Pets at the Chapel

Our furry friends really do seem to be the flavour of this month.

Lesley Dimmick’s exhibition Cats + Dogs + Best Friends at Ruby’s Place is an exploration of people and their pets.
“I’m using the pets as a decoy to get their owners to sit for me,” she said.

“I have a fascination with people who have pets and, interestingly, they’re much more likely to sit for the painting if their pet is with them. People love their pets and want to see them glorified on the canvas.”

And what a range of pets there are: rats, cats, dogs, snakes, budgies – even bats.

“I’m still looking for interesting people with interesting pets. There’s a man who rides around on his pushbike with 10 budgies perched on his head and shoulders and another man who rides down Oxford Street with a Siamese cat on his shoulder. I’d like to paint both of them,” Dimmick said.

In what she describes as a lifelong quest, Dimmick is still enthusiastically painting this theme, recently until dawn. And of course she has included her own adventurous ginger, Rochester, in the exhibition which runs until the end of this month.

The Cats + Dogs + Best Friends exhibition is opening on Friday, February 6 at Ruby’s Place, Chapel by the Sea, 95 Roscoe Street, Bondi.

All are welcome to come and share a drink with the artist at 7pm and enjoy live music by Ben Eadie & In the After. For information call 9361 0440.