Meet The Artist Creating Textural Oil Landscapes From Her Outdoor Studio

Chloe Caday creates textural and tranquil landscape paintings, often working from outdoor her home in She Oaks, Victoria, on Wadawurrung country.

She began painting as a form of ‘therapy and self-care’ in her early teenage years but was burnt out by the time she graduated from a Bachelor of Fine Arts at RMIT in 2017, pushing her take a break from her craft. Luckily, she picked up her paintbrush again a couple of years ago and ‘hasn’t stopping painting since’!

With a growing collection and an exciting group exhibition approaching, we caught up with Chloe to learn more about the painter’s blossoming practice.

Written

Christina Karras

Meet painter, Chloe Caday! Photo – Harrison Oldaker

Chloe often works outdoors, as painting on site allows her to directly experience and absorb her environment. Photo – Harrison Oldaker

A closer look at her tranquil landscapes.

‘Process is everything. From finding inspiration, mixing a colour palette, drafting sketches or even just sitting down in front of a blank canvas for hours – it all contributes to the outcome of a painting,’ Chloe says. Photo – Harrison Oldaker

‘My paintings are a direct response to experiences and memories of both Australian and Philippines landscapes. Finding solace within my home, each intuitive and organic motion of the brush is a direct response to my environment – exploring the intricate and rhythmic interplay of sound, light and form.’

‘I spend most of my time outdoors in the bush and the forest, and this is where I would find most of my inspiration; studying the local botany of the area,’ Chloe adds.

She focus on natural colours and tones to bring her work to life with a sense of realism.

She mainly uses oil paints for her work, to ensure the colours and textures blend to one another on the canvas due to the slow drying process.

‘I often work on wooden boards and linen canvas, which I would assemble, stretch and prime myself, so I try to prepare as many surfaces as I can in a couple of days so they are essentially ready to go when I have time to paint,’ Chloe explains. Photo – Harrison Oldaker

Writer

Christina Karras

13th of April 2022

Artist Chloe Caday’s detailed paintings are driven by memories of her two homelands – the Philippines and the Victorian bush. Waking between these worlds as a child, art was her ‘safe haven’ to explore her mixed feelings about growing up in a western country after migrating from the Philippines at an early age.

‘Picking up a paintbrush was as intuitive as learning how to walk – it was so natural for me,’ Chloe says.

Her passion for painting is just as strong today. Following a hiatus after completing her degree in fine arts, she’s now a part-time painter, part-time gallery administrator at Brunswick Street Gallery, as well as being a ‘full-time mum’ to her 11-month-old, Isagani.

From her outdoor studio, Chloe creates beautiful landscapes using small, layered brushstrokes with oil paints, inspired by her exploration into the importance of travel and connection to land.

‘My partner and I have a beautiful little home in a 14ha bush block near the Brisbane Ranges National Park, where we spend a lot of our time when we’re not working in our day jobs. I initially learnt how to paint en plein air (paint outdoors), so I tend to work on a single painting from start to finish within a day, to capture all the elements of a place at a particular time of day,’ she adds.

‘Finding my style was definitely a slow process that happened gradually over time,’ she notes. Her art often reflects her personal experiences, and even before she found out she was pregnant in 2020, she noticed her practice evolving to feature more people and loose depictions of a mother and child.

Earthy, subdued colours give Chloe’s pieces a moody and calming quality, sometimes enhanced by ambiguous figures harvesting fruits, playing amongst the trees, or walking along their trail home.

The rising artist is also curating a group exhibition later this month called Passing Rituals, featuring a line-up of local artists tracing their ancestral roots, each in their own poignant way.

You can shop Chloe’s artworks here and here. She is also represented by Gallery Raye.

Passing Rituals
22 April – 8 May

Brunswick Street Gallery
Level 1 & 2, 322 Brunswick Street
Wurundjeri Country, Fitzroy VIC