Queen of Suburbia

FLYERS FOR YOUR ARTS BUSINESS PRACTICE

1/6/2021

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I believe that you, as an artist, are in charge of your own sales and marketing. This is why going into galleries can be an expensive option for some artist. There art work is marked up to a higher because the gallery does all the website exposure, media distribution and social media for you. Which is why usually two thirds of the sale go to the gallery who have sold your work. Or you could take control of your own sales, media and social exposure and get your art out there into the community. This is a rewarding option to depending on galleries. Sometimes it seems that every other person I meet is an artists of some kind. The competition is high and the sales are fewer than in recent decades. This is why I try and spend a third of my arts practice time doing my own promotions. Sometimes it feels like I loose followers on social platforms because of my dedication to my own cause. However, there will be that time when I am out and about in the community and a complete stranger will say, "Hey, arn't you that artist, yes I've heard all about you". That is far more valuable to me than followers on a social platform. Its about getting your name and artwork into your local community. That is why I recently had some flyers made up for my arts practice business. The expense was a little high for 50 flyers, but I will keep you posted. If I see as a direct result of walking the area of Olivers Hill and I make one sale , it will be worth the effort. Thats whay its all about, making it happen, working it all the time, loving what you do and getting out into the community. No one is going to do it for you, there will always be some sort of disappointment when others take control of what you do. So make it happen, inbox me for advice. I am happy to share my strategies with you.

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OLIVERS HILL LINOCUT II

12/30/2020

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OLIVERS HILL II - Hand painted Linocut

Olivers Hill II is one of my popular Linocuts. The first Olivers Hill No. 1 was an abstract view of the hill and so far 29 of the 100 edition have been sold. On the success of that I decided to do a more realistic view of the Hill. At the time of taking the photograph for my own records I knew that the Caltex station was soon to be pulled down. Olivers Hill is one of the most recognizable landscapes on the Peninsula. When I lived on the Hill in my parents home there was no retaining wall, Now the Caltex station is no longer there and soon apartments will take its place. The boardwalk wasnt there either when I was growing up and now the board walk is a favorite walking and running spot for so many people on the Peninsula.

At the moment I have sold 8 of the edition. The prints are a large size for a linocut and framed up are approximately 60cm x 80cm. They are printed on archival printmaking papers and hand painted with pigmented inks. Each print takes a few weeks to hand paint. I like to take my time and layer the inks with a lot of time spent on details and colors.
If you are interested in print you can contact me through the website on the contact page or click on the link to the Olivers Hill II page for more images of some of the editions.

OLIVERS HILL II

CONTACT

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Billy Nye thanks her Peninsula upbringing for the aesthetic that now dominates her work.
“My work is inspired by the simplicity of the suburban streetscape; the paradise of domesticity. I see beauty in the everyday. I feel that artists David Hockney, Reg Mombassa and Howard Arkley view the mundane world with a similar sense of admiration,”

“After spending decades of my life abroad, I return to the quaint landscape of the Mornington Peninsula in my artistic mind. It has always been, and will remain a uniquely beautiful location to me; associated with nostalgia, but also brimming with potential for the future.

“These seemingly ordinary landmarks: swimming pools, houses, fences, powerlines and suburban streets, are scenes of home. I don’t feel the need to travel anymore, as my own backyard serves as my private oasis. To me, there is no place like the Peninsula.”

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Olivers Hill Painting

11/21/2020

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Olivers Hill
Acrylic on Canvas,
120 x 90cm
SOLD

This year I sold one of my most cherished works. I used to live on this amazing hill in Frankston South. I went to Frankston High School and spent my youth on Frankston Beach jumping off the pier. I would ride my bike down the hill, with no helmet and pretend to fly. Now a days we cannot ride without a helmet or down the hill and I can understand why. Someone who loves Olivers Hill and walks it every day bought the painting. I know he will cherish it for the rest of his life. I am not sure if I will ever do another one like it because I don't like doing the same painting twice. I am instead immortalizing it here in my website blog.

OLIVERS HILL LINOCUT

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Guardian of the Court

9/30/2020

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How would you reconstruct an image of the Australian suburban castle? Is it the patchwork of a brick facade at the castle gates, or the call to arms of magpie song? Is it the royal flair of a jacaranda tree in full bloom? Or perhaps it is the watchman, the royal guardian, waiting patiently for his king or queen to return.

GUARDIAN OF THE COURT
Acrylic on Canvas
90cm x 90cm
$1800

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AUSTRALIAN SUBURBIA

8/8/2020

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The suburbs around Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne Australia is the only suburban life I have ever known. Most Australians live either by the sea or in the city. Sometimes both the city and the beach, as in my case. I live in the metro Melbourne is a seaside suburb called the Mornington Peninsula. Many of Australia’s major cities are very close to the coast of Australia.
I have painted this quadtych series of suburbia during Stage 4 Covid-19 lockdown. This is how I have visually expressed my surroundings, through my art, during this unbelievable time in our lives.
The leafy eucalyptus suburbs are silent, peaceful, charming, and eerily empty of people and traffic. The only sound is the songs of our native birds.
This week all of these birds visited my very own backyard. We have had a surreal mild sunny still winter this year. Appropriately I have named each painting in honour of each of these four Australian birds.

1. Rosellas’Bend, Australia
2. Kookaburra Crescent, Australia
3. Galah Crossing, Australia
4. Magpie Drive, Australia

Welcome to the neighbourhood and have a great day Australia.

Rosellas’ Bend, Australia.

Kookaburra Crescent, Australia - SOLD

Galah Crossing, Australia-SOLD

Magpie Drive, Australia-SOLD

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COVID 19 Suburbia

7/22/2020

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I only just realized that my suburban works now look like Covid 19 paintings. Those empty streets whilst everyone is in lockdown. The beautiful cold sunny days we have experienced remind me of living in San Francisco. The empty streets of my paintings have actually become reality. I think to myself, “How beautiful is the suburbia I live in.” Then a split second later I feel the anxiety of not knowing. Not knowing what will happen next, not knowing if eventually we will all get sick? Not knowing if my young university grad children will ever have careers or even be able to ever leave Australia again. Empty streets are to me landscapes of geometric shapes and color but let’s hope this summer brings some sort of normality back into our lives.

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Bluethumb Feature Artist

7/3/2020

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Featured on Bluethumb Artist Page on Blue thumb.
This is my swimming pool series.
Not on web site but for previous Swimming Pool exhibition at Manyung Gallery.

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Oak Hill Gallery Members COVID 2020 Exhibition

6/30/2020

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QUEEN OF SUBURBIA

6/12/2020

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There truly is nothing like Australia. Although in my life, it took me almost two decades to finally see it, we are so lucky to experience the beauty that surrounds us in this great country. After living abroad for almost twenty years, I returned home to Melbourne in 2001. It wasn’t until later that I learned how inspiring the Australian suburbs can be. Now, this suburban landscape is what motivates me; pushes me to create new works to represent the place I live.

There is a uniqueness in the Australian suburbs that I believe is only captured through art. Some people may find them quotidian, but I know I am not alone in my passion for the domestic scenery. Artists such as Jeffrey Smart, Reg Mombassa/Chris O’Doherty, David Hockney, and Edward Hopper are known for revitalising the suburban world through colour and vivacity, which is what I wish to express in my representations of the Australian backyard.

It’s the manicured lawns, geometric fences, brick facades, diverse letter boxes, telegraph poles and unique Australia flora that make our beautiful Mornington Peninsula so distinctive. There is no other place in the world I would rather be. Not only this, but this stunning scenery is home to a thriving arts community. In particular, Oak Hill Gallery stands out for me as a hub for local artists, giving creators like myself the opportunity to share their craft and follow their passion.

I first recall visiting Oak Hill Gallery when I finished my studies at Chisholm TAFE in Frankston in 2009. I was concerned that after completing my Visual Arts Diploma I would lose the strong network of friends and artists I had met at Chisholm, but finding Oak Hill calmed all of my concerns immediately. Not only was I welcomed into a community of creators and volunteers, but I found a place to showcase my work and learn new approaches to creating art. We are so fortunate to have, hidden amongst the oak trees and roses, this little community gallery to inspire us. Now, eleven years on, I am still involved with all the life-drawing, printmaking, painting, pottery and children’s classes. Additionally, there are exhibitions year-round which invite artists young and old to collaborate and exhibit their works, just like myself when I first encountered this great space.

It is this stable support base that encouraged me to complete my double Bachelor of Arts, and Fine Arts and Visual Culture in 2017. This time of research and study allowed me to hone in my fascination with the ephemeral nature of the suburban landscape. Through my work, I documented the degradation of the domestic scene through modernisation, gentrification and commercial developments. In this study, I realised that the only permanence that we experience is constant transience: Nothing stays the same and there is always sometime new developing. I am obsessed with the impermanence of the Melbourne suburbs, and often find myself driving around with my camera, on the hunt for the perfect lighting, perfect shapes, shadows, colours, and most importantly, beauty in the mundane.