NG Art Creative Residency

It was such a pleasure to host Australian artist Trish Crampton for 3 weeks. Warm, friendly and wonderfully upbeat, she became part of residency life from the moment she arrived.

Trish is a Sydney based painter who studied printmaking at Sydney College of the Arts. Her paintings grow from a lifelong fascination with vessels. She has collected them for years, drawn to their shapes, histories and individual personalities. She calls them her friends, and they fill her home studio in Sydney.

Wherever she travels, she finds herself looking for another. Here in Provence, she discovered beautiful forms both at the flea markets and in our home, finding fresh inspiration for her drawings and paintings.

Her still lifes invite us to pause and look more closely. Trish considers where each vessel sits, the space around it and how the shapes speak to one another. A small change in placement can give the whole composition a different feeling.

The influence of Giorgio Morandi can be felt in the quiet, contemplative quality of her work. Her subdued palette and gentle shifts of tone allow the vessels and their relationships to hold our attention.

The sketchbooks and studies she shared with us offered a lovely insight into the thought and observation behind each painting alongside her journeying through France.

Trish came with her dear friend and fellow artist Peter Finlay. It was a joy to see them both immersed in their work and enjoying the company of the other creatives.

Thank you, Trish, for your paintings, your stories and the warmth you brought to us all.

@trishcrampton