5 Questions with Shannon Crees

The 2095 first "discovered" the artist known as Shannon Crees purely by what she (ie. the 2095'er) had deemed at the time to be complete misfortune.

Feeling hideously shivery and shaky, having caught the wrong bus due to watery eyes, the 2095'er fell asleep and awoke to find herself almost at Dawes Point.  Grumpy and annoyed, the 2095'er alighted said bus, bemoaning the fact she would have to walk that extra "mile" to the ferry and even worse, through the busy Rocks Markets.

Somewhere through the cotton-wool-headed haze and desperate for some sun to chill the bones, the 2095 noticed something above her which glistened with such intensity and intricacy she could not but help pull out the camera and capture the image.

Despite (or inspite perhaps) the feeling of blech, all photographers have a little voice within saying "if you don't get it now, it'll be gone", and as such the 2095'er then went on to capture the reverse side of this beauty.

Curiously the 2095'er did sense some folk watching her walking down, around and trying to get the perfect angle, but obviously not enough to prevent them from buying some disgustingly kitsch souvenirs  of which there are plenty, thus leaving the 2095'er blissfully enraptured enough to get two more perfect frames before literally falling on to a ferry seat, inching her way home,  crawling in to the beckoning bed and sleeping like a baby.

Fast track 2011 Outpost where on the 2095'ers maiden voyage, one of the first images she spotted was the singularly most beautiful wall she had laid eyes on. However, to be fair, it was literally within the first 2 minutes that the 2095  chick had stepped foot on soil and hardly any further discovery had been made at that particular stage.

Here are my 5 questions with Shannon Crees.

You have an incredibly distinctive style.  Has this evolved as you have grown both as a person and an artist or did it come in to "being" from doodles or scratchings along the way

I don't actually doodle at all.  I am quite impatient and like to see process.  I drew a lot when I was younger and it was my way of being able to sit still at my desk at school, but now I love the freedom of expression in painting large.

I went to fashion college so it all started from fashion sketches and my first job as a fashion illustrator and developed from there.

How do you choose what you are going to paint?  Is it an overt process (if given a brief) or does it present itself and you take it from there

It is mostly presented to me as a brief.  I do corporate work, private commissions and work to fit in group shows.

What has been your biggest installation to date

The mural for "Wall to Wall" competition at 80m sq.

But the temporary installation for "The Galleries Victoria" on Pitt Street (Sydney), I worked on for a whole lot longer and that was almost as big at 18m x 3m.

Although big can be impressive, I think 3x4m or a little larger is a great size to pain. Not too big, not too small.

For some a piece is never really "finished".  Is this the same for you where you have to draw a line in the sand, or do you meticulously plan and stick to point

Ha ha...sometimes it is just better to never come back and look at it again after completion as you can see bits you just want to add to.

That's why I need deadlines.  I work better that way.

How would you sum up the world of Shannon Crees in 5 words

That's the hardest question ever.....

Colour

Surprises

Inspiration

Freedom

Hardwork (that's one word!)

I mean everything except hard work :)

**********

From one Northern Beaches chick to another I thank you.  Most especially as Shannon is currently o/s and somehow managed to fit in answering questions for the 2095'er from afar (the wonders of the fibre optics!)

5 Questions with Rebecca Murphy

I first saw one of Rebecca's paste ups was at Pastemodernism 3 at (dont' say you weren't warned people) The Outpost.

Stunning, captivating & breathtaking to the naked eye.  But once behind the lens and entirely new world of beautiful creativity involving a complexity of fibrous tissues in an almost self-portraiture mode was to be found.

Since that time I have loved watching each of her works come to life, to the point of actually being fortunate enough to have received a stunning little hand painted choker which rather than wearing, I simply framed.  

Here are my 5 questions with Rebecca Murphy

When did the artist within begin to emerge

I've always been creative and felt the drive to express myself creatively, but if I had to pinpoint a moment, I'd probably say when i was in 2nd Grade, so around the age of 6 or 7.

I was dealing with some traumatic events at the time, and on one particular day I was pulled out class to see a counsellor.  

She wasn't the first, so I had the caution of a child going to see the principal.  But she (the counsellor) was different, because after introducing herself, she gave me some cool crayons (those ones that looked like pencils and you twisted the bottom to make more come out....remember those?) and a sheet of paper and told me I could draw anything I wanted.

No need to rush back to class, no interrogation, no sense of judgement.  Just drawing whatever I wanted and then at some point she started asking about what I was drawing, to try this type of blue and how's life?

When I was done drawing she told me I could go to lunch early and I asked her why she hadn't asked me the kind of questions I'd been asked before.  She explained that art helped to express things you weren't aware of and my drawing told her all sorts of things about me.

That was a revelation and this new idea fascinated me.  I really loved art, but this is when I really started to think about what I was creating.

Upon reflection, are you able to pinpoint or estimate a time when the style that you are now known for came in to being, or for you, is it still a work in progress (so to speak)

It started coming into being as far back as 2001.  Just occasionally in a pose or hair detail or some other signature element like tiny ears, but it didn't really solidify until late 2007.  I'd like to think it's a continually evolving living thing.

Would you have ever believed that the girl from the Gong would go on to become known so nationally AND internationally to the current level?

My first instinct was to say "Yes! Of course!", but if I'm honest, I don't really think about it like that.  It doesn't quite register because I have so many  more things I want to achieve, so much more to do.

When I do take a beat and look at what's happened in the last 5 years, it is a bit of a shock.  And I have so many people to thank for my success so far, sincerely and with all my heart.

You've done quite a few collaborative pieces.  Which would be your most treasured so far?

It's a hard choice, but the most treasured would be the screen-print collaboration I did with Ben Neoh for the THINK Exhibition at Whitebox Gallery. It was the first work I'd created specifically to be screen-printed and completely different way of approaching a piece.  It pushed me out of my comfort-zone just a little and everything that expands my horizons is something I treasure. 

this is not the collaborative work described above, but from Painting Grounds 2011

where the 2095 had been invited to do Preview Shots

You are incredibly generous with your time (eg: answering copious questions from the 2095'er), do you ever feel the need to close the door for a while and simply be "Rebecca", to then emerge re-energised and full of creativity?

Haha, well it's my pleasure!  Yes definitely. I've always been a bit of a loner and need that solo recharge time.

It's one of the reasons I work from my own studio and why I prefer painting at night: the quiet and the solitude allows me to really immerse myself in what I'm doing without being concerned that I'm ignoring someone or something.

**********

With that the 2095 chick says thank you to Bec for sharing some of her time and her story.  A fan the 2095 surely is, and I am sure those who weren't will now become.

Rebecca Murphy