June M Avery
Painter (Deep Bay, TAS)

The majority of my oil paintings are done using palette knives, although I use brushes for watercolours.

Aged 12 - the youngest in the class - I commenced Saturday classes in Freehand Drawing and Watercolour at what was then the Central Technical College in Brisbane (now QUT Gardens Point Campus). As my secondary school didn't have Art courses, I still made the 1 ½ hour trip each way to the college on Saturdays to learn more drawing and Art History. I also undertook a Commercial Art Course by correspondence during my teens. In my late teens, I undertook 18 months tuition in oils from Roy Churcher (husband of Betty Churcher).

After studying Interior Decoration and Design, I then taught classes of up to 50 students at day and evening classes. I wrote and operated 12 and 20 week correspondence courses covering everything from Colour Theory to Furniture History, Layout and Lighting while still running day and evening classes at Home and Design centres in Brisbane. Around this time Armstrong-Nylex contracted me to write and teach full day courses for their Design Centre dealers in the various states of Australia. I opened my own premises in Brisbane (the upstairs floor of Royal Queensland Art Society's headquarters), also becoming a Board member of RQAS. In 2001 I became a Professional Member of the American Society of Interior Designers – with an 8 year body of work behind me. In early 2005, I became a Foundation Member of the Queensland Art Gallery.

Time had become crowded as my husband and I had a steadily expanding import/distribution business. To concentrate on this I reluctantly closed my classes. Besides company administration, I designed our advertising and promotional material, a range of 40 greeting cards and almost 500 porcelain clowns and harlequin dolls which were sold Australia wide. I had little time for my own artwork.

Everything changed after our move to Tasmania in 2007. The different light and the beautiful scenery were pure inspiration. The art materials were unpacked once more. Able to devote more time to painting, the studio soon overflowed, and one of our sheds was converted into a gallery. My own website www.junemavery-art.com was developed.

I joined the Huon Art Exhibition Group and was their Secretary and Newsletter Editor for 18 months. I held a solo exhibition of 19 oils at Lovett Gallery in Cygnet in May 2010. A group exhibition was held in September 2010 at the Off Centre Gallery, Salamanca. Since that time I have been exhibiting at the Cygnet Art Hotel and the Lovett Gallery, and entering various competitions such as the Royal Hobart Show, Watermark and Southern Exposure. As well as painting, I make greeting cards, small gift cards and bookmarks based on my artworks.

In 2012 I convened and curated the Art Exhibition for the Focus on Franklin Festival held in March. Attracting 94 entries, the Franklin Progress Assn. deemed it a considerable contribution, both financially and from a social standpoint. Also gratifying has been the
feedback of exhibiting artists.

I am now moving to a new phase of my art, experimenting with brushes again for oils. Painting with a theme in mind has always been difficult for me as I have been drawn to depicting so many different subjects.

For information on how to purchase or commission June's work, please contact her below or call 03 6297 8325 during business hours.

Contact June Avery
Visit June Avery's website

Exhibition History (Tasmania)
2009 Watermark, Royal Hobart Show
2010 Southern Exposure, solo exhibition Lovett Gallery Cygnet,
group of 3 artists Off-Centre Gallery Salamanca Hobart
2011 Watermark, Royal Hobart Show
2012 Southern Exposure, Focus on Franklin Art Exhibition