Artist Statement

The drawings and watercolours exhibited in this exhibition continue my long-standing engagement with European Romanticism as it is reimagined through the Australian landscape. The works draw upon the European traditions of drawing and painting that create a compelling sense of illusion within the picture plane while remaining grounded in direct observation. They acknowledge the influence of British artists such as William Blake and Samuel Palmer, whose vision of landscape extended beyond topography to evoke the spiritual and imaginative dimensions of place. Like Palmer and the group of artists who left London to work directly from nature, I am drawn to landscapes that reveal a sense of the numinous and the primordial. Through sustained drawing and painting from life, these works seek to explore the meeting of observation, memory and imagination, allowing the Australian landscape to be experienced as both a physical reality and a poetic space.

Biography

Ronald McBurnie is an Australian artist whose practice encompasses drawing, painting, printmaking and artists' books. Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, drawing has remained the central discipline that informs his observation, research and understanding of place. His work develops through the accumulation of travel, reading, memory and sustained engagement with particular landscapes, often returning to the same locations over many years. Alongside his studio practice, McBurnie has contributed extensively as an educator, curator, publisher and collaborator, helping shape printmaking and artists' books in Australia while maintaining an active national and international exhibition career.

Influences

Many European and British artists have been an influence on my work throughout my career. I have mentioned these in my artist statement and in the Biography above.

Awards

Selection 2014 • Arts Queensland Cultural Champion Award (30 May 2014) 2009 • Martin Hanson Memorial Queensland Alumina Ltd Art Award 2007 • Martin Hanson Memorial Queensland Alumina Ltd Art Award 2006 • Martin Hanson Memorial Works on Paper Award 2003 • Runner-up, Hutchins Invitation Art Award, Hobart 1999 • Martin Hanson Memorial Art Award, Gladstone Regional Art Gallery and Museum • Henri Worland Memorial Art Award – Purchase Prize 1997 • Martin Hanson Award, Gladstone Regional Gallery • 7th C.P.M. Print Acquisition Award 1992 • Logan City Council Purchase Prize 1991 • Henri Worland Memorial Art Award, Warrnambool • Suncorp Purchase Prize • Townsville Art Award 1990 • Stanthorpe Heritage Arts Festival • Purchase Prize • Aberdare Purchase Prize • Cairns Art Society Award

Exhibitions

SOLO EXHIBITIONS (selection) 2026 Ron McBurnie: The Artist's Studio – Collection in Focus Cairns Art Gallery, 21 March–21 June 2024 Still Searching Umbrella Contemporary, 3 May–16 June 2021 In Search of Arcadia Artspace Mackay, 26 February–16 May 2017 From Head in the Clouds Janet Clayton Gallery, Sydney, 28 February–25 March 2014 Trees and Views: An Exhibition of Drawings and Watercolours from Australia and France Grahame Galleries + Editions, Brisbane, 13 September–11 October 2012 In the Open Air: En Plein Air Umbrella Studio, Townsville, 25 May–1 July 2011–2013 Metal as Anything Tableland Regional Gallery, 1 April–4 May 2011 Gympie Regional Gallery, 17 May–11 June 2011 Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery, 17 July–21 August 2011 Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, 2 September–23 October 2011 Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, 14 November 2011–29 January 2012 Tamworth Regional Gallery, 31 March–28 April 2012 School of Art Gallery, Australian National University, 10 May–2 June 2012 Logan Art Gallery, 8 August–15 September 2012 State Library of Queensland, 22 September–25 November 2012 Artspace Mackay, 14 December 2012–27 January 2013 MAJOR GROUP & INVITED EXHIBITIONS (Selection) 2026 In the Heart of the North Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, 4 February–3 May 2025 En Plein Air – 9 Artists Artspace Mackay, 26 September–14 December 2024 Painting with the Tide with Bradley Short and Euan Macleod Milton House Gallery, Mackay Postcards from North and South Curated by Zelma Schulten Townsville / Armadale, South Africa Cosmic Witness with Stephen Spurrier and Catherine Parker Touring exhibition 2023 The Local Museum of Brisbane, 6 May 2023–21 January 2024 2022 A Bit Further North Milton House Gallery, Mackay, 7 October–16 November Tales of the Lyrebird Curated by Helen Cole and Ron McBurnie Artspace Mackay, 2 September–November 2022 Cosmic Witness with Stephen Spurrier and Catherine Parker Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, 15 July–21 August Monochrome Mitchell Fine Art, Brisbane, 3–28 May Making Place: 100 Views of Brisbane Museum of Brisbane, 26 March–23 October 2021 Journey Through Images: 40 Years of Perc Tucker Regional Gallery Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, 3 September–28 November 50 Treasures: Celebrating 50 Years of James Cook University Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, 30 October 2020–10 January 2021 2020 Double Vision Tweed Regional Gallery, New South Wales, March–30 November The Memory of Trees with Rhett Brewer Project Gallery 90, Paddington, Sydney, February–4 March 2019 Monsoon Publishing at Sydney Contemporary Sydney Contemporary, 12–15 September Legacy: Reflections on Mabo Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts, 5 July–11 August Utopia Tropicae: The Spirit of the North Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, 23 November 2018–2022 2017–2018 Head in the Clouds KickArts, Cairns, 28 October 2017–3 February 2018 2017 Head in the Clouds Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, 26 August–15 October Drawn Townsville City Collection, 24 November–21 January