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Tara Schyer has been surrounded by art since childhood, and was taught an appreciation for, and the wonder of, beautiful things in art. While she always loved art in high school, it wasn’t until around 15 years ago that she began to paint. Painting mostly abstract landscapes at the time, it was during a year at VCA that she fell in love with the minimalist and hard-edge style.
 
Tara has a ‘co-existing career’ as a psychologist and has been working in private practice for the last 17 years. Taking the plunge and committing to take her long-held art dreams seriously by studying at VCA was a highlight for her.
 
When painting, Tara works from her home studio in Melbourne. “Having a studio at home allows me to become totally absorbed at any time of the day, and to leave my things everywhere. I can look at paintings as I pass them by dozens of times a week, and it helps to reflect on what’s needed for it to progress. It takes me time to reflect, think, feel and sense what’s next with it. I can be quite messy when I’m in the middle of painting and, at the end, I’m surrounded by the colours and the clutter of the process.”
 
Mainly working with acrylic paint, along with pencil and metal leaf to add texture, Tara likes to layer paint and then strip it back to reveal the colours below. “It’s all about the hidden meanings, depths and representations for me.”
 
Tara’s current work blends the hard-edge and abstract scapes of shape and form, exploring the themes of home and land. She is inspired by buildings, angles and architecture, along with simple colours and grand shapes which can create a sense of comfort or cohesion. “I always search for connection in life and in art and seek to feel and present these visual and emotional connections in my paintings.”
 
See Forman's collection of stunning new Tara Schyer works here!

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At age 35, Carla Coulson switched careers to become a photographer. Since then, she has published three books, been featured in both Australian and international magazines, runs the ‘Carla Loves Photography’ blog, and her iconic ‘Italian Joy’ and ‘Jeune Fille En Fleur’ photographs have become collectable items for fans worldwide.

As Carla states on her website, “Like so many people who dream about doing it, at the end of a bad week in Sydney almost 15 years ago, I actually did it. I left my life to go find the right one for me.”

Carla was living in Sydney and running her own clothing business when she found herself living a life she no longer wanted. After winning ‘Client of the Year’ at her local Thai take-away, she knew that it was time for change. She headed to Italy for a one month photography course, which turned into 6 months. From here, she knew that she couldn’t return to her life in Sydney. She made the decision to spend the second half of her life doing something that she loved and enrolled in a photography school in Florence.

A big break came for Carla when her first story was published in Marie Claire Australia. She pitched the magazine a travel story on Naples that she had completed as a final project at photography school. Marie Claire published it, along with another ‘style’ story she had photographed. These thirteen pages opened new doors for Carla.

It was a dream for Carla to publish a book on Italy, the country that she loved so much. After living in Italy for almost three years, she did just that, publishing her first book ‘Italian Joy.’ These photographs were ‘straight from the heart’ and depict Carla’s deep love for Italy. She also says, ‘many readers connected to my story of leaving my life in Sydney and unbeknown to me at the time of writing, I found lots of women discontented with what they were doing with their lives who related to my story.’

The most important thing for Carla in a photo is emotion. Along with great composition, beautiful lighting, a wonderful subject and background, Carla aims to create photos that make the viewer feel something. Her works celebrate life, joy, moments and her subjects.

The Jeune Fille En Fleur (Young Girl in Bloom) series is shot in Paris where Carla has lived since 2004. The series is inspired by incredible women around Carla, who are ‘so innately beautiful and powerful yet often don’t see it in themselves.’ Through these images, she hopes to inspire women to look within at their own beauty, find their uniqueness and tap into their power.

Carla wanted a life full of love, adventure and passion; photography has led her to that life. She has been pushed out of her comfort zone and the learning curve has been a steep one, but it has also brought her so many wonderful life experiences.

Forman is delighted to work with Carla and showcase her honest, beautiful and empowering images. Find her available works here!

You can also read more about Carla and her work on her website.

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Jessica Anderson works from her home in Melbourne’s east, often leaving her little studio space and sprawling across the lounge room area – usually painting with a movie or some old school tunes on in the background, fuelled by tea and snacks!
 
Jessica grew up surrounded by the green rolling hills of Korumburra in South Gippsland and always loved art. “A lot of my family are creative in their different fields, and I was always encouraged to follow my creative passions. I loved studying art and design at school and uni, and have just continued trying to learn ever since, jumping into workshops and short courses along the way.”
 
After moving to Melbourne and studying Visual Arts and Education, Jessica worked as a secondary Art & Design teacher for ten years. “By the time they reach their teenage years, students often doubt their artistic abilities. For many of them, it takes a lot of courage to step outside their comfort zone, try new things and put their work out there! Watching them do this while they find their own unique style and mature as artists and designers is always inspirational for me. It is so lovely and rewarding to be part of that process with them.”
 
While she always continued to create art, it wasn’t until a period of leave from teaching that Jessica really explored painting more seriously. “It was a time of travel and inspiration, and a chance for me to explore, experiment and create. It was also when I met Forman’s Kara and Nick, which was a turning point for me. They are such amazing cheerleaders for local, emerging artists. Meeting them, along with other artists, clients and creatives along the way, has been a real highlight for me.”
 
The natural environment, particularly native flowers, is what predominantly inspires Jessica’s work. She loves the life and movement that they represent, especially when layered in rambling compositions. Using acrylics, she builds the painting up in layers. “I love creating artworks that people can get lost in and see something new each time they look at it, whether it be textures, shapes or glimpses of hidden colours. It brings me so much joy to imagine my works hanging in people’s home as something that they can enjoy, and hopefully get a little lost in, every day.”
 
 
Check out Forman’s collection of Jessica Anderson artworks here!

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Cate Maddy’s Melbourne home studio is surrounded by bushland, clearly inspiring her stunning, layered artworks. Her studio is full of the things that inspire her: vases of native flowers, collections of pebbles, bird nests, drift wood, broken wood and any object that takes her fancy. “I couldn’t live without my collections. My computer of course is also a necessity as well as my phone to take photos of plants as I am walking the parks and bushland.”

Cate has always been interested in art; her whole family are creative in different ways and were brought up to be curious about the world. “I can remember creating a collage of a rooster in Grade 1 with a huge tail made out of hundreds of tiny pieces of paper, when most of the kids probably used about 5 pieces of paper. I remember the satisfaction I felt on completing that even now.”

Cate studied Graphic Art and worked in Advertising for 12 years before going back to study Visual Art at TAFE, followed by a Fine Art Degree at RMIT. While at university, she won the Siemens Award -  a travel scholarship which she used to go on the RMIT Art Tour to New York. ‘That was certainly a highlight and very exciting to go to a city literally dripping with Art.’ Last year, Cate was a finalist in the Kennedy Prize in Adelaide and spent a month studying painting in Venice. She has now exhibited in every major city in Australia, along with several Regional galleries, exhibited in London and sold work internationally. “I think a big highlight for me has been connecting with people on Instagram from all over the world through our art, our pets or whatever is interesting to us. I have been surprised and humbled by that.”

Cate starts a work in acrylic paint, then builds up the layers with oil paint, aiming to create a sense of movement and variations of texture. When discussing her inspirations, Cate describes colour as her passion; with its limitless variations, it is always a source of inspiration for her. “I am inspired by the natural world, especially native flora at the moment. I love Abstract Expressionism and colour work, abstraction and Naïve painting. I love house plants and Indian rugs and paper lanterns – anything bohemian really. Oh, and my kittens of course! They are always getting in the way and making me laugh in the studio.”

Cate describes the underlying theme of ‘relationships’ that run through her works. “My paintings are actually about relationships, believe it or not. We have relationships with everything in this world, so sometimes I might be talking about the relationship we have to nature or maybe a relationship with a person that could be proving a joy or problematic. I like the term ‘expressionism’ because it talks to the way we express ourselves. I express myself through my art in a physical way with big brushstrokes, bold colour, harsh areas and soft moments. My work is emotional and tumultuous like life itself.”
 
See Forman’s collection of stunning Cate Maddy works here!

 

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Inspired by nature's landscapes and ever-changing cloud formations, Chloe Planinsek creates harmonious and fluid abstract paintings that bring a sense of calm and happiness to a room.

While Chloe studied art during her VCE years, painting was not a focus for her at the time. When she did begin to paint, it was for her own home. As she began to paint more, she enjoyed the process of creating, wearing gloves and painting with her hands while listening to beautiful ethereal music. ‘As a lot of my artwork was inspired by the clouds above, I felt it was a nice time for me to connect to the world above and beyond us.’ It was an organic way for Chloe to explore painting, allowing her to feel connected to the canvas and give the painting a certain movement that she loved. As her work evolved, she wanted to try different styles and began to use brushes, opting for large brushes and gestural strokes. 

From 2010 Chloe started painting commercially and by 2012 she was painting full time. As she describes, it was a slow and expensive process. 'I used to exhibit at the Decoration & Design interior trade fairs in Melbourne and Sydney. This was back when there would only be one other artist exhibiting there! It was a great way to meet industry professionals though, and I still work with many of them today, which is really nice.' Chloe now paints, prints and supplies her own designs to the architectural and interior design industry throughout Australia. She has painted countless commissions based on her sold pieces, adapting the colours to suit her clients’ needs.

Chloe loves to paint at home. ‘When we built our house, we did have a designated room for a studio, however I ended up turning it into a formal living room (which we never use, but like to look at!).’ Instead, Chloe paints in the family area of her house, wheeling her supplies in on a trolley and putting it away afterwards. Although unconventional for an artist, the space gives Chloe a flood of natural light and the ability to paint away while her husband watches TV in the same space. 

Clouds have been the biggest inspiration for Chloe’s work as they are soft, gentle and beautiful to look at and she loves the feeling of calm they bring. A dash of metallic gold is often featured in Chloe’s paintings as she loves the ‘touch of magic’ and life it gives the work. Recently, Chloe’s works have been inspired by architecture and nature and are more bold and abstract. These large artworks sit comfortably in, and bring impact to, an architectural home or space.

Chloe’s career highlights have been diverse and as she describes, ‘It all depends on how we measure a highlight. I think if something makes me feel extra happy, then it is a highlight.’ Early on, highlights for Chloe included features in magazines and commissions from large property developing companies. Now, the everyday happiness that her work brings is the greatest reward. 

She loves working closely with clients through the commission process. Working with Benjamin’s Kitchen (the Alphington pan-Asian restaurant) was one such project and was a definite highlight for Chloe. The soft cloud-inspired mural covering the restaurant walls, originally commissioned by Alexandar Pollock Interiors, was shortlisted for a design award. After finishing the main restaurant downstairs, the owners commissioned Chloe to paint both private rooms upstairs. ‘Meeting and working with the owners has been so lovely. They are so hospitable, and their Asian fusion food is incredible, and worth the drive!’

Chloe also loves working with interesting and creative people in the interior world.  ‘Nicole of Rent Fine Art is so great to work with and we are in touch nearly daily! She lets me paint freely to fit her brief, so it is nice to have that trust with her and the freedom for my painting. Meeting Forman’s Kara and Nick was a big highlight. I absolutely love working with them and feel they bring so much joy to so many people! Having their energy in my weekly life is so much fun; they feel like my extended family.’

 

Check out our beautiful range of Chloe’s paintings here!

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