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10 | iNarrabri Magazine
Feature
Interview by Chris Jollow
Where are you originally from?
I was born in Carcoar in Central West NSW
and when I was a toddler my family moved to
the Central Coast where I lived until I met my
husband Ken. We moved to Narrabri in 1978.
What do you do for work?
I retired just over 2 years ago. Before that I
was a permanent employee of CSIRO Ento-
mology for nineteen and a half years.
When and why did you start producing art?
Drawing and painting has always been a pas-
sion. As a young child I remember drawing
pictures all over my Nanna’s concrete water
tanks in charcoal... painting by numbers was
also a popular past-time. Gifts as a child were
always something to do with art as everyone
knew how I loved to paint and draw. The only
subject at school I got an ‘A’ in was art, so I
guess it was only natural to keep painting.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
I really am in awe of works by the European
Old Masters such as Peter Paul Rubens,
Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt,
Caravaggio, Giovan Battista Moroni & Titan to
name a few. The quality of their drawings and
paintings to me are incredible.
Other artists who inspire me are Monet for
the luminosity and the handling of light and
shadow in his work, also Fredrick McCubbin
for his sparkling impressionist landscapes, and
Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles
Conder.
Local Artists I admire would be Robin Stieger
for her wealth of knowledge and always
cheerful attitude and encouragement.
Graeme Compton’s drawings are just magic!
He is so very talented.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Inspiration comes in many forms, it may be
the way the afternoon light is hitting a tree
or hill or flower, or it could be light falling on
a face, or a group of kids having fun or an
animal having a scratch. I love the challenge
of painting portraits; faces with character really
inspire me.
What have you been working on lately?
At present I am working on an oil painting of
an elderly man at his craft of making leather
harnesses. I took the photo on a visit to Sover-
eign Hill on a recent holiday to Victoria. I have
been working on it intermittently for a couple
of weeks; I should get it finished within the
next couple of weeks if time permits.
Is there a work that you are most proud of?
The pastel portrait I did of my neighbour Ted
Phillips is one of my favourites along with a
portrait in oil I did of a friend of ours, Alex,
who is a real character! He looks like a bit of
a rough diamond but has a heart of gold.
He was so proud of it so I gave it to him as a
birthday present. The portraits of my grand-
children and family which hang on my lounge
room walls are very special also.
What is the story behind the artworks
pictured?
The pastel of the girl was taken from a photo
Sylvia Kirkby had taken on her travels. The
look in the girls eyes made me want to paint
her and hopefully convey the same feeling to
the viewer.
“Maules Creek Camp Draft” is an oil painting
I did from a photo I had taken at the camp
draft earlier this year.
The young girl in “What Are We Waiting For”
looks to me like a typical young person bored
with waiting, the look on her face and her
body language made me want to paint this
scene.
What advice can you offer budding artists?
The best advice you can give is to draw as
much as you can, every day if possible and
if you draw from life even better. It’s also
beneficial to explore different mediums and
techniques as you never stop learning.
Outside of creating art and work, what do
you enjoy doing?
What I enjoy most is my three incredible
grandchildren, they are the light of my life and
if I want to smile I just think of them, they are
so much fun.
I really love attending art exhibitions. I recently
went to The Legacy of Catherine the Great Ex-
hibition in Melbourne and some of the works
there were very moving.
I also enjoy pottering around the yard on oc-
casion and of course spending time with my
husband and family.
judy nobilo
A talent, so widely admired within the local
art community, grew through the grafitti of
her granny's water tanks and almost two
decades of scientific attention to detail!
photo: chris jollow