The West Australian "What's On" mentions Carmen Cilliers

Feels pretty cool when you see your name in print, the old fashioned type, not just email or internet type of print. The Newspaper type.

On the 12th of September as many of you already know I am exhibiting with Narelle and Tanya. This article sums up some of what you are likely to see rather nicely:


'Trio' exhibition in Victoria Park

THE artwork of Carmen Cilliers, Tanya Cook and Narelle Manser- Smith is on sale at their exhibition 'Trio' from September 12-24.

The three women were brought together through master classes with artist David Giles.

Their recent work will be available for sale at the Victoria Park Centre for the Arts at 12 Kent Street, Victoria Park.

South African born Carmen Cilliers' creative expression began in the world of fashion in Cape Town, Tanya Cook worked as a visual display merchandiser in New Zealand, while Narelle Manser-Smith explored large scale murals with her pre-primary students in Perth. Now all three artists live and work in Perth as full-time painters.

All three artists are pursuing their own styles with more freedom, which has resulted in a combined exhibition to showcase their creations.

Carmen’s style is varied and she says there is so much to explore in regards to subject matter, mediums, techniques but her brushstroke and colour palette are fast becoming her signature, and abstract works with elements of the human form and symbols from nature are becoming a regular occurrence on her easel.

Ms Cook says she paints in the abstract style, never straying to realistic forms.

"My intention is to provoke thought and represent the world as an art form through new eyes. I love the emotion of the abstract style, and continuously find myself chasing the painting much like a surfer chasing the perfect wave that can evoke every emotion possible," she said.

An exhibition of self-expressed themes has taken Ms Manser-Smith’s love for detail as seen in previous studies of fruit and vegetables to expand her repertoire.

“My representational work is self explanatory as I strive to capture the essence of an object in reality, whereas this latest body of work is more open to interpretation as it requires interaction”. said Ms Scott.

Ms Manser-Smith said her ‘Life’ series of paintings explores many natural life forms in creation with an evocative use of colour and form, but what she really enjoys is many and varied viewpoints each observer brings to the artworks, adding their own interpretation and meaning.