Believe, and you will achieve!
In the words of this talented and committed teacher and artist: “Art means to create, to create is to make, to make starts with a mark”.
Born in Brisbane into a RAAF family, Kim spent her earliest years constantly on the move. This nomadic life led to many hours drawing and crafting, which in turn led to her love affair with art and ‘bower birding’. During her holidays, Kim would spend many hours collecting shells with her Aunties on the Sandgate foreshore. These shells later became crafted jars and trinket boxes. Many years later, Kim would return to this seaside town to raise her children and ultimately to open her own studio gallery.
Kim’s years in high school helped ignite her love affair with all things arty, but her opportunity for further education was halted due to family commitments that required her to leave her inspirational hub in Melbourne and return to her home state in Queensland where she joined the workforce, leaving behind her dreams to be an art teacher.
After a number of years working in retail and raising a family, Kim found the opportunity to explore fashion design at the Gateway TAFE college.
Kim realised her love for art had not been lost ... it had just be sleeping.
After many years without a connection to art, Kim found herself again drawn to paint. With her youngest child still in tow, she joined an art class tutored by local artist Catherine Sullivan. It was here that she realised that her talents were in painting, with her teacher quickly realising that Kim was a natural.
Kim very quickly moved through the media, working traditionally, mostly in oils, landscapes, florals and figurative pieces. As her artwork evolved, she started to exhibit in local shows and cafes.
When an opportunity arose to be involved in a start-up Art Community Centre in her local area, Kim jumped at the chance. It was here that her art journey began.
Through necessity, Kim began running art classes at the local community art centre, to help fund the not-for-profit organisation, Artrageous. Classes were run for children in all techniques, including craft. A range of holiday programs was created for both adults and children, which were funded by local councils. Kim soon gained a reputation for being able to create art-based projects for any budget and any activity.
It was not long before Kim was approached to run a program for young adults with a disability, which led to assisting with a new gallery opening in Redcliffe.
Kim soon went on to exhibit in many group and solo exhibitions at this gallery. This experience encouraged Kim to open her own studio gallery, Mancini Art Gallery in Deagon. She created a new
body of work called “Imperfection It’s Okay” to launch the gallery, the opening night for which included the local Federal member for Lilley, Wayne Swan.
She continued to work as an artist, but her main source of income and passion soon became the teaching of art, a dream finally realised. A short term at the Brisbane Institute of Art (BIA) brushed up on some skills, and led to her devising her own 12-week material and techniques course.
Kim began experimenting with ways to manipulate acrylic mediums, exploring mixed media, the use of collage and paper surfaces, using vintage papers and texture. She created new methods and ideas to share with clients.
She believes the subject matter is only a small portion of the artwork, and that the surfaces, colours and texture play an important role in the outcome. She also believes that to keep the colours true and vibrant, especially in acrylics, you must make your own colours, and that white and black kill colour. She teaches her students to use white when needed, but to look to the colour wheel to lighten or darken their base colours. If artists must use black, they should make it from the primaries or the complementary colours, e.g. viridian green and magenta.
During her years as an artist, Kim has been successful in winning a number of awards at local competitions. She has sold many works through group and solo exhibitions and in local galleries, both in Brisbane and at Sanctuary Cove. During the past year, Kim has been heavily involved in mural projects in local areas, introducing her to a new medium, Polymer paint, which has been a challenge, but has also led to exploration of new techniques and surfaces in her artwork.
Kim believes strongly that anyone can be an artist; they just have to make a start! It does not matter how or what you paint, it only matters that you just create. Art means to create, to create is to make, to make starts with a mark.
Her passion for art can been seen in her work both as an artist and a teacher. A client once commented that her artwork “Underbrush” was in so many ways a self-portrait, describing it thus: “This artwork, like Kim herself, has many hidden layers: the more you look into it the more you see her spirit. There is great sense of spirit and passion in the strokes, there is chaos in the grasses, there is a wildness in the flowers but also a gentleness
in their form. There is also enchantment and once around her you want to know more, you want to spend time in her presence. Her love for art is like the fairy wren hidden amongst the underbrush. You don’t always see her but once encountered she is hard to forget”.
This statement was enlightening for Kim, as she was very surprised to see someone had not only decoded her art in such a way, but had also exposed the truth, the essence of her very nature.
Kim has continued to seek and explore all mediums, surfaces and art forms especially in 2D form. She recently returned to the bush where she rekindled her love for all things organic, particularly the weeds and dandelions that grow along the roadside.
As an artist who has grown to meet the demands of this ever-changing world, especially in art, she like the dandelion has thrived, even in the driest conditions that life throws at us. If you would like to learn more about Kim, her love for art, teaching and her achievements, please visit her website.
Contact details Ph: 0402 473 083 Web: www.manciniartgallery.com.au ■