ARTIST PROFILE
Lyn Barnes
Outback Artist
In the often wild and unbroken landscape that summarises the Outback, the natural beauty of our region is one of the treasures that many of us hold dear. Through our regional artists, we are able to share our beauty with the world beyond.
Lyn Barnes, artist and owner of the Eagle Gallery in Quilpie draws inspiration from the dramatic, captivating and colour saturated country we call our Outback. For Lyn, art has become her passion and lifeblood—but it hasn’t always been this way.
Discovering your Talent
THE FIRST STEPS TO ARTISTIC GREATNESS
‘Although I’ve been painting for over thirty years, I only really dabbled with art in the beginning. I’d always been sort of painting, but I only started to do more when I came back to Quilpie in 1990. I attended some watercolour workshops held by John Morrison and Rex Bachaus Smith, and then some pastel workshops with Les McDonough. It definitely started my love for art, and the satisfaction of it,’ says Lyn.
From student to teacher
Inspiring others towards artistic expression
Like any trade or craft, it takes a mentor to grow the apprentice—and in turn, creating a new wave of crafts and tradesmen to take up the field. Without these important workshops to grow and inspire the artists of our region, much of our Outback’s flourishing natural beauty would stay hidden away from the world on our remote properties.
‘I never had the actual tools, which are so very important,’ explains Lyn. ‘The composition, the colour, the ability to draw—these were all the fundamentals I gained from attending those workshops. All of those very traditional tools that some think don’t matter are the absolute building blocks of art.’
Now, as an established full-time artist and gallery exhibitor, Lynn has taken to teaching other aspiring artists in the West—who were, at one stage, just like her.
‘I’m really enjoying holding pastel workshops and teaching, because it's just so gratifying. I can recognise the people who were just like me who have a great desire to paint but don’t know how. Just explaining the basic techniques gives them the foundation from which they can create art for themselves. It is extremely rewarding to see people who have never painted before flourish in these workshops. There really is no mystery to art—it’s just gaining the tools and knowledge to do it.’
Although having undertaken many incredible ventures through her art career, the latest opportunity to view Lyn’s work will be at the Quilpie airport—an installation of three large oil works depicting the beautiful sights of Quilpie. Proudly displaying the beauty of our Outback often unseen, the three paintings focus on the natural waterhole Lake Houdraman, the red rock formation ‘Baldy Top’, and the dinosaur dig site near Eromanga.
Without artists such as Lyn Barnes, our Outback wonders would go unseen and uncelebrated in ways that are not only visually impressive, but ways that capture the essence and life that the Outback holds.
If you’d like to see more of Lyn Barnes’s work, you can find her at her Facebook page Lyn Barnes or on her website, lynbarnes.com . From us at Red Ridge, thank you Lyn for allowing us to share your amazing journey!
