Damien Minton Gallery

Isabel Gomez is a Newcastle based painter, who works primarily in the tradition of plein air landscape painting.
She is the 2010 recipient of the NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize for a work that typifies her sensitive approach to the genre, depicting the industrial ports of Newcastle with a fluid grace and ease.

The light, confident touch of her brush alters the industrial scene, softening its harsh lines into rich planes of colour.

The painting, judged by the Director of the National Art School Sydney, Anita Taylor, captured the bustling pace of the ports – both the painting and its subject have a sense of swift enterprise.

As the mother of three young children, Isabel has only a few hours a day to paint. She began painting plein air nine years ago.
Over that period, Isabel has developed a familiarity with her favourite subject, the Newcastle docklands, encouraging directness in her painting. Her work is characterised by confident handling of light and shadow and the intensity of each painting is belied by its small scale.
They depict monumental vistas, and yet reduce them to their essentials with a soft directness.

The exhibition also illustrates new work developed in the studio, hinting at future directions.

The development of her work has been seen over the course over the last decade at solo and group exhibitions at the Damien Minton Gallery, both in Newcastle and Sydney.

Isabel Gomez holds a Diploma of Fine Arts (Painting) from Newcastle TAFE. Her work has been exhibited in the Maitland Prize, The Muswellbrook Prize and the Metro Prize, Melbourne.

Education

2007Bachelor of Fine Arts, Newcastle University 1997-1999Diploma of Fine Arts, Hunter Street TAFE College, Newcastle

Group exhibitions

2009A handful of new ones, Damien Minton Gallery, Redfern Sydney2008Maritime Art Prize, Melbourne2008Samaritans Collectors Choice, Hunter Street TAFE Gallery Newcastle2008Plein Air Painting Prize, NSW Parliament House Sydney2007A couple of hours out of Sydney,
Damien Minton Gallery 2007Collectors Care Art Exhibition, in support of Samaritans Foundation 2006From the Kitchen table, Damien Minton Gallery, Redfern 2005Still Life, Lake Macquaire Art Gallery 2004Damien Minton Gallery, Group Show, Newcastle 2004The Metro 5 Art Prize, Metro 5 Gallery, Armadale, Victoria 2004Maitland Art Prize 2004The Catherine Croll Collection, Newcastle Art Space, Newcastle 2004Stock Show, Damien Minton Gallery, Newcastle 2004Old Town, New City , Newcastle Regional Art Gallery, Newcastle 2003Twelve Artists From Newcastle In Sydney, the Depot Gallery, Dank Street Galleries, Waterloo 2003Newcastle Regional Show 2003Maitland Art Prize 2002Reasons to be Cheerful 2, Damien Minton Gallery, Newcastle 2002Damien Minton Gallery, the Depot Gallery, Dank Street Galleries, Waterloo 2001Wrap One, end of year group show, Damien Minton Gallery, Newcastle 2001Blue static White noise, Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle 2000Maitland Student Art Prize, Maitland Gallery 2000The Annual Student Acquisitive Art Prize, Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle 2000Watt Next Innovation, Watt Space, Newcastle 2000Fringe Festival Exhibition, Lovett Gallery, Newcastle 2000Maitland Art Prize 2000Muswellbrook Art Prize 1999Graduation exhibition Diploma of Fine Arts, Hunter Street TAFE, Newcastle 1996-2000Maitland Student Art Prize, Maitland 1996I lost my other sock, Hunter Street TAFE Gallery, Newcastle

Solo exhibitions

2010New Paintings, Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney2008New Work, Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney2003Life Time, Damien Minton Gallery , Newcastle 2002Distance, Damien Minton Gallery, Newcastle 2000Stacks In Space, Lindsay Street Gallery, Hamilton, Newcastle

Prizes

2010Winner of the 2010 Plein Air Painting Prize Sydney Parliament House2010Winner of the Newcastle Show painting prize2008Maritime Painting Prize, Melbourne2008Plein Air Painting Prize, NSW Parliament House Sydney2003Winner of the Painting Section, Newcastle Regional Show 1997Winner of the Maitland Student Art Prize

Collections

Private collections within Australia, Amsterdam, Spain and America, including NSW Parliament House