FOR Lynette Oliver, the start of her art journey came within a box of watercolour paints each Christmas in the early 1950s.
Some of her first memories of painting began in primary school around the showing of a film about the Great Barrier Reef.
With the film viewing came an invitation to enter a competition, a challenge which Lynette quickly took up.
Lynette recalls that during the summer, her class was sent to the foreshore to draw a scene of the full tide, islands and small boats bobbing in the water.
Recalling the day with pastels and a piece of grey paper, she was the last to finish the assignment.
Turning 83 this year when the jacarandas bloom, Lynette overcome many challenges including polio, however her hands and memories never forgot the joy of painting.
Many decades have passed and she now paints with acrylic. Juggling everyday life with post-polio for over 40 years, Lynette continues with persistence and determination to showcase her artistic passion for all things colourful.
From landscape to still life, Lynette produces art works with a naivety that creates and evokes memories.
The yearning for art has never faded for Lynette, taking lessons with Dennis Freeman from Rosewood, and relating to the words of Elton John’s I’m Still Standing, painting with persistence, determination, patience and never giving up.
“The art of colour and brush strokes has an effect on the soul, body and mind that I cannot express – however, it’s to be treasured,” she said.
“Painting has shared its journey with me, and with it I keep learning and improving whilst seeing the joy of colour and the completion of scenes that continue to amaze me.”
