THE naked body in its many and varied forms has fascinated people since humans first started decorating cave walls with rock art.

The Atwell Arts Centre and Gallery continues the evolution with The Body Beautiful 4, (because it’s in its fourth year), with 16 established and emerging artists exhibiting works.

“[Nudes] have been a tradition amongst artists forever…you observe life,” artist Shirley Winstanley says when asked about the continuing interest in the human form.

Don’t expect to see stick-thin underwear models in Body Beautiful 4, these works are of real people in their many and varied glory.

But it’s not the easiest art form, Winstanley says, and while you can get away with adding, or deleting the branch of a tree or a piece of fruit in a still life, painting people is more exacting.

“It’s very difficult to draw, or paint, from life. The proportions have to be right, if a leg is too short, or too long, people notice.”

Winstanley ran still life classes at the Atwell gallery for a number of years, and is still heavily involved. Along the way she has had a number of successful exhibitions, both life and landscape, and the self-taught artist’s works are in private and public collections.

About to turn 70, Winstanley is an intrepid traveller who thinks nothing of loading up her van, mostly with paints, and heading off alone into the bush in search of subject matter as she criss-crosses the country.

• Shirley Winstanley says there’s nowhere to hide when painting nudes. “If a leg is too short, or too long, people notice.” Photo by Matthew Dwyer

Her father was a portrait artist, although she didn’t discover that until she was an adult, as alcoholism destroyed his talent.

Her uncle was renowned poster artist James Northfield, who created iconic Aussie images such as the rosella on the Rosella tomato sauce bottle, Kiwi boot polish and the Arnotts Biscuit’s logos.

He was also commissioned by the federal government to create stunning posters to attract tourists to Australia, which now reside in the national art gallery and are sought after by collectors.

“I think there’s a genetic line,” Winstanley muses.

She grew up in a pub frequented by patients of the nearby mental hospital, and day releasees from a prison farm.

“I got to accept people as they are, I got to look at faces.”

It was a friend’s admission to the hospital that started Winstanley’s dabbling in art in the mid 1960s.

When the friend was handed a paint brush as part of her therapy Winstanley enrolled too… “I later learned the teacher and I were the only ones not getting treatment,” she laughs.

The Body Beautiful 4 opens Monday July 28, 7pm until August 3.

And should that spark an interest in decorating your own cave there are life classes at the Atwell Arts Centre, Sunday mornings 9am to 12 midday. Beginners welcome. Phone Shirley on 0403 795 323 for more info.