The Red Bridge (3)

This city gem, charming despite its neglect, is reminiscent of the bridge in so many of Monet’s paintings.

The Red Bridge is made of wood and painted red and was designed in the 1920’s by Evan Jones (1878-1948), Medical Superintendent of Broughton Hall, who carried out the works: the bridge and its small drainage line of pools between large slabs of natural rock and other garden landscaping with his patients.

Broughton Hall was first used during World War 1 as a place for shell-shocked soldiers and continued until 1921 when it became Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic. The clinic founded by Dr Sydney Evan Jones who was responsible for the design of the buildings and the planning and planting of the grounds.

“…In 1925 he introduced occupational therapy and utilized the hospital grounds as a means of diverting patients’ minds from neurosis to normality”

In 1976 Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic was joined with Callan Park to become Rozelle Hospital.

https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/broughton_hall_psychiatric_clinic

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For me art making is experimenting. Experimenting in scale, from miniatures to panoramas. Experimenting with colour, shape, line, tone and texture. Experimenting with composition; abstract and representational. Experimenting in mark making and materials

I have a longstanding interest in landscape, beginning with my childhood in the country. My work aims to evoke the delightful moments of nature and the emotional resonance of spaces, both natural and man-made.

I observe and respond to the world by experimenting with colour, technique and mark-making to evoke emotions and nostalgia. I love to capture subjects like the bush and countryside and the cathedral-like interiors of old shearing sheds and industrial buildings.

As I create, I am reminded of the pure joy that art brings. Each piece is a journey of discovery — of what works, what doesn't, and what evokes the intended feeling. Making art allows me to detach from daily concerns and immerse myself in aspects of my craft.

I have been painting all my life and have been at one+2 artist studios in Rozelle Sydney for over a decade.

“Barbara Aroney has had a number of solo exhibitions, many group shows and she has won many commendations and prizes for drawing, printmaking and painting the Drummoyne Open and Members Awards. She won the Open Prize at the annual Frost Over Barraba Arts Festival in 2017. Her work is in many private collections in Australia and overseas, and is held in the State Library of NSW and The Australian National Library.”!