With Cathy Duvel
In this new series, Cathy Duvel is delving into the artistic side of our local communities, and how our magnificent coastlines, glorious sunsets and sunrises, abundance of wildlife and sprawling landscapes inspire a kaleidoscope of local artists. Cathy’s first profile is of Venus Bay’s Lily Palmer.
Lily Palmer has been visiting Venus Bay since she was a little girl for holidays, growing up in Melbourne and returning throughout the years. She is known for her intricate and detailed drawings, and these were recently showcased as part of the Art Cubes project. Her inspiration comes from the beautiful Venus Bay landscape and her art blends her inner world with the ocean and surrounding nature.
Lily is also influenced by literature, philosophy and poetry. Her favourite quote is “Physical matter is music solidified” by Pythagoras. To Lily, this speaks about an undercurrent of the natural world’s existence, which is primarily an alchemical and creative force, that has echoes within humans’ art making faculties.
Theodor Schwenk’s Sensitive Chaos is one of her favourite books, because it goes into how seemingly invisible forces create complex intricacies that can be studied in nature. The movement of air in water is explored in the book, and Lily says that “as an artist, I try to depict the invisible to others, by making it visible.”
Growing up Lily was surrounded by a lot of visual material because her mother is an art historian. She says she just knew she wanted to reformulate the world through her own lens from a young age and studying art made sense as her direction in the world.
She’s been in Venus Bay permanently for the last six years. It is the quiet and solitude that living remotely brings that helps Lily maintain her creative edge. She feels the distinct contrast of the ocean roaring, with an almost violent energy and a large sound, with the calm and peacefulness of the other world just behind the dunes.
Lily’s art is on Instagram @lily_octavia_
Take a look and enjoy studying Lily’s extraordinary expression of nature and the invisible forces that connect us all.
