Maleny’s Jim Goulton has spent the past 28 years designing and making stunning jewellery and has been the face behind the counter at Maleny Jewellers since 2000. 

But many people would not be aware that jewellery is not the only outlet for Jim’s artistic talent.

Recently, Jim launched his first exhibition of acrylic and oil paintings and prints at Sarah’s Unplugged Cafe in Maple Street Maleny.

“I have had no formal training but I have always been into art,” Jim said. “It goes hand in hand with jewellery design and once the artistic flow is happening, it helps the design process.”

“I have been listening to a lot of podcasts on the subject and it inspired me to paint more, and get better.”

Living and working in Maleny, Jim is spoiled for inspiration when it comes to subject matter.

“I love painting animals, they are so easy, and also Maleny and hinterland based landscapes,” he said.

“I recently went on a graffiti artist tour in Melbourne a few years back and much of the work I saw was described as abstract realism,” said Jim. “I think it is fair to say that my work lines up with this pretty well.”

A distinctive feature of Jim’s paintings are the words etched onto the canvas.

“I’m not even really sure how this started, but I write words into every background,” Jim said. “Once I started doing that, I couldn’t really stop.”

Jim has also made use of new technology in the form of augmented reality, to bring his work to life.

“The augmented reality layer has been really exciting to work with because it allows for such an edgy experimental experience from my perspective and a 3 dimensional experience of each piece for the viewer. The Artivive technology also enables you to see how many people have viewed each piece, which is very cool.”

Jim’s works are for sale and will be on exhibit at Sarah’s Unplugged Cafe for the next three months. You can also see Jim’s work on Instagram.