‘To see the world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour …’ William Blake, 1893.
My work explores this simple way of seeing the world with a specific focus on the beauty of the small and overlooked marine life found washed up along our shoreline. These paintings and drawings, of the unremarkable along the tidal edges in Geographe Bay, are inspired by my memories of a childhood living beside the beach in another place and time. They aim to remember a child-like attitude, to paint and draw the things underfoot and immediately before me, as a child would experience it. They are small, simple offerings recreating a child’s sense of curiosity and wonder.
Through this way of looking at things my daily visits to the narrow tidal edges are filled with an attentive focus and an eagerness to discover what the ocean has offered up overnight. I find myself holding up a small shell against the sun to admire the colours in its brittle layers or the iridescent glow of life in the diaphanous leaves of a torn piece of seaweed.
Opening up to this attitude of innocence has engendered another way of being in the world, resulting in an interconnectedness with the environment and a passionate role in preserving it.
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Belinda now lives and works in Dunsborough, WA.
EDUCATION
2022 Bachelor of Arts (Honours), Curtin University, Perth WA
2012 – 2017 Bachelor of Arts, Curtin University, Perth WA
1989 – 1990 Visual Arts, TAFE, Seaforth, NSW
1988 Life Drawing evening classes, Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney NSW
1982 – 1987 Architectural Drafting Diploma (State Medal) TAFE, Sydney NSW
ART AWARDS
2023 Finalist, Rockingham Art Prize, Rockingham, WA
2023 Finalist, Collie Art Prize, Collie, WA
2022 Finalist, Dobell Drawing Prize #22 Regional Tour, NSW and QLD
2021 Finalist, Dobell Drawing Prize #22, National Art School, Sydney, NSW
2020 Finalist, Busselton Art Awards, ArtGeo Gallery, Busselton, WA
2019 Finalist, The Perth Royal Art Prize for Landscape, Perth, WA
2018 Highly Commended, Busselton Art Awards, ArtGeo Gallery, Busselton, WA
2016 Finalist, South Perth Emerging Artist Award, South Perth, WA
ART EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE:
2023 Group Exhibition, the Studio Gallery, WA
2023 Rockingham Art Prize, Rockingham, WA
2023 Collie Art Prize, Collie, WA
2022 Dobell Drawing Prize #22 Regional Tour, NSW and QLD
2021 Dobell Drawing Prize #22, National Art School, Sydney NSW
2020 Busselton Art Awards, ArtGeo Gallery, Busselton, WA
2019 Perth Royal Art Prize for Landscape Perth WA
2019 ‘Now’ Artsource, Old Customs House Salon, Fremantle, WA
2018 Busselton Art Awards, ArtGeo Gallery, Busselton, WA
2018 ‘Galvanise’ Artsource, Old Customs House Salon, Fremantle, WA
2017 Post-graduate Exhibition, Curtin University, Perth, WA
2016 South Perth Emerging Artist Award, South Perth, WA