Qualifications:

1996 Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts), Edith Cowan University, W.A.
1980 Bachelor of Education (with Distinction) - Majors in Painting and Ceramics - Western Australian College of Advanced Education.


Solo Exhibitions:

2008    About Colour and Paint. Mandurah Art Gallery, Ormsby Terrace, Mandurah, W.A.
2003    Where Light Dances.  Gallows Gallery, Glyde St, Mosman Park, W.A  
2001    Pictures and Paintings.  Country Road Cafe, Murray St. Perth, W.A.
1999    Homescapes and Escapes From Home.  Old Bakery on Eighth Gallery, Maylands, W.A.


Selected Group Exhibitions:

2008   It's About Time. Old Bakery on Eighth Gallery, Maylands, W.A.
2007   Showcase W.A. Old Bakery on Eighth Gallery, Maylands, W.A.  
2004   Mandjar 9x5.  Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, WA.   
2001   Outrageous, Colourful and Fun.  Lyndon Gallery, Swan Valley, W.A. 1999
          Cross-Currents.  Old Bakery on Eighth Gallery, Maylands, W.A.
1998   Shadows, Surface, Substance.  Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, Geraldton, W.A. (Supported by a Pat Corrigan Grant).
1997   Shadows, Surface, Substance.  The New Collectables, Fremantle, W.A.
1996/95/94   Summer Art Prize.  Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, W.A.
1995   Graduation Exhibition.  Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, W.A.
1995   Post - Impressions, Lombok.  Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, W.A.
1994   Post - Impressions, Indonesia.  Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley, W.A.
1994   Colour Can, Colour Does, Colour Is.  Perth Galleries, West Perth, W.A.


Collections:

Edith Cowan University, Perth.
Central Bore Nickel, Perth.

Review written by Jan Altmann :
About Colour and Paint
Oil paintings by Dorothy Newland
 
Mandurah Performing Arts Centre - April 4-20, 2008

 It is now over two hundred years since the idea was put forward that expressions of beauty did not need to presuppose any concept of what the object that inspired them actually looked like.  This concept, however, still presents a challenge for many viewers of art works today.  It is nearly one hundred years since Clive Bell declared that reference to the object was "always irrelevant", and yet most of us still look to the title of an abstract work to tell us what it is about. We are so accustomed to art as representation that it can be difficult to allow the shapes, colours, tones, textures and structural formations to speak for themselves.  This, however, is the best way to approach works such as these.

The unifying theme in these paintings is that they present responses to the world of nature and to natural processes. Since ancient times there has been an awareness that the most striking feature of the natural world is constant change; evolution and cyclic transformations.  Night follows day; spring follows the winter; trees grow and flowers bloom only to live for a limited or an allotted time. Myths and rituals were created so that human consciousness could come into closer relationships with these mysterious transformations.  One of these rituals was artistic expression.

In Sunshine After Rain the "watery" paint runs like the raindrops and the swirling brushstrokes invoke the movement of gentle breezes.  Vibrant greens and soft greys create a contrast in intensity which speaks of the energy and the restfulness which new growth requires.  Compositionally, an open space suggesting a pathway invites the viewer into the picture in order to share these experiences.  Weeds and Flowers and Silent Overgrowings uses colour and space quite differently. The blues and yellows form a complementary contrast, while the greens and yellows - as well as the greens and blues - are analogous.  This results in energy and harmony alternating and interacting with each other. Energy and growth are further invoked by the vigour of the brushstrokes, the suggestion of a diagonal line, the fullness of the canvas and the constant movement. (It brings to mind Gerard Manley Hopkins' description of spring as a time When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush).

As well as energy and harmony colour can also be used to create light and dark.  This is achieved very effectively in Eracor.  This work captures an impression of looking down through the water onto a reef.  The overall structure here is a large X shape, and within the segments of the X light and dark, energy and stillness, fullness and space are balanced against each other. The colours are bright and clear, but the shapes are "blurred" in order convey the feeling of looking at them through water. Tidal Estuary uses a similar approach but the arrangements are quite different.  A small "busy" panel at the bottom is balanced by a large dynamic area at the top.  Between them is a large area of stillness, but there is a vertical "bridge" and another small area of activity joining them together.  The small panel at the bottom suggests human construction while the upper area is more natural and organic.  Perhaps there is a suggestion that humans and nature can be involved with different activities but there should be a strong relationship between the two.
As a title for an exhibition Colour and Paint may seem to be 'stating the obvious', but that is the point.  It is often said that "the medium is the message" and that is what is so effectively illustrated in these works.  They celebrate nature, but even more do they celebrate colour, space, light tone and texture.

Jan Altmann, Ph.D. (Lecturer, writer and reviewer)