Two works by a Sunbury painter are on their way to Italy for a special exhibition celebrating Australian art and culture.
Debra Vivarini-Lorenzi, who has been painting since she was a child, says the selection of acrylic canvas pieces for the November show are among the highlights of her lengthy career.
One of the works depicts mist coming in over Macedon, while the other, of cockatoos sitting on a fence, was inspired by a photo a friend posted on Facebook.
‘‘They were all up there in a row. As soon as I saw it, I thought, oh I’ve got to paint that,’’ Vivarini-Lorenzi says.
The pieces were among works by 70 artists selected for the exhibition at Via Guilia Gallery in Rome.
Two other works, including one depicting Sunbury’s Jacksons Creek, will be displayed at ‘‘pre-Rome’’ shows in Sydney.
Vivarini-Lorenzi, who also tutors students aged from eight to 80, says her creative passion was set in stone by a Russian woman, who taught her after school when she was a teen.
‘‘I think, in those six or eight months, I learnt everything I know.’’
Vivarini-Lorenzi says she tries to paint every day.
‘‘I have about five works going at the moment … you start something and sometimes it just flows. Other times you’ve got to work at it.’’
