Jo Fernandez in her studio, The Corner Store Gallery. Photograph by Madeline Young.

Studio Visit with Jo Fernandez

We are absolutely thrilled to present to you the first solo exhibition by talented local artist Jo Fernandez Mostly Cloudy. Jo has been exhibiting through The Corner Store Gallery for several years since 2019, she is a full time, self-taught artist living just outside of Orange in the beautiful village of Millthorpe. Surrounded by picturesque views of rolling green hills and the lush, Central West landscape, Jo has no shortage of inspiration and subject matter. The ever-changing and tumultuous climate and weather patterns of late have provided a magnificent skyscape for Jo to recapture on canvas in her home studio. She paints and draws meticulously on the canvas, having learnt tips and tricks along the way from attending multiple workshops and short courses. I caught up with Jo at her home in Millthorpe to see where and how the magic happens.

This magnificent, dramatic body of work Mostly Cloudy is sure to impress, with the exhibition open to the public from November 23rd to December 4th. Pre-sales launch online at 8pm Tuesday November 22nd and we’d love you to join us for drinks with the artist from 6pm Friday November 25th.

Exhibition Catalogue

Tell us a little about your background. How long have you been making art?

Though I've always had a love and appreciation for art, I only began painting after moving to Millthorpe in 2004, leaving behind city living and a corporate career. I started by attending workshops with a number of artists, learning something from each and over time developing my own style. I've been exhibiting with The Corner Store Gallery since being selected as a finalist in the Landscape Group Exhibition in 2019. I have exhibited in numerous group shows, entered competitions and been awarded prizes.

Can you talk us through your process?

I'm a studio and process based artist. I take lots of photographs to begin with. From these I explore ideas with thumbnail sketches and compositional studies, often using elements from a number of photos. I rely on memory to filter and discard details thereby isolating what I consider the core significance.

I tend to work on a square format which in itself is a compositional choice. The square provides a sense of balance or harmony - it reduces tension by not favouring the vertical or the horizontal.

I cover the entire canvas with a mid-tone yellow which I warm towards the horizon and foreground with red ochre. This provides a complementary counterpart to violets in the cloud shadows, and greens in the foreground. I usually have a stock of canvases prepped to this stage ready to go.

Once I've lightly drawn my composition onto the canvas I mix the oil colours starting with my colour anchor which is usually the colour of the sky. All other colours I develop from this - it becomes the colour of the light.

I work over the canvas feathering and blending colours, or adding texture with a palette knife where necessary. When dry, I glaze some areas using thin layers of transparent paint to provide a luminous quality.

Can you describe your amazing studio to our readers?

My studio is housed within our walled vegetable garden and orchard. Though relatively compact at 6m x 4m, it's perfect for my needs. It has a south-facing floor-to-ceiling glass door and window that provides consistent natural light. A large workbench ideal for preparing canvases, with storage shelves below is in the centre. An old desk at which I explore ideas and sketch compositional studies butts up against the workbench. Along three walls are storage units and shelves.

My easel is positioned at right angle to the light source and next to it is a table on casters with a large glass slab I use as my palette.

I have a gallery hanging system from which I hang finished works and works-in-progress.

As I head to the studio in the morning, I take my kitchen basket with me so when I go back to the house through the garden I pick what I need for the days main meal. Then it's time to get creative in the kitchen!

What inspired this body of work you created for your first solo exhibition?

This series of cloudscapes, Mostly Cloudy, is a direct response to my immediate surroundings. Living on an elevated block I have almost 360 degree views, with Mt Canobolas to the west and Mt Macquarie to the south-east. The remarkable colour of the sky and clouds especially early morning and late evening when the drama of colour intensifies always captures my attention.

Looking up at the clouds I can't help but feel moved by their beauty and grace. For a moment I'm relieved of any preoccupations and reminded of our human limitations. Their impermanence is also a reminder that nothing stays the same, and the only constant in life is change.

The pull towards the sky and diaphanous clouds moves me from the recognisable to the abstract. I feel a desire to capture the variations in colour, shapes, movement and texture - the very aesthetics of painting.

Mostly Cloudy is an invitation to pause, reflect and restore a sense of our place in nature.

What's next for Jo Fernandez?

I'm currently planning works for a number of group shows and competitions in 2023.