Liz McLennan is a Castlemaine artist whose practice embraces painting, drawing, printmaking, illustration and photography. She has also created several animations and storybooks (unpublished).
Her studies include BA Illustration NMIT 2012, BA Multimedia (with Distinction) RMIT University 2001, and a BA Fine Art (Painting) Monash University 1990. Recently Liz studied botanical art technique in watercolour with inspirational tutors Dianne Emery, Mali Moir and Kate Nolan at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.
Exhibitions include two solo shows, a joint show and more than twenty group shows. Liz was awarded the Acquisition Prize 2015 and First Prize 2014 at Art4All Fairfield PS Art Show. She was a recipient of an Artist-in-Schools grant from Arts Victoria in 2005. In 2004 she was invited to join the Advisory Panel, Computer Games Stream, RMIT as an independent digital artist. Experimenta Media Arts commissioned work from her for the House of Tomorrow exhibition in 2003. Liz worked on the animation It’s Like That in 2003, which was a collaborative project by the Southern Ladies Animation Group that received numerous screenings & awards including 21st Century: Art in the First Decade exhibition Queensland Art Gallery 2010 as well as screening at Sundance USA 2005. Other awards include the Creative Media Award RMIT 2001, the Lucato Peace Prize for painting 1990 and the Fine Art Scholarship 1989 Monash University.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My work combines fantasy with realism. A strong interest in the environment coupled with a fascination for family history drives my practice. I enjoy moving between traditional and digital mediums, embracing painting and drawing together with digital art. I am equally at home working in my studio with traditional art materials as at my computer.
Photography is a wonderful tool I use to draw inspiration from the local environment. I am particularly interested in the birds of the local temperate woodlands of Central Victoria.
Many artforms greatly inspire me in particular works associated with creation myths of different cultures. The Natural History illustrations of the early Colonial artists are inspirational. Although the process is different, I am also indebted to the Surrealist tradition of the irrational juxtaposition of images and heightened realism.
EDUCATION
BA Illustration, NMIT Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE 2012
BA Multimedia (with Distinction), RMIT University 2001
BA Fine Art-Painting, Monash University 1990
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2005 | Creative Spaces Women’s Health in the North, Thornbury
1996 | Procession II Maenad Gallery, Kensington
JOINT EXHIBITION
1996 | Avant-Garde Gallery, Ferntree Gully 1996
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS, COLLABORATIONS
2016 | Tuned Salon Pretensious, Reveries, Marong
2016 | Figure Drawing Exhibition Reveries, Marong
2016 | 50/50 print works Castlemaine Press Lot 19, Castlemaine
2003, 2013, 2014, 2015 | ART4ALL Fairfield PS, Fairfield
2013 | Darebin Art Show Bundoora Homestead Art Gallery, Bundoora
2012 | SeeSaw Graduate Exhibition, Red Gallery, Fitzroy 2012
2012 | 3rd Year BA Illustration, Space Gallery, NMIT Fairfield Campus 2012
2012 | Well-hung Disco Beans, Northcote
2006 | Kew HS Artshow Kew
2001, 2002, 2005 | Gallery-Without-Walls Bendigo
2004 | Tremor Space 39, Melbourne
2003 | House of Tomorrow Experimenta Media Arts, Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
2003 | It’s Like That Collaborative animation project – Southern Ladies Animation Group (SLAG)
1997, 1998 | Mechanics Institute, Brunswick
1995 | Portrait Show Platform Art Gallery, Melbourne
1993 | No Vacancy Shop Fronts Melbourne City Square
1992 | Sub-Six Armadale
1991 | Drawing Show Armadale
1990 | Graduate Exhibition Monash University, Caulfield Arts Centre
AWARDS / PRIZES / RESIDENCIES
2015 | Acquisition Prize ART4ALL Fairfield PS, Fairfield
2014 | First Prize ART4ALL Fairfield PS, Fairfield
2005 | Artist-in-schools residency Fairfield PS – Department of Education & Training, Arts Victoria
2003 | Commission for House of Tomorrow Exhibition, Experimenta Media Arts, 25-sec advertisement
2004 | It’s Like That Collaborative animation project (SLAG) – nominated Best Animation Australian Film Industry (AFI) awards; selected to screen at over 60 film festivals including Sundance USA 2005; 21st Century Art of the First Decade Queensland Art Gallery 2010
2001 | Creative Media Award for Excellence in Multimedia, RMIT Video and Animation
2001 | Nature Fakers animation – shortlisted for Australian Teachers of Multimedia (ATOM) Awards
1990 | Lucato Peace Prize for painting, Monash University
1989 | Fine Art Scholarship, Monash University
BIBLIOGRAPHY – Magazines & books 2014 Cool Music for Large Ensembles Bachelor of Music NMIT; 2012 inSCRIBE Winter edition Darebin City Council & Yarra Bend Press; 2002 Spina Bifida Passport to success Spina Bifida Foundation of Victoria; 1987 Melbourne Update Employ Publishing Group; 1987 She set fire to the house Andrew Pendlebury & Stephen Cummings, Cleopatra Releases 45rpm; 1986 Challenge Young Australia – Extension Thomas Nelson Australia; 1985 Partners Young Australia – Extension Thomas Nelson Australia.