APPLE CIDER

TEA PARTY

Watching Paint Dry

Apple Cider Tea Party will be on show at the YMCA Headquarters, 60a Frame Court, Leederville, from Friday, September 25, at 6.30pm ‘til Wednesday, September 30.

Oil painters of old were patient folk, diligently spending years on their masterpieces, often because the oil-based paint they relied on took so long to dry. Though many painters still enjoy the challenge of working with this slow-drying medium, contemporary artists such as Simon Boxer have turned to technology to speed up the process.

After graduating from a graphic design course, Boxer found himself at a bit of a loose end, which led to some experimentation with digital art. With a modern-day paintbrush (known as a tablet), and the skills to create art from scratch using a variety of programs, Boxer began experimenting with digital painting, and within no time, realised that digital was definitely the way to go.

“I do enjoy painting but computers are so much more efficient and I can do a lot more with them,” he responds when asked why he prefers the digital medium.

“After graduating from graphic design I realised that I didn’t want to be a graphic designer, so I had to pimp my fundamental art skills and became a hermit for a year, living online and doing challenges at a site called Conceptart.org(.) It’s really good for sourcing professional artists from different realms.

“Concept art is a specific job, it involves designing characters, creatures, environments, props for film, TV and video games. On this forum, a lot of aspiring concept artists go and they have a character of the week, or a creature of the week topic and they’ll give  you a short description like ‘ice-berg devourer’ and you have to draw what ice-berg devourer looks like.”

Once he had finished cutting his teeth on the creation of ice-berg devourers and other imaginary beasts, Boxer decided he wanted to create more than just concept art.

After the tragic loss of his father, Boxer chanelled his grief into the production of digital works, creating a series entitled Apple Cider Tea Party, which depicts places of emotional significance to Boxer and his family.

“It presents the places that were significant to him and to us as a family. It’s more about presenting the lighter side of life as related to mortality.

“Art is certainly my outlet. It’s been blatantly obvious since all this happened. I didn’t respond as emotionally outward as the rest of my family, so I guess I put most of it into my art really.”

The 14 works that make up Apple Cider Tea Party, visit many locations of significance to Boxer’s family, including a family farm down in Nannup, Trigg Beach and the hills near Lesmurdie.  Armed with nothing more than memories and the ability to use Corel Painter, Boxer went about capturing these special places, and the result is a collection of beautiful pieces that act as a tribute to the life of his father.

Despite that fact that the digital paintings in Apple Cider Tea Party do reference memories that are extremely personal, Boxer’s finesse as a graphic artist has ensured that his pieces are not just beautiful because of the sentiment behind them, they’re beautiful because Boxer has an eye for colour and composition, guaranteeing the creation of aesthetically intriguing art work.

With technology advancing every day, and Boxer’s skillset growing with every piece he creates, one can only imagine the amazing things to come from this emerging Perth artist.

_EMMA BERGMEIER