Until recently if you were looking for something to add a little bit of class to the garden, perhaps a beautiful sculpture, you had to import it from overseas. The good news is that there’s now a range of locally made artworks starting to become available in galleries around Australia.
David Mackay Harrison Gallery
Burke’s Backyard visited the David Mackay Harrison Gallery at Ballina in New South Wales, and discovered some fabulous bronzes by David Mackay Harrison and Petrina McAskill. The sculptures are limited production pieces and being bronze they’ll last a lifetime, even if they’re left out in the garden at the mercy of the elements. David Mackay Harrison has been a full time artist for the past 35 years, and Petrina McAskill is currently studying alongside him, working in clay and wax mould making and foundry production in bronze.
The bronzes
David sculpts the pieces from clay, then makes a fibreglass or rubber mould. Next a wax mould is produced and then the bronze is poured at the foundry. Some of the pieces like the nudes, cats, rhinoceros and lions are for use indoors or in the garden, while others such as the seahorse, frog, fish, satyr and Neptune are designed especially for water features.
Cost of pieces shown in our segment:
Francene $8000
Monique $7500
Nadine $4500
Turtle $4200
Seahorse $2000
Frog $1600
Natalie $8000
Mythical fish $2950
Lion $1400, lioness $1200
Bookends $3200
Rhino $4500
Lauren $3500
Further information
David Mackay Harrison Gallery
79 Bayview Drive
East Ballina, NSW, 2478
Phone/fax: (02) 6686 3053
Website: http://www.dmhart.com.au/