Quirky, local art coming to Glenelg

Brighton artist Jon Carl is the first to admit is style of art is quirky – so it’s only fitting that his upcoming exhibition at Glenelg’s Bay Discovery Centre is titled Too Quirky.

It’s also a play on words, as Jon first exhibited at the Bay Discovery Centre two decades ago. Back then, the exhibition was simply called Quirky.

“My work is a quirky kind of art and most of my paintings have got naughty bits in them too,” he said with a laugh.

“I don’t go too over the top, but I do like to throw bits in and pieces in and I like to throw stuff in that you don’t perhaps see straight away...but when you zoom in, that’s where you see the naughty bits.”

The self-taught artist loves to paint quintessentially Aussie landscapes and larger-than-life characters, taking inspiration from what he sees in real life.

“I like people watching, and I will see something that then comes out when I’m painting”, he said from his home studio in Brighton.

“I always do the swaggies wearing an Akubra hat, there’s always someone in a blue singlet and the Northern Territory bird (NT Tourism logo) with the sunset behind it… these are the things that appeal to me that are really Australian,” Jon said.

Holdfast Bay arts volunteer Colleen Slattery is curating Jon’s exhibition, as she did the first time around 20 years ago.

The pair have been friends for three decades, meeting by chance at the picture framing business Colleen ran with her husband, Chris.

“I had no inclination at all to become an artist, it was pure coincidence that Colleen took it on board,” Jon said.

“I’m just a guy who’s able to paint pictures and it’s a talent that I’ve got to use.”

The Too Quirky exhibit will be part of this year’s SALA Festival which is about celebrating South Australia’s living artists.

Colleen has also chosen five sculptors, also from South Australia - Emma Young, Westley Tully, Verity Jasmin Burley, Ty Manning and Susan Gerrie - who will have some of their pieces exhibited to complement Jon’s paintings.

Too Quirky is open from Friday 2 August 2024 until Sunday 8 September 2024.

The Bay Discovery Centre is located at the Glenelg Town Hall and is open daily from 10am – 4pm.

Entry is via a gold coin donation.