The opening night of an exhibition celebrating local art, flowers, friendship and light was held at The Tourist Hotel’s Palmer Room Pop-Up on Friday, November 28.
‘A Season to Shine’ kicked off in style, with a glass of champagne offered on arrival to the exquisitely dressed attendees, who were warmly welcomed by the five – equally fabulous – artists.
The dream-team collaboration of local talent was the perfect excuse for a fun night out to support our region’s creative community and catch up with friends in a beautiful setting. In fact, the Palmer Room’s walls never looked so good, adorned with stunning paintings and photographs – their colours, vibrancy and country themes struck a chord with the adoring crowd.
“I brought this group together for ‘A Season to Shine’ because I believe so strongly in the power of collaboration – especially among regional women,” said artist Deb Michell-Smith, who was praised as the group’s fearless leader.
A strong supporter of other creatives, Deb joined forces with photographer and flower farmer Tilla Winston-Smith, creator and bespoke lampshade business owner Vanessa Radford and artists Brooke Dalton and Pippy Nancarrow for the ‘A Season to Shine’ exhibition.
Deb is an award-winning artist best-known and loved locally for the wonderful way her portraits and landscapes capture life on the land, from a harvest scene to sharing the story of a unique bush character.
“Together, we’re showcasing what regional women can offer – strength, creativity, passion, and a whole lot of heart,” said Deb.
Tilla once worked as a nurse, but these days you can find her caring for her beautiful blooms or behind the camera mastering that perfect shot.
“Tilla has an incredible passion for photography and creates the most beautiful floral portraits that deserve to be seen by the world,” said Deb.
Often described as ‘the lampshade lady from Rowena’, Deb praised Vanessa Radford for building an amazing business in a location some might consider to be ‘the middle of nowhere’, demonstrating what’s possible ‘with creativity and grit’. Vanessa’s authentic social media stories give a great insight into farm life, sharing the daily adventures of her much-loved corgis, pet sheep, new pet pig and ‘Mr LightenUp himself’ – her farmer husband.
From Narrabri to Berlin, Deb added that Brooke Dalton’s “artistic talent is extraordinary and has already been recognised internationally”. Renowned for painting vibrant still lifes, interiors, and garden scenes that are bursting with colour and joy, Brooke’s artwork has been championed by prominent art gallerist Michael Reid.
Pippy Nancarrow, a self-taught watercolour artist, shows off the bush in all its beautiful glory from her iconic hat paintings to delicate birds and cool country boots. Best-known on social media as Pippy Paints, the young artist and her fellow collaborators have also branched out into ‘art merch’ for the ‘A Season to Shine’ exhibition, with attendees loving the chance to snap up rainfall charts, aprons, cards, tea towels and more – all featuring the induvial artist’s unique work and style.
On the opening night, during a Q&A session with The Courier journalist Ali Smith, there was a discussion about the ‘art merch movement’ – its growing popularity, and how it reaches a broader audience. For example, someone might prefer to purchase a print, a tea towel, or a card rather than the original artwork. However, since A Season to Shine opened, locals and visitors have been relishing the special opportunity to meet the artist behind the original work, and it’s proving to be a popular exhibition. With plenty of gorgeous goodies and options for Christmas, from originals to rainfall charts and art aprons.
During the Q and A session the artists also generously shared their creative processes – the highs and lows, thrills and spills – as well as their inspirations, love of being based in the bush, advice to their younger self and tips on how to step out of your comfort zone.
Pippy was asked about her passion for giving back to rural communities – by donating some of her artworks to importance caused – and the crowd clapped when the conversation turned to the impressive amount she has kindly helped raise for charities.
All the artists praised the attendees and local community—particularly Angie and Morgan Jones from The Tourist—for their support and help in making the magic happen by allowing them to host and share ‘A Season to Shine‘.
