Oh how margaret olley loved to paint – the echo

In Cornflowers with Pomegranates Olley has also used a patterned fabric as the backdrop, again adding texture and warmth. Olley was an aware, constant learner, always going to other artists she admired for inspiration and therefore many artists came to her for inspiration Although her works were not 'fashionable' she has always been popular with private collectors.

In its peacefulness, and flowing harmony.

A century after her birth, Olley's inspiration lives on

Olley appreciated flowers for the dynamism that their bright colours and lively forms brought to her paintings. Get Started. As curator and writer, Christine France, stated, although she is well aware and tolerant of the current trends, Margaret Olley makes no stylistic concessions to fashion in her painting. Olley is a part of that tradition, from Vermeer in the seventeenth century to Morandi in the twentieth century For example, in the present work the brilliant blue of the cornflowers seems to spill forth onto the milk jug, teacup and plate, as though contagious.

Footnotes: 1.

Oh how margaret olley loved to paint – the echo: Born in Lismore, Margaret Olley's

Her art works show us her view of the world. Just two years before Cornflowers with Pomegranates was painted, Olley explained in an interview that, the subject matter is not important; it is the shape, the placement and the pictorial relationship which concerns me. Margaret Olley An Education. These cloths are usually draped over the edge of a flat tabletop, falling out of sight beyond the picture frame.

She allowed her paintings to be influenced by the natural and changing light sources. This gave more meaning to her works as the subject matter was part of her life which she lived with and used everyday. Gleeson, J. Signs and Symbols representations of Olley's beliefs Margaret Olley's works are not impacted by passing trends or fashions but rather she finds inspiration in the beauty and spirit of humanity in her subject matter, usually consisting of familiar unassuming household items such as home interiors and carefully arranged objects such as bowls, plates, jugs, flowers and fruit.

It is clear why, when each of her paintings is a visual essay in composition and aesthetics. Not one to conform to artistic trends, she showed little regard for the contemporaneous movements of abstraction and minimalism. She is realistic and angst free. France, C. Olley would move throughout her house to wherever the light was right for that time of day and for the feel she wanted in her painting.

These components combine to create a quintessential Margaret Olley painted at the peak of her career. Such as when she painted her favourite yellow room half a dozen times, she constantly remembered works such as Picasso's variations on the 'seated woman' theme. Light and arrangements of objects were the main guides to Olley's style.

Flowers were Olleys favourite subject, usually forming the centrepiece of her compositions. Margaret is constantly inspired by works of the 'masters' and often has them in the back of her mind as she creates her own works. Olley's Paddington house is often referred to as her 'lifelong installation' as it housed items used in her artworks and was often the subject matter of her artworks.