I just got back from the Art exhbition of Frederick McCubbin that is being held at the National Gallery of Australia here in Canberra.

Frederick McCubbin is arguably the best impressionist Australia has had and his best work was produced from 1907 to 1917.

I was amazed at how bright some of the paintings were, they were literally glowing and jumping off the wall, not in a groteque way, but in a purely natural way, it was as if the paintings were back lit.

I struck up a conversation with one of the friendly guards who informed me that the spotlights were not directly on the paintings and that the lights were callibrated to a certain brightness to ensure that the paintings were presented in their natural way.

He said the reason why the paintings looked like they were backlit was due to the neutral walls and the colours that the artist used.

I had a close look at McCubbins work and a lot of it was done with palette knives and brushes, most were oils, but there were some water colours and even painting s that were done on the back of gum leaves.

It was great to see the small and varied brush strokes in the works accompanied by think dabs of paint and nice thick brush strokes.

I found it fascinating to compare his sketches in his sketch book to the finished painting, it really gave me an insight into the artists thinking.

I’m finding it very interesting to visit these exhibitions regularly because I try to see the techniques they used to create their art so I can try to pick up some technique in my own art.

After seeing this exhibition I can see why he is so well thought of by art lovers here in Australia, his work is truly remarkable and well worth the visit.

So, if you are in Canberra, I highly recommend your drop by the Gallery and check it out. Admission is only $12 for an adult and it is well worth it.

For those of you overseas, you can still get a feel for this exhibition by visiting the National Gallery of Australia.