Questions and Answers with the Lovely…

I was lucky enough to do an interview with Australian artist, Belinda of Gretchen Mist last week, and I am so excited to share it with you. If you don’t know Belinda’s work yet, get ready to be smitten. I personally own several of her pieces and they are gorgeous. Belinda’s shop and blog.

–Have you always lived in Australia? I have a friend who was born and raised there, and I once asked him what it was like, since I had never been. He said it was pretty similar to living in the states. How would you describe it?

Except for 3 months of trying to live in London, I’ve lived in Australia all my life. I can’t compare to the states as I’ve not been there, yet!! I’d love to travel to the states. Living in Australia is great and pretty easy compared to what I’ve heard about living in many other countries – in general i think we are looked after pretty well. There’s lots of beautiful beaches and country to explore.

-You mention on your blog that you were once a graphic designer. Do you feel that your previous occupation has influenced your work as an artist at all?
My last position as a graphic designer was with a commercial gallery. Being around artists and art really made me know that i wanted to create art rather than be a graphic designer! The creative freedom I have now is so great. I think graphic design was, for me, all about limits and what could be achieved/produced inside the box and maybe that’s helped me with the discipline side of things. It maybe also helped to develop a sense of composition.

-You work in a variety of medias, creating paintings, drawings, and collage work. Do you have a favorite material to work with?

I love drawing and working on paper. Paper is very liberating! Actually i love all these materials and choose according to how i’m feeling at the time and what feels right for each idea.

 
-I would love to see your 2D work brought to life in 3D. Would you ever consider doing an installation and/or sculptural work? If so, what do you picture it looking like?

Oh, I’ve really not thought too much about 3D work!

–I am lucky enough to own one of your original drawings, and when I received it, I was taken back by the soft details and linework of your art in person. Are these pieces very time-consuming?

Thanks Brittni! I’ve scaled my work down quite a lot since I gave up my studio space {which I did when I was pregnant with our second child} and really work within my time and space allowances. The mixed media work takes 2 or 3 sittings to finish. Drawing and making collage is pretty quick, compared to painting which i like to do slowly. My collage work takes a lot of time to get the ‘pieces’ ready to work with but the actual making process works best when i quickly make rather than thinking a lot about what I’m doing. I spend a lot of time when I”m not working thinking about my work, so it feels like when I do sit down it all just comes out {most of the time}, which I love!

-How do you balance your work as an artist with being a mom?

Not sure that i do so well! This year I have a little more time during the week to work which helps. I still lean on my husband a lot to get things done at night and on the weekends. I have to say though that being a mum has taught me to focus and work relatively efficiently. I’ve learned let go of a lot of judgment that used to get in the way of finishing a piece. Now, I just do it and decide later!

-Your studio is clean and well-put together. How do you stay so organized? Any tips?

This is funny! I definitely cleaned up for the photos. There is organisation in here but when I’m working it all goes out the window – it gets very messy. I need to have sketches, notes and other work visible as i’m working so i use the floor and every other surface that i can at the time. i just have to remember to put it all away at the end!

 
-Can you name a few artists or artisans whose work you admire? Who or what is your greatest inspiration?

It’s hard to narrow down to just a few as I discover new art loves online almost every day. Some Australian artists whose work I love to see in real life: Joanna Logue,  Steven Harvey,  Abbey McCulloch, and  Marise Maas

Thanks so much for the interview and studio tour Belinda! Visit Belinda’s shop, Gretchen Mist, and her blog.