I grew up in the green hills of Mullumbimby, a small town in the Byron Shire in NSW. My childhood was spent collecting tree sap, eating mulberries, drawing radically colourful horses, and trying to convince my parents to buy a dog (5 years and many stubborn Christmas-lists later I succeeded). I went to the local Steiner School and often didn’t wear pants. My current studio is a 6-minute walk from the apartment I share with my partner in Collingwood. My commute is so short I often amble around the studio space for another 10 or 20 minutes before I feel like I’ve arrived. I lock myself out of the house and/or studio on a weekly basis. When I’m not in the studio (or locked outside) I’m working at Melbourne Artists’ Supplies, where I work with a wonderful bunch of staff and get to talk to customers about paint all day. The staff discount is both a blessing and curse, and I somehow seem to spend most of my pay check each week on art supplies. I am an avid reader and current favourites are the essays and poems in Quinn Latimer’s ‘Like a Woman’, Ocean Vuong’s collection of poetry ‘Night Sky With Exit Wounds,’ and Daphne du Maurier’s classic, ‘Rebecca.’ These books influence many of my current works. (pic credit : Tatanja Ross) Louise is part of our current group exhibition Memory + Paint which continues at our Art Gallery in Geelong until August 12 View her work here
