Our Story
The HIVE is an artist-run studio, gallery and art space.
The HIVE was built to encourage inclusivity and creativity within artist practice, no matter your level of skill.
The Studio operates as a professional art space, offering the opportunity for interested artists to collaborate.
Classes and workshops provide locals and visitors with the opportunity to gain skills and connect.
Our gallery is the home of the iGuarnieri Fresco Master’s Australian Fine Art Collection.
The HIVE Gallery supports local, interstate and international emerging or established artists, who create work here to show in solo or group exhibitions.
What Is Fresco?
Fresco, meaning ‘fresh’ in Italian, is an ancient style of painting popularized during the Renaissance.
It is created by painting directly onto thinly laid, fresh plaster containing lime. Fresco offers a permanence and texture which is unique. Our contemporary fresco technique involves making incisions and drawing into the wet plaster. Pure pigments mixed with water are applied to the lime rich wet plaster, usually on a wooden surface.
The HIVE Signature Fresco Workshop (2 hours)
Brief introduction to fresco painting history
Simple drawing exercises
Water colour wet on wet technique exercise
Composition planning
Applying the plaster to the wood surface
Incision and drawing into the wet plaster
Applying pigments to the plaster
Discussion of additional surface techniques for finishing such as applying wax
All materials are provided and the artwork is created under the guidance of Joanne or Julie who are registered teachers.