Inspired by Karlee Rawkins
Based on the north coast of New South Wales, award-winning painter Karlee Rawkins’ vibrant images of flora and fauna reflect the artist’s deep fascination with the natural world and highlight the role creatures play within our imagination. Informed in part by the lush diversity of her local ecosystem Rawkins’ works depict a ceaselessly verdant world full of growth and possibility. Attracted to the ways in which pattern and line intersect with form and colour, Rawkins’ skillfully integrates discernible representation with subtle, intuitive abstraction. 'I use animal imagery in my work as a metaphor for human emotions and experiences. The animals are distorted and flattened, often combining with patterns to create intentionally ambiguous compositions. I aim to emphasise the vulnerability and awkwardness of my subject and challenge a viewer's recognition and sense of association.' Rawkins trained at Southern Cross University and has exhibited extensively since 1994.
Inspired by the Rawkins’ paintings of animals, the students in the Virtuoso classrooms made their own animal paintings. They started the project by painting the duck silhouette in many colours, mainly using warm and bright tones. Next they added texture with black and white lace paper making sure they glue them down accordingly against the dark and light portions of the background to attain a contrasting effect. To finalise they were provided with stencils to paint the outline of the animal with a brayer and a sponge. During the process they practised their painting and glueing skills as well as observation skills.