image: Christine painting on site near Moree. photo by Maria Wall

rural projects - the artist as a "serial artist-in-residence"

Christine Porter creates artwork of and about the sheep and cattle properties of rural Australia. Most of the projects she has undertaken in the last twenty years have been at the invitation of the people who owned the place or lived there: only a handful in that time have been artist initiated. Rather than being a direct commission where the commissioner dictates the colours, sizes, styles, etc, as if she was a graphic designer or illustrator, this is more of an artist-in-residence situation. Christine visits the property and creates a body of work in response to what she sees and feels, though she will take into account the ideas of the invitee family. When the artwork is completed they get to choose from the whole series, and have a say in the exhibiting title and where the artwork may be shown as well.

Christine is particularly enthusiastic about making artwork about shearing sheds. The inclusion in the project of images of other buildings such as hay sheds, tobacco barns, ram sheds etc, add to the depth of the project and help to carry the story of the place. The shed doesn't need to be magnificent to be worthy of a project - though some of her favourites have indeed been those sheds well known in a particular district.

the process

If you are interested in finding out more, contact Christine to see if she can do something. She'll talk to you about your ideas, possible subjects and your deadlines and will be able to explain more fully the process, costs and timeline involved.

Some recent paintings for families in Qld and NSW

Most of the paintings on this site are from large scale rural projects, however occasionally Christine takes on more traditional commissions. The following images were one-off artworks for families in Qld and NSW. They were created using both material supplied by the commissioning family which included historical photos, and from drawings Christine completed on-site. The cost of such a one-off project is reflected in the type of source material available, the size of the finished artwork and if the work is a painting or drawing. Prices start at $500.

house on the hill near Stanthorpe 2011 watercolour on paper approximate size: 83 x 25cm private collection
house on the hill near Stanthorpe 2011 (detail) watercolour on paper approximate size 82 x 25cm
station house near Garah from an historic photo 2011 pencil on paper approximate size 35 x 13 cm private collection
station house near Garah from an historic photo 2011 (detail) pencil on paper approximate size 35 x 13 cm
inner Sydney house 2011 watercolour on paper approximate size 60 x 40 cm private collection