Ara Jansen
How an injury led to reconnecting with art
Health and art were restored for Linda Moran after an injury got her walking. She'll be joining more than 150 artists as part of this month's Margaret River Region Open Studios event across the South West.
About the Author
Ara Jansen
Healing a foot injury got Linda Moran walking in the bush and it led her to reconnect with making art.
She makes her debut with the Margaret River Region Open Studios this month with a series of unique botanical-style watercolour pieces using elements from the earth.
Linda and her family have lived in Margaret River for 12 years. A graphic designer in the early days of her career, she's also grown flowers, owned a florist and worked with her husband at their surf school.
They have all brought her to this point, where she makes art, runs the boutique B&B on their property and has a sizable veggie garden, flower patch and orchard on the family's 10 acres, all of which are organic.
She also has an interest in permaculture and nature conservation. Linda, her husband and teenage sons enjoy the spoils, and she hopes at some point to be able to rely solely on the gardens for their fresh food.
Walking to heal a fascia injury helped Linda rediscover her love of art.
"I just love being creative, and in the end graphic design wasn't a particularly creative career," says Linda who will be turning the B&B into a pop-up gallery for Open Studios to display her large works.
A fascia injury on the bottom of her feet several years ago meant Linda could barely stand for longer than about 10 minutes. As part of her healing, she began walking in the local bushland area and along the Cape To Cape track to build up her strength.
She was eventually able to extend her walks to several hours, strengthening her legs and feet. The walks also switched on her creative brain as Linda started observing the local vegetation and wildlife.
Plus, she found walking, getting lots of air in her lungs and taking in the scenery was also good for her mental health. Linda started snapping photographs and coming home to paint and draw what she'd seen.
"I've always been passionate about flowers and that gave me a creative outlet for a long time. As I was walking, I started noticing the wildflowers and looking really closely at them.
Linda will be showcasing her art as part of this year's Margaret River Open Studios.
"I understand something about soil biology and became fascinated about how rare and extraordinary the biodiversity of the region is.
"I started doing watercolours which were very botanically accurate and then shifted to using canvas and started experimenting by crushing ores, dirt, rocks, coffee grounds and tea leaves to use as the background.
"I wanted the viewer to feel the essence of the bush, like the flowers are planted in them, rather than something just sitting on top of the paper or canvas. I choose the backgrounds first and then look at a flower which makes sense. Now the pieces are more illustrative than biologically correct.
"There are lots of different clays here and lots of different coloured flowers. I mix them with a gum so I can use them on canvas and still use watercolours.
"Quite often I have gone for a walk and come back quite excited about something amazing I have seen. While the walking is good for my mental health, I am also on the lookout for specific types of flowers.
"I particularly like orchids. There are over 350 species of orchids, 100 of them local and I've seen about 70. They are quite incredible."
Margaret River Region Open Studios runs from September 12-27. Details, maps and information at www.mrropenstudios.com.au.