Ballarat Mental Health Month Art Exhibition

Welcome to the Ballarat Mental Health Month art exhibition, where local artists use their creative genius to raise awareness about mental health in our community.

Entries are from people making artwork and using creativity to practice and promote positive mental wellbeing. Lend your support for our artists and vote for your favourite work! (You can vote at the bottom of the page). Artworks that are for sale all have a price detailed in the description. Please contact the artist directly to arrange your purchase.

Beck Groten – Body Positivity || A4 || I use art as a mindful practice to relieve stress. I enjoy the community aspect of the BCH classes which helps build my confidence and allows me to make friends who share my enjoyment of creating.

Beck Groten – Chester || A4

Beck Groten – Serenity || A4

Brigid O’Connor – Fear and Darkness || $80 || A4 || The artist’s latest walk through darkness to the light. || To purchase, please contact Brigid on brigidoconnor1930@gmail.com

Brigid O’Connor – The Artist Watching The Artist’s Hand || $70 || A4 || To purchase, please contact Brigid on brigidoconnor1930@gmail.com

Brigid O’Connor – The Never Ending Road, Less Travelled || $80 || A4 || To purchase, please contact Brigid on brigidoconnor1930@gmail.com

Carol Saunders – The Seasons of Life || Best Offer || A3 || Life reflects nature. Just because some days seem bleak and grey, doesn’t mean the sun won’t shine through tomorrow. And if we plant a seed of an idea and put it in our pocket and nurture it, it will blossom into a beautiful flower or a delicious piece of fruit. Sometimes we have to take time to rest and heal in order to feel the warmth of the sun, feel the gentle breeze and see the beautiful things around us again. || To purchase, please contact Carol on carolsaunders6@hotmail.com

Claire Clifton – Finding My Way Through || $100 || 30x30cm || This is what navigating through the mental health journey feel like. Lighter days, darker days, days when my heart bleeds but they are all part of the same picture. ||To purchase, please contact Claire on brewster_claire@hotmail.com

Claire Clifton – Horizon || $150 || 50x50cm || When you are up to your neck in it but look forward to brighter days and a distant blue horizon || To purchase, please contact Claire on brewster_claire@hotmail.com.

Claire Clifton – The Shadow || $250 || 30x30cm || Those days when I feel dead and barren but still I cast a shadow, Color still surrounds me. And still there is a Spring somewhere if I dare to reach out. || To purchase, please contact Claire on brewster_claire@hotmail.com.

David Holdaway – Carmyllie Gum || Negotiable || 60x90cm || To purchase, please contact David on davidholdaway@icloud.com

David Holdaway – Selfie 2021 || 60x90cm || Sometimes I feel like I have a painting inside me that needs to come out. Here are my recent works. There is no real connecting theme between these three paintings. The first is a self portrait which many say captures a real likeness of me. The second is kind of a riddle so I will leave it open to interpretation. The third is in honour of my fathers beautiful forest and farm, where he grows gumtrees, makes biochar and a produces a variety of livestock. Search Carmyllie Forest & Farm to follow the farm.

David Holdaway – Vincent’s Rest || Negotiable || 60x90cm || To purchase, please contact David on davidholdaway@icloud.com

Denise Moon – Ancestors Keeping Me Balanced || $250 || 40x40cm || Art work is therapeutic and an escape from daily life and a connection with my heritage. To purchase, please contact Denise on denise.moon@bigpond.com

Denise Moon – Black Cockatoo Spirits Guiding The People || $200 || 30x40cm || To purchase, please contact Denise on denise.moon@bigpond.com

Fay Thistlethwaite – Doggie In the Window || $60 || A5 || To purchase, please contact Fay on fthistlethwaite@gmail.com.

Fay Thistlethwaite – Floral Bouquet || A4 ||

Fay Thistlethwaite – Tabby Cats || 40x30cm ||

Frank Francica – It’s Time To Talk || 60x80cm || Mental health struggles and suicide are rife. If only we could find the strength to ask for help. Loneliness and isolation are terrible. Talk to someone if you are struggling and feeling depressed. Break the cycle. Give love and receive love

Gwen Wakefield – Have You Tried Meditating- I’ve been trying mindfulness recently but it’s hard to do with ADHD so I found drawing alongside mindfulness techniques worked pretty well. || A5 ||

Gwen Wakefield – No Thoughts…Only Circle… || A4 ||

Holly Would- Depression || $200 || 29.7x42cm || To purchase, please contact Holly on addacolourtotherainbow@gmail.com

Holly Would- No || $150 || 29.7x42cm || My work is a direct reflection of my life’s experiences. These works in particular are an artistic response to traumatic events throughout my life. One of them being the death of my brother by suicide. || To purchase, please contact Holly on addacolourtotherainbow@gmail.com

Holly Would- Shannon || $400 || 29.7x42cm || To purchase, please contact Holly on addacolourtotherainbow@gmail.com

Jacinta Binney- Rain Drops || $20 || 20x30cm || To purchase, please contact Jacinta on jacinta.r.binney@icloud.com.

Jacinta Binney- Red Wonder || $20 || 20x30cm || To purchase, please contact Jacinta on jacinta.r.binney@icloud.com.

Jacinta Binney- Wonders of Nature || $20 || 20x30cm || To purchase, please contact Jacinta on jacinta.r.binney@icloud.com.

Jamie Field- Curvature || 61x61cm || My family has a history of mental health issues, we all have some form of depression or anxiety. I’ve been diagnosed with depression since the age of 14. I find that going out and taking photos can be an excellent way to keep the depressive thoughts at bay and just focus on the physicality of shooting with film.

Jamie Field- Untitled 1 || 61x61cm ||

Jamie Field- Untitled 2 || 40.64×50.8cm ||

Julia Hasselmann- Heartbeat || Make an Offer || 42×29.7 || I have produced a series of artworks which all relate to inner healing and the beauty within ourselves. This series is called – ‘The Art of Healing’. These three paintings focus on mental health and inner wellbeing. The brain is our mindpower, our driver and with different techniques like meditation we can change our brainwaves to more positive ones. The heart is the gate to our body, we need to open our heart to feel emotions. Lastly the lungs are important to regulate ourselves. Taking deep breath in and out to help us regulate and heal. || To purchase please contact Julia on passionbyjule@gmail.com

Julia Hasselmann- Mindpower || Make an Offer || 42×29.7cm || To purchase please contact Julia on passionbyjule@gmail.com

Julia Hasselmann- Deep Breath || Make an Offer || 42×29.7cm || To purchase please contact Julia on passionbyjule@gmail.com

Julian Walsh- E For Effort || Negotiable || A4 || To purchase please contact Paul on Paul.Hartwood@centacareballarat.org.au

Julian Walsh- Bugget || Negotiable || A4 || To purchase please contact Paul on Paul.Hartwood@centacareballarat.org.au

Julian Walsh- Incubus || Negotiable || A4 || My work is an insight into my madness. Sometimes when I draw it feels like something else takes over. || To purchase please contact Paul.Hartwood@centacareballarat.org.au

Julie Spriggs- Magik Bullets || $400 || 43x61cm || Julie Spriggs is a Ballarat artist with a lived experience of mental health issues. She has a Bachelors degree in Visual Arts (Fine Arts) and has previously worked as a disability support worker and art tutor. Her works are experiments in form, line and colour. Upon beginning a piece I have no preconceived idea, and few other intentions other than to create pieces that are unique and visually appealing. My works are often bright, vibrant and expressive which often reflect my changing moods and energy. In an attempt to create a balanced piece I often work with free-flowing forms, expressive brush-strokes as well as a mixture of colour blending and shading. My ideas work with a combination of influences stemming from the subconscious, outsider and abstract art and automatic drawing. My subconscious thoughts include how I perceive myself in the outside world, the body, and my understanding of my own mind. I find the particular style of Outsider art influential to my own, and see similarities between the two in terms of their rawness and imagery. Automatic drawing intertwines with these styles as I believe to paint partly from the subconscious, one needs to experience the act of creating without being completely consciously aware. I find the method of creating artwork both therapeutic and beneficial for my mental health. I’m influenced by artists including Joan Miro, James Gleeson, Roberto Matta and Nick Blinko due to their bold use of colours that represent a surreal or dreamlike vision. Writers including Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud are part of my research into how the mind works in terms of the collective unconscious and the subconscious. I’m also interested in areas that include Art Therapy and Intuitive Painting for future career purposes. || To purchase, please contact Julie on spriggs.j.h@gmail.com

Julie Spriggs- Nightmare || $100 || 30x42cm || To purchase, please contact Julie on spriggs.j.h@gmail.com

Julie Spriggs- Rebirth || $150 || 20x30cm || To purchase, please contact Julie on spriggs.j.h@gmail.com

Kayden Mott- Homework || 2600x2600px || I’ve been struggling to find an art style I’m proud of. So for this piece, I thought about what my younger self might like. I’m sure they’d be stoked to realise their future self doesn’t avoid drawing backgrounds anymore. || To purchase, please contact Kayden on k.melbourne15@gmail.com

Laura Hudson- Psychedelic Fabric || 21x29cm ||

Leanne Christensen – Diamond In The Rough || $50 || 75x75cm || To purchase, please contact Leanne on christensenleanne98@gmail.com

Leanne Christensen- Pinwheel || $50 || 90cm diameter || To purchase, please contact Leanne on christensenleanne98@gmail.com

Leanne Christensen- Soulful || $50 || 90x90cm || To purchase, please contact Leanne on christensenleanne98@gmail.com

Lynne McIntyre- Clearing Skies || $200 || 60x50cm || To purchase, please contact Lynne on lynne_mcintyre@yahoo.com

Lynne McIntyre- Stormy Water || $180 || 60x45cm || To purchase, please contact Lynne on lynne_mcintyre@yahoo.com

Lynne McIntyre- Contrasts of a Manic Depressive || 54x44cm || I paint emotions and put them into pictures.

Ronnie Mckeegan- A Head Full of Thoughts Captured || $550 || 80x130cm || A time lapse of thoughts and expressions, tracked and recorded on a single surface. Morphing into many a face and figure, the stirring pot of emotion. || To purchase, please contact Ronnie on stuy23rdron@gmail.com

Sue Egan- Let’s Party || 26x21cm ||

Sue Egan- Playtime || 21x31cm ||

Sue Egan- The Proverbial Glass || 35x27cm ||

Tracy Mahoney- Our Children’s Mental Health Is Far More Important Than Grades || A3 ||

Tracy Mahoney- Staying Doesn’t Provide A Better Home, An Abuse-Free Home Does || A3 ||

Karl Cvirn- The Card Players || $285 || 90x60cm || To purchase, please contact Karl on mark.lacey@bhs.org.au

Karl Cvirn- The River || $325 || 108×83 Framed || Painting fills my days and gives me a focus. I trust it also joy to others. I have been painting since I trained at university twenty years ago. || To purchase, please contact Karl on mark.lacey@bhs.org.au

Karl Cvirn- Gold Coast || $300 || 50x30cm Framed || To purchase, please contact Karl on mark.lacey@bhs.org.au

Len Hyatt- Living With Rupert 24/7 || 60x45cm || A brief imaginary encounter with a monster.

Margaret O’Brien-Untitled || Make an offer || 8×4 || To purchase, please contact Margaret on margaretob1966@gmail.com

Kurt Sternberg- Tangled Mess || 20x22cm ||

Sarah Allen- Lizard || $25 || 10x16cm || These photos were taken a few years ago with a Canon 1200D camera. Lizard is a photo taken at Halls Gap on one of the many waterfall hiking trails. The sun was out that day and these tiny, cold-blooded friends were enjoying every second of it on the warm rocks. || To purchase, please contact Sarah on sarah.a.allen96@gmail.com

Sarah Allen- Suzie || $30 || 20x21cm || Suzie is a Jack Russell that loves to bake herself in front of a wood fire before lounging across your lap like a hot water bottle. She’s great for heating up toes in bed and hoovering up anything and everything left on the floor under the dinner table. I’m hoping these photos and their descriptions will bring a sense of happy comfort, even if only for a few moments. We could all use more of these moments, especially now. They don’t have to be huge, grandiose and memorable to make a difference to our headspace. They can be small, cozy and fleeting. Every little bit helps, and those smaller moments are just as special as the big ones. || To purchase, please contact Sarah on sarah.a.allen96@gmail.com

Denise Moon – Frillneck lizard engulfing the disaster || $150 || 26cm x 26cm || To purchase please contact Denise on denise.moon@bigpond.com

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