River side: Artist Lesley Lodge is inspired by the Deniliquin landscape. Her work will be on show and for sale on March 25 at the Conargo Hotel.
When you grow up swinging off rope swings into the Edward River at Deniliquin, you might not realise you are developing a deep artistic connection to the landscape.
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But this was the case for artist Lesley Lodge, who will return to her homeland to host an art exhibition titled River Gums on Saturday, March 25 at the Conargo Hotel.
“Art is a passion I have no control over and the recent flood events in the river country have created a tragic beauty that I found inspiring,” she said.
Having left home in 1972 to pursue a Diploma of Fine Arts in Sydney, Ms Lodge now calls the Mornington Peninsular home.
But recently, Ms Lodge has been given many opportunities to revisit her home town since her husband, Paul, has been busy rebuilding the burnt-down Conargo Hotel with his brother Michael.
“Our frequent visits to the Edward River region meant I was observing the lines and forms of the magnificent river gums,” Ms Lodge said.
“Their resilience and beauty captivated me. They were recently voted Australia’s most popular tree and I can see why.”
To date, Ms Lodge’s career has involved abstracts and figurative pieces and during the COVID-19 lockdowns she made the move into the medium of painted collage.
River gums: Lesley Lodge believes the process of tearing and cutting painted paper brings out the colours and textures of landscapes at different times of day and in varying weather conditions.
Ms Lodge believes the process of tearing and cutting painted paper brings out the colours and textures of landscapes at different times of day and in varying weather conditions.
This work culminated in her first exhibition on the Mornington Peninsula in December 2021, which Ms Lodge found to be a rewarding experience.
“After the success of the exhibition my son suggested I do some paintings around the Deniliquin region and with my mother still living there and my husband toing and froing from the Conargo Hotel rebuild, it just made good sense,” she said.
Ms Lodge’s art will be on exhibition and for sale on Saturday, March 25 from 4.30pm to 6.30pm.
The Conargo Hotel is also hosting a ‘Back to Conargo’ event on this day to celebrate the reopening of the iconic outback pub. Ms Lodge will be hosting a workshop on Sunday for the local artist society for those wanting to learn her collage technique.
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