Wendy Hawkes has been hard at it for the past five years, working to revitalise Eskbank House as a Cultural Development Officer with Lithgow City Council.
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During her time, Eskbank has seen a series of artistic events take off at the historic site, but now it’s time for Wendy to pursue her real passion: Her own artwork.
Wendy will now take on art full time after a successful exhibition where she received a number of commissions.
“I thought, ‘maybe, yeah, I could give this a go,’” Wendy said, speaking on how the exhibition turned out.
In a community like Lithgow where art is a growing part of its culture, Wendy feels confident enough to strike out on her own.
“It feels like Lithgow has turned a bit of a corner and started to look at itself with a bit more pride,” she said.
“It’s started recognising heritage and also how many artists are living here selling their artwork.”
As part of her role with council, Wendy has helped bring Eskbank House back into public awareness and also assisted with a number of Lithgow Tidy Towns Laneways projects.
She also had a part to play in the Blue Mountains Crossings project and Lithgow History Avenue which runs along Inch Street, as well as the Lithgow Creatives Project, connecting local artists to one another and giving them a bigger profile.
“[Lithgow History Avenue] took off when I first started and it really showed me what Lithgow is capable of.
“The best part of this job has been getting to know the community who are so good at looking after people, I think they’re amazing.”
Wendy’s artwork spans a whole range of mediums, but for now she’s focusing on drawing and sketches, with animals a particular focus of hers.
Animals play a positive role in many people’s lives and Wendy said getting a hold of that connection is something she enjoys doing.
“I mostly work in pen and ink and the important thing for me at the moment is capturing happiness.
“I’m really enjoying finding that in people’s faces and in the things around me.
“Artists have different periods in their lives, and this is definitely not my “blue” period. This is my rosy, happy period.”
Wendy said she plans to stay in Lithgow to be a part of the growing arts community and explore where her art style can be used to go further than just works on paper.
Though she has now left council, Wendy wanted to thank the team at Eskbank House, Lithgow City Council, the Lithgow community and all its local artists for the support they’ve given her over the years.
“I’d like to thank them for providing great feedback and getting behind everything.”