Living in Colour – Aidan Weichard

‘Living in Colour’
Over the past few years Aidan has been painting using mixed media with his subject matter the Australian native wildlife and flora, as well as the stoic livestock that covers large parts of the Australian landscape. This new body of work ‘Living in Colour’ is an extension of Weichards pathway to discovering himself as an artist and what it means to be an Australian artist in the current climate. Weichard sees the world through a coloured lens, particularly the native wildlife that he was surrounded by as a child growing up in the bush. These native animals, his own animals and the eucalyptus canopy that Weichard grew up in resonates deeply within him and is what directly inspires him to create. This body of work aims to showcase the beauty within our country using bold and bright colours as well as the multi-layered and textural approach that Weichard uses to build each of these works. Every piece contains emotion, movement and energy. Weichard creates these pieces with the intention of cohesion but the reality is that everyday in the studio is different, the music playing, the weather and the subject matter ultimately dictate what will be the final result on the canvas. Playfulness and larrikinism are seen in the cheeky cockatoos and kookaburras with their fluoro neon crests and feathers, whilst seriousness and power are imbued in the pieces depicting bulls. Unquestionably the impact of the world coming to a screeching halt over the past 12 months has played a role in how these pieces were created. It seems that with less global activity by us has made the natural world that little bit brighter and this latest body of work by Weichard touches on this idea.
view the exhibition on line www.milkfactorygallery.com.au