After finishing high school, New Zealand based artist Rebecca Phillips initially commenced a design degree, followed by a short stint in textiles, before she finally found her calling and settled into a fine arts degree, majoring in painting. ‘I never really had any idea where it would lead or if I would even become an artist, but I have been fortunate and have taken advantage of every opportunity that has come my way’ explains Rebecca. ‘I am very much a person who doesn’t make plans, so for someone who just rolls with the punches, it’s all been working out quite well!’ she says.
Clearly, Rebecca is inspired by nature, and enjoys visiting the botanical gardens in her home town of Wellington, especially the rose gardens. Her latest works are these striking portraits of majestic, tall roses, rendered using thin layers of paint to create a sense of depth. ‘Seeing as my work is essentially made up of flat blocks of colour, my paintings could so easily end up looking a bit like prints, so I like to layer them in this way, to keep an element of painterliness’ the artist explains.
Rebecca was nominated as a signature piece finalist at the New Zealand Art Show in both 2013 and 2014, which has been a huge career highlight for her so far. She is looking forward to having solo exhibitions of her own one day soon, and having a studio outside of her flat!
We’re so smitten with Rebecca’s beautiful works, we recently invited her to join the line-up for TDF Open House (happening later THIS WEEK people!) – we’re thrilled to have two of her beautiful paintings in the house!
The Design Files Open House
12 Smith st
Collingwood, Vic
Open this Thursday December 4th – Sunday December 8th
10.00am – 5.00pm daily
