Llewellyn Skye: Raw Expression
Llewellyn Skye
Undiscovered. Oil on canvas.
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Mirror Of The Night. Oil on canvas.
My Dance Monkey. Oil on canvas.
Australia-based Artist Llewellyn Skye’s raw, expressive brushstrokes echo the organic forms and colors of nature. With contour lines layered over energetic brushstrokes, Llewellyn explores the duality of beauty and sorrow, along with the fleeting and fragile nature of romance. In this interview, Llewelyn shares her creative process with us.
Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.
I have always loved to draw and paint, but it was never an option for me as a career, I was always told ‘there is no money in art’ and I needed to pay the rent. I fell into a hairdressing apprenticeship - which I absolutely loved, but I couldn’t shake the need to keep painting and drawing.
After years of hairdressing I decided to take evening classes in art to see if it was just a hobby or something I wanted to pursue. From the very first evening, I was hooked. I couldn’t think of anything else - I was completely obsessed.
It was at one of those evening classes that a teacher suggested that I try out for the National Art School. I applied, sat for the interviews/exams and got in! Since then I knew I wanted to become an Artist.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
Alongside being physically inspired by Nature and florals, I am inspired by a drive that I cannot explain. I need to paint. It is just something inside of me. It’s how I connect with my deeper self, how I connect with the world and how I process everyday life. It’s my happy place, how I communicate best and something I will be doing until my last breath.
How has your work shifted and evolved over time?
Originally I was interested in replicating what I saw in front of me. Now I am interested in portraying the same thing but in different ways. Rather than perfection, I am striving for the complete opposite - it can’t be messy or raw enough.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I have three young kids so my typical studio day has to fit within school hours!! I race home from dropping them off at school and paint furiously until it’s time to pick them up.
Amongst those furious hours I have to regroup from the intense parent role to the focused artist role. Depending on the deadlines ahead of me, I might be painting for a show, creating work for a gallery or a commission. Amongst this there is admin for days and also preparing for filming my online workshops for ‘This Is Artify’
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
Life experiences as a whole - children, love, loss, grief, wonder.. it all impacts my work as I process life through creating art.
How has Instagram impacted your art career?
It is an amazing tool to showcase your portfolio and represent yourself independent from galleries, being such a visual platform it is perfect for artists. I am able to connect with so many like minded people. I have been approached by galleries and presented with so many opportunities through it, it is a total game changer.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
To keep learning, and inspiring and refining my work. I always want to feel excited about what I do and show my kids that you can follow your dreams and create a great career along the way. I want to be in text books one day.
Instagram: @llewellyn_skye_art
Website: www.llewellynskye.com
Online workshop: https://studio.thisisartify.com/p/floral-abstracts
Galleries: (@metro_gallery) (@fenton_and_fenton) (@wagnercontemporary) (@lorrainepilgrimgallery) (@revival.art.design) (@artloversaustralia)