Emma works from Commonfolk Studios on the Mornington Peninsula and has been a resident artist there since 2015. “My studio is full of plants and drawings of my cat. I share this studio space with two other artists – silversmith, Kate Macindoe and potter, Nicole Lotscher. It’s nice having the company of other creatives and we bounce ideas off each other too, which is always helpful! It is a really fun place to work, with the best coffee ever (although, I am probably a bit biased)!”
Emma has always created art and she can’t remember a time when she didn’t draw or paint, so art was a natural choice of study and career for her. She completed a Visual Arts degree where her focuses were figure and anatomy drawing, painting, printmaking and interdisciplinary design. “I had the best time ever at uni and it really developed and expanded my practice. I have learnt under some reputable contemporary artists, which is always humbling and inspiring. You can gain so much from your teachers and peers around you, no matter how different their artistic brains work. I also studied Interior Design at RMIT, which I enjoyed (I also learnt a lot about making homewares from this!), but halfway through I realised that I really just wanted to draw possums rather than choose bathroom fittings. So I stopped studying to pursue art again… sorry Mum!”
Working predominantly in fineliner and watercolour, Emma likes to draw her pieces large onto cotton rag papers, after which they are scanned and reproduced. “I’m a huge fan of artists like Goya & Durer, more so for their etching / drawings works, as well as their depiction of animals. I found I could reinterpret the aesthetic of an etching (which I love a lot!), by drawing with various sizes of fine pens, which I think makes my work much more contemporary. Drawing also allows for more flexibility with scale. I make a small range of textile products that I also treat as artworks and sew myself. I really enjoy sewing and working with fabrics and trims; it allows me to have another way of displaying my artworks.”
When considering the highlights of her creative career, Emma describes a trip to Northern Thailand to volunteer with rescued elephants and her following exhibition of drawings dedicated to the cause. “I made some of my most ambitions artworks through that, and spread the message of a cause I really believe in, and that I think everyone can get behind.”
“The goal for me is a combination of capturing animals in a unique, honest and respectful way that anyone can enjoy and take as much or as little as they like from. I also try to establish a friendly connection between creature and viewer, as the social context of animals is always something that has really interested me. I want people to care about wildlife and nature as much as I do, and hope to inspire this in others through my artworks.”
Come in store to see our range of beautiful Emma Morgan prints!