Alan Martin studied under Max Meldrum, at the National Gallery School and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He later established his own art school. He has won several prizes and is represented in several provincial collections. Alan Marshall was the author of more than fifteen books, and lived much of his life in Eltham. He became a central figure in the area's arts community of writers, artists, sculptors, film makers, actors and musicians. He contracted polio when he was young is considered one of Australia's most successful and loved authors. His most famous book, 'I Can Jump Puddles' is based on his life story and the obstacles he faced as a child in trying to overcome his disability. The portrait of Alan Marshall was exhibited as a finalist at the 1956 Archibald Prize.

"This is a story of coming together. The honey ants represent food and move round the frame continuously. The outer circle represents different groups all coming together for reconciliation to work as one. The large camp in the middle is where they all come to meet with the paths leading away back to our homes and family after the big get together.” – Trevor. Trevor Barker was born in Melbourne and is a descendant of the Barkindji people, through his Father, from the Western region of NSW.

My paintings reflect upon the peculiar state of our existence in the pandemic ravaged world: a microscopic and invisible virus has wreaked havoc and revealed the fragility of the human race regardless of our technological and economic advancements. Overwhelmed by the hostile environment, our once arrogant bodies are depersonalized, suspended, fragmented, perplexed and isolated. Mixed with different races, colours and genders, the new bodily world is an imaginative vision of the post pandemic psyche. The lines and shapes delineate an space with new boundaries and depth, full of aching, longing, order less and distorted bodies forming an assemblage endlessly floating on the blue surface, gasping for air, emerging and submerging, shrinking and extending. COVID-19 is a wakeup call for us to rethink our relationship with technology and environment in order to create new control, purpose and identities, which we need to help future generations to survive. Commissioned by Nillumbik Shire Council as part of the Art in the Time of Covid project which invited artists to create artworks that reflect the pandemic and the artists' personal experiences of it

Leaving Isolation is play on words; a pun. It is a joke shared with new imaginary friends found while living alone, in isolation. Processing emotions, sanitising theories, engaging in shadow play; these works show individual native leaves that resemble expressive faces collected on permitted daily walks. 30 small, 15 x 21 cm still life studies in ink and watercolour are hung to reference a calendar month during COVID-19. The work considers the nature of ecology in the anthropocene while confronting emergent psychological myth-scapes during Lockdown.Commissioned by Nillumbik Shire Council as part of the Art in the Time of Covid project which invited artists to create artworks that reflect the pandemic and the artists' personal experiences of it.

REMNANT BLESSINGS-I reflects on the assortment of memories acquired over the years. We rarely remember events in their entirety; we are left with the remnants from the past. These fragmented elements make up the structure of this work. Nillumbik Prize Contemporary Art 2021 local winning artwork

I am naturally drawn to using bold colours in my work that I apply to the canvas with quite gestural marks using everything from brushes to my hands to create an image. For me the colour represents passion for all the beauty of nature and the movement of paint on the canvas is like the dance of life. The surrounding bushland of my home is the main focus of my paintings in which I spend a lot of time exploring and absorbing the many nuances of my subject. The work is an expression of the intimate relationship we have with nature, the human narrative we impose upon it and its ability to define us. This work, ‘Time for Clarity’ is about the positive impact COVID-19 has had on the environment, cleaner air, clearer skies and waters. It has opened the door to future possibilities, a glimpse of the ecological value of taking a more thoughtful and measured approach to the way we consume, it's slowed down time and given us a chance to be more introspective.This work was originally commissioned in 2020 by Nillumbik Shire Council for the exhibition 'Art in the time of COVID-19'.