Art of Rail
Deep in the Valley, Mali Isabel
Meet the three artists bringing three train experiences to the canvas.
WORDS Patricia Maunder
For as long as art has been around, the natural environment has been muse to artists from all over. Journey Beyond recently invited three Australian artists on board three astounding and distinctly different train experiences: The Ghan, the Indian Pacific and the Great Southern, to tell the stories of the landscape and their journeys through their craft.
Each artist has picked up their paint brushes to create a series of works prompted by their multi-day experience, which are being exhibited throughout August at the Adelaide Parklands Terminal. Part of the city’s renowned SALA Festival, the exhibition includes an online auction with half of the proceeds being donated to three charities.
Journey Beyond speaks with the three artists about their passion for what they do and their different approaches to their craft. With Mali Isabel’s contemporary Aboriginal designs, Luke Rabl’s abstract aerial landscapes, and the traditional oil paintings of Roscoe Shelton, the works are as varied as their artistic journeys.
Mali Isabel
Strokes of Identity
Indigenous artist Mali Isabel has always been creative. She recalls growing up indulging in everything from scrapbooking to making dream-catchers, but only realised three years ago that she had, unexpectedly, become an artist.
During the completion of her degree in primary education, which focused on visual art and Aboriginal culture, Isabel started painting what she calls “rainbow Aboriginal art” for pleasure. Soon invited to exhibit, then selected as the 2022 Adelaide Fringe festival’s poster artist, she was surprised to discover that “a lot of people related to and enjoyed what I was creating”.
Isabel’s Aboriginal identity is twofold: Arabana, the people whose traditional lands are around Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, and the Kokatha of central Australia’s Western Desert – a region synonymous with ‘dot’ painting. But the aim of her artistic endeavours is not an attempt to imitate or claim any particular style of Indigenous art, which is more of an essence that informs her inspiration. “I’m influenced by Aboriginal art as a whole,” she says.
While Isabel’s distinctive contemporary style is notable for vibrant colours and a joyful energy, her paintings also feature traditional Aboriginal symbols. “It’s cool that I can practice my culture every day,” says Isabel, who has only recently connected with her Aboriginal heritage.
Isabel, who lives on Kaurna country in Adelaide, has a wide scope of inspiration when it comes to artists and art styles, from Andy Warhol to the Renaissance. She admits to being “absolutely obsessed with” Aboriginal artist Sally Morgan, whose work is “contemporary, unique and colourful”, and whose long career she hopes to emulate. Isabel is also particularly inspired by Sophie Tea. “She’s created her own path in the art world,” through social media rather than galleries, and “…given me the confidence to do that as well”.
“I’m influenced by Aboriginal art as a whole.”
Inspiration also comes from the natural world. “I’m trying to acknowledge the Aboriginal land that I live on, and all the wonderful natural landscapes I’ve seen,” she says. That includes the landscapes she experienced, often for the first time, along the Great Southern route between Meeanjin-Brisbane and Kaurna-Adelaide, where the evolving colours of grass, flowers, soil, sand and sky made for some beautiful compositions.
“Every place was completely different,” she recalls from her journey. “The colour palettes that I picked up from that trip, a lot of them I’ve never done before.” But although Isabel explored a shift in colour choice for this Journey Beyond project, the painting representing Kaurna-Adelaide is in her beloved rainbow hues. As The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy said, there’s no place like home.
FROM LEFT Respect For the Past, Midday at Standley, Red Centre Colour
Forging a new path from old tracks
Roscoe Shelton
Retired engineer Roscoe Shelton considers himself a very practical person, and yet he has been an art lover all his life. As a child, he accompanied his engineer father on painting trips, then, while at university, began buying art at auctions. He is a noted collector of Clarice Beckett, belatedly recognised among Australia’s most significant artists of the interwar period.
Inspired by Beckett and other landscape artists including Albert Namatjira and Fred Williams, Shelton took up brushes and oil paints four years ago. His traditional landscape subject is the country between Darwin and his Adelaide home – a journey Shelton says he has made hundreds of times.
Shelton is particularly drawn to the Flinders Ranges and has set out on many bushwalks within the region. “When you’re out there, you understand just how powerful the environment is,” he says. “You also learn to read the landscape.” Developing an understanding of the area makes it easier to paint, Shelton observes. He made that familiar journey between capital cities by rail for the first time recently. He declares The Ghan is a “great way” to see the land he knows so well, adding that the Off Train Experiences are a must. “They’ve curated the highlights,” says Shelton, who also recommends breaking up the journey in Alice Springs for further independent exploration.
“It’s more than just a train journey.” He explains that its path originally overlapped ancient Aboriginal trade routes dotted with natural springs. Explorer John McDouall Stuart followed in these footsteps, then the Overland Telegraph and The Ghan, for which water was essential in the age of steam.
One of Shelton’s paintings for this project depicts relics from that era: the old Curdimurka railway siding now-leaning water tower and water-treatment tank.
“When you’re out there, you understand just how powerful the environment is.”
He believes that landscape artists usually have a motive to paint. “You don’t do a painting just to make it look good. There’s something about a scene that captures you” – such as historical resonance in this instance. From Katherine’s Nitmiluk Gorge to the Kanku-Breakaways near Coober Pedy, Shelton has painted places that captured his imagination along The Ghan’s route. “I think I’ve really got hold of the diversity of the landscape” on what he describes as “an epic journey from Darwin to Adelaide”. Whatever his mode of transport, he is certain this part of Australia will always be the inspiration for his long-overdue career as an artist.
9.48am, Baandee Lakes - Wheatbelt Region, Luke Rabl
From the Land
Luke Rabl has two overlapping lifelong passions: art and landscape. Raised by artist parents – “whereas most people are kicking footballs at an early age, I was at art galleries” – he pursued a career in landscape design before becoming a professional artist. Rabl’s paintings don’t just represent landscapes; they are literally created from the land itself. Following the example of mid-century French artist Jean Dubuffet, the Naarm-Melbourne-based artist mixes paint with earthy materials such as clay, sand and ash. He applies these mixtures to canvas with traditional tools including brushes, as well as his hands. The results are often so texturally appealing that people want to touch Rabl’s work.
He is also strongly influenced by artists who “represent landscapes in aerial or topographical form and pick up on patterns in landscapes”. For instance, celebrated Australian painter Fred Williams who “flew over Australia’s outback and was inspired to paint aerial views. He captured that immense space of the country with endless horizons.” Another major influence is Freddie Timms, an Aboriginal artist from the Ngarinyin-Kimberley. “Many of his paintings are like aerial maps, showing the bones of the country where he lived.”
From pink lakes to red deserts, the Australian landscape is Rabl’s muse. “It’s unique, and the light that falls on vegetation and landscape forms creates patterns I’ve never seen anywhere else.” He is also drawn to the rich colours and varied textures, such as “the soft textures of vegetation contrasting against sandy, rocky landscapes.”
Rabl, who considers his adolescent train journey from Hong Kong to Moscow and back a formative experience, recently found inspiration aboard the Indian Pacific. “It’s a nostalgic journey across an absolutely incredible continent,” he says.
“It was a great opportunity to slow down, make enduring connections, and enjoy the landscape – it was like an ever-changing slideshow.” Rabl recalls that the minute he stepped aboard he knew his paintings for this project would be framed by the train’s windows. Highlight landscapes, such as the Oondiri-Nullarbor Plain and Noongar-Western Australia’s wheatbelt, inspired sketches, photos and online research along the way, including viewing satellite imagery. Back in his studio, Rabl created a series of site-specific paintings in his uniquely colourful, textural, semi-abstract style.
Looking ahead, he hopes to “continue surveying and documenting incredible landscapes,” including overseas, with Antarctica top of the list. But it is “an enduring connection to the Australian landscape” that drives him to paint.
10.02am, Doodlakine
9.00am, Wolseley WWII Fuel Storage – Wolseley
Three artists, three epic train journeys. Three perspectives on what it means to travel across Australia on The Ghan, Indian Pacific and Great Southern. These journeys inspired the works in an exhibition being held at Adelaide Parklands Rail Terminal in partnership with the SALA festival. Throughout August, the artworks will be auctioned online, with the majority of the proceeds going to charities nominated by the artists: Rotary Club of Adelaide, Healing Foundation, and GIVIT.
The exhbition is open to the general public at Adelaide Parklands Terminal from 1-31 August 2023.
EXHIBITION OPENING TIMES
Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 1-4pm
HOW TO BID
The auction begins 1 August 2023 and closes 31 August 2023.
- Go to www.32auctions.com/ArtofRail
- Click “View all items” to see every artwork.
- Click on your favourite artwork and place your bid.