Springvale captured on canvas

Artist Brendan Nicholl is documenting the Springvale of today on canvas.
He’s Springvale Uniting Church’s inaugural artist in residence and will produce pieces at the site over the coming months under the banner of Springvale in Transition.
The community activist and Springvale Multicultural Men’s Shed participant trained and worked in traditional sign-writing.
Mr Nicholl has just completed another artist in residence spot at Heritage Hill Museum and Historical Gardens in Dandenong.
“I paint what is around me mostly in oils, staring with a sketch en plein air,” he said.
“I seek out ordinary scenes that may surprise the viewer, and remind them that where they live is interesting and beautiful.
“Painting this urban view is for me a way of feeling at home here, appreciating not only the shapes and colours that fill our suburbs but the sense of history within the scene.
“I know I am recording some scenes before they disappear.”
There’ll be opportunities to meet the artist and explore philosophical thoughts on the place of art in the community as a method of expression and exploration.
Springvale Uniting Church Reverend Paul Creasey said the assignment would help the community to reflect on its memories with an eye to the future.