Following on from Linda Jackson's photographic journey through a land reborn, Mudgee Arts Precinct has revealed its next two exhibitions which will take people on a look at the stranger side of life through the eyes of two Mudgee artists.

Pamela Welsh will present her series of beautifully detailed sculptures based around the extraordinary life of Princess Alexandra of Bavaria, who was convinced she had swallowed a glass grand piano as a child in The Princess and the Piano and Michael Bourke's exhibition, A Brief History of Mudgee presents Mudgee's landmarks and personalities through the lens of the absurd and paranormal. The exhibitions will run concurrently beginning April 8.

The Mudgee Guardian spoke with Michael at his home studio as he was putting the finishing touches on the final two paintings a week before their debut. It's Mudgee, but not as you know it.

Formerly a local music teacher, he left the profession in 2021 to paint full-time, a decision he wasn't entirely sure of at the time but now embraces wholeheartedly.

"I'd got to the stage where I didn't want to teach the way that I had to teach anymore," he said.

"I didn't know what I was going to do and there were a few people that sort of urged me to... go full-time with the art. I've been doing that ever since and I've also been teaching some classes at the Mud Factory."

The absurdist tone of A Brief History of Mudgee comes from Michael's desire to see the lighter side of life. Now fully-recovered, Michael was involved in a serious car accident two years ago between Mudgee and Dunedoo. An experience he credits with his change in perspective.

"I've always painted in a reasonably similar style. But maybe about three or four years ago things started to get a bit sillier," he said.

"I didn't know if you get to that stage in your life where you just - maybe it was even frustrations at work, I don't know. But they did start to move in a more absurd direction. And I just found that I really enjoyed looking at things in that particular way.

"After that [the accident] I think have been a little bit more focused on looking at the humorous side of things and just appreciating [those] moments. And I certainly did start painting more after that too."

Landmarks such as the Regent Theatre, the Gulgong Prince of Wales Opera House, the township formerly known as Cudgegong have all been celebrated by Michael's keen sense of the ridiculous. But among the 30 works that make up the exhibition there is one recognisable face.

A work titled, The Annual Ken Sutcliffe Day Parade pokes fun at the well-known local in a painting that almost wasn't.

Michael was unsure if Ken would even be on board when he first pitched the idea.

"I've got to say - I certainly wasn't confident about him saying yes," Michael said.

"But I'd always had this idea in my head of 'the Ken Sutcliffe Day Parade', and again it's a very gentle, loving, piss-take. I grew up with Ken on the telly and he was this big thing."

Ken will be the first to admit he isn't a fan of photographs or sitting down for a portrait. But there was something about Michael's pitch that convinced him.

"I've knocked back a couple of those things [portraits] in the past - from the art galleries and so forth over the years, but he [Michael] said 'let me show you some of my stuff'.

"I said, 'I don't take myself that seriously'... But this I can take this seriously because it's funny. Seriously funny. And it's a little bit left of field.

"He had several ideas of what to do with me. And you've seen the end result, which is completely outrageous. It's me driving a truck through town with a photograph of myself on the back of it," Ken laughed.

Ken also lent his distinctive voice to a series of narrations of each of the paintings that viewers can listen to after scanning a QR code on their phone.

"The only driving instructions I gave him was, I said 'it's got to be a piss-take', Ken said of Michael's painting.

The exhibition hasn't started yet, but Michael said that once friends saw the paintings, they couldn't help but suggest their own ideas.

"The beautiful thing about art is it allows you to engage with your immediate surroundings and transforms them makes them more enjoyable or magical.

"If anyone out there has ideas for paintings, don't ever be shy about telling me."

Both exhibitions, A Brief History of Mudgee and The Princess and the Piano will debut at Mudgee Arts Precinct on Friday, April 8 and run until June 26. The opening event on This Friday, April 8, is open to all.

Mudgee Arts Precinct is open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm. Entry is free.

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