The Murwillumbah studio of textile artist Helle Jorgensen.  Photo – Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Hand woven trinkets and experiments by Helle Jorgensen.  Photo – Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Helle Jorgensen in her studio, winding some handmade twine from natural fibres!  Photo – Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Helle Jorgensen’s crocheted ‘Entropy Collection’, created for an exhibition at the Tweed River Art Gallery last year.

Helle Jorgensen studio details. Photo – Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Helle’s latest obsession – hand winding twine from natural plants and fibres.  Photos – Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

We met some amazingly talented people whilst traipsing around the NSW North Coast, but there was one local creative who really stole our hearts – artist Helle Jorgensen.  What a super lovely, super talented and very industrious lady!

Helle was born in Denmark, and came to Australia as a young girl.  She lived in Sydney until 2009, and moved to a small acreage in the Tweed Valley four years ago with her husband.  Currently she works from a sweet little studio above a shop in Murwillumbah, about 40 mins North of Byron Bay.

Inspired by the extraordinary beauty of the natural world, Helle creates amazing intricate assemblages of tiny crocheted forms, often referencing marine life.  Though it’s very labour intensive, Helle’s creative process is also highly spontaneous.  Each work evolves very intuitively through Helle’s endless experimentation with different techniques and materials.  These materials vary from repurposed plastic bags, to hand-wound twine created using natural plants and fibres.  The creation of this twine is as much part of the artistic process for Helle as the forms themselves… it’s quite amazing to watch just how much work goes into hand winding each length of fibre, even before she’s decided what to create with it!

Helle originally studied biology at university, and after graduating worked mostly in medical research.  She went on to study horticulture, and for a time had her own business providing horticultural services – though she always had a creative streak, and during this time also studied art part-time, majoring in drawing, painting and printmaking. ‘It has been a slow evolution of knowledge and skills, with each field of expertise informing the other’ says Helle, by way of explaining her path from biologist to artist. ‘In the end, every thing has been underpinned by an insatiable curiosity of the natural world’.

Helle is wonderfully succinct when asked to describe her work.  ’I am an investigator of materials and form’ she says. ‘Collecting, arranging and displaying is a large part of my process, as is the use of materials that are discarded, recycled or sustainably harvested. This provides limitations which are my rules of play.’

Helle’s current obsession is an investigation of natural materials, foraged from her garden.  She’s currently hand winding fibre from various plant matter, and working on a collection of experimental weaving techniques that she hopes to exhibit later this year.  We’ll be sure to keep you posted!

In the meantime, do pop over and check out Helle’s excellent blog, which documents lots of her earlier work!

Tiny crocheted marine organisms by Helle Jorgensen, made from hand-wound plastic bag yarn!  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Studio details.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Looking from entrance hall through to kitchen.  Horse’s head from Strange Trader.  Railway light hanging overhead.  Timber and bronze sculptures to the right by David Bromley.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Artwork, magazines, collected ephemera in the entry hall.  A mix of artwork by David Bromley and Heidi Yardley, timber carving by David Bromley, Gypsy girl painting by an unknown artist in the USA.  Photo – Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Master Bedroom 1! (There are two!).  Quilt and wall mural by David Bromley.  Painting above bed – old Russian propaganda painting – find similar Russian paintings at Bromley and Yuge’s shop in Byron, In This Street.  Bottom right – Bernard Buffet lithographs.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Dining and living / TV room.  Incredible hand painted wall mural by David Bromley.  Quilts on far couches by David Bromley (don’t forget you can win one of these quilts this week – comment on Monday’s post to be in the running!).  Printed Bonnie and Neil cushions from Ahoy Trader.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Ok.  I promised you something special today and by GOLLY am I going to deliver on that!  This home is so freaking amazing.  It rendered Toby and me pretty much speechless in person… which always makes for a daunting shoot, in which you’re desperately hoping your shots will capture some of that magic, and that the camera lens will accurately convey the visual feast before your eyes.  I do hope we’ve succeeded in that mission today, and that this story feels like a true and honest documentation of one of the most amazing homes I have ever set foot in!

Clearly, this magical property is the Byron Bay home of artist David Bromley, his wife Yuge, and their gorgeous little baby, Wen.  David and Yuge have lived here just about two years, after relocating from Melbourne.  David was always drawn to the relaxed lifestyle here, and had often travelled here before setting up a more permanent home in Byron with Yuge in 2011.

Ironically though, there doesn’t appear to have been much ‘relaxing’ going on since David and Yuge moved here!  No sooner had they relocated, and David was up to his usual tricks – the property, which Bromley previously held as a weekender, was significantly re-worked, turning it into both a functional living and working space. David soon also acquired the property next door – pulling down the fence to create a dedicated studio and office space, and headquarters for Yuge’s fashion label.  The pair have also created an incredible sculpture garden shared by the two properties, filled with David’s own work and an ever-growing collection of artwork, vehicles and vintage collectables.

Whilst they have worked tirelessly to create a special home here, both David and Yuge have been careful to retain the original charm of this property, with its rambling gardens and out houses.  One of these outdoor pavillions has now been turned into an incredible summer bedroom adjoining the main house (so amazing!), whilst another serves as a painting studio.  Though they’ve made impressive progress in just two years, David and Yuge’s home has evolved very much organically, and changes made have been cosmetic rather than structural.

‘We are big believers in working with the original construct of buildings’ explains Yuge. ‘Renovating, wall removal and subtle reconfiguring is awesome fun and amazing, but building for us is daunting and disruptive. We’re not opposed to painting the walls though – painting a room a new colour is like having a holiday!’.  Indeed, soon after relocating here, Yuge recalls she and David would often end their work days to go and spend early evenings paintings the rooms in their house together.  I can so imagine that.  I hope it involved a glass of wine in one hand, and a paintbrush in the other!

Though it’s clearly a seriously impressive and kind of mind-bloggling space, the charm of this home really rests on its sense of light-heartedness and sponteneity.  It’s clear that this house has come together very intuitively, rather than adhering to a grand master plan. This is evident everywhere you look – in the wide stripes painted freehand on the kitchen walls, and the ad hoc placement of artwork from floor to ceiling, wherever it will fit, underneath windows and above doorways.  Yuge and David see furniture and objects as very much part of the architecture of a home – ‘placing bits and pieces we love around the house is how we build a space’ says Yuge.  Despite it’s devilish good looks, there’s nothing precious about this home – like so many of David’s creative endeavours, the space is ever-changing.

I feel so very lucky to have had the opportunity to document this truly special Australian Home.  MASSIVE thanks to David and Yuge for being so open and generous, and for trusting us to share their private world with you all!

ALSO, a reminder – we have an amazing giveaway running all week, thanks to David and Yuge, and their retail store In This Street!  One lucky reader will win a choice of any piece from Yuge’s beautiful womenswear range, and a stunning linen quilt by David Bromley, valued at $1,100.  Please visit Monday’s post and leave a comment over there before 10.00pm this Friday to be in the running.

Amazing TV room!  Incredible hand painted wall mural by David Bromley.  Quilts by David Bromley (don’t forget you can win one of these quilts this week – comment on Monday’s post to be in the running!).  ’Moon rock’ felted cushions from Japan.  Printed Bonnie and Neil cushions from Ahoy Trader.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Loungeroom details – a mix of mid century and African artefacts. Wall mural by David Bromley.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen with amazing monochromatic stripes, painted freehand by David – around the artwork in some areas! Two portraits at top by David Bromley, below – a Russian painting by an unknown artist.  Rug from Loom Rugs.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen detail.  A painting found in China. Printed pottery on shelf to left by David Bromley.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Looking from dining to kitchen.  Early painting by David Bromley on the kitchen walls, created as studies on the Bloomsbury Group.  Michael Pugh ceramic pot in foreground.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Joe Furlonger painting in dining room. Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Looking in to kitchen from the garden.  ’We love the inside being linked to the outside, and the outside linked to the inside’ says Yuge.  Paths throughout the yard are made from garden stakes.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

A long timber shed adjoining the main house has been converted into a summer bedroom, complete with in-room bathtub and private courtyard.  Quilts and painting above bed by David Bromley.  One bed is for David and Yuge – the adjacent bed is for little Wen.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Summer bedroom, complete with in-room bathtub.  Quilts by David Bromley.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

A long timber shed adjoining the main house has been converted into a summer bedroom, complete with in-room bathtub.  Quilts by David Bromley.  One bed is for David and Yuge – the adjacent bed is for little Wen.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Outside bath on back porch, from Reece.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Side door and entrance hall.  Timber carved sculpture by David Bromley.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Amazing gardens.  ’The gardens here grow so well, and with some adventurous planting you can be living in a forest in no time’ says Yuge. ‘Bamboo grows in front of your eyes, and the weather here makes you look like a good gardener, whereas truthfully it just nature doing its thing!’  Enormous painted mesh Giraffe sculpture by Melbourne artist Tom Ripon (Tom has no website but is stocked in Melbourne by The Cool Roomin Balaclava).  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Exterior of David’s favourite backyard studio.  Paths made from garden stakes.  Pizza oven bought from a cooking school. French antique glass vase.  Lights made from Japanese fishing floats.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Of course they have an airstream caravan too…!   Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Bromley’s favourite backyard studio. Butterflies painting on easel by David Bromley.  Rug from Loom Rugs.  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Detail from David’s backyard studio. ‘Sulky Boy’ painting by David Bromley. Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Painted schoolbus by David Bromley.  Elephant sculpture by Melbourne artist Tom Ripon (Tom has no website but is stocked in Melbourne by The Cool Roomin Balaclava).  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Old Studebaker found in Daylesford, perched in the garden!  Photo - Toby Scott, production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The studio of Gold Coast based artist Anna Carey.  Photo - Toby Scott.

Sunset Place, 2012 by Anna Carey.  Digital print, edition of 5, 100cm x 150cm.

Star Dust, 2012 by Anna Carey.  Digital print, edition of 5, 100cm x 150cm.

Reception, 2010 by Anna Carey.  Giclee print, edition of 5, 118cm x 79cm.

Anna Carey in her home studio.  Photo – Toby Scott.

We met a LOT of talented creative people during our trip up North, and one of them was the very lovely Anna Carey.  Anna is a young Gold Coast based artist, whose practice overlaps photography and sculpture. She creates these intricate paper models of long forgotten, slightly crumbling Gold Coast-style buildings, created from memory.  She then photographs her models, capturing a sense of uniquely Australian architectural nostalgia. When captured in this way, for a brief moment these fragile models appear life size… but upon closer inspection it’s clear that despite their familiarity, these buildings and interior spaces exist only as fleeting fragments of Anna’s very vivid imagination!

Anna was born and raised on the Gold Coast, and her work is, of course, heavily inspired by her summery surroundings.  She’s inspired by the distinctive houses, hotels and motels built in the 50′s and 60′s, with their ice cream colours and mid century styling.  Amidst the Gold Coast’s faceless high rise metropolis, it’s these modest, often dilapidated buildings which really give the Gold Coast it’s character.

‘Firstly I start with a memory of a place, and then I create the space based on imagination and memory’ Anna explains. ‘I usually sketch a space, however it always changes as my imagination grows. As a result the models are fragmented, like memory itself.  Model making is an important part of the process; it is like a memory mapping exercise. The photograph of the model documents this imaginative process’.

Anna Carey has a Bachelor of Visual Media from Griffith University. She’s only 25, but she has already exhibited in numerous exhibitions Australia wide, and in 2011 was a finalist in both the Churchie Emerging Art Prize and the Queensland Regional Art Awards.   She’s currently undertaking her PhD, in which she plans to explore the architecture and spatial experiences of not just the Gold Coast, but similar international cities such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where she plans to travel later this year.  Watch this space!

If you’re in Queensland, Anna’s work can be seen currently in the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award at the Gold Coast City Art Gallery until May 19th (just a few more days!).  She is represented in Sydney by Artereal Gallery.

Anna Carey in her studio.  Photo - Toby Scott.

Group Hug by Carmel Seymour, 2012, watercolour and pencil on paper, 72cm x 52cm.

A Walk with a Park by Carmel Seymour, 2013, graphite on paper, 72cm x 52cm

Works on paper by Carmel Seymour.  Photo – Eve Wilson.

Carmel Seymour at work in Melbourne. Photo - Eve Wilson.

Carmel Seymour at Helen Gory Galerie.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

I’d love to make the claim that artist Carmel Seymour is Melbourne based, but in fact, although she grew up here, at the moment Carmel calls Iceland home.  After travelling to Iceland in 2011 to undertake an artists residency, she’s spent the past three years living and working in Reykjavik – though, impressively, she’s also managed to maintain a regular exhibition calendar in Melbourne, where she is represented by Helen Gory Galerie.

After spending her early twenties working in fashion as a patternmaker and designer, Carmel realised that the highly competitive ready-to-wear industry just wasn’t her world.  She felt an urge to return to painting and drawing – something she had loved as a child, but had set aside in favour of more ‘sensible’ career pursuits!  In 2006, she took a leap of faith, leaving her job to study fine art at the VCA.

Carmel’s works on paper elegantly combine highly detailed pencil sketches with painterly fields of vivid watercolour.  Her work is inspired by storytelling, natural flora and fauna, mysticism, psychology and science.  She’s particularly skilled at rendering intricate textures, which is perhaps most obvious when looking at her graphite sketches – every strand of hair seems to jump off the page!  So beautiful.

Carmel is in Melbourne this month, preparing for her solo show at Helen Gory Galerie which opens next week.  Entitled Romance Hero, the exhibition is inspired by a residency Carmel undertook in Berlin last November,  and centres around the idea of ‘trust games’ –  the comfort of being part of a group, and the power of group consciousness.

We’re so glad to have caught Carmel before she heads back to Reykjavik in a few weeks time!

Romance Hero by Carmel Seymour
15th May to 8th June
Helen Gory Galerie 
25 St Edmonds Road
Prahran, VIC 

Tell us a little about your background – what path led you to becoming a fine artist, and to creating the style of work you are currently making?

I always spent a lot of time drawing as a child, but when I got to high school I decided I should instead follow a more income friendly career path. So up until my mid twenties I was working in the fashion industry, as a patternmaker and designer, but it left me feeling cold. I actually used to have dreams about going to art school before I considered it as a legitimate possibility. My unconscious state asleep was way ahead of me!

Once I started studying again I was amazed at how supportive and nurturing my teachers and fellow students were, it was a real contrast to the competitive nature of the fashion world. I have never looked back.

My fashion background has left me with a love of pattern and texture. I often include detailed textiles and decorative elements within my work. I love finding these patterns in the natural world as well, such as the swirls of colour in agate or the lichen formations on rocks.

A residency program in the Icelandic countryside a few years ago really opened up an appreciation for flora of all types – I love botanical illustration. I guess I try to emulate that level of detail in some of my own paintings.

Trust Games 2 by Carmel Seymour, 2013, watercolour and pencil on paper.

How would you describe your work?

Someone once told me my work was like a storybook for adults, I quite like that.  My work is heavily driven by narrative. I use a fairly realistic style to get these stories across.

I am interested in the unknown, I spent a long time researching the occult and different forms of mysticism, but now I seem to find the same sense of wonder and mystery in the natural world with psychology and science, and particularly early scientific thought. I emulate these quests for magic and wonder on a domestic scale, with depictions of ritualistic play within and around the home.

What can we expect to see in your new exhibition ‘Romance Hero’ at Helen Gory Galerie in Melbourne? What has inspired this body of work?

I spent a month doing a residency in Berlin last November. I went there with a really clear idea of what I wanted to make, but after a week all that turned on its head. I was really fascinated with the east/west split. I met someone whose parents had had a lot of trouble adjusting to unified Germany after living within the rigid structures of communism. At the same time I found a number of wartime photos of gymnastic displays in Iceland.

All of this lead me to think about group activities and trust games, the comfort of being part of a group and the power of the group mind. It made me think of a particularly strange experience I had at a corporate training day many years ago!

The works in the show are all a play on these trust games, and the equipment around them. I had a lot of fun actually recreating some of these games with friends to generate the images for the show.

Can you give us a little insight into your process? What materials do you use? Is each work pre-planned or created very intuitively? Do you work on multiple works at one time? And how long does each work take to complete?

I generally use watercolour and graphite on paper. I love working on paper, sometimes its fragility can drive me a little crazy though.

I sketch a lot. I usually plan an image fairly carefully in my sketchbook before I draw it up. Then I try and find a friend or I photograph myself in a range of variations of the poses I need. I use these photos and a range of other imagery to collage an image together. I start with a light sketch and then I let the painting evolve organically on the paper. I often incorporate large spills of colour into the paintings and these can dictate the direction the work goes in.

I try to have more than one work going at once, but with the watercolours there is no going backwards, so often its better to stay in the mindset of that current piece. The painting can take anywhere from a week to six weeks, partly because of the amount of detail, but also because some are harder to resolve than others.

Carmel Seymour‘s works and sketchbooks.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

What does a typical day at work involve for you in Iceland?

I try to get up early, but in Icelandic winter when it’s dark it is a real battle! I like to ride my bike from home to my studio, and on not so windy days I can ride right along the ocean all the way there, it’s so pretty but quite a torturous ride if the wind is up. I try to spend the first half of the day doing admin things like writing applications or proposals or researching ideas for new work.

Then it’s usually a coffee, my studio space is right next to downtown so it is quite easy to get distracted by antiques, book stores or op shops, but at least I can still call this ‘research’, I think. Then I will try to paint or draw till the evening, my eyes tend to pack it in after about five hours on the detailed works.

Carmel Seymour at work in Melbourne. Photo - Eve Wilson.

Can you list for us 5 resources across any media that you turn to regularly for creative inspiration?

Audible.com – I have to listen to audiobooks when I paint. I find they glue me to the chair more than anything else. A really great story will filter into the work as well. I am currently listening to Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver.

Cabinet Magazine – This is the most amazing resource. Each issue has a range of articles covering all sorts of things, such as comparative literature, history, art and science. They have a great website as well with back issues of all there articles.

Secondhand bookstores – I love treasure hunting. The books that fall into your path in these kind of places often set a new body of work in motion.

Antiques markets and junk shops – I also find old photographs and objects tend to create new ideas for the position of figures or the creation of narratives.

Podcasts – This American Life and Radiolab are probably my favourites, but I need to take a break from them every now and again, the presenters sometimes get to me!

Which other local artists, designers or creative people are you most inspired by at the moment?

I can’t stop looking at my wedding band made my Krista McCrae. It’s so beautiful. We did a swap of some artwork for the ring so it is extra special.

I haven’t seen that many shows while I have been back in Australia this time but I did just go to Mona for the first time a few weeks ago and that blew my mind, what a theme park. Converse to that, I saw a nice show at TCB yesterday with Christo Crocker and Noriko Nakamura among others that was quiet, intricate and lovely.

And I have to mention my brother Kieren Seymour. He is an artist as well and he works with so much energy and has such a unique voice and sense of humour in his work. He is always inspiring me to try new things.

What is your proudest career achievement to date?

Probably my time at the various residencies I have taken part in. There is always a great moment in a beautiful landscape or new city when I realise this is my job and how lucky I am.

It is always lovely when my work sells or better still when a show sells out! It is lovely to speak to someone who really engages with the work as well, I love hearing alternate interpretations of the imagery.

What would be your dream project?

I spend so much time making my work alone in my studio; I would love to be involved with more collaborative projects, maybe on a larger scale. I had a ball working with Lucy James at the Copyshop project at C3 last year.

What are you looking forward to?

I head back to Reykjavik in a few weeks, and I am dying to get back into my beautiful studio. I bought a new set of oil paints recently and I want to take them for a spin. I also hope to do a short ceramics course this year. So I guess, lots of new materials and lots of mess.

Feels Lichen Home by Carmel Seymour, watercolour and pencil on paper.

MELBOURNE QUESTIONS

Your favourite Melbourne neighbourhood and why?

I loved living in Brunswick when I lived in Melbourne. There is so much great food there, but now I appreciate so many parts of Melbourne after being away living in such a small city. I really enjoy wandering through the city and around Fitzroy, and I have had some really nice family catch-ups along the beach in St.Kilda this year during the heat wave.

Where do you shop in Melbourne for the tools of your trade?

Definitely Melbourne Artists Supplies, they stock everything!

Studio details.  Photo - Eve Wilson.

Where / what was the last great meal you ate in Melbourne?

Oh that’s easy. I had two in one day recently. My husband and I were treated to two special meals in one day as wedding presents from some very lovely friends. Golden Fields for lunch and Machi for dinner. Both in St. Kilda, both amazing. There was great Sake at Machi as well. It was a very decadent day!  The food in Reykjavik is not that diverse, so most food in Melbourne is a treat after being there for a while.

Your favourite thing to do when you’re back in Melbourne?

Eat! Eat good gluten free bread from Black Ruby’s or Gluten Free for You (you can’t get it in Reykjavik). Catch up with well-missed friends, in t-shirt weather… at night time! I also get an enormous craving for the Botanical gardens when I am away, that is usually one of my first stops when I get back.

When you’re back in Melbourne where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Well honestly probably playing with my cats at my parents’ house. Then going for coffee with friends.

Melbourne’s best kept secret?

The op shops on Centre Road in Bentleigh where I picked up two pairs of mint condition sneakers yesterday for $18. Also, I don’t know how much of a secret it is but the mineral collection at the Melbourne Museum is pretty spectacular as well.

Blanksblom by Carmel Seymour, watercolour and pencil on paper.

‘Backwards Barbie’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm from her upcoming show, Makin’ Plans at Utopian Slumps.

Left – ‘Don’t Let Trouble Make Up Your Mind’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm, right - ’Nickels and Dimes’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm.

‘After the Gold Rush’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm from her upcoming show at Utopian Slumps.

After we wrapped up TDF Open House in December last year, there were a handful of beautiful things we just kept getting emails about, and Melbourne artist Esther Stewart‘s incredible paintings were pretty high on top of that list!  It seems you guys just couldn’t get enough of Esther’s amazing colour combinations and her bold, angular shapes – in retrospect I think we could have sold each piece about 3 times over!

With this in mind, we figured we’d better keep you all well informed about Esther’s upcoming show – her first exhibition with Utopian Slumps gallery in Melbourne!

Entitled Makin’ Plans, this show brings together a series of enamel paintings on board, characterised by a careful balance of geometric shapes and beautiful muted colours.  Esther’s work plays with perspective, using colour and form to produce the illusion of space and depth within the flat surface of each work.  ’I'm interested in learning about composition and colour, and developing rules/syntaxes that I can create more works from’ says Esther when asked to describe this latest body of work.

For a little more background info on Esther, you might like to re-visit our original post about Esther dated May last year. (ie BEFORE our big website re-design, hence the slightly irregular formatting!).

Makin’ Plans opens this Saturday May 4th, from 4.00pm – 6.00pm, and runs until May 25th.  The works are priced from $1600.

Makin’ Plans by Esther Stewart
Open from 4th to 25th May 2013
Utopian Slumps
Ground floor, 33 Guildford Lane
Melbourne, VIC 

‘Made of Stone’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm.

Left – ‘It’s my Time’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm,  ’I Wanna Fall in Love’ by Esther Stewart, 2013, 90cm x 60cm.

I know it’s not ideal to share two art-related posts on two consecutive days… but I was SO drawn to this beautiful collection of limited edition silkscreen prints by reverred Australian artist Charles Blackman, and I thought I really should share them before anyone goes Mothers Day shopping! (OK so with the average price sitting at around $2500 framed, they’re a smidgen pricey for Mother’s Day, but nonetheless an incredible opportunity to own a magical work by one of Australia’s best known artists!)

These four rare collections of prints are inspired by some of Blackman’s  most iconic works, painted over the last 5 decades.  They were printed in the 1990’s and early 2000’s in collaboration between Charles Blackman and Master Printmaker Michelle Perry. The Blackman Trust has recently made available a small number of the limited-edition complete print suite portfolios, and individual original pieces, and they’re currently on show at Sydney’s Arthouse Gallery.

‘I am incredibly excited that Arthouse Gallery has the opportunity to be exhibiting these rare limited edition prints made by Charles Blackman’ says Arthouse Gallery director Ali Yeldham. ’Blackman is one of Australias most significant artists. Now aged 85, he continues to draw each day, and has dedicated his life to making some of Australia’s most memorable and inspirational paintings’.

This exhibition marks an important occasion as it is the first time that all four print suites (Blackman’s Gardens, Schoolgirls, Girls and Flowers, and 70th Birthday Celebration) have been displayed together.  If you’re in Sydney, do pop in and check out this beautiful collection at Arthouse Gallery until May 4th!  You can also download the complete catalogue with all pricing here. (be patient, it takes a moment to download).

Charles Blackman – limited edition silkscreen prints
On now until 4th May
Arthouse Gallery
6 McLachlan Avenue
Rushcutters Bay, NSW

Artwork by Ali McNabney-Stevens.

Artwork by Ali McNabney-Stevens, styling by Julia Green, photos by Armelle Habib.

Ali McNabney-Stevens in her home studio, styling by Julia Green, photos by Armelle Habib.

Ali McNabney-Stevens is a Melbourne based artist originally from the UK, who gained her Honours Degree in Design and History of Art from Edinburgh College of Art in 1991. After finishing university she left art behind for a little while, working in other unrelated jobs to ‘pay the bills’, as so many creatives seem to do!  However, as is often the case, Ali always yearned to return to her art, and it wasn’t until years later, after having children, that this opportunity arose again.

‘After the birth of my children, it was important to do something for me, and the obvious choice was life drawing’ says Ali. ‘Things really began to take off from there and since making the jump into full-time painting, my versatility and courage as a painter has grown, along with my confidence.’

Over time, Ali has developed a distinctive style of painting, characterised by intense colour and bold abstract mark making. ‘Abstract fields of colour leap onto the canvas without me even having to think too hard about what it is I am doing’ says Ali of her intuitive creative process. In addition to her works on canvas and paper, she says she would also love to utilise more of her design training and create a range of textiles at some point. Watch this space!

Ali works from her home studio in South Caulfield.  Her work is priced from $650 (for the smallest pieces) and is stocked in a range of design-focussed Melbourne retail stores, including Husk, Crate Expectations, The Assembly Hall, Mynd Interiors, Gaudion and Jardan.  She is represented by Greenhouse Interiors – all sales enquiries please email Julia Green here.

Artwork by Ali McNabney-Stevens.

Ali’s studio, styling by Julia Green, photos by Armelle Habib.

New paintings by Sydney based artist Julian Meagher for his current Brisbane show, The Space Between Clouds And Mud, open now until May 4th.  Photo – Phu Tang.

Julian Meagher in his Sydney studio. Photo - Phu Tang.

Julian Meagher  puts the finishing touches on paintings for his current show. Photo - Phu Tang.

Julian Meagher‘s Sydney studio. Photo - Phu Tang.

In most of our interviews we like to ask each interviewee which other creative professionals they are currently loving. There’s a good reason for this… it’s excellent research!  You might recall during our recent interview with Sydney architect Hannah Tribe, she was quick to list painter Julian Meagher as one of her current favourite local artists.  And so it’s probably no surprise really that we’re here just a few months later with a follow up story on Julian’s beautiful work! (Thanks for the tip off Hannah!)

Julian has an interesting back story.  He’s been a fulltime artist for seven years, but prior to this he worked briefly as a doctor.  Now there’s a career trajectory you don’t come across every day!  Nevertheless, despite his early encounter with medicine, Julian explains below that he’s always been drawn to fine art and image making, having taken art classes after school since his teenage years.  Eventually, he mustered up the courage to leave medicine behind and explore the possibility of making fine art a viable career path – an intuitive decision based essentially on ‘avoiding regret later in life’ he says.

With its gentle, painterly style and soft palette of washed out blues and pinks, at first glance you mightn’t gather the recurrent themes upon which most of Julian’s work is based. His work centres generally around modern day masculinity, covering male rituals such as tattooing, drinking and sporting heroes. Julian refers to these paintings as ‘male still lives’.

For his current exhibition in Brisbane, The Space Between Clouds, Julian explores this re-occuring subject matter with a collection of incredible large scale still lives, displayed alongside a smaller series of floating portraits of Australian Rugby players.  A surprisingly powerful pairing!

Massive thanks to Julian for sharing his work with us today!  If you’re in Brisbane now or soon, be sure to check out Julian’s beautiful work at Edwina Corlette Gallery until May 4th!

The Space Between Clouds And Mud by Julian Meagher
Open now until 4th May
Edwina Corlette Gallery
2/55 Brunswick Street
New Farm, QLD

Julian is represented by Chalk Horse in Sydney, Gallery Eclosse in the Southern Highlands, Metro Gallery in Melbourne, and Edwina Corlette in Brisbane.

Tell us a little about your background – what path led you to becoming a fine artist, and to creating the style of work you are currently making?

I’ve been painting full-time for seven years now, before that I trained and worked as a doctor for a bit. I am one of six children from a very creative family, there were two studios at home, one for mum and one for all of us to share. I had always wanted to be an artist since I was a kid, it just took me a little while to grow the balls to pursue it properly. I knew it was not an easy career choice, but as I got older I began to make decisions based on avoiding big regrets later in life.

Medicine did some good things for me though, such as appreciating certain things in life and also not being afraid to take risks, and it also gave me good discipline. Even as a kid I had been going to an art college after school – as a 15-year-old boy I remember thinking why didn’t everyone want to draw nude models in their free time?

In my early twenties I took a year off uni and went to a very traditional portraiture school in Florence, where I learnt most of the techniques I still use today. I paint in oils, however I thin them down with mediums and scrub them back to give them the appearance of delicate watercolours.

How would you describe your work?

My subject matter centres generally around men and the binary nature of modern day masculinity. Paint what you know I guess. I like to paint what I call ‘male still lives’ as well as portraits of male sporting heroes. Anything to do with male rituals, such as tattooing, and drinking, are common subjects.

Another thing I am really interested in are colour associations, especially with the colours blue and pink, so these colours dominate my work. Can only real men wear pink? Why are little boys supposed to like blue? Recently I have been painting the amazingly bizarre and endearing Papua New Guinean male Birds of Paradise, I just love the lengths these little men go to to attract a female mate. They are the ultimate in male showmanship and sexual selection, and you can see so much of them mirrored in human interactions.

Julian Meagher‘s Sydney studio. Photo - Phu Tang.

What can we expect to see in your new exhibition ‘The Space Between Clouds And Mud’ at Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane? What has inspired this body of work?

I am really happy with this latest body of work. It features quite a few subjects which all add to the narrative of this exhibition. I had a show last year at the Australian High Commission in Singapore, and had the chance to go to the orchid gardens, and the reference I gained there has made up the bulk of this show. I got some amazing shots of rare orchids and ferns. Orchida is Greek for testicle, they used to grind up the bulbs and drink them with goat’s milk as an aphrodisiac.

A lot of these works have an element of humour in them I guess, a lot of pink shadows, and the objects are all presented on plinths, kind of elevating them into more symbolic forms. An important part of this show is a series of floating portraits of some of the NRL Brisbane Broncos, all looking up to the heavens while wearing their team’s colours, about to go into battle.

Can you give us a little insight into your process? What materials do you use? Is each work pre-planned or created very intuitively? Do you work on multiple canvases at one time? And how long does each work take to complete?

I like to think of the show title first and then work from there, this one is based on a Japanese Proverb which implies a vast dichotomous distance. I start to think about compositions a few days out from starting a work, however the final decisions are always made on the day. The way I work with very thin washes means the work has to be hit correctly the first time, as I use the linen underneath a lot to give it a luminosity rather than using white, so if it doesn’t work straight up, I usually have to stretch up another canvas. I actually like this process, as I am a bit of a perfectionist and I would overwork the hell out of the work otherwise! Because I use layers and glazes, I always have a few on the go so I can rotate them round.

Julian in the studio. Photo - Phu Tang.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

I like to start each day in the ocean, no amount of therapy can match clearing the head like a swim can! Afterwards I head to my studio in Surry Hills. There are a number of artists and writers in my studio, and we are all old friends, so it is a great work environment. They are great to not only bounce ideas off and stay positive, but also to lunch together and discuss things outside of work. Painting can be quite isolating otherwise.

I always try to get my emailing done as fast as possible and aim to get my first session of painting done by lunch, this way I’ve made head way for a piece to work on in the afternoon. I set myself pretty strict deadlines for each day, and normally won’t leave the studio till I reach them. I normally end up working late about two nights a week, there is something about working at night that always makes for a good painting session. Things I try and avoid throughout the day are sitting in front of my computer and using my phone, although I am a sucker for a good YouTube clip! But usually if I’m in the studio I get frustrated if I am not painting.

Can you list for us 5 resources across any media that you turn to regularly for creative inspiration?

My inspiration comes mainly from observing the world around me. I often photograph things I come across and then later use them as reference for an artwork. Music seems to play a huge part in the process of making a work, whether it be internet radio, or programs such as Pandora, they all help to encourage me to finish a lot of works. I am currently listening to a lot of Frank Ocean and Metronomy. Juxtapoz is a good art magazine to keep up to date with things. Art Fairs also provide a lot of inspiration, seeing artists execute things on a super high end scale keeps me loving what I do. I think travel is really important to keep shaping your aesthetic and to keep inspired. In the social media realm, I have really gotten into Instagram recently, I like how image based it is rather then text based. Apart from art, my other obsessions are food and basketball. Food = Happiness for me. It is simple mathematics.

Which other local artists, designers or creative people are you most inspired by at the moment?

The artist Jasper Knight who I work with has always been a huge inspiration. His passion and energy for art in all its forms is infectious. Mark Whalen is also a great artist, I love how unique his practice and vision is. His absurd parallel universes of the human psyche composed of architectural patterns and strange hooded figures are brilliant. Gemma Smith’s sculptures and paintings are sublime, her explorations of colour theory, pictorial depth and sculptural form are superb. I also went to the book launch of my friend Monica Trapaga recently and was so inspired by her energy and talent and innate creativity.

What is your proudest career achievement to date?

To be honest I am most proud of being able to walk into a studio every day of the week. Making a living off colouring in isn’t as easy as it sounds! Exhibiting at International Art Fairs such as Scope Miami and Shanghai Contemporary and also having a recent show in Los Angeles at MK Gallery have been really proud moments as well. I am lucky to have some great dealers who look after me in Brisbane (Edwina Corlette) and Melbourne (Alex McCulloch at Metro Gallery) who are great people to work with. I am also one of the directors of Chalk Horse Gallery in Sydney, and it has been going strongly for about six years now. We focus on showing emerging contemporary art and getting our artists a lot of exposure through Art Fairs. We try and keep the shows more about art rather than the commercial side of it all.

Julian is one of the directors at Chalk Horse Gallery in Sydney.  Photo - Phu Tang.

What would be your dream project?

Probably a big show in a public institution, something that allowed me the freedom to make works on an immense scale.

What are you looking forward to?

I am going to Hong Kong Art Fair and Venice Biennale in May and June. I am really looking forward to going to Italy, I am going to spend some time there painting for my next show. Despite an Irish background I feel there is some Italian in my blood!

SYDNEY QUESTIONS

Your favourite Sydney neighbourhood and why?

Gordon’s Bay is my favourite spot at the moment. I live in busy Darlinghurst so escaping to the sea and snorkelling there feels like I am on holiday. It has a hidden feel, and more of a mediterranean style cove.

Where do you shop in Sydney for the tools of your trade?

Parker’s Fine Art Supply and Bunnings provide all I need. My style only works on oil primed linen, I cannot get the same effect on acrylic primed canvas. Often when I am buying materials, I find that advertisement playing in my head – ‘Cos I’m worth it’. A friend of mine sometimes whispers ‘Cos I’m worthless’ in moments like these, which I have now adopted as well!

Where / what was the last great meal you ate in Sydney?

The restaurant Vini in Surry Hills delivers big time on a Tuesday with their Italian regional set menu dinner – it helps it is just around the corner from the studio. A lot of love and no pretension goes into their dishes and service.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

My girlfriend is obsessed with going out for breakfast, so I am always in a cafe around Darlinghurst or Surry Hills reading the paper on a Saturday morning. Berta is my favourite currently.

Sydney’s best kept secret?

Milk Beach. Trust me.

Studio materials.  Photo - Phu Tang.

‘Necklace / Houseplant’ by Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod for their joint show, A Hidden Place, opening in Melbourne tonight.

‘Hands / Gems & Rocks’ by Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod for their joint show opening in Melbourne tonight.

Beci Orpin (left) and Kat Macleod (right) installing their show at Lamington Drive earlier this week.  Photo – Sean Fennessy.

Melbourne is so chock full of amazing illustrators, but I must say I’m pretty excited that two of my personal faves have joined forces this month on a joint exhibition!  The two immensely talented ladies in question are of course Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod – talk about dream team!

A Hidden Place combines both collaborative works and works created separately by each artist. For the collaborative pieces, a theme and key motifs were set for each piece, and once each artist had completed one ‘half’, they swapped.  As you all probably know, Kat Macleod is known for her fluid painterly and very feminine style, whilst Beci’s work is characterised by clean lines, symmetry and geometry.  It’s so refreshing to see two such distinctive and different illustrative styles brought together in this way!

Beci and Kat are both prolific well known creatives in their own right, they each run their own small businesses, and they’re both busy Mums too!  However, despite having so much in common, incredibly, they say they had never ‘properly’ met before working together on this show!  It was their agent and mutual friend Jeremy Wortsman, director of The Jacky Winter Group, who encouraged them to join forces for this exhibition.

‘I loved collaborating with Beci, it was surprising how easily we worked together considering we hadn’t even properly met before working on the show!’ says Kat. ‘I’ve been a long time admirer of her work, so I knew it would be a great experiment to try. Working alone on an exhibition can be isolating, so it was fun and exciting to be in it together on this one – sharing references, ideas, decision-making and lots of discussions as we nutted out our processes.’

‘For me the paintings we worked on together were definitely the best part of the process’ says Beci. ’It was such a great surprise to see how Kat interpreted the themes, and then a challenge to add to her work in a way that was my style but still sympathetic. There is so much confidence in the way Kat draws, it was scary to match that, but I love how the pieces turned out!’.

A Hidden Place opens tonight, Thursday 18th April at 6.00pm until 9.00pm!  

A Hidden Place by Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod
From 18th April to 25th May
Lamington Drive
15-25 Keele Street
Collingwood, VIC 

Please note, there will be no pre-sales for this show, however interstate buyers can request an advance catalogue by emailing info@lamingtondrive.com today – Phone sales will open at 6pm tonight (April 18th).

‘Crest / Fringe’ by Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod for their joint show, opening in Melbourne tonight.

Artist Marisa Purcell in her Sydney studio.  Photo – Phu Tang.

‘After Image’, 2013 by Marisa Purcell, for her new show ‘Communion’ at Edwina Corlette gallery.  Oil and acrylic on linen, 153 x 137 cm.

‘Time Together VI’ 2013 by Marisa Purcell, for her new show ‘Communion’ at Edwina Corlette gallery.  Ink on board, perspex frame, 18 x 30 cm.

Marisa Purcell in her Sydney studio.  Photo - Phu Tang.

Studio details.   Photo - Phu Tang.

Details from the studio of Marisa Purcell.   Photo - Phu Tang.

Yep, it’s business as usual here, even on Good Friday!  I just couldn’t kick the daily habit – it didn’t feel right to take a day off!  SO I do hope someone is reading today… !?

Sydney based artist Marisa Purcell started life as a high school art teacher, though she really always wanted to be an artist.  When the urge to paint could be stifled no longer, Marisa moved from Queensland to Sydney to study fine art and begin her own practice. She has since exhibited extensively, both in Australia and overseas, and has taught at the National Art School, Sydney College of the Arts, and The Art Gallery of New South Wales for over 10 years.  She also runs painting and materials workshops in her own studio in Bondi – more info here, they sound amazing!

I love Marisa’s large scale works on linen – there is something ethereal and almost a bit cosmic about them… all those hazy spheres and seemingly random bursts of colour feel like snapshots of outer space to me!  Marisa is more ambiguous when describing her work – she says she’s interested in memory, time and space, and ’the experiences of things that permeate us without conscious attention having been paid to them’.

Marisa’s most recent works, created for her current show, Communion, at Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane, are inspired by a residency completed in Italy last year.  Marisa spent time in Florence, studying frescoes by Fra Angelico in the San Marco Monastery.  Whilst her own works are far more intuitive and abstract in style, Marisa says her time studying the frescoes has had a profound impact on her own practice, emphasising the idea of painting ‘as a harness, or as a way of pulling something in’.  She believes the process of painting creates a distinct connection between herself, the painting and the viewer.

Marisa is represented by Olsen Irwin Gallery in Sydney,  Block Projects in Melbourne (where she has a solo show oming up later this year!), and Edwina Corlette in Brisbane.

Communion by Marisa Purcell
Open now until 13th April
Edwina Corlette Gallery
2/55 Brunswick Street
New Farm, QLD 

Tell us a little about your background – What path led you to becoming a fine artist, and to creating the style of work you are currently making?

I always wanted to be an artist but wasn’t quite sure how it could ever happen. So I became a high school art teacher, until I couldn’t deny it to myself anymore, and quit my job and got a studio. Since then, my painting has evolved into different forms but the essence has remained the same. I am still fundamentally interested in things that excited me even as a teenager – that ambiguous, uncertain world that seems just beyond reach.

How would you describe your work?

Open, rhythmical, saturated and in-between. I’m interested in peripheries and the experiences of things that permeate us without conscious attention having been paid to them. Memory, time and space all banter around my paintings. Marks and spaces become like zones and somehow activate a shared space between myself and the audience.

What can we expect to see in your new exhibition ‘Communion’ at Edwina Corlette Gallery in Brisbane? What has inspired this body of work?

I’ve been continuing a thread since I was in Italy doing a residency at ‘La Macina di San Cresci’ in Chianti. I was there to study the frescoes by Fra Angelico in the San Marco Monastery in Florence. The attention and love he gave to his painting is still so strongly felt when you look at them now. My new paintings are reflecting on similar impulses, and emphasise the moment of painting as a harness or as a way of pulling something in.

‘Time Afterward’, 2013 by Marisa Purcell, for her new show ‘Communion’ at Edwina Corlette gallery.  Oil and acrylic on linen, 153 x 137 cm.

Can you give us a little insight into your process? What materials do you use? Is each work pre-planned or created very intuitively? Do you work on multiple canvases at one time? And how long does each work take to complete?

My paintings begin from the materials. Usually a type of paint will dictate how it wants to be used. So I love playing with different materials like inks, pigments, acrylics, oils, chalk and oil pastels. I usually work on linen for the bigger works and for the last couple of shows I’ve played around with a natural linen which has a completely different absorbancy to the primed linen. I love seeing how materials react to different surfaces.

I generally have a few paintings going at once. Sometimes a painting has to sit awhile and brood before my attention wants to go to it. I can easily work on just one painting all day, but on another day I may work across five. The time it takes to make a painting is so hard to say because they all overlap and sometimes I don’t know it’s finished for weeks. If it sits in the studio next to the other paintings and it feels like nothing more can be done to it, then I leave it. This could take four days or four months.

Marisa Purcell in her Sydney studio.   Photo - Phu Tang.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

If I’m not teaching I will usually leave my house in the morning, go to my studio and paint all day until I pick up the kids – and in the lead up to a show go back to the studio once they are in bed. Some days are really active and I’m painting all day, while other days I sit and stare from the couch, listen to music, write stuff in my book, get confused and generally just stare without any certainty!  And sometimes things seem to fall into place effortlessly.

Work also continues out of the studio with research, especially reading about other artists’ processes and ideas. Lately, I’ve been revisiting the writings of W.G Sebald and the films of Tarkovsky. I draw closely from artists of other forms – writers and musicians rather than painters, although I also love looking at a lot of painting.

Marisa’s studio.   Photo - Phu Tang.

Can you list for us 5 resources across any media that you turn to regularly for creative inspiration?

I use Pinterest a lot and Instagram. It opens up a world of images – both art and otherwise. I also listen to a lot of radio, podcasts mostly, especially Radiolab. The only TV I regularly watch is when SBS screens a Brian Cox series – like the most recent Wonders of the Solar System.

Music is a must in the studio, so lately I’ve been using Spotify so I can get whatever music I want anytime. I love getting Artist Profile, and Modern Painters in the mail and the more regular The New Yorker. My favourite site at the moment is But Does It Float, which is a treasure trove of the most eclectic and intruiging images.

‘Quickening’, 2013 by Marisa Purcell, for her new show ‘Communion’ at Edwina Corlette gallery.  Oil and acrylic on linen, 153 x 137 cm.

Which other local artists, designers or creative people are you most inspired by at the moment?

The artists that inspire me most are my friends. Having regular updates on the working processes of the people you know is the most intriguing and satisfying thing. My friend Anna-Lisa Backlund is designing the most amazing scarves and jewellery. She uses 3D modelling software – it’s like she is in the space of the work – something that is truly fascinating to me.

My partner Max Lyandvert is a composer and theatre director. His work is utterly visual and I relate to the sounds he makes almost more than other paintings. He’s been composing scores for theatre and directing his own work for years – the aesthetic is considered, necessary, emotional, yet monumental.

Other friends like Maria Gorton, Matthew Allen and Lindy Lee make completely different work to me but our motivations come from the same place. They are kindred spirits. And, the sound world created by artists like Oren Ambarchi. Certain music can dictate a painted mark or imbue the painting with an atmosphere instantaneously.

What is your proudest career achievement to date?

When I received the residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. I ended up staying for 7 months because it was such a great experience.

What would be your dream project?

Something like Rothko’s chapel in Houston, where I’d work with an architect and make a suite of immersive site specific paintings.

What are you looking forward to?

The opportunity to keep making pictures.

Work in progress.   Photo - Phu Tang.

SYDNEY QUESTIONS

Your favourite Sydney neighbourhood and why?

It has to be Bondi because that’s where I live – I get to see the ocean everyday.

Where do you shop in Sydney for the tools of your trade?

Depending on what I need, Parkers’ Art Supplies and The Sydney Art Store.

Where / what was the last great meal you ate in Sydney?

The Nourishing Quarter in Surry Hills. A great room, and creative vegetarian food that’s fantastic.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Bondi Growers’ markets getting flowers and playing with the kids at the park.

Sydney’s best kept secret?

The rocks at north bondi for a swim!

‘Lure’, 2013 by Marisa Purcell, for her new show ‘Communion’ at Edwina Corlette gallery.  Oil and acrylic on linen, 153 x 137 cm.