Animal parade takes over The Cube

A hyper-realistic oil painter has brought a little bit of the Dubbo zoo to Wodonga.

Rita Worboys has captured the personality and elegance of African animals from the zoo in her series of paintings now on display in light boxes on the side of The Cube Wodonga.

The artworks are part of the council’s Open Galleries ephemeral art program that gives local artists a chance to showcase their work to the public.

Having moved to Albury from Dubbo four years ago, Mrs Worboys has many fond memories of visiting the zoo with her family, including her husband and two children who are now adults.

Painting the animals was a way for her to reconnect with her memories.

“These are hyper realistic, which means they are super realistic when it comes to all the detail,” Mrs Worboys said.

“My ultimate favourite animal is the giraffe, I love the giraffes.”

Each painting is thoughtfully planned and chosen from her own photographs taken when visiting the zoo, with some taking up to 50 hours to complete due to the high level of attention to detail.

Mrs Worboys said it was hard to pick just three paintings for the display.

“Originally the giraffe wasn’t in there but then I changed it, I couldn’t leave it out,” she said.

Mrs Worboys, who is self-taught, enjoys the creative process of painting and has also learnt from local Dubbo artists and attended many workshops to hone her craft.

Her ambition is to build her body of work to have enough pieces for an exhibition.

Mrs Worboys is thrilled to see her work on public display.

“This is my first time, I haven’t really displayed my work anywhere so it’s a great honour,” she said.

“They are so big and out there, I’m not used to having my artwork anywhere but home.”

The African artwork series will be on display until the end of June.