By TANIA PHILLIPS
KINGSCLIFF Arts will hold their inaugural exhibition on Saturday from 6pm at the Kirra Hill Community and Cultural Centre at Coolangatta.
Winner of the recent Tweed Business (Beats) awards for the art, Kingscliff Arts has called its first event “Coasts”.
Graeme Stevenson from television show Colour in Your Life, who presented the Beats award to the group, will open the show according to owner Gillian Grove.
“It was so unexpected winning the Colour in Your Life Creative Industries Award from the Tweed Shire Council,” she said.
“It is such an honour, we decided we had to have an exhibition of the talent in our school.”
This is the first exhibition of works from the adult classes. There will be over 50 works of art completed in oils, acrylics, watercolour and graphite on show. All of them feature aspects of the coast.
“We simply love what we do! There are lots of people out there who are looking for something creative to do but are just not sure where to start,” she said.
“This exhibition is a chance for us to say thank you to the artists who have really taken learning to paint or draw to new levels. Our students inspire us. All the art is for sale.”
Artist Leisa O’Brien is known for her love of sand and surf and paints mainly coastal views.
“Some people come along to classes to learn new skills, some come for the company of likeminded people and a day out,” she said.
“There is no pressure here to become Picasso.”
An original Leisa O’Brien painting will be the first prize in the raffle which will be drawn on the night. Tickets for the raffle can be bought online at http://coastraffle.bigcartel.com/
In its two years of operation, Kingscliff Arts has grown significantly, employing seven local artists like Leisa to run adult and children’s classes in various mediums.
