OFF THE WALL

Sister act

WORDS LEIGH ROBSHAW PHOTOS LISA PEARL

SIBLING RIVALRY CAN be a force for confl ict or creativity. Fortunately, in the case of twin sisters Madeline Herbert and Jacqueline Seckold, it has imparted just enough inspiration without hampering the unfolding of each of their artistic pursuits.

Based at Kawana Island, the sisters live together and have separate studios at their home overlooking the canal. Madeline, known as Maddy, works in pastels and watercolours, with Italy her enduring inspiration. Jacqui works in clay sculpture and acrylic paint, often creating both a sculpture and painting of the same subject.

Born in London, the sisters moved to Australia at the age of 17 with their mother and after a double wedding at the age of 19 in Brisbane, both had two children and began two different paths in life. Maddy had studied art from the age of 13 and upon arriving in Australia, began studying with Roy Churcher at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane.

To make a living, she worked as a window display designer, painted mural backdrops and did dress design. She raised two boys, and opened a dress shop that specialised in screen-printed original designs. During this time, she pursued her love of art in the medium of pastels and watercolours.

After 28 years of marriage Maddy divorced and in 1992 moved to Maleny and studied with George Hazzard. The following year, she travelled to Italy, beginning a love affair that would inform her work for many years to come and leading to a multitude of awards for her watercolours and pastels. She teaches at the Sunshine Coast Art Group in Buderim and was taking students on international art tours before COVID hit.

“Art gives me my whole joy for living,” Maddy says. “Once your children grow up, you need to have

something that gives you joy absolutely on your own. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t paint and I think Jacqui is the same with her clay. We really enjoyed our children but they’ve grown up and it’s our time now.

“My fi rst love is painting Italy and Greece,” she says. “The colours – I love those warm terracotta colours. The feel of it, the history, the old buildings, vineyards, different lighting than over here. I found people that have been there on holidays and it brings back memories for them. That was a good selling point for me.”

Her last painting trip overseas was a visit to Tuscany, where she stayed in a villa she describes as “rather creepy” and perfect for stimulating her artist’s imagination.

“The light over there is a crisper, brighter, warmer light. It’s more atmospheric. There’s a lot of history there and I like painting villages; I’m not so much a landscape painter. I like to put people in my paintings.

“Watercolour is diffi cult and it’s really satisfying when you get it,” she adds. “Watercolour is my passion. You’ve got to be able to draw and keep it light and fresh. If you overwork it, you may as well tear it up and forget about it. With acrylic paint, you can just keep going and get it back if you lose it. You can’t get it back if you lose it in watercolour.”

In contrast, Jacqui has pursued acrylic painting and sculpture and a different life path to Maddy. Jacqui worked in offi ces and renovated houses in Spring Hill until moving to Maleny in 1987 and buying the Maleny Guest Lodge with her partner. Maddy followed her to Maleny a few years later and the two ended up sharing a Queenslander in later years.

“I found it very daunting running a guest house and in the interim period, I discovered the Maleny arts and crafts group,” Jacqui says. “I gravitated to clay, but my hands became quite arthritic. I thought maybe painting would be less physical for my fi ngers so I started to experiment with painting, much to Maddy’s annoyance. We’ve always been competitive as twins and we didn’t want to encroach on each other’s territory, so I stuck to acrylics and clay.

“In the mid-’90s I became quite serious and absolutely obsessed with clay and worked in the arts and crafts building in Maleny seven days a week. It’s a lovely facility and it saved me from going through a downhill spiral as I was in such stress over the guest house.

“I love working with clay because I like how malleable it is. You can make a mistake and rectify it and it’s the same with

acrylic painting, unlike watercolour, which you have to get perfect straight way. It takes a lot of patience.”

Jacqui’s sculptures often depict people and animals and she is often asked to recreate people’s dogs in clay after they pass away.

“People love it,” she says. “Now I do a lot of commissions for people – their grandchildren and their pets – when I’m not doing something I want to do.”

It was a friend in the art world who suggested Jacqui combine acrylic painting and clay sculpture.

“The whole point of taking up painting was to do less clay work,” she says. “Claire Torrance from The Gallery Beneath in Maroochydore said ‘you’ve got to do both, it’s really different to what other people are doing’. I very rarely separate the sculpture from the painting.”

Jacqui was chosen twice to be the guest sculptor in the Maleny St George Art Award and was artist in residence for the Immanuel Arts Festival, where she won the sculpture prize and the people’s choice award.

Seven years ago, the sisters left Maleny for a sea change, moving into a modern home on the canal at Kawana Waters, where they both pursue their art seven days a week and take their dogs walking on the beach morning and afternoon. Maddy has a papillon called Izzy and Jacqui has a Maltese shih tzu cross called Teddy.

They may walk their dogs together, but when it comes to their art, they keep things very separate. Both sisters exude a certain joie de vivre when they speak and it’s clear they’ve reached a wonderful time in their lives.

“We don’t inspire one another in our art, but we do ask each other’s opinion if something is going a bit wrong. It’s good to get a second opinion,” says Maddy.

“We’re very lucky. We have two lovely dogs and a nice house we really enjoy and we’re doing what we love doing. We recently joined Sunshine Coast Art & Framing Gallery and it’s proving to be a phenomenal outlet. We’ve made some lovely friends down here and we have some fabulous students. Life is good to both of us and we count our blessings every day. Being able to do what you love to do is very fulfi lling.”