The Rustic Fig Café hosted Graham Davis’ spectacular showcase of abstract landscape art as a part of the SALA Festival (South Australian Living Arts).

The café was filled with art lovers who got to admire Graham’s works. Guests looked on conversing their thoughts and emotions that were evoked from the paintings as they enjoyed the tastes of wine and Lebanese cuisine.

“The inspiration had come largely from landscapes in South Australia”, Graham said. Most of the paintings were based on the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island. In Kangaroo Island, Graham depicted his inspirations of Stokes Bay and the dramatic headlands and rock formations north of the island.

Every painting in the café was oil painted, some had a rich build-up of oil paint. In some works, the paint was mixed with different mediums containing beeswax to give the thickness texture. The art was created on canvas and others were done on timber panels. “Sometimes I’ll paint with a thinner medium so that the oil paint comes out more like a water colour,” said Graham.

Graham likes to take photographs and do sketches when he is out in the field so he can study the locations. Though memory helps when he goes back to the studio. “What I really enjoy doing is getting out into natural places, wondering through them”, Graham said.

His paintings are an emotional reaction to the landscape. “Feel the space, feel the specialness of it, feel what happens at different times of the day”, Graham said.

The owners of the café, Naji and Erica Rizk provided the guests a wonderful array of Lebanese cuisine. They had mini man’ouche topped with lamb, fetta, za’atar and cheese. They also had carrot sticked dipped in lemon juice and salt, and hummus and baba ganoush.

Graham’s landscape collection will be on display for a whole month at the Rustic Fig Café. So make sure to pop by and enjoy the wonderful abstract views.

Words and Images by Christian Cominos

WHERE: 370E Kensington Rd, Erindale