The north-west coast of Tasmania is blessed with rich iron-red soil, clean air and verdant green paddocks that rise and roll to the seas of Bass Strait. It is here that landscape artist Patrick Grieve lives, works and paints, spurred on by his unlikely muse, the north-west coast farmer.
"Farmers' compositions are superb and they've done it accidentally, of course. They'll plough a little tractor through and create an amazing pattern." Grieve explains.
These accidental compositions are represented in Grieve's bold, geometric paintings. But it's the explosion of colour in Grieve's north-west landscapes that really set his work apart. "When the soil on the coast gets wet it goes that deep chocolate colour."
Throw in vibrant lime greens, vast stretches of blue sky, deeper blue sea and the colour palate is exciting, luminous and instantly recognisable. "I just sort of turn the colour control up a little bit."
From his home overlooking the port of Burnie, Grieve is just moments from the fertile soils and verdant paddocks he paints. "I drive around a lot. Just drive and look, and come back and work on it here. It's like a sensation throw the kids in the car and go."
Grieve's work is very intuitive. I'm not interested in painting being an exact representation of the landscape." Instead his landscapes have that "Everywhere but nowhere" quality.
The 2006 recipient of the City of Burnie Art Prize, Grieve's work is held in the collections of The Henry Jones Art Hotel, University of Tasmania, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Esk Collection, Art Bank, Burnie Regional Art Gallery, and the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
More Information
Patrick Grieve is represented by Bett Gallery, 369 Elizabeth Street, North Hobart
+61 3 6231 6511
www.bettgallery.com.au
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