Art beat
IN FULL FLIGHT Young artist taking the outback by storm and exhibiting her first show of animal portraits beneath jutting red ranges at the Wide Open Space Festival
EMERGING Territory artist Sally Speare first picked up a paintbrush and began to use watercolours just three years ago.
“My mum does a little bit of watercolours,” she said.
“Three years ago, on a Christmas holiday, she asked if I wanted to give it a try.
“Mum has a much looser style; I also use pen and pencil so it’s a bit more precise.”
Sally, who goes by the name ‘Biota’ for her paintings, uses soft colours to create artworks. “It makes it looks more gentle,” she said. “It’s a bit dreamy and surreal.” Sally said the name Biota was inspired by her animal-friendly childhood.
It means the “total collection of organisms from a particular region or time period”.
“My four siblings and I were brought up in a house surrounded by animals,” she said.
“Our dad was a vet and he would raise kangaroos or possums.
“That's the inspiration — animals — I really love them and the way they look.”
Next weekend, the Alice Springs-based artist will be showing her work at the 2017 Wide Open Space Festival.
It is the first show Sally has ever submitted her work to.
“It’s my favourite festival in Australia so I am stoked to put my art in it,” she said.
“There’s a nice balance of music and art ... They do this really lovely thing where you can walk up to the top of the hill so you can watch the sunset and the moon rise.”
Sally said it was “surprising” to have made it so far in just three years.
“I’m just glad people really like my drawings and my paintings,” she said.
The young artist was aiming to hold her first exhibition at the end of the year.
Each of her pieces, normally no bigger than an A3 piece of paper, takes a few months to complete.
“It’s the planning process (that takes time),” she said. “I try out a few different ways of looking at the moment.
“Once I get painting I could get it done in a few days.”
When not armed with a paintbrush, Sally spends her time studying dentistry, two very different disciplines.
“They compliment each other,” she said. “It’s nice to have that balance. Often I am more productive when I am studying for exams, because (art) is an outlet and it keeps you thinking in a different way.”
Wide Open Space Festival runs from April 28 to April 30 at the East MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia — about 80km out from Alice Springs
The three-day festival features large scale video projections, burlesque shows, circus performances, immersive interactive spaces, engaging installations, live music performances and hands-on art making.
Other visual artists showing at festival include Watch This Space — the only contemporary art space in Central Australia, public artist j9 Stanton, reality experience The Brink, Milkcrate Events, Sydney based artist iZak, photographer Mela Melankolia and light artist Spektraflash.
The music, art and desert culture gathering started in 2009 and has grown with every passing year.