JULIA Street Creative Space exhibitions have a habit of revealing Portland’s hidden artists. For its new show, simply titled Summer Exhibition, the space doesn’t disappoint.

Featuring paintings from the Portland Artists Society (PAS) artists, the exhibition runs from now until the end of January 2024.

Liz Francis, president of PAS said this particular exhibition is a mixture of subjects and “boasts all sorts of things, really”.

“We’re an artists’ society which encompasses a 100km radius, so anyone within that range can join the group. Most of our artists come from Heywood, Portland and Hamilton, but also Port Fairy, Mt Gambier, and Warrnambool. So, we are all local artists,” she said.

But one local artist displaying considerable talent, according to Ms Francis, has opted not to appear in the exhibition, describing his own work as “pretty ordinary”.

Tim Hol is entirely self-taught and only started dabbling in painting about a year ago. And while he can be humorously self-deprecating, he does recognise he’s improved over the space of 12 months. He credits this not only to “practice, practice, practice”, but also to the support from the other, more experienced artists who also attend the creative space studio, who are always happy to give a few tips when asked.

So, what made him take the plunge into the unfamiliar world of art? Turns out his transition into painting was more about economics than anything else. But once in, he found the water was just fine.

When Mr Hol’s children tired of experimenting with painting themselves, he found himself stuck with a bunch of expensive painting paraphernalia. Stuff he’d paid for. And he wasn’t about to let it go to waste. “So, I decided to give it a crack,” he said. “Straight into oils!”

At the time Mr Hol had no intention of joining a group, but friends who liked what he was turning out on his canvases thought he could benefit from working with other, more experienced artists. So, the Alcoa shift worker came along to a PAS meeting, liked what he heard, and has been coming every fortnight ever since, to chat, socialise, and work on his brush technique.

And while he says he’s never happy with his work, he sees now that all the artists who turn up to the studio – including those with 30 years or more experience – are striving to improve, just as he is, and he has learnt when to say, “good enough” and start on a new one. (However, one painting did take about 10 layers of paint before he got to that point.)  

He’s now completed 14 paintings, with each taking him about 20 hours, because “obviously the more time you spend on one, the fewer paintings you can do” and is in for the long haul.

The artist studio is available for anyone interested in joining – first through PAS and then the Council for the Encouragement for the Arts (CEMA) (which covers insurance). For more information go to https://www.portlandcema.org.au/portland-artists-society.