A most charming and delightful exhibition has just opened at Traffic Jam Galleries. Danielle McManus’ current exhibition is called NATURE’S WHIMSY. McManus is a member of the ‘stable’ of artists who regularly exhibit at Traffic Jam Galleries . This exhibition showcases her trademark style ,with the huge eyes of the human figures and incredible detail in depicting the flora and fauna in the various works , which include both paintings and a major selection of charcoal drawings.
McManus’ work blends oils,charcoal, acrylics , pastels and washi papers.There is much use of her trademark inclusion of native flowers , small animals and birds against a pastoral background.
A major part of the exhibition is The Lost Children pair of charcoal drawings inspired by the story of Jane Duff, who in 1864 at the age of seven, with her siblings, became lost in the bush in 1864 for nine days . It is an incredible tale of survival – eventually they were found with the help of an Aboriginal tracker, Woororal. The bush is presented as the strong vertical line of the trees and their branches. Mostly the atmosphere is rather dreamlike as the children become lost .In one part pf the pair there is soft subtle colouring of the extremely detailed birds and flowers , while most of the work is grey, in the other one we see Jane crying and the red of her hair ribbon flashes while a numbat observes on the forest floor softly carpeted with flowers.
Possibly a companion piece to The Lost Children , but a coloured acrylic painting rather than charcoal drawing , Babes in The Woods has a rather ominous atmosphere and depicts two girls lost at sunset snuggling together for support and comfort . A few daisies are visible and a red parrot ,also a couple of moths or butterflies ) .
Symphony in the Wild depicts a barefoot young Mozart at the piano with possums, parrots , waratah , cockatoos , galahs etc all joyously celebrating his music. A companion piece is Marie Antoinette , in white with a huge white wig with waratahs and other flowers in her hair and a parrot perched on her shoulder. Both look directly at the viewer, the queen looking somewhat troubled with her beseeching huge eyes.
Tiger Girl is a very strong charcoal drawing with a wonderful s-shaped composition, the girl , staring challengingly at the viewer , stroking a lethal Tasmanian Tiger.
Wattle Girl is a charming tightly cropped portrait of a young girl wearing a wattle headdress and looking like a Romantic ballerina ( from Giselle or La Sylphide perhaps ?) with huge eyes.
The Visitor is a small , incredibly detailed painting of a bee flying to a bunch of daises .Wren on a Waratah is another incredibly detailed painting of a blue wren perched on a huge red waratah , both vividly depicted . The darting bird is just about to take flight again.
Delicate is a fragile atmospheric painting with a strong mostly diagonal composition of dandelions being blown in the wind.
Her Sunbird is a charming painting of a young princess with short Pre-Rapahelite inspired hair (or is she a birthday girl ? ) Tiny flowers adorn her crown and there are two huge waratahs included as well as the blue and yellow sunbird perched on her wrist.
In Doe Eyed we see a young girl with antlers on her head , channeling her inner deer while Fierce depicts a young girl with a large black cockatoo on her shoulder – the glorious patterns of its feathers that look like stars are marvellously shown.
A most engaging exhibition.
NATURE’S WHIMSY by Danielle McManus is at Traffic Jam Galleries [Facebook] 6-24 June 2018
