Raymond Dean - painter

Raymond Dean is a painter. A fairly new resident to New Norfolk. And an avid coffee drinker. He sits in the dappled sunlight of a New Norfolk café, drinking a latte, while laughing and engaging with another local artist – contemplating what led to this moment. A place he never envisaged being in over 25 years ago when he first moved to Hobart. However, with the increasing artistic population, and affordability for housing and land – it became very appealing. In fact, what actually won him over in the end was ‘the sense that it felt like a real town with a soul to it and a strong sense of community.’ 

Raymond was born in Melbourne and studied at RMIT Faculty of Fine Art graduating with distinctions in painting, drawing, and print-making. He and his family made regular visits to Tasmania throughout his childhood to visit family. They also spent a lot of time bush walking, which attracted him to many wild and wonderful places, including the Himalayas and the Scottish Highlands. But the island state’s pace of life and diverse natural environment eventually drew him back for good.

Raymond moved to Tasmania in 1994. At that time, it was a particularly strong departure from the trend of most young artists across the country. ‘I moved the opposite way to what most aspiring and ambitious artists would do. ‘Are you retiring?’ They’d say. Or: ‘You can’t cut it.” But it was a conscious decision for Raymond. ‘I moved here to get away from money talk and to have the freedom to make art and not stress about competition and those things.’ He said. Raymond lives life on his terms. And despite what people said, over 25 years later, he’s proving them wrong: still doing what he loves – still making art – but all in the idyllic and peaceful surrounds of Tasmania.

His most recent exhibition, paintings of landscapes in Southern Tasmania, opened in September this year at Sidespace Gallery, Salamanca. It was a fascinating mix of three types of technical practice. One group of paintings were made entirely in the studio from drawings for inspiration. Another group were made 50-60 percent outside and finished off in the studio. And the third group were done almost entirely outside. The result is that the mark making is so incredibly different: more deliberate and controlled inside – while much more spontaneous outside. 

You can check out Raymond’s brilliant past work and keep up-to-date on his upcoming exhibitions at: raydeanart.com.

Jeff Elliot - painter

While driving along a typical Derwent Valley country road – winding through the trees (avoiding wallabies jumping in your path) – you can turn off and discover a wonderland of creativity. Enormous wooden sculptures greet you on the driveway. Enormous sheds - cars airbrushed with incredible scenes of animals. And then the welcoming smile of Jeff.

Originally from the Scottish Borders (via every inch of the globe - sans only Antarctica and South America…!), his incredibly colourful home which he shares with his wife and son is bursting with artworks on the walls (hanging, yes, but also all over the walls themselves – and drawers and cabinets) and, most strikingly, a line-up of dozens of model trucks sitting on a long narrow shelf just below the ceiling – each one a perfect replica of the trucks he has driven in his life – details right down to the brands and mud on the wheels and sides. 

His long-haul truck adventures have taken him everywhere from Scotland to the Middle East, Italy to China, everywhere in-between – and eventually to Australia. It was in Sydney where he met his wife. And it was employment opportunities for her that led them to Tasmania.

Jeff’s artistic exploits began as a nine-year-old when he started airbrushing cars. It was at a time when custom cars were really starting to take off. However, despite his passion for airbrushing, at school he found it was only the elite who were allowed to participate in formal art classes. Fortunately, he didn’t stop making art at home and as a result is entirely self-taught. He trained as a diesel mechanic but continued to paint vehicles at every chance he could. It wasn’t long before his artistry on trucks became multi-award winning across the world.

His transition to painting traditional canvases as opposed to vehicles occurred organically as he sat behind the wheel, covering millions of kilometres, watching panoramic views from the windscreen: the continents, the sunsets… And, after many hours with the brush and canvas – recreating scenes from his journeys – his landscapes have become more abstract.

Jeff has entered the Archibald Prize, currently has three entries in the prestigious Hadley’s Art Prize and is in the process of writing a book about his life. He is excited about the prospects of potentially showing his work at the Barracks Art Centre in the Derwent Valley. In the meantime, you can find his art at www.tasmanianlandscapestudio.com. He welcomes commissions. Check him out.

Susan Reppion-Brooke - musician/music-educator/conductor

If you’ve been struck by the beautiful choral music in and around the town in the past decade: baroque ensembles, choirs, school groups, or at St. Matthew’s Church – you’ve no doubt heard the work of the inimitable Susan Reppion-Brooke. The Derwent Valley is incredibly fortunate to be the home of her talents. Susan hails from Portsmouth, England – moving to Sydney when she was 9.
 
Her love of music began from an early age but she recalls: ‘I wasn’t allowed in the choir in England because I was too loud…’ Fortunately, upon arriving in Australia, there was a different reaction. When singing with the class, she found they would stop and stare at her - listening – and then all clap! A local priest heard her singing at Sunday School and suggested she join the church choir – and so her musical journey was underway. Susan became a member of the local orchestra in Campbelltown, Sydney, where she met her now husband of 45 years, Roger Brooke. She obtained a full-scholarship to study at the Conservatorium of Music in Sydney. Then, upon graduation, became an original member of the Leonine Consort (now The Song Company).
 
Susan continued singing lessons and performing until she and Roger took off on an adventure to Europe, which lasted seven years. Roger played Bassoon for orchestras while Susan freelanced as a singer. They enjoyed an enormously fulfilling musical life in Germany then Switzerland. However, their family grew to four – having had two daughters: Julia and Joanna – and Roger’s position in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra opened up – so they decided the time was right to move back to Australia.
 
Susan was in Sydney from 1991-2012, during which time she turned to music education – teaching in both schools and the community. She started the St. Clements Singers in Marrickville – now known as the Jubilate Singers. Richard Gill AO offered her a job at this time but she had to turn it down due to the timing of commitments raising her young family. However, Susan still credits Richard Gill AO for her teaching methods – an incredible mentor throughout her musical life.
 
Her journey to the Derwent Valley occurred due to family connections and the idea of utilising her musical talents in another community. And aren’t we lucky? Susan was a founding board member of Derwent Valley Arts, she runs the St. Matthew’s Singers, the St. Matthew’s Motet, the Hobart Orpheus Choir, and the Derwent Valley Baroque Ensemble. She has also conducted the Development Band for the Derwent Valley Concert Band for five years – seeing its numbers grow from nine to thirty over that time.

Susanna Ho - writer

Susanna Ho reigns from Hong Kong via Canada back to Hong Kong and now Australia. An author with an incredible story of her own. Although always aspiring to be a writer, she was discouraged as a child and told she would end up poor and dead from tuberculosis… a successful deterrent...! However, after studying English Literature in Canada, earning a Masters in ESL in Hong Kong, then a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Macquarie Uni Sydney, and teaching for years… Susanna finally combined her skills and passion and penned several novels. 

Susanna is the author of: Mother’s Tongue: A Story of Forgiving and Forgetting, Who’s That Ant? Whose Dead End? and a third soon to be released.

However, there is an uneasiness to her profession - things are not as simple in Hong Kong. And she fears ending up on the watch list for her thoughts always tend to be political.

When describing her writing process of a book, Susanna says she always knows where the story will begin and end, but for the development, she lets her characters take charge. Writing as a form of expression is appealing to Susanna because by reading back what she wrote, she can pause and reflect on her thoughts, and refine them. Sometimes she even disagrees with herself in hindsight!

In 2017, while attending a conference in Tasmania and travelling around with her partner, Ricky, they fell in love with the small boutique shops and cafes in New Norfolk. With the ever increasing unrest in Hong Kong, they decided to move back to Australia. 

They have immersed themselves in the Derwent Valley Arts community, regularly attending film nights and exhibitions. Susanna says that she longs to connect with other writers - being such an isolating activity - and so she’s incredibly excited for the inaugural Derwent Valley Writer’s Festival in May 2022 - where she hopes to also launch her third book. Boy do we recommend connecting with Susanna! 
 
You can buy Susanna Ho’s books at http://sbprabooks.com/susannaho/ and stay up-to-date with her work here: www.susannaho.asia
 
Thank you for all you’re bringing to our community, Susanna! 

Janny McKinnon - jewellery maker

In a quiet cul-de-sac overlooking the winding Derwent River sits Janny McKinnon. A jewellery maker. Quietly working in a light-filled caravan which she’s fitted out as her studio. Indoor plants descend over wooden surfaces - cleverly bringing the tree-filled scenery of the yard inside. 

Janny has been living and working in the Derwent Valley for the past six months. Although it has been a fairly recent move, she did grow up in Collinsvale, so feels quite settled and at home here. 

Janny did a fine arts degree in Melbourne in 2000 where she majored in drawing. She has since trained and worked as a yoga and meditation teacher. And then, after a period of travelling around Europe, found she was gravitating toward jewellery from different places and decided she wanted to have a go at making some herself. 

In 2017, upon returning to Australia, her budding passion led her to study jewellery making at Tas TAFE where she says she had an incredible teacher. 

In addition to study, another main reason for her being drawn back to Tasmania was the natural landscape. Therefore, she loves living and making art in the Derwent Valley - particularly because of its proximity to the river, which she walks Griffin (the dog) down to each day, and the stunning views of Mount Dromedary towering out her window. 

It is not surprising that Janny’s love of the natural environment is also evident in her art. Her jewellery is heavily based on Tasmanian native flora. She casts leaves in bronze or sterling silver. These casts are then turned into earrings, necklaces and brooches. In addition to jewellery, Janny also does some print-making and creates tea towels and bags with predominantly Tasmanian native rainforest foliage in her designs. 

Janny’s work can be found at her weekly stall at Salamanca Market, as well as a few shops: Miss Bond Jewellery, The Spotted Quoll, and The Weaver’s Cottage in Oatlands. You can follow Janny and stay up-to-date with her beautiful work on Instagram - @jannymckinnon. 

If she could own any three pieces of artwork in the world they would be:
1. Snowstorm - Steamboat off a Harbour’s Mouth, J.M.W. Turner 
2. A Bronze Age Celtic Brooch (any!)
3. And while they can’t be owned, a month to explore the Chauvet Cave paintings.

Thank you, Janny!