Australian artist recreates Oman landscape on canvas

03rd, March 2015

MUSCAT: March 3: The natural landscape of Oman, its striking contrasts, colour and traditions are depicted in the art exhibition by Australian born artist Jayne Hodgson. Dr Ibrahim bin Ahmed al Kindi, CEO of Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising, inaugurated the exhibition which is held at Hormuz Grand until March 8 from 10 am to 6 pm. The artist lived in Muscat for two years but has continued to re-create scenes typical of the country even in Australia and has found an ardent audience there.

One of the highlights of the exhibition, aptly titled ‘Illuminate — Oman Retrospective’, was an auction of two paintings. Both canvases are textured paintings using mixed media — ‘Green Mountains’ is 50cm x 65cm while ‘Village in the Hajar Mountains’ is 1mx1m. All the proceeds from the sale of these are going towards assisting the 189 students of Al Amaal School of Deaf, located in Al Khuwair 33.

P J Mammen, General Manager and Chief Operating Officer — Hormuz Grand said, “It is our pleasure to host Jayne Hodgson’s exhibition that is vibrant and captures the natural beauty of the country as well as the people. It is also an opportunity for us to contribute in a small way towards the society. Every little contribution is a building block towards a better future”.

A part of the lobby, The Hub, has been cordoned off for the art connoisseurs to browse through and enjoy the artist’s impressions of the country.

Jayne has worked with mixed media such as sand, paper, acrylic, inks and oils and combined the artist’s material with her own unique technique developed over the years to create masterpieces on canvas. The sizes range from 20x20cm, which will be sold with a wood/metal easel, to 1.8mx1m.

“While I have been inspired by themes from back home, Oman is the only international place that I find so exotic that I can paint all the time; the paintings have an international market because they are so unique. Moreover, the textured technique that I have developed over the years blends beautifully with the Omani themes and subjects, such as the mountains and the desert. Even though I left the country in 2008, I have held some exhibitions here and hope to keep the connection alive with Oman through my paintings,” says Jayne Hodgson.