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Home Is Where The Art Is

Nearly a decade ago, noted Australian painter, water-colourist and silk-screen printmaker John Millington saw himself as more or less retired from the “art game” as his life-long love and obsession with music came increasingly to the fore. Minor gigs and open mike sessions were providing more satisfaction for the former National Art School graduate, who had spent fifteen years teaching high school and tertiary level art, 25 years as a newspaper and magazine arts journalist and four decades as a practising professional artist. During that time he had published Tropical Visions—(25 important Queensland and Northern NSW artists- University of Qld. Press), and John Rigby, Art and life (Playright Press, Sydney) while collecting more than 60 art prizes, including the prestigious Tattersalls Invitational Landscape Prize and the Gold Coast City Art Prize as well as many other civic prizes, some of which he won two and three years, often consecutively. He also wrote, produced and played in two rock operas and produced and played in the first performances of J. C. Superstar on the Gold Coast. In such a busy career, retirement beckoned and John has had only a few small exhibitions as well as a 10 year retrospective showing at The Grafton Regional Gallery last year. With work represented in most Queensland and several NSW Regional Galleries and the Q.A.G. and having had 40 plus solo as well as countless group exhibitions, he contemplated retirement. However a recent chance meeting with Jann O’Connor, who ran the highly successful Cape Gallery at Byron Bay during the 1980s and 90s he was convinced to show work again in his partly renovated historic studio-home, ”Wisteria Cottage” at 10 Gordon St. Palmer’s Island. John and Jann will host open studio days over two week-ends on Saturday and Sunday the 28th and 29th of November and the 5th and 6th of December between 11am and 6pm. With new watercolours and pastels, some simply mounted and others fully framed, there will be a great selection of earlier works in most 2 dimensional mediums as well. All the new works are taken from various areas of the Clarence, especially the littoral. The studio can be contacted on 66 467754 and Email millingtonart@westnet.com.au