Farewell To An Extraordinary Artist - Gill Del-Mace

Print Decor
2024-01-12T20:37:00+11:00

VALE GILL DEL-MACE

Our dear friend and gifted artist passed away on Wednesday 3rd January

Gill was a renowned artist, who lived and painted in country Victoria. She has produced an exquisite range of art and signed limited edition prints. We know many of our customers have enjoyed the skill, the wit and craft of this extraordinary artist.

Gill's artwork appeared on our radar not long after we started our art and print business in the mid 80s, but it was not until her publisher and husband David Sears arrived at our gallery around 20 years ago with a somewhat edgy image titled Knife Thrower that our business took a fortuitous change of direction.

Apprehensive though we were, as our customers, we thought, preferred the more conservative albeit beautiful works of such artists as Hans Heysen, Rembrandt and Vermeer. However David assured us this hand signed Limited Edition Print would be a golden opportunity for Print Decor to evolve into a new direction.

We threw caution to the wind and framed up the Knife Thrower and put the image in the window. We heard the screech of tyres as the first customer pulled up and came and purchased this work within hours of having it on show. We soon learned that brilliant skillful art, was good art, whether it be traditional, contemporary, edgy, or whatever. Pretty soon we started framing and stocking more of Gill's catalogue and ventured into a new genre of contemporary hand signed limited edition prints.

Below: Gill with Connie, Lynne and Bernie at an exhibition held at Print Decor featuring Gill Del-Mace's Sideshow Exhibition revisited.

Gill's works went from strength to strength as more of her catalogue was released as signed prints on art paper and then a selection of her works were made available on canvas. As interest grew we had requests to source original works and a number of happy art collectors now have a Gill Del-Mace original in their collection.

Original art works and prints on canvas became available and hung in our upstairs gallery over the past few years.

It has been an honour and a privilege to have become friends with Gill and David and Gill's daughter Dione over the years. It would certainly brighten my day when Gill and David would visit our gallery or we'd have a happy lunch together. Gill of course was a passionate shopper and Malvern was one of her favourite shopping play grounds.

We also shared a love of the music and words of Leonard Cohen and I finish with some of the dark humour, that Gill and I would listen to and have a laugh over.

To Gill. Yours truly Bernie, and Lynne and the staff of Print Decor.

Closing Time by Leonard Cohen

Yeah, we're drinking and we're dancing

But there's nothing really happening

And the place is dead as Heaven on a Saturday night

And my very close companion

Gets me fumbling, gets me laughing

She's a hundred but she's wearing something tight

And I lift my glass to the Awful Truth

Which you can't reveal to the Ears of Youth

Except to say it isn't worth a dime

And the whole damn place goes crazy twice

And it's once for the devil and once for Christ

But the Boss don't like these dizzy heights

We're busted in the blinding lights, Of Closing Time

Gill's Legacy Lives On Through Her Art

Even though Gill has left this world, she lives on through her masterpieces. We have the last of her limited edition prints available to purchase, as well as a select few of her original art works.

Many of her works are on display in our two-story show room, as well as available to purchase online.

To see her available artworks, click here. If you live in Melbourne, come in to visit us at 60 Glenferrie Road, Malvern, where our helpful staff can give you the grand tour of all available Gill Del-Mace artworks.