about the artist

"Mythic imagery exerts a vivid hold over me for, embedded in its poetry and mystery are the powerful forces of life itself. These often tragic tales contain the stories of nature as well as the heroic, and they articulate the collective unconscious of the psyche. I see allegories as far more complex and highly symbolic - they have many many layers of meaning.

Drawing can be notes, sketches, first thoughts or preparation for a painting or it can be the work in its own right. I prefer to draw with the traditional tools of conte crayons, compressed charcoal and pastel - half-tones of a smudge, solid sharp lines, these textural qualities animate the surface paper as I continually sea-saw between success and failure. Drawing constantly importunes me on some deep inner level; time drops out as I push to realise a form, to make a black even more intense; to contrast lines with tones and achieve spacial depths. As I work, I find myself thinking of music and the different cadences of sound". Bettina

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ART AND AUSTRALIA, VOL.21 NO3, THORPE, L: PRINTMAKERS TODAY
ARTISTS AND GALLERIES OF AUSTRALIA, GERMAINE, MAX
AUSTRALILAN ARTISTS, DEC. 1991
DIRECTORY OF AUSTRALIAN PRINTMAKERS
NEW ART ONE, 1987, NEVILLE DRURY EDITOR
PASTEL ARTISTS INTERNATIONAL, NOVEMBER 1999

DIPLOMA OF ART, JULIAN ASHTON SCHOOL OF FINE ART
ADVANCED ETCHING STUDIES AT MORLEY COLLEGE & GOLDSMITH COLLEGE OF ART, LONDON UNIVERSITY
ELECTED MEMBER OF AUSTRALIAN PRINT COUNCIL
TEACHER OF ETCHING, WORKSHOP ART CENTRE, SYDNEY
TEACHER OF ETCHING, ROSEVILLE COMMUNITY ART CENTRE, SYDNEY
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE, CITE INTERNATIONAL DES ARTS, PARIS
FRENCH SECRETARIAT ALLOCATION STUDIO CITE INTERNATIONAL DES ARTS, PARIS

BATHURST OPEN PRIZE
LANE COVE PAINTING
PORTIA GEACH PORTRAIT PRIZE
RYDE WATER COLOUR
HUNTERS HILL TRADITIONAL OIL PAINTING
DRUMMOYNE PRINT PRIZE
DRUMMOYNE PRINT PRIZE
BATHURST PRINT PRIZE
BATHURST PURCHASE PRIZE
GOSFORD PRINT PRIZE
NARRABRI FESTIVAL DRAWING PRIZE
MOSMAN PRINT PRIZE
COMMISSION - MEMBER PRINT FOR COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA
GOSFORD PRINT PRIZE
ALLOCATED RESIDENCY (ART GALLERY OF NSW) CITE INTERNATIONALE DES ARTS, PARIS
MOYA DYRING STUDIO AWARD, PARIS
DRUMMOYNE PRINT PRIZE
MOSMAN PRINT PRIZE
GOSFORD PRINT PRIZE
ALICE SPRINGS WORKS ON PAPER AWARD
DRUMMOYNE PRINT PRIZE
FRENCH SECRETARIAT ALLOCATION STUDIO CITE INTERNATIONAL DES ARTS, PARIS
DRUMMOYNE SILVER JUBILEE DRAWING PRIZE
WYONG, WORKS-ON-PAPER PRIZE
WALKOM MANNING MAJOR ART PRIZE
ENERGEX EQUINE ART (PAINTING)
CENTRAL COAST WORKS-ON-PAPER PRIZE
ENERGEX EQUINE ART (PAINTING)
CENTRAL COAST WORKS-ON-PAPER PRIZE
HUNTERS HILL LANDSCAPE PRIZE
CENTRAL COAST OPEN MAJOR PRIZE

BETTINA MCMAHON
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