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Posts tagged: landscape

Jun 30, 2022

Meet The Artist: Clare Purser

Meet The Artist: Clare Purser
Meet our newest artist Clare Purser! Clare is a landscape painter based in Brisbane, on the shores of Moreton Bay. She works predominantly in the medium of oil painting with mixed media on canvas, board and sometimes paper. Clare loves plein-air painting, fuelled with inspiration from the stunning locations around Brisbane’s bayside. “I find painting outside and being in the landscape an inspiring time to look and absorb deeply.”
She is interested in creating paintings that are evocative, intuitive and express an emotive reaction to the landscape. “I like to follow the direction the painting takes, taking advantage of the pliable nature of oil paint and the many ways it can be manipulated.”
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CLARE PURSER - 'TOWARDS THE HIGH COUNTRY I'

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Her favourite places to visit and paint reach near and far from her local area all the way to her home country New Zealand. Some of these locations include the lush hinterland and mountains of South East Queensland; the Scenic Rim Region, the Glass House Mountains, the beautiful islands in Moreton Bay; Minjerribah Stradbroke Island and Mulgulpin Moreton Island.
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Clare plain-air painting
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-The life and wellbeing of these landscapes have become central to Clare’s work; “The degradation of our coastal environment has been an ongoing concern of my work.” Her art also richly explores the relationship we have with nature. “I'm drawn to the landscape, our relationship to the natural world and a deep appreciation for the beauty and fragility of our environment.” 
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Clare's sketchbooks
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Clare was born in New Zealand in 1971. Her early years were spent across New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Australia. “Growing up in New Zealand, I was in and still am in awe of the raw and direct landscapes of Colin McCahon and Toss Woollaston. I also love the abstract landscapes of Australian Artists like Elizabeth Cummings and Ian Fairweather." In 1996 she completed an Honours degree in Visual Art from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University and she has since gone on to achieve many accolades for her art.
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Small scale artworks
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Clare’s creative process involves making and using photographs, notes and sketches for inspiration and references. “I guess when I'm back in the studio working with oil is the time when ideas develop, so for me plain-air painting and studio work go hand in hand and inform each other.” She has developed her skill though having a consistent art practice and has been a full-time artist for the past seven years.
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Left: CLARE PURSER - 'KULGUN III' Right: CLARE PURSER - 'KULGUN IV'

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We are so excited to share Clare’s expressive and emotive artwork with you. Treat yourself by taking a moment to take in these beautiful artworks.
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You can view all of Clare’s art HERE and as always, we welcome you to come in anytime to experience the art in person.

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May 05, 2022

Meet the Artist: Lara Karasavvidis

Meet the Artist: Lara Karasavvidis
We couldn’t be happier to be welcoming Melbourne based artist Lara Karasavvidis to our gallery. Lara’s recent work is inspired by coastal landscapes. This seed of inspiration was planted fifteen years ago in the beautiful coastal town of Port Fairy where her family have a house. A love that has only strengthened over the years travelling back and forth from Melbourne. While she has amassed thousands of photos and years of inspiration from these trips, it is only in the past few years, initiated by the endless time provided by lockdowns, that she has translated this into a body of work. Her evocative description of the Port Fairy landscape as “magical and moody, harsh but peaceful” mirrors the mood of the stunning artworks from her latest collection.
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LARA KARASAVVIDIS - 'INTO THE STORM'
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When asked about when and how she first became interested in art, Lara shared that she “can't remember a time when I wasn't interested in art. It has always been a part of my life, ever since I was a child. Many of my parents' friends were and still are artists and I loved being in their studios, enthralled by their work and curious about their tools of the trade.” At the age of twelve, she asked her parents if she could do extra curricular art classes, so they sent her to a life drawing class run by one of their friends. Amusingly, young Lara had no idea what life drawing was and got an enormous shock when the model took off her dressing gown! Thankfully, she found that she loved these classes and continued to attend life drawing class every Sunday morning until she was twenty-one, regardless of what post party state she was in! “While my subject matter is no longer nudes, one of the longstanding lessons I took from this experience was the discipline of returning to the same subject again and again and finding new ways to see and interpret it.”
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One of Lara's photographs of Port Fairy
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By the time she started tertiary study in fine art in 2003, Lara was confident in drawing and painting, but a Diploma of Visual Art at Swinburne enabled her to broaden her skills across a range of art forms including photography, digital imaging, video, sculpture, painting and printmaking. She then went on to complete a Bachelor of Fine Art in Printmaking at the VCA between 2005 – 2007. “This was an incredible time in my creative journey and it was here that I found my visual language. Guided by the most wonderful technicians and lecturers I learnt so many specialist skills including etching, aquatint and lithography and was pushed to interpret concepts in ways that were new and challenging for me.”  
 
Lara has taught art in a secondary school over the past 12 years, this too has enabled her to constantly build her skills. “I can't count the hours of professional development I have attended after looking at my subject list and realising I have to teach sewing, wheel throwing or darkroom photography - none of which are my fortes! You have to be a jack of all trades and sometimes fake it til you make it. Just don't tell my students!”
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Sneak peek of Lara's sketchbooks 
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One of our favourite things to learn about from our artists is their individual purpose of why they create and what they try to achieve through their art. Lara explains that her reasons for making art are twofold. “Firstly, my aim is simply to create pictures. Pictures that draw you in to explore up close but set a mood from far away. Pictures that suggest depth but remain flat, that create a stillness and calm. Pictures that an audience can connect with and feel moved by. I hope my artwork does all of these things and when creating each new piece, these are the ideas that I think about. 
 
Secondly, amidst the juggle of running an art department at a secondary school and raising two children, my Friday studio day is a respite in my week, a time when I focus on one thing and decompress. It brings me joy and grounding and fills my cup for the week ahead.”  
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Details of Lara's process. Lino cutting and artworks in progress
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This latest collection of artworks are a combination of drawing, painting and printmaking. Lara’s creative process involves frequently referencing photographs as she enjoys moving between representation and abstraction. She pulls apart aspects of the forms, colours, spaces and textures experienced in nature and brings them back together again to create a mood or sense of a place. Her sketchbooks are full of small drawings, paintings and collages, where she’ll flesh out ideas before taking them into more complete works. She also works digitally to reimagine and combine photographs with drawings or hand made textures.  
 
In smaller artworks, Lara sometimes creates a base layer in lino print and then paints over the top, while larger works usually start with drawing. She uses acrylic paint mixed with medium to slow the drying time, so she can scratch into the surfaces with an etching needle. Repetitive detail and mark making is not only a huge aspect of her work but one of her favourite parts as she finds the process meditative. “Apart from my trusty etching needle, I create this detail through pencil, pen, posca, pastel and old paintbrushes, drawing away at the surface methodically. I believe that drawing and making marks are a universal primal experience for human beings. Whether in the dirt or with a pen, the physical expression of drawing just feels natural and good! Hopefully that expression is also communicated through the work.” The marks and textures in her work are like a gift that keeps on giving when experienced up close. Lara has a special talent of capturing a mood within her art. Viewing her artworks from day to day, this moodiness can seem to change, much like the magical tides and coasts that inspired them.
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Left: LARA KARASAVVIDIS - CLIFF CITY Right: LARA KARASAVVIDIS - FIRE GIRL
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Apart from coastal landscapes, her artistic influences are constantly evolving depending on what she’s working on. The key artists that she often finds herself going back to again and again however, are Agnes Martin, for her meditative line work and neutral colour schemes, Alberto Giacommeti for the felt and gestural qualities of his drawings, Pablo Picasso for his abstraction and Luc Tuymans for his monochromatic explorations.
 
Recently, particularly since Covid, Lara has been extremely grateful for the community of artists that she has reconnected with online. “We bounce ideas off each other, share our hints and tricks and promote one another, leading to exhibitions and opportunities. In a time in my life where I can't always get out to openings etc. this group of artists have been instrumental in motivating me to continue practicing my art.” This makes us so happy to hear as it reflects some of the things we believe strongly in at Forman, supporting artists and being a space that provides inspiration where everyone is welcome. We can’t wait to share Lara’s latest artworks with you. We hope you enjoy them as much a we do! 
 
You can view all of Lara’s artwork HERE and even better, you can experience them in person by dropping into the gallery anytime.

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Jul 07, 2021

Meet The Artist: Bree Morrison

Meet The Artist: Bree Morrison
Bree Morrison is a local contemporary artist based in the beautiful suburb of Sunbury in Melbourne’s North West. We are so excited to have Bree within our cohort of artists at Forman! You may have already seen some of her beautiful landscapes in our gallery or on our website and we are now thrilled to share more with you about her incredible work and journey as an artist.
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Bree spent her childhood growing up in a remote town exploring river banks and observing the ebb and flow of the changing seasons. Her artwork mostly focuses on abstract landscapes influenced by ecosystems and the shifting changes in light and the life within the landscapes.
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“My process involves spending a lot of time observing and photographing the world around me. I then paint intuitively and quickly with little prior planning. I aim to capture the mood or feeling of the piece, using vivid and earthy colour pallets, visible brush stokes, mark making, textures and abstraction.” 
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She sees her artworks as snippets into an introspective world, a link to her nostalgic feelings and emotions reminiscent of childhood memories. 
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“I want my work to bring forth the juxtaposition of the outer and inner world, communicating both whimsical beauty and meaningful connections to both nature and the ones we love.”
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Above: Collection of small artworks in Bree’s studio
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Like many artists who adapted to working from home last year, Bree works from her home studio in their garage that her hubby Joel converted to a space for her. She is excited to soon be moving onto her very own little studio space that they will construct from a gorgeous prefab pod design in their back yard.
Using mostly acrylic paints on canvas, Bree loves to add in some mixed medium elements such as charcoal, wax pastels, oil pastels, crayons, and occasionally paint pens and collage. One of her favourite tools to create with are bamboo skewers, using them to etch into layers of paint creating marks and textures.  
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Above: Details of Bree’s studio
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In a typical session of painting Bree will often have a hot brew by her side (she admits to having up to 3 coffees. No judgement Bree! This is actually pretty good for the average Melbournian!) and loves to listen to all kinds of music or a good podcast while creating.
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Bree has loved creating for as long as she can remember. 
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“I have always had a vivid imagination and spent a lot of time as a kid daydreaming about writing stories and imagining things I could draw, paint and create. All through school my favourite class was art.”  
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She competed a Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours, however she didn’t immediately pursue a career as an artist. Instead she went on to become a secondary art and design teacher for about 10 years without having much of a personal art practise at all. Bree explains;
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“I never actually believed even after completing a degree and then teaching others to paint and draw that I had enough talent to call myself an artist.” 
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This is something many artists can probably relate to. Elizabeth Gilbert refers to this as ‘having the courage to bring forth the treasures within you’ (if you haven’t read or listened to Big Magic, it is a must!). How wonderful that Bree would have helped so many young creatives to do this through her teaching, and how fantastic that she mastered the courage to do so for herself. Her paintings are an absolute joy to behold. Bree goes on to explain;
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“However after the birth of my first child I started dabbling with painting again, mostly to try and reconnect with my own interests and to help me work through some post natal depression and anxiety. From there the fire was lit, I began to create and share on Instagram, taking classes by artists who inspire me and pretty much painting as often as I could.”
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I must take a moment here to say how much we at Forman are inspired by you Bree and thank you for sharing this part of your journey. We’re sure many others reading this will be inspired also. 
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Above: Inside Bree’s studio
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Bree’s art is influenced by many things such as clothes, music, her children, travel, gardening and poetry to name a few. She is particularly inspired by landscapes, towering gum trees, mountain tops, deep valleys, rivers and water ways. 
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“I explore the idea of bringing forth a story that is sitting at the edge of my memory, often a connection to a place or experience that is special or meaningful to me. I use a combination of real and imagined landscape to evoke a sense of whimsical vibrancy but also evoke a sense of idyllic familiarity and belonging. This is something I hope the viewer connects with in their own way when viewing my work that resonates with them.”
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Her colour palettes change depending on the seasons, the weather that day, the clothes she’s wearing, her mood and even the type of music she’s listening to. She will often allow the lose and energetic underpainting to organically influence the direction, mood, composition, shapes, iconography and marks included in a piece. The early layers are lose and abstract, then gradually built up to a highly detailed or textured finish. 
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Bree’s artwork displays a remarkable talent to capture imagination and provoke emotion. Experiencing her work transports us to vibrant lands we once visited in our childhoods or in a dream. Thank you Bree for having the courage to bring forth all these wondrous treasures within you.
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You can view all of Bree’s artworks for sale HERE and visit our gallery to experience them in person.

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Jun 10, 2021

MEET THE ARTIST: BENJAMIN ASHTON

MEET THE ARTIST: BENJAMIN ASHTON
Benjamin Ashton is an emerging visual artist based in Brisbane and works out of his home studio. He works with acrylic on canvas, exploring movement within landscapes. Benjamin has a natural talent for capturing light in his paintings, creating stunning contemporary landscapes that transport the viewer somewhere majestic.
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“I want to create art that has impact, either with grandeur of mountains, or through use of colours. I aim to create artwork that makes people stop and think about how beautiful nature is.” 
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Benjamin’s creative process begins by looking at photographs of mountains for inspiration, then doing a sketch, either on his iPad or straight onto the canvas. He considers where the eye is drawn across the canvas and usually leaves the sketch for a while as he decides what colours to use. Listening to music, enjoying a cup of coffee (and maybe the occasional G&T!) helps Benjamin get into his creative flow.
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Above: 'QUIETUDE'  640 x 640mm
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Benjamin’s journey into painting began after an injury in 2018, causing him to take months off work while recovering, mostly spent lying down. Itching for something productive and fun to do, he picked up a paintbrush for the first time and started experimenting. Reflecting on this, Benjamin is surprised he didn’t take up painting earlier. With a dad who is also an artist, he grew up surrounded by art in a home that essentially doubled as a private art gallery.
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“My dad is an artist as well, and I've been lucky enough to grow up in a house without blank walls… I'd be lying if I said my Dad didn't influence my work! He has definitely given me a lot of helpful hints over the last year or so.”
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Left: 'CHANGE OF PACE' Centre: 'EVENING WALK' Right: 'MIDDLE OF THE MORNING'
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We are enormously excited to have Benjamin’s artwork in our collection. Come visit our gallery to view his pieces in person. You can also shop his artworks here.

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May 30, 2019

MEET THE ARTIST: PRUE CLAY

MEET THE ARTIST: PRUE CLAY

When creating her expressive abstract landscapes, Prue Clay says she is ‘more interested in the hum of the landscape than how it looks to the eye. These paintings are a reflection of the feelings I felt when I immersed myself in the wilderness…’
 
Growing up on a farm in rural New South Wales, Prue has always felt a connection to the land. Her works are inspired by the landscapes around that area and also of Tasmania, where she travels regularly. She likes to immerse herself in her surroundings, observing the changing weather and drawing inspiration from the emotional connection she has to the landscapes.
 
Prue paints from her Brunswick West home, predominantly working with oil on canvas or linen. Currently in the process of building her home studio, she has set up a temporary studio in her dining room. ‘This works really well as it allows me to paint whilst looking after my two young kiddies.’
 
When in her early twenties, Prue contracted a rare virus which left her with impaired vision for three months. At the time, doctors were unsure if she would recover – something Prue describes as a life changing moment. Today, her eyes are still scarred, and she sees the world through patches of blurred vision. This unique perspective is reflected in the depth and colour of Prue’s stunning landscapes.
 
See Forman’s collection of beautiful Prue Clay works here!

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