ARMENIAN ARTIST’S LOVE FOR HIS ADOPTED COUNTRY FLOWS THROUGH EXHIBITION
Herald Sun, Australia
April 13 2013
Troels Sommerville, Moorabbin Leader
ARTIST Hovik Israelian has spent years trying to capture the natural
beauty of Australia on canvass.
.
When he came out from Armenia 21 years ago he had no intentions to
stay, but immediately fell in love with the country.
In his latest exhibition, Beauty in Nature, he has tried to capture
those vistas that encouraged him to stay in the land that stole
his heart.
“I’m just trying to capture the Australian beauty that’s all around
– the light and the surroundings – and to put that on canvass,”
Mr Israelian said.
Most of his work is done with oil paints, which he said allows him
to continue tinkering with them until he gets them just right.
“Some paintings I do in four hours – big canvas and I’m finished.
“But I’m still working on others that I had done years earlier because
now when I look at them I have so much more to say.”
One of his paintings, a family portrait, has been in the works for
five years, but he still hasn’t quite captured the essence he wants.
“You think you’ve finished, but you know it needs something, you’re
looking for the master touch.
“The master touch is what brings the life out.”
One of the works on display is an oil on canvas painting from 2010,
Chelsea Lifesaving Club.
The exhibition opens at Kingston Arts Centre, Moorabbinon Saturday,
April 20.