Exhibition raises money for four charities

An art exhibition is being held in a Woy Woy cafe to raise money for four charities.

Half of the sale price of the paintings will go to Surf Lifesavers, Medicin Sans Frontier, Amnesty International or the Bob Brown Foundation.

The Sea Surf and Sailboats exhibition will run at the Gnostic Mana Cafe in until the end of January.

Former sailor and artist Ms Elizabeth Gordon-Werner has painted yachts of every variety, often while sitting on the back of a boat.

There are wooden boats, red-sailed and racing yachts and paintings of yachts at the marina with "halyards clanking" - the name of one of the paintings.

Ms Gordon-Werner said she created the Swimmers series, featured in the show, as an innovative take on watercolour.

She said they had a three-dimensional feel to them because they were partly collaged, with bathing figures sewn on to original beach scenes.

"If you look very closely you can see the stitching," Ms Gordon-Werner said.

She said she had never seen anything like this technique, but her passion for watercolour and her sewing expertise came together spontaneously in creating these works.

The paintings vary in size and price and smaller printed works were also on sale.

Purchasers are encouraged to nominate one of the charities as the beneficiary of the sale.

Media release, 5 Jan 2015

Elizabeth Gordon-Werner, artist