About me…
Looking into my style:
Realism is frequently scrutinised by the art world. I too have asked myself why I align with this genre of art. What is the purpose of trying to recreate something as simple as a photograph? It has taken me years to be able to decipher the reasoning. My art pieces all encapsulate the same thing. A memory, emotion, or state of being - fragmented in time, and captured before the eye. I try my hardest to bring these moments to light, and others have found great joy in being a part of this process. In my mind, realism acts as an agent, breathing animation back into the still-life landscape, photography, and digital world we have become so accustomed to.
I have also consistently selected women as the focal point in my personal art. This is another feature of my work which took time to divulge its meaning.
As I look to capture the essence of moments, emotions, and natural expressions, I naturally gravitate towards women in these representations. Perhaps this is unoriginal, as women have long been the subjects of art. However, some historical interpretations of women heavily centre around female sexualisation and have at times been dominated by the male gaze.
Rather, I see women as a natural phenomenon. It is easier to depict emotion and expression through the vessels of life, beauty, fertility, intuition, and transformation. Women’s inherent ability to exist as universal symbols of all things natural seem to fall effortlessly within the genre and goals of my artistic style.
This thought process holds no discrimination towards men. Portraits of men challenge me beyond my scope of practice and comfortability, and I find significant value in this. I have greatly enjoyed depicting men in my commissioned artworks where I can honour their memories and expressions too. I find joy in framing special moments regardless of the subject.
My journey as an artist:
Although I have played with many other mediums, I always return to graphite. Pencil art is underrated in its accessibility and form. Graphite, although having limitations in tone, allows for enough space to play between depth and the values of a piece.
There are a few years that stand out to me in my development as a self-taught artist. From the age of 6-years-old onwards, playing with felt pens and colouring books was one of my favourite past times.
My Year 10 art class was a central year in my development as an artist. Simply having the ability to spend three hours a week drawing was hugely formative to my artistic technique. The class focused on sketching specific facial features, and unbeknownst to myself, this time laid the foundations of skills I still use today.
The year 2020 also stands out in my memory as a significant year in my development as an artist. The previous few years saw less art than others. Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, I was stranded in my home. I found I had no choice but to indulge in the subject that I had been subconsciously neglecting. As a now 17-year-old, I was able to cultivate a more mature sense of style. Identify with one medium, and hone my skills. I thank this year in my reconnection with art as an adult, it allowed me to begin to breathe confidence into my work, something that it was deprived of previously.
In 2024, I created the portrait “Gaze”. Despite having continued to create art, this piece felt different, I was able to capture exactly what I had envisioned onto paper, maybe for the first time in my life. This piece was fundamental to my newfound belief that I could create commissioned pieces for others. As I was able to recreate something the way I had intended and this gave me the backing to believe in myself as an artist.
A note on perfectionism and realism:
Although I have come a long way, I do not believe confidence is something simply gained.
As long as I have created art I have struggled with perfectionism. The desire for a perfect image creates undercurrents of pressure behind the piece of work. At times, I have driven my family crazy ruining beautiful pieces in attempts to redo anything I deemed unfit. However, it is not as simplistic as - don’t be a perfectionist.
The link between realism and perfectionism is almost essential. One nearly ceases to exist without the other. For as long as I was trying to develop the skill of portraits I had to be precise. Building these skills took significant time and dedication. I would not have achieved my potential without indulging in variations of perfectionism. However, art as a natural, man-made form will inevitably not be perfect. I am constantly walking this as a tight line in every piece. As I have matured, I am attempting to embrace the tension between the perfect and natural, including applying this perspective to my broader life.
I still deal with doubts, there are many things I feel unready to create, attempt, or master. I take comfort in the fact I am still only 22-years-old, and continuously learning every day. Each new artwork I complete teaches me more about the style and myself.
I am excited to see where this takes me through the rest of my life.
- Olivia