Nimbin painter is wild at art

RIKKI Fisher is a Nimbin artist. (There is a lot of artistic creativity in Nimbin. It must be something in the water.)

Rikki is all smiles because she has won a silver award at the biennial wildlife exhibition Wild Awards 2012. This Wildlife Art Society of Australasia exhibition was recently held at the Steps Gallery in Melbourne and Rikki won her award for her artwork Nip.

"It was significant for me to win the silver award. Six years ago I submitted my very best work at the time, a gouache painting of a

cassowary, but it was rejected. Being a sensitive artist I retreated into my shell and didn't try again until this year," she said.

Good thing she did.

Nip was created using a technique called scratchboard which involves using a clay-coated hardboard panel coated with Indian ink. Rikki then scratches into the ink layer with a variety of tools revealing the clay (which can be variously coloured) underneath.

Rikki is holding a workshop on this 19th-century art technique in Nimbin on Saturday, October 13, from 10am-3pm. It costs $70.

For more info phone Rikki on 0410 340 512 or email her at rikkifisher7@gmail.com.