – which are sometimes called ‘Saddle Palms’. They grow on the banks of the McIvor River in far north Queensland, which is where my ancestral home of Binthi Warra is. I paint the trees and plants that grow around my homeland, as I find them beautiful and I believe that through drawing and painting the unique plants and flowers that grow on my homeland, I can pass on the cultural knowledge of the land and maintain the cultural connections that my family have to Binthi Warra.

Photographer: Melanie Gibson

Artist: Nora Hanasy
Artist Location: ZIZLIE
Medium: Digital collage, 2019
Dimensions: 100 x 100 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
Central Queensland is a land of constant change. One thing that really makes this place I call home extra unique is the weather.’Crazy weather we’ve been having’ is a phrase we use often here as a greeting. It binds all of us together. The heat of summer comes with cyclones and floods and when we are not under water the land is arid and dry with blackened trees as far as the eye can see. The winter fog turns everything eerie and white and the short but severe storms that come out of nowhere definitely get the blood pumping. These extreme and often devastating weather patterns are the cause of our ever-changing colors and textures of the CQ landscape. But it is this diversity that makes every moment here, exciting and beautiful.

Photographer: Nora Hanasy

Artist: Jenny Foxton
Artist Location: HIGHFIELDS
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 61 x 92 x 25 cm
Artist Statement:
My semi-abstract work reflects very diverse Queensland landscapes. ‘The rich and the poor’ symbolises the layers of complexity within any environment – conflict between nature and humans, between conserving and consuming.

I have used colour and horizontal layers to symbolise the verdant rich farming lands and rainforests close to the Queensland coastline, juxtaposed with the ochre and red soils found inland in the South Burnett and Darling Downs.

My works reflect not only the rich colours of our diverse environment but the deep layers of human’s relationship with our landscape, both in harmony and in conflict with nature.

Photographer: Jenny Foxton

Artist: Christine Grubb
Artist Location: Monto
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 41 x 51 x 1.5 cm
Artist Statement:
This piece started out as a simple abstract background that I was experimenting with. I was going to paint over it, but someone insisted I leave it. I left this painting sit for about 4 to 5 months looking at it occasionally wondering if I could use it for something else. The more I looked at the marks in the background, the more I started to cultivate a story and scene in my artwork. I could see calm water in the foreground and rolling mountains in the background. I sometime sit in the mornings watching out into the paddocks of our farm, where I often see egrets at the dam.

This is why I developed my artwork into an egret, adding that extra layer to an otherwise bland painting. The abstract and realistic collide in this piece to represent the diversity of nature and life on our farm.

Photographer: Christine Grubb

Artist: Leisl Mott
Artist Location: TOOWOOMBA
Medium: Oil on board, 2018
Dimensions: 81 x 81 x 0.5 cm
Artist Statement:
I was inspired to paint this work to capture a familiar landscape in the grips of drought. How different it seemed; the blanket of soft fodder had given way to reveal deeply etched tracks in the dirt and hurts of the past expressed as erosion and fallen limbs. All the while, the sky just watched on, painting its bright-blue self with the whitest smears of winter clouds, oblivious to the parching below. This year it is looking different again; that is the diversity, within the diversity, of our landscape.

Photographer: Cloe Veryard

Artist: Erin Dunne
Artist Location: THE RANGE
Medium: Hand-stamped lettering and ink on paper, mounted on foamcore, 2019
Dimensions: 76 x 95 x 2.5 cm
Artist Statement:
This work encapsulates a broad selection of the diverse qualities and elements that represent life in Rockhampton from my perspective. Over the past few years since moving back to the area, I have adopted the position of participant-observer of the rituals, routines and rhythms of life here, allowing me to notice and record moments that resonate with a poetic or lyrical quality, as well as encounters with the humorous, surreal, strange, and emblematic. The written imagery and figurative language within this text-based work are a poetic distillation and synthesis of the written, drawn and photographic documentation that I have been collecting, adopting an ongoing and informal phenomenological research methodology. The text was produced by hand using a stamp set purchased from a local op-shop in Rockhampton, creating a free-form poem that can be read horizontally, vertically, in fragments or in its entirety to create an open-ended narrative of place.

Photographer: Erin Dunne

Artist: Elena Suto
Artist Location: Regents Park
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 51 x 76 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
Paronella Park comes alive in the evening with floodlit lights and waterfalls, and beautiful mysterious music.
Paronella Park was built by Jose Paronella in 1930 and was open to the public in 1935. A visit to this lovely place located in Germantown (the Cairns region), will earn you an insight into the story behind the castle-like buildings, the family history of the past owners, an adventure around the park at night, a chance to feed and view all of the fish in the lake and a piece of the building as a keepsake of your visit. Paronella Park is a one of a kind magical location with a rich past which deserves to be seen and heard. Regular cyclones and floods may one day totally destroy this piece of history to ensure that you visit it before it disappears forever.

Photographer: Elena Suto

Artist: Sian Medill
Artist Location: BIRKDALE
Medium: Textile, 2018
Dimensions: 90 x 90 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
My position held on Tamborine Mountain, feet grounded on mossy damp earth, ears attuned to the slightest rustle of leaves from a passing insect.
The moment of splendour broken only for a second, by the sharp clear sound of the Australian Whip Bird.
Easily regaining my concentration, accepting these sounds as a part of this serine moment.

Regarding the majesty of this living, structure before me. Beholding it’s entirety from ground to sky. Appreciating the intermittent shelter the leaves bring, from the scorching Queensland sun.

A moment to keep and to share, in my own way.
A brief moment treasured, for in a short while I will be back, back to the hustle and bustle, the diversity of the bright lights and chaos of the GoldCoast. Comforted only by the constant, deep, enthralling sound of the ocean, my next sanctuary to behold.

30,000 hand-cut and placed tiles, 30 fabrics used.

Photographer: Sian Medill

Artist: Wendy K Ford
Artist Location: MACLEAY ISLAND
Medium: Paints, dyes and resist on silk, 2019
Dimensions: 45 x 61 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Wendy paints on silks and textiles as The Silk Maid. After an exhaustive search she found her Utopia on an enchanting island. Dolphins, turtles, dugongs, stingrays and maybe even mermaids frolic in the emerald waters. Rainforests, sandy beaches, swaying palms, rocky foreshores and mangroves create a haven for wildlife and a diverse array of birdlife. Flowers and vegetables grow abundantly in the fertile soil. The ever changing colours of the waters, the glorious sunsets and the moonlight across the bay are an endless artists inspiration. At night the lights glow from boats in the cove as the beacons on the harbour blink red and green. In the far distance the lights of the mainland twinkle like a fairyland. The muse is never far away on this peaceful tranquil island. Nestled amongst a group of islands not far off the coast in this great and diverse State of Queensland.

Photographer: Wendy K Ford

Artist: Andrea Baumert Howard
Artist Location: IPSWICH
Medium: Junk mail, newspaper, egg carton, office paper and recycled children’s craft paper pulp, 2019
Dimensions: 20 x 40 x 0.3 cm
Artist Statement:
When I think of Queensland’s diversity, I am immediately reminded of the huge variety of landscapes we have to explore. It is something intangible, it’s sort of a feeling, a memory, it is extremely difficult to depict in a 2-dimensional piece.
The gorgeous coastlines, rainforests, dry sclerophyll forests, deserts, mountain ranges, grasslands, and big skies. And of course, the farm lands, cattle property, cities, small country towns and tiny communities dotting these landscapes.
I have used a variety of recycled papers to create my landscape in paper pulp. Junk mail, newspaper, egg carton, office paper and recycled children’s craft paper make up the body of the scene. The fragility of the paper helps to convey the beauty and fragility of our environments and express the vastness of our state of diversity.

Photographer: Andrea Baumert Howard

Artist: Lesley Kane
Artist Location: MACKAY
Medium: Charcoal, 2019
Dimensions: 48 x 68 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Few blackened tree trunks were evidence of a shocking wild bush fire which devastated parts of the Pioneer Valley west of Mackay late last year. Previously a lush green sugarcane farming and rainforest landscape, the loss was felt throughout the community. Two weeks later, after rain, the scene changed again into a translucent lime green regrowth with only the remaining charred tree trunks as a reminder of the diversity of the elements.

Photographer: Artspace Mackay

Artist: Michelle Black
Artist Location: ZILZIE
Medium: Unique state intaglio print. Oil-based ink on cotton rag paper, pigment pen., 2019
Dimensions: 76 x 113 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Queensland is a state of diverse weather patterns. From droughts that cover the majority of this vast state to desert and frosts, drenching rains, tropical cyclones, and expansive floods.

Rockhampton has been subjected to many major floods. After a flood, a sticky, oozing, acrid black mud remains in the low-lying areas of Rockhampton.

Huge quantities of sediment are lost downstream, flowing to the ocean during times of flood. A series of unique state prints has been created using this river sediment in the printing matrix, textures and flows of mud recording environmental processes in ink. A length of the Fitzroy River is over-printed, just a small portion of the vast catchment area of the Fitzroy Basin.

Photographer: Michelle Black

Artist: Colleen Helmore
Artist Location: BURNETT HEADS
Medium: Watercolour on arches paper, 2019
Dimensions: 35 x 55 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
At any time of day a different bird can be heard in and around my garden. The diversity of their songs is amazing, however it is the magpie that most captures my attention. I wanted to create a watercolour painting, capturing these birds in a diversity of poses to capture their unique character.
I paint mainly with 3 primary colours and don’t use black or white watercolour paint so I have made a great variety of colourful darks to create the illusion of black and white .

Photographer: Colleen Helmore

Artist: Daniele Lamarche-Sarvia
Artist Location: CLONTARF
Medium: Watercolour and mix media such as oil and graphite on cotton rag paper, 2018
Dimensions: 74 x 100 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Diversity for me is primarily human because I am not only a visual artist but also an anthropologist inspired by the people surrounding me.
“The Jazz Singer and the Magician” illustrates our present pluralism, our youth and their aspirations. The faces divided in two and toned differently represent humankind.

What I like about my work is the interplay of watercolour’s fluidity and the gestural mark on paper making it quick, vibrant and challenging.

I also create individual paper grounds for each subjects emphasising the improvisation effect creating works that are original and free.

My unique style allows viewers own interpretation because the viewer’s interpretation of my art is as valid as mine since it is about them and me being part of them as a human being.

Photographer: Daniele Lamarche-Sarvia

Artist: M.N. Cox
Artist Location: COOROY
Medium: Oil on linen, 2018
Dimensions: 61 x 91 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
My grandparents bought at Noosaville in the 1950s so I’ve been visiting the Noosa River all my life. Now I live nearby. While the area has changed a lot (and the river is under pressure) it still holds a place in my heart.

This picture was painted in oils and is a composite of aspects of river life and things I’ve seen there over the years. I like how everyone comes together and there are so many distinct activities occurring on the river banks and water.

Photographer: M.N.Cox

Artist: Shirley Henderson
Artist Location: CROSSDALE
Medium: Acrylic, graphite, ochre on board, 2019
Dimensions: 40 x 50.5 x 0.3 cm
Artist Statement:
I live in a place of natural beauty. I’m surrounded by trees, rivers and mountain ranges. Most local artists use this natural beauty as their muse. I wanted to show our landscape is more diverse than that.
The Somerset region has massive, intrusive, manmade structures that interrupt the natural beauty. Somerset Dam wall is one of those structures. A prominent reminder that man is powerful and can control the delicate nature of The Earth.
I used Somerset Dam water and soil from the banks of Somerset Dam, which I live on, to create the ochre.

Photographer: Shirley Henderson

Artist: Catherine Boreham
Artist Location: YEPPOON
Medium: Oil painting on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 61 x 61 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
I believe that painting portraits gives me a great opportunity to encourage the viewer to move beyond simple tolerance and really see each individual as unique and valuable. I aim to inspire the viewer to celebrate the rich dimensions of diversity contained within each person they behold on the canvas.

One of Azariah’s favorite verses says, “Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”
With an attitude such as Azariah’s our differences wether they be gender, ethnicity, socio economic circumstances or religious beliefs would certainly be explored in a safe, positive and nurturing environment.

Azariah was very encouraged that I took the time to paint his portrait. Our states of diversity should be celebrated and this portrait is just one example of how I love to use artwork in a positive way to uplift others.

Photographer: Catherine Boreham

Artist: Tracey Mutze-Butler
Artist Location: TEWANTIN
Medium: Acrylic paint and artists dry ground pigments., 2019
Dimensions: 60 x 50 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
‘Whispering Sands, Elim Beach’, is an artwork conceived after a road trip to Far North Queensland in 2017. The journey allowed for an experience of diverse wilderness areas including, rainforest, grasslands, wetlands and aboriginal homelands .
Firstly I photograph close up perspectives of the subject then reimagine the images in the studio as a painting
Elim Beach is an hour and a half from Cooktown. The coloured sand dunes are accessed by 4WD at high tide.
The dunes tower over the beach with dazzling luminosity of red, orange, pink, yellow and cream coloured sands .
It was as if the sun had fallen from the sky and all its beautiful hue was absorbed into the dunes.

Whispering Sands, is a celebration of the memory of wild places.

Photographer: Tracey Mutze-Butler

Artist: Rose Rigley and Barbara Dover
Artist Location: WHITFIELD
Medium: Book-based sculptural assemblage, 2019
Dimensions: 25 x 20 x 11 cm
Artist Statement:
The artist considered the theme ‘State of Diversity’ both geographically and psychologically. The resulting artwork was an exchange between two different individuals, with empathy, trust and an understanding of another’s location, the key to the collaborative outcome. Destruction or preservation became an integral part of creation, as each artist contributed to the beginning or end of the structure. Strategies of how to respond to ‘the object’, to letting go of concrete connections to place, and to the production of a ‘cohesive’ visual language were explored in the undertaking. Collaboration has, at its foundation, the idea of bringing diversity together through compassion.

‘A Home for Birds’ focuses on the impact that human inhabitation has on local wildlife.

Photographer: Rose Rigley

Artist: Shannon Macdonald
Artist Location: BLACK MOUNTAIN
Medium: Acrylic on board, 2019
Dimensions: 60 x 90 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
Queensland certainly is the State of Diversity and whether I am close to home or exploring places near and far I find myself touched by the limitless beauty to be found in our many and diverse environments. From the “picture perfect” beaches and lush rainforests of the coastal fringes to the vast expanses of the outback – red dirt and blue sky. The greatest shame is to find those spaces where diversity is being lost to development and to witness the degradation and feel the sense of loss in the shadows of what once was.
“Ghosts of Forest Fallen” is a reflection of an area in which I walk daily where huge trees have been cut or fallen leaving ghostly spaces amongst the re-growth – where light filters through the remaining tall Blue Gums to forest floor, creating a mosaic of texture, colour and light.

Photographer: not applicable

Artist: Katrin Terton
Artist Location: BLACK MOUNTAIN
Medium: Mixed Media, series of sculptural pieces on wall mounted perspex shelves, 2018
Dimensions: 60 x 70 x 18 cm
Artist Statement:
The various organic materials and found objects used for this series of 11 crown-shaped objects were all collected on the Sunshine Coast. The crown symbolises the individual sovereignty we have and the ability to take charge of the changing pathways in our lives. These materials represent the diversity of the local environment, relating to flora, fauna and human-made aspects as well as different endeavours, skills and interests of members of the community. For example: beeswax, shed snakeskin and ashes refer to the quest to protect and manage wildlife and the ecosystem; hair, fibres and book pages to creative pursuits, chillies and kombucha culture to local food artisans. The title alludes to the ephemeral nature of the materials and the evolving environmental and cultural changes and challenges. This work acknowledges the diversity of the local communities and the transience of all elements of the environment we inhabit.

Photographer: Andrew Mortimer

Artist: Sue Gedda
Artist Location: LOTUS CREEK
Medium: Watercolour & mixed media, 2019
Dimensions: 77 x 101 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
Unprecedented damaging floods, prolonged droughts and bushfire are punctuating Queensland life with increasing frequency. This abstract work seeks to suggest our climatic diversity – from watery to incinerated. Through the mix of pigment with locally sourced creek water, silt, plant matter and charcoal it explores the complexity and fragility of our local ecosystems in an environment impacted by anthropogenic influences.
Process-led techniques manipulate the found materials and embrace chance effects allowing nature to almost paint itself. Fluid and granulating characteristics of watercolour help to suggest solubility, dehydration and charred destruction, depicting the presence & absence of water. The triptych presentation indicates the passage of time; the narrowed windows a possibility of limited societal awareness. In contemplating these extreme weather events I reflect deeply on my place and influence in the world.

Photographer: Sue Gedda

Artist: Lee FullARTon
Artist Location: BLACKSTONE IPSWICH
Medium: Acrylic and collage on wood panel, 2019
Dimensions: 25 x 25 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
Near the Darling Downs town of Leyburn is Ellengowan Nature Reserve a fragile habitat for the ancient Bulloak and the endangered Bulloak Jewel Butterfly Hypochrysops piceata.

It is a nature story of complex relationships of diverse and endangered species only found in Queensland. My favourite part of this ecological story is the exchange of sugary delights for protection and guidance between the Bulloak Jewel Caterpillar and an undescribed ant, Anonychomyrma sp.

Reviewing the work of Entomologist, Dr Don Sands in conservation of this rare and tiny butterfly, led me to an artists expedition to discover the last place of the Bulloak Jewel in paint and paper.

Photographer: Lee FullARTon

Artist: Maureen Riggs
Artist Location: BURNSIDE
Medium: Oil, oil pastels, oil wax glazes on 100% cotton canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 100 x 120 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Theme ‘State of Diversity’

Heart Reef is a heart shaped coral bommie located in Hardy Reef 60 kms from the mainland, Whitsunday Islands QLD. The funny thing is Heart Reef was only officially discovered 1975. Since then this diverse formation of living coral colonies has become world famous and is an iconic tourism marketing phenomena. Many people have taken wedding vows standing in the sand in the centre of this fascinating reef structure.
For me personally Heart Reef resonates as the very heart of the Great Barrier Reef the largest living organism on our planet.
The Red Tailed Tropic Birds spend most of their lives at sea. The male and female mate high in the sky just as I have depicted these two courting above Heart Reef. They can be found nesting on remote coral caye islands scattered all over the Great Barrier Reef system.

Photographer: Maureen Riggs

Artist: Julie Purcell
Artist Location: KIPPA-RING
Medium: Oil on board, 2019
Dimensions: 50 x 70 x 0.3cm
Artist Statement:
I painted this scene because it reflects the diversity of problem solving skills Grandad used while living in a back to basics way in Beebo, Queensland. His shed, once a piggery built by hand, is a still life arrangement revealing a suite of skills and techniques required to solve issues, mechanical and otherwise, that arose on the isolated property. It is a time capsule of agricultural and industrial objects and methodologies – there’s a forge, a lathe, old tractors and earth moving equipment and the incidentally sculptural form of a large wooden gantry. This site is like a personal museum of ingenuity and determination. Recording some of its details over multiple plein air sessions enabled me to feel close to Grandad again because his activities are evident everywhere. The rugged board I painted on is a found-object, its imperfect surface suggests an intergenerational spirit of making and making-do.

Photographer: Julie Purcell

Artist: Michelle Mann
Artist Location: WOOMBYE
Medium: Mixed media, pencil, acrylic,, 2019
Dimensions: 30 x 40 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
I live in South East Queensland a diverse and very beautiful part of the world. From its Glass house mountains to the islands, beaches and marine life, it is a most important eco system and I feel privileged to live in. I am inspired by so many different things but nature is the thing that most inspires me. Where i live in Woombye I am surrounded by beauty, native animals and birds. And in particular native plants, flowers, seeds, pods which are reflected in my art.

Photographer: Michelle Mann

Artist: Fiona Groom
Artist Location: Ninderry
Medium: Acrylic, 2019
Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
Life on the Noosa River is always changing, so taking a rest, soaking up the warm sun and just hanging out with your friends is not only traditional with us humans, but very much enjoyed by the local bird inhabitants. This painting conveys a sense of River life, a sense of comradery, peacefulness and a feeling of the river flowing, rising and falling weaving its way out to sea… River life is in constant flux as these birds go about their daily lives we the viewers get to witness the beauty and diversity that life on the Noosa River gives us every day…
Mangrove Mafia… Noosa River Locals

Photographer: Fiona Groom

Artist: Bruce Griffiths
Artist Location: KLEINTON
Medium: Watercolour on paper, 2019
Dimensions: 50 x 70 x 25 cm
Artist Statement:
A State of Diversity.
Toowoomba, a short drive to the sea, state capital & often parched farm land. Am I city, country, urban or coastal? Due to modern transport, I can identify with each. Toowoomba, the Garden City, but is that what we are?
Knowledge can only be volunteered; it cannot be conscripted. Knowledge passes from father to son, mother to daughter & in towns & villages. A region is rich that shares knowledge & diversity. Few people withhold knowledge if there is a real need. We tap live into a resource & the knowledge is accessed and revealed. Live knowledge becomes learned knowledge & practiced knowledge. Linking & connecting people is the key. A region is successful as we mix, merge & share our knowledge & skills.
We all unknowingly strive for this in commerce, sport & lifestyle that brings prosperity & self-worth for you, me & the region.

Photographer: BRUCE GRIFFITHS

Artist: Emma Ward
Artist Location: GRACEMERE
Medium: Graphite, chalk, watercolour and ink on watercolour paper, 2018
Dimensions: 38.5 x 57 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
Inspired by a recent walk through the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens I discovered a path that winds closer to the road, there is a fence covered in ‘flood weeds’ a regional term for plants that have been uprooted and deposited as the flood waters carry debris which gets caught in the barbed wire fences. A poignant discovery, as the last flash flood was in 2017 and these remarkable waterlily remains were still clinging happily to the fence! In my mind, they were an example of the diverse and difficult nature of our landscape. As we constantly rotate through extreme changes in our weather conditions, experiencing years of drought, then bushfires, to extreme flash flooding, the landscape itself has adapted to take on the same personality as it’s people; tough and tenacious, we are all at the mercy of land in which we live, we ebb and flow depending on the weather.

Photographer: Emma Ward

Artist: Deann Cumner
Artist Location: VIA MALENY
Medium: Tar shellac and oils, 2018
Dimensions: 50 x 100 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
This Dyptch represents a wonderful festival Woodfordia , held twice a year , literally just down the mountain from my farm at Booroobin.
The music festival is a vibrant , colourful and fantastic event where everyone just has fun !
This work is my interpretation of this amazing time in our local area……. the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.1750

Photographer: Deann Cumner

Artist: Tony Alston
Artist Location: RAILWAY ESTATE
Medium: Acrylic on paper, 2019
Dimensions: 54 x 42 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
as well as queensland being a state of diversity; my raggle taggle garden is in a state of diversity – some might say uproar

however I thanks the spider web for its beauty & functionately

Photographer: ANTHONY ALSTON

Artist: Linda Forrester
Artist Location: STRATHDICKIE
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 45 x 60 x 1.8 cm
Artist Statement:
Our suburbs and houses can take on a familiarity that can become monotonous, yet each home is subtly different and each house contains unique individuals. Unique in race, ethnicity, skill base, socio-economic status, physical abilities, age, religious and political beliefs, or ideologies. Each person surrounds themselves with others who compliment them and share their culture, creating their own unique jewel within their community.

Each culture is deserving of understanding, acceptance and respect and can be shared, encouraged and celebrated. We are the diverse communities of Queensland.

Photographer: Linda Forrester

Artist: Tarja Ahokas
Artist Location: NINDERRY
Medium: Acrylic on 2 canvases, 2019
Dimensions: 50 x 80 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
State of diversity of our climate unites us in my community as it does across the country.
From extreme heat of our summers that can cause bushfires and drought to the rain events resulting in flooding and chaos.
The ladder in the painting symbolises the physical and emotional support which is offered to those who need it at any given time.

Photographer: Tarja Ahokas

Artist: Yvonne Moloney-Law
Artist Location: BONDOOLA
Medium: Intaglio print on Hahnemuhle paper, 2018
Dimensions: 59 x 83 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
‘From my view placed upon the ledge of Capricorn, a place diverse with cyclones, floods & endless days of searing humidity, rich with miles of skies and ancient mountains, framed by afternoon sunsets and rolling thunderstorms fetched by scorching summer glares. My memories gaze toward the lands of my youth, echoing sun-drenched fishing holidays on tropical islands. These are the colours etched to my soul’.

Photographer: Yvonne Moloney-Law

Artist: Susan Lhamo
Artist Location: TAMBORINE MOUNTAIN
Medium: Digital photograph on matte enhanced photographic paper, 2018
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 0.1 cm
Artist Statement:
The digital image “Little fishy mandala” reveals a contrast between the transparent waters of Currumbin Creek and a delicate mandala of vegetation and fish created from various photographs I’ve taken. The expression of diversity is seen in this contrast, through viewing these aspects of the same place seen in dissimilar ways. The image of the fish mandala encapsulates the mood and intricacy of small water habitats found in these tidal creek locations and is like a mirror on this tiny world while the Currumbin Creek background image shows the bigger picture…one that we’re most familiar with, in everyday form.

Photographer: Susan Lhamo

Artist: Jennifer Redmond
Artist Location: Highvale
Medium: Acrylic/Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 1 cm
Artist Statement:
The ancient pine tree in my garden is “The tree of knowledge”
having witnessed the development of the area from settlement to to-day.
The land where the tree stands is at the headwaters of the South Pine River and at the base of Mt. Nebo and Mount Glorious. Returned Soldiers from the First World War were given holdings here and began tilling and working the land. The diversity which began with the soldiers has over time changed to the now settled area of Rural Suburbia. This is still an area held dear by the community and where there is a huge involvement with local issues within a caring environment.
The old pine tree has witnessed it all and stands tall and proud with the knowledge of the diversity of change from the past to the present.

Photographer: Jon Linkins

Artist: Shannus O’sullivan
Artist Location: Hivesville
Medium: Acrylic, 2019
Dimensions: 60 x 87 x 0.5 cm
Artist Statement:
This is my experience of beach culture and is based of years of observation. The painting Bucket and Spade is my interpretation of the diverse nature of people who frequent our beaches

Photographer: Shannus O’sullivan

Artist: Colleen Gardener
Artist Location: HARRISVILLE
Medium: Oil, 2019
Dimensions: 30 x 66 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
This particular valley along the Cunningham Highway at Gladfield ,draws me back time and time again to stop and paint. Its diversity of terrain and colours, sorrounded by drought stricken holdings with their burnt earth tones, to the lush green terraced crops of the Millers Valley, irrigated by the Glengallon Creek and backing on to the Taylor Range, sets this oasis apart, not only with the diversity of crops and colours but the in your face, emotional aspect of how life is dependant on the creek waters. The valley supports, a dairy industry, horse studs, broad acre farming and a thriving tourism industry.

Photographer: Colleen Gardener

Artist: Margaret Worthington
Artist Location: CALLIOPE
Medium: Watercolour and gouache on paper, 2019
Dimensions: 57 x 105 x 2 cm
Artist Statement:
I chose this painting to enter in the State of Diversity competition because it shows an interesting, diverse and rarely painted area of Queensland. Landscapes like the one depicted in watercolours are common and may be seen along much of the Queensland coast where there are mangroves and mudflats. A solitary rocky island is viewed over the salt pans at low tide. Wetlands both fresh and salty are found in these areas. A mob of very young pigs are shown cavorting on the salt pan moving over to the wetlands to feed. A Pied Cormorant is resting after a fishing expedition.

Photographer: M Worthington

Artist: Vivienne Bryant
Artist Location: NAMBOUR
Medium: Acrylic, 2019
Dimensions: 31 x 91 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
I first arrived in Queensland from England in 1994.
Everything was so different and I loved it.
One thing that really struck me was the different styles of houses.
In England, large housing estates are filled with houses of only three or four different styles, but in Queensland, the system is totally different.
People buy a block of land and then choose a house to build on it, resulting in a great diversity of house styles made from a range of different materials.
Early settlers built Timber cottages, but in the 1960s, Brick became the building material of choice.
Now, Cement sheet has replaced Weatherboard, and Steel replaced Timber in house frames.
New homes are being built at a great rate, but sadly there still are many people who have no home, and sleep rough each night.

Photographer: Tony Bryant

Artist: Leigh-Ann Hargreaves
Artist Location: IPSWICH
Medium: Mixed medium- mostly acrylic, 2019
Dimensions: 80 x 100 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
In creating Inclusive Diversity I used a diverse range of colours representative of Queensland soils and plants. Deep red fertile soil of Redland Bay and rich black soil of the Scenic Rim. North Queensland is represented in the lush greens and blues of the forests. Ochre reminded me of dry Western Qld and golden yellows for the sandy Coast. Queensland is a state of diversity of climate and conditions.
I have represented people of diverse cultures, ages and abilities. In painting the figures, I have used colour to represent diversity, not skin colour. We are richer for our differences. . Inclusivity makes our communities stronger, smarter, safer and richer.
I am promoting a state of tolerance and understanding where marginalisation no longer exists.

Photographer: Leigh-Ann Hargreaves

Artist: Mary Mackenzie
Artist Location: YUNGABURRA
Medium: Oil on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 62 x 77 x 3.5 cm
Artist Statement:
Two little country girls dressed in beautiful party dresses appear to grow like flowers out of an unlikely landscape.
Despite the incongruity of their clothing in such a setting, the girls seem happy and relaxed among the spinifex and rocks . . . and does this setting perhaps increase our pleasure in viewing the girls? It does for me, and I recognise how diversity enhances, brings a freshness to an image and to our way of seeing.

“All art is at once surface and symbol . . . It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex and vital”.
Oscar Wilde

Photographer: Murray Anderson Clemence

Artist: Jassy Watson
Artist Location: INNES PARK
Medium: Ink drawing, acrylic, oil and hand torn collage on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 60 x 90 x 5 cm
Artist Statement:
From the ever changing landscape of red dirt and cane, to the remaining pockets of ancient swamplands, onto sand and sea the Bundaberg region is rich in diversity. There are many characters, people and places that iconically represent this area, but when I thought about my connection to this place it was the landscape and bustling birdlife that stood out. My favourite time of year is when the red breasted black cockatoo comes from out West to the coast during the dry season seeking food. Watching them frolick and carry on in their large flocks is a wonder to behold, they really are cheeky characters. This painting is inspired by an area close to Moore Park Beach where they gather in their hundreds in Autumn, it is a rare sight to see. The painting was created with ink, acrylic & oil with each bird a hand torn piece of collage.

Photographer: Jassy Watson

Artist: Mieke den Otter
Artist Location: BELLBIRD PARK, IPSWICH
Medium: Pastel on card and text, 2019
Dimensions: 29 x 41 x 0 cm
Artist Statement:
As a painter and textile artist I am interested in developing ideas in response to new spaces.
In June 2019 as an Artist in Residence in an Ipswich Kindergarden, I spent some time drawing in the outdoor landscape. This sketch is one of my in situ pastel on card works. It is drawn from the playful and interactive spaces offered in kindergardens around the State of Queensland.

The act of drawing informs my art practice but is not always the destination.
Text accompanies the image and opens the ideas of nurturing diversity within an early childhood learning space with respect, freedom and play.

Hungry
hoods
Lunch
in boxes
on the
mat

Hungry
minds
Play
with buds
in the
garden

Growing
shapes
Forming
community
not far
from home

Photographer: Mieke den Otter

Artist: Karri McPherson
Artist Location: Toowoomba
Medium: Acrylic on wood panel, 2019
Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 4.5 cm
Artist Statement:
When I think of diversity in Queensland, I think about our abundance of cultures. Our state is comprised of rich, cultural diversity and I believe this is one of our greatest strengths as multiplicity makes Queensland both innovative and socially vibrant.’Melanin’ is a painting that celebrates the beauty and diversity of cultures at a fundamental level. This work explores the beauty of pigment by commemorating the unique variety of ethnicities that bestow our state, aiming to reflect the wide range of cultures that make up Queensland. As our communities are occupied by people from all walks of life, ‘Melanin’ showcases how wonderfully colourful our state is and how cultural diversity allows us to continually foster new ideas, skills, traditions and customs throughout Queensland.

Photographer: Karri McPherson

Artist: Edwin Hamill
Artist Location: BUDERIM
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 70 x 80 x 4 cm
Artist Statement:
The world is a diverse place, with different cultures traditions and locations creating a melting pot of beauty and individuality. My piece community of diversity represents the coming together of different people and activities with an underlying theme of the natural environment. Communities are diverse things that are identified by there location and the people involved. My piece is attempting to capture the diverse environment that makes up our beautiful country as it is an important part of our identity, however the multiculturalism of Australia is just as important. A naive abstraction of activities and people are located within the hands which signifies our responsibility to hold and nurture everyone in our diverse community, with the underlying river and trees being a reminder that the beauty of our land is where we are based and to not forget the diversity of our countries natural formation

Photographer: Edwin Hamill

Artist: Dre Adams
Artist Location: PORT CURTIS
Medium: Acrylic on canvas, 2018
Dimensions: 30 x 90 x 10 cm
Artist Statement:
I tend to think there is more going on around us every day than meets the eye and a place is different for the d people there, all travelling on their own paths. This curious layering of the human experience in my own community intrigues me. Drehampton was made in response to my own journey through the town in which I have grown up. My work is mischievous and critical of human activity because so much of it is ridiculous, ludicrous and violent. I wish the human race could put behind it all the irrational that causes so much conflict and instead seek a connection to our land and each other. I think it’s about time that all that garbage went in the dustbin of history and we transform our consciousness into something a little more decent or respectful.

Photographer: JAELENE DURRAND

Artist: Caitlin Broderick
Artist Location: TOOWOOMBA
Medium: Acrylic on stretched canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 61.5 x 91.5 x 3.7 cm
Artist Statement:
K’gari (Fraser Island) is Queensland’s largest sand island. Unlike many other sand dunes, the mycorrhizal fungi that is present in the sand has enabled the establishment of rainforests, eucalyptus woodlands, and mangrove forests. The island has around 100 lakes, and is the whale-watching capital of the world. With sand banks that stretch over 120km, deserted beaches, Indigenous and colonisation history, dingos, 4WD, and the iconic landmark of the Maheno shipwreck, Fraser Island has a wealth of natural and historical attractions, making it one of the most diverse places in Queensland.
Travelling down the western coast lies one tree that has planted its roots on the high-tide line, growing tall and strong above the cascading waves and fading tire tracks of passer-byers. The serenity of this scenery encapsulates the beauty that Fraser Island while the tire tracks symbolise the tourism that has been brought to the island because of its diversity.

Photographer: Caitlin June Broderick

Artist: Brandon Wockner
Artist Location: TOOWOOMBA
Medium: Acrylic on cotton canvas, 2019
Dimensions: 100 x 120 x 3 cm
Artist Statement:
We have lived as species in diverse climates, struggled against the weather, hunted animals and have been hunted by them. In ways we have learned to survive together through domestication and taking a more hunter gatherer route, allowing areas to regain their abundance of wildlife by hunting and gathering in different locations. For the Isolated Family this was their way of life though they knew a time would come where more people might come to their land and the way of life they had lived for generations would no longer be able to be supported here.

The Isolated Family also represents isolation and chosen segregation as we live in a time where they say we are all connected but being able to feel a connection with another is an entirely different thing.

Photographer: Brandon Wockner