OUTSIDE THE BOX
are Emily Fennell and Charlie Marshall pushing among a new breed of designers the boundaries on traditional art.
Young Gold Coast artists Emily Fennell and Charlie Marshall are finding their own distinct, vibrant and fun ways to express their views WE have all been told to draw inside of the lines, but has anyone ever asked us to go outside of them?
Gold Coast teenagers Emily Fennell and Charlie Marshall are among a new generation of designers pushing the boundaries on art.
All while under the age of 20, these artists have branded themselves with personalised art that has made waves in the business world.
Both have been praised for their novel creations with customers going as far as requesting custom items and offering to pay more than $400 for a piece of work.
Ms Fennell began painting when she was 12 years old.
“I paint out of enjoyment,” she said. “It gives me the chance to express my emotions and put my creativity to paper.”
As a child, Ms Fennell never found art class helpful in letting her be creative. She said it wasn’t until much later that she discovered her true potential.
“In art class we were told to paint a mountain. If it wasn’t a standard-looking mountain the teacher wouldn’t accept it,” Ms Fennell said.
“If I wanted my mountain to be wavy or an abstract colour, I couldn’t.”
With her brand called EmFenDesigns, she has created everything from large-scale mixed-media paintings to smaller prints that can take up to a week to create.
Some buyers are requesting custom-made T-shirts, much like Mr Marshall’s brand Rupert George.
Mr Marshall, Oliver Main and Josh Lin have taken a different approach to their artwork by choosing to highlight a character they’ve created named Rupert George.
Rupert is a character they have designed as a means to tell a story of a “regular guy” just trying to live life and have fun.
“We all live in three different cities so it’s sometimes hard to come together and come up with the artwork,” Mr Marshall said.
“Oliver is definitely the creative mind when it comes to the overall art but we each have a say in what we want Rupert to look and act like.”
Rupert is no ordinary character though, he is often seen sporting bushy hair and hanging out with larger-thanlife people.
The trio has also created supplementary characters who Rupert interacts with on his journey to self discovery all the while revealing pieces of his personality.
All of their artwork is created digitally. The bulk of their product comes from their Tshirt designs that are also being sold in Adelaide and Sydney.
Even South Australian Premier Steven Marshall can sometimes be found sporting the trio’s character Rupert.
“We listen to what the people want when it comes to the story of Rupert and his journey,” Mr Marshall said.
“We’re hoping to eventually turn our art from digital designs to handmade prints on paper.”
The trio said the brand had made a decent profit from their T-shirts, prints and sticker sales since launching in April.
Both Ms Fennell and Mr Marshall hope to see other children experimenting with their creativity and giving their own artwork a shot.
“I really want to inspire kids to go out there and find a type of art that suits them,” Ms Fennell said.
“It’s so important to find a type of artwork that suits your creativity and that you can learn from.”
You can find Ms Fennell’s artwork on her Instagram page @emfendesigns and Mr Marshalls at www.rupert george.com.