Out There In The Country
by Sandy Hartmann

Exhibition Dates: Tuesday 7 November - Sunday 3 December

Sandy Hartmann is an expressive artist whose art is driven by emotion intuition and her love for nature. Having studied visual arts in London she retains her enthusiasm for abstract expressionism and fauvism. Her influences include artists such as Vlaminck, Jackson Pollock, and Arthur Steeton…. just to name a few.

“My paintings developed as an emotional response to nature. Using the ever-changing colours of the trees and vivid lighting to motivate me. Through my paintings, I feel that I can convey my love and connection to the land, water, and the towering trees above me”.

Sandy has lived for the past 10 years on the foot of Mt Baw Baw in Noojee where the Eucalypts command the sky and the tree ferns dominate the forest, her inspiration is drawn from her surroundings. With emphasis on form and colour, she worked mostly using oil pain acrylics and ink directly on the canvas or board without preliminary drawings or studies and this accounts for the freshness and immediacy in her work.

“My art reflects my interpretation of the landscape around me and my experience in daily life whilst working on my garden, driving through the countryside, or walking amongst the trees in the local forest. I invite the viewer into a “happier” space giving them a hint of my interpretation of the subject matter and urge them to complete my story. My hope is that my work will trigger a personal experience a memory or a connection to a special place”.