BEGUILED BY LIGHT

By Ray Wilson

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Ray will be our resident impressionist style oil painter and will showcase a range of beautiful oils within his “Beguiled by Light” series. The works are focused on demonstrating how light plays a key role in bringing works of art to life and enabling the viewer’s eye to be drawn to a particular focal point (or points), For example, when light catches an object or scene creating a strong contrast and sense of magic or when lights creates such a strong contrast with a darker shadow it can change the mood or temperature of the work and transport you to a place or moment in time. In Ray’s still life work titled “Red Flowering Gum” the viewer will sense the warmth of the sun shining onto the vase of flowers.

Ray mostly enjoys painting from life and the use of light is paramount in assisting the viewer understand why he chose and was drawn to, a scene or object. Inspired primarily by the play of light across the land and sea scapes of the Surfcoast and the diversity of warmth, energy and moods that evolve Ray feels his art can tell a story and provide an avenue to share this experience with others….an experience that is then transported to an infinite memory.

Ray credits Vincent Van Gogh, Max Meldrum and our own feature exhibitor Peter Smales as artists who have most inspired him. Like Ray, all these artists credit light and the beauty and emotion of nature as sources of their creative expression.

Ray will share with us his passion for oil as a medium and his painterly and semi impressionist style but his key message for this exhibition is the power of observation and how beguiling it can be to capture light.