Dave’s new exhibition ‘Metamorphosis‘ will be showing at The Centre, Beaudesert from 7 February to 26th April 2014.
2014 marks 20 years since Dave Groom first picked up a pencil in his small flat at Lower Beechmont, with the intention to create a series of drawings that would be his first exhibition.
In 1993 he had returned home from a year of travelling in Europe and North America, where he had walked through and experienced many wild and spectacular landscapes. It was the return home to Australia though that made him aware of the uniqueness of the Australian landscape. The light, the clarity and the unique eucalypt and rainforest, were all the more clearer after coming home.
The bush has always been part of Groom’s life. His Grandfather, Arthur Groom had established Binna Burra Lodge on the edge of Lamington in the 1930’s and Daves parents established a travel company that focussed on National Parks. Having grown up in this environment, the natural world was in his blood.
After that initial small show of pencil drawings in 1993, it took Dave 10 years to commit to becoming a fulltime artist. He built his own studio out of stone and local timber on the edge of a eucalyptus forest in Lamingtonal National Park and began the daily process of observing the natural landscape and creating his art.
Drawing has always been central to Groom’s work, often as a means to an end, or sometimes as study work for larger paintings or pastels.
‚ÄúMy aim when making¬† drawings is to create a work of atmosphere, that has balance and depth. There is a lot of freedom in the process because essentially I’m just dealing with line and tone. When I’ve created a drawing I’m happy with I sometimes use it as a study piece for a painting. I try to stick to the overall pattern of the drawing, when doing the painting because I’ve discovered that if I like the atmosphere in the drawing, then with time and patience, that atmosphere can be brought out in a painting. In the end though, there are always subtle differences because they are two different works and usually I stop referring to the drawing after a period, to let the painting take on a life of its own.
‚ÄúI like the idea of viewing the landscape from many angles and different points of view at once, almost like a bird, flying through the forest, catching quick glimpses of shapes and textures. I also see the landscape as something that is timeless and that is made up of all those elements we don’t initially see, like the organic matter on the forest floor, the miniscule organisms, the roots and tendrils, the solid rock and textured earth. I can paint what I feel and observe, which gives the work life and energy. This can be very different¬† from creating a purely realistic interpretation of a view.‚Äù¬† ¬†
The ‘Pod’ series is some of my most recent work and it differs from the other work in the sense that the organic elements are more contained in pod-like organisms, floating through the landscape. I’m interested in the connections in nature. So much of life, including our own, develops from a seed or egg that grows into its mature form, going through the cycle of life until it reaches its end, turning to bone or organic matter and re-entering the earth. I wanted the pods to be like rare and delicate vessels, floating through the atmosphere, in a constant state of growth and decay. The natural environment itself is now largely area’s of protected landscape. Vessels floating in a sea of humanity. Millions of years of evolution, delicate and vulnerable to the influence of mankind.‚Äù
For more information visit www.liveatthecentre.com.au
