Art House Townhouses

by Jamie Durrant with inserts from Kath

Step inside High Country Victoria’s newest contemporary, architect design accommodation properties: Art House Townhouses, Bright.

Situated in the heart of Bright’s food, wine and distillery district, these five luxury appointed townhouses offer a new standard in designer comforts married with individual collections of fine Australian art prints produced by celebrated contemporary artists Margie Sheppard and Dean Bowen.

While exteriors evoke an ultra modern European urban appeal mixing timber, stone and steel; interior design styling is centred around the art, with soft furnishing tones and textures mimicking the colours and moods of the museum quality art hanging within. Two of the five townhouses have been named in memory of the Australian modernist art movement- Joy Hester and Sunday Reed (Heidi Collective art movement) and one in celebration of iconic landscape painter John Olsen. A further two townhouses have been named for contemporary artists Margie Sheppard and Dean Bowen, in recognition of their modernist approach and reflecting Kath’s love of their art.

Margie Sheppard is a South Australian based artist who lives and works in the Adelaide Hills.  Her practice now spans 30 years. In that time she has spent a long period working exclusively as a printmaker, making large densely coloured etchings for which she has become well known. In recent years she has returned to oil painting and she is currently dividing her time between painting and printmaking. Both these practices hold different but equally strong attractions for her.
(KP)  I have followed Margie’s art for a long time and watched her transition from her previous figurative images to the strong simple forms she is now focusing on, both in painting and etching. However the luminous colours, the stillness and dream-like quality remain. I love them.

Melbourne artist Dean Bowen has been practicing as an artist for over 40 years. His multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture and printmaking, with a prolific creative output consistently evolving through ‘a prism of humour and optimism’. In the past 20 years, much of Dean’s work has been connected by one reoccurring motif – the bird. Apparently originally inspired by the ‘tic tack sound’ of birds running and dancing across his metal studio roof, Dean’s fascination with birds is boldly rendered in a naïve, vibrant, heavily textured style. 

I fell in love with Dean Bowen’s Birds as I walked past the Printmaker Gallery in Fitzroy to and from work every day. They looked so joyful! So I started to collect them too and follow Deans other images as well.

I have long been a long-time fan of Joy Hester, and John and Sunday Reed and the ‘stable of artists’ associated with Heide, including the Angry Penguins Movement. Back in the day, I used to volunteer at Heide Gallery and gloried in the tranquil atmosphere there while seeing some marvelous exhibitions as they were curated. This involved learning about the artists and their art and a lot of reading about the Heide circle and the contemporary art scene at the time. I also saw some of the art of the Heide artists in the environs which inspired them. I was incredibly lucky. I have put some of these books in Reed, Hester and Olsen Townhouses in case people are interested. More to come but I am re-reading them first.

When Steve and I were conceptualizing the Townhouses, he suggested I might like to do the art/ pictures for the Units. I was delighted, and very excited! As we progressed I showed Jacqui Walker from Bower Bird interiors what prints I had chosen for the units and she just loved the colours and the idea of what we trying to create. She worked with us to theme the furnishings with the ‘feel’ and contemporary spirit that the pictures evoked. I think she did a brilliant job.

The pictures are all limited edition prints and I think that reflects the little touch of something special and unique that we wanted. Plus I now have a lot of my favourite pieces of art all in one spot. It gives me pleasure to think that other people are enjoying it too.

That’s how the Art House Townhouses came to have their name.

Each individual townhouse: Sheppard, Bowen, Hester, Reed and Olsen, showcase interiors of limited edition art prints, twin level living, large modern kitchens featuring porcelain-topped waterfall island benches, butler’s pantries, master bedrooms with King bed and ensuite, second bedroom with double-bed-convertible twin singles, second bathroom with laundry facilities, polished floorboards, flat screen TVs (lounge and bedrooms), free WIFI, plus generous living spaces dressed with the finest in European and Australian made designer furniture and soft furnishings. 

Art House Townhouses is conveniently, centrally located in Wills Street, opposite the Reed and Co. Distillery/Sixpence Coffee bar/dining complex. Also within a few meters walk is Billy Button Wines cellar door with its award-winning collection of alternate varietal wines plus standout modern Australian eateries Tomahawks and Ginger Baker.

Raising the bar to a new level of Australian contemporary twin-level accommodation, Art House Townhouses, Bright offers an uncompromised, luxury designer living experience.

I have been thinking a lot lately of how many worlds there are contained in very small spaces and how every person is really one world to himself unconnected by anyone or any thing.

– Joy Hester, 1947