By Tyler Wright
Warrnambool artists Ricky Schembri and Alexandra Davis have brought their pastel, watercolour and acrylic works to the Sherbrooke Art Gallery.
Two’s Company, which opened on Saturday 25 November at the Sherbrooke Art Gallery, showcases landscapes of scenery across the world; including a painting of the Puffing Billy train.
Alexandra, who lived in Wantirna for about 16 years, said she was a member of the Sherbrooke Art Society about 30 years ago.
“I’d been for a ride on it with the kids when they were little, and [we have] good memories,” Alexandra said.
For Ricky, he was drawn to the famous artists that had come out of the gallery, who have inspired his own growth as an artist.
“Namely Maxwell Wilks, who’s sort of my mentor, especially with pastel,” Ricky said.
Wanting to showcase the beauty of the region, as well as the international locations they depict, coming to the Dandenong Ranges was a purposeful choice.
“We thought ‘it’s a touristy area, there’s a lot of tourists over summer season’, and plus, we want to try and broaden their horizons, get [them] into Melbourne.”
As someone only relatively new at pursuing art full time, Ricky is enjoying sharing his work with a broad array of communities and galleries.
“I only went full time about 12 months ago, so before that it was a hobby and I used to do local stuff,” he said.
Ricky said he specialised in pastel, with some water colour pieces featured in this exhibition and pieces inspired by the landscape in New York, Melbourne and Italy.
“I’ve always been fascinated with art ever since I can remember,” he said.
“Even in kindergarten, I used to look at the comic books and always loved art…from 15/16 until about 28 I had a job and did other things.
“I got back into my artwork around about the age of 28 and joined the Warrnambool and District Artists Society; I’ve been there ever since.”
With a focus on plein air and scenery paintings, the couple’s works also delve into buildings and architecture as well as birds and animals in nature.
“We do exhibit in a lot of the art shows, Lions Club shows or Rotary shows, and do pretty well with that,” Ricky said.
“I want to try and get in some galleries [and] have our work up permanently.”
Two’s Company will be on display until Sunday 17 December.
“We’re planning on having our own studio, hopefully gallery, later on,” Alexandra said.
“The gallery is our main goal at the moment and in the future maybe get a motor home and travel around Australia,” Ricky added.
“And plenty of painting.”
The Sherbrooke Art Gallery is located at 62 Monbulk Road in Belgrave, and is open from 11am to 3pm from Friday to Monday.
To follow Ricky and Alexandra’s work and exhibition dates, visit rickyschembri.com and paintingsbyalexandra.com
Ricky can also be found on Instagram with the handle @rickyschembri
