Condong sugar mill in colour
GLASGOW born and Darwin-based artist Marie Lise Laviolette has produced a painting of something most people would not immediately regard as an art subject, the Condong sugar mill.
However, the work manages to give the viewer an image of the building quite different from the impression experienced by a casual observer.
The mill is quite beautiful when seen through the eyes of the artist and the resulting painting with its vibrant and "sugary" colours is a sight to behold.
Ms Laviolette said "I love it and think it's beautiful".
Ms Laviolette has spent the last six months as artist in residence of the Lismore gallery, The Art in the Heart 'Pop up' Gallery where she paints industrial, urban and manmade objects.
"I'm attracted to these things when they are in beautiful landscapes," Ms Laviolette said.
Ms Laviolette has visited the Tweed on numerous occasions to spend time with her mother who is retired and lives in Tweed Heads.
The mill painting was a result of many trips between Murwillumbah, Lismore and Tweed Heads during which the artist fell in love with the building.
Ms Laviolette's work is currently exhibited at the Lismore gallery where she produced many works mainly of Lismore's skyscape and urban features including telegraph poles and street lights.
"I have loved working at the gallery and have produced a lot of great works.
"I have made a lot of new friends and feel my stay has been a really great experience."
The work of the mill is for sale and Ms Laviolette said she hoped a relatively well-off organisation or individual would buy the painting and donate it to the Tweed River Art Gallery.
"That would be the very best outcome," Ms Laviolette said.
Anyone interested in viewing Ms Laviolette's work can do so at The Art in the Heart 'Pop up' Gallery, located at 55 Magellan Street, Lismore.
