An artist’s journey: Meier’s solo exhibition brings the vision of a creative mind to Narrogin

Wheatbelt artist Ron Meier’s first solo exhibition Loving our Land was officially launched at the Narrogin Arts Space on September 16.

His impressionist paintings depict recognisable landscapes from across the Wheatbelt, Great Southern and South West and the artist’s connection to the bush is clear.

Meier, the 2022 Arts Narrogin enRICH scholarship recipient, said that assembling the exhibition and refining his style had taken considerable time and focus.

“I had a mentor, Annette Peterson, who is a WA award-winning artist,” he said.

“I’ve known her since I was 15 and I’ve always admired her art.

“We’ve had zoom sessions and she’s come down to not only teach the art side of things but also the business aspect of being an artist.”

The mentorship was part of the 12 month enRICH scholarship that was awarded to Meier in 2022.

Established in 2020 to celebrate the memory of Narrogin artist Joy Rich, the award reflects Rich’s legacy of support, mentorship and encouragement of local artists.

The program guides recipients on a journey which sees them develop their practice and culminates with an exhibition.

Meier, a self-taught artist, first picked up the brush during the COVID pandemic.

“It was when we were in lockdown that I thought I’ve got nothing to do, I’ll give painting a go,” he said.

“I went on the internet and looked at a few tutorials and started from there.”

A willingness to experiment and a strong creative bent has seen the Wagin-based artist flourish.

“I’ve been trying different styles and there are different styles in the exhibition,” Meier said.

“It’s only really been now that I’ve gone ‘this is what I really enjoy painting’, I like painting landscapes, I love painting trees and the bush.

“In life that’s what I love as well, I’ve done lots of camping and I lived in the South West for a few years, I like to paint what I like.”

As a result of his enRICH journey, Meier said that the way he views and represents the natural world around him has changed.

“The painting just has to resemble what I see,” he said.

“When I drive down the road, instead of seeing a tree and just seeing green I now see that there are all these different colours and it’s the same with the sky.”

Loving our Land will be open to the public from September 19 to November 9 at Arts Space on the corner of Park and Fairway Street in Narrogin, Tuesday to Thursday from 10am to 4pm.

The exhibition will also open on September 30, October 14 and 28 from 10am to 2pm with Meier present.