ArtGeo welcomes proposals for stables 2 and 3 from interested Artists wishing to develop their practice. Open to all mediums from musicians, writers, painters and whatever you are working on.

email artgeo@artgeo.com.au with a description of your practice and some supporting photos to be considered for a 3 month residency.

A must visit in the Cultural Precinct is to our talented resident artists in the Stables Studios at the rear of the courtyard. Here you will find the open studio painter Gerald Ashcroft.

"From a film lighting cameraman, painting with light to create depth on a film set, to composing and painting landscapes and abstracts with pigments. A natural transition in visual language.

Many years ago I experienced the stunning beauty of the Australian landscape for the first time. The intense light and vivid blue sky was a stark contrast to the drab English weather that I had grown up with. So began my journey to capture and interpret this challenging and ever changing landscape.

Painting ‘en plein air’ provides me with an immediate connection to my surroundings. I attempt to capture the atmosphere of each scene with spontaneity giving the painting an almost unfinished appearance. Whilst at the same time maintaining a fresh and vibrant approach to each study completed in one session

My success as a realist has challenged me to investigate the unrestricted possibilities of expression through my works into abstraction. My journey continues as I explore the deeper layers of my creativity.

The rich colours and textures of the rural landscape combined with the cooler tones of the coast contribute to the opening moves of a new abstract. With no subject in mind but rather a colour theme, my stage is set to explore and develop the layers of depth. Darks against lights warm against cool.

Loading my brush with acrylic paint I set up the darks to establish an immediate contrast to the white textured canvas. Rags, sponges, brushes and spray bottle each play a role in pushing and pulling colour and tone as organic shapes freeform and depth layers emerge. The challenge of the unknown from making those first marks on the canvas provides an exhilarating place to express and allow the storytelling to unfold. The journey continues!"

2021 - Claire Kastelan is a local artist with multifaceted interests, her mainstays are photography, fabric sculpture and ceramics. However, it is fabric sculpture she is exploring further and developing in Studio 3.

She is presently concentrating on building a body of work producing quirky but recognisable creatures, items and objects such as naïve style native birds, local fish, shells, animals, and dolls. Claire makes and adorn many of these objects using hand stitching and “slow stitching” which includes embroidery, sequins and beading.

This form of “sculpting” is for all ages. It was believed not that long ago that with the advent of fast fashion and internet shopping that there was no longer any room for traditional crafts such as hand stitching and that they were staid and boring. This form of craft though has undergone a revolution, and there is room in this new world of upcycling, using what we have, and making it yourself, to play with traditional crafts.

Claire is in the Studio from 10am to 4pm on Wednesday to Saturday.

2021 - Lorraine Frost is the artist in residence in the Exercise Yard within the Old Courthouse Complex. She is an internationally accomplished artist whose work is of autobiographic nature, investigating human condition, connection, communication and intuition through play with rhythm, balance, space and materiality. Lorraine describes her works as architectural vessels of personal communication containing seeds of thought; driven by the currents and tides of life, anchoring concepts in reality.

She has worked across many oceans and has been an official sculptor representative for the United Kingdom at arts symposiums in Canada, USA, Germany, Norway and Finland. Her sculptures and paintings are part of several collections worldwide including commissioned works commemorating the 4oth year of reign of Queen Elizabeth II.


See Lorraine at work on Monday and Thursday from 10.30am to 4pm, Tuesday and Friday from 12pm to 4pm, Wednesday and Saturday 11.30am to 3pm.