Interview with Vicki Sullivan
“My work as a Figurative realist painter is about capturing moments in time encompassing a sense of beauty with a humanist narrative.”
#figurativerealism #womeninthearts #fineart
Q&A
How has 2020 events affected your work?
I feel like isolation is something I cope with well , as I am quite used to it. I spend many hours alone in my studio while painting . The biggest challenge for me during this time has been missing having models in the studio to either paint from life or for photo sessions to gather reference material to work from. I have also had to time my trips to the framer and photographing for portrait commissions in between lockdowns. Australia has had times when we have had no community spread for a couple of months at a time so I try to schedule my outings and model sessions while it is safe to do so. I was delighted that we even managed to schedule the Women Painting Women lll exhibition opening between lockdowns which was perfect timing. Other Exhibition openings were not so lucky, like the recent Women painting exhibition at the MEAM,last years exhibition at Sotheby’s and also the Artelibre 20x20 exhibition in Spain. I would have loved to attend as it was my fourth time with a painting in the MEAM but I have not managed to be at one opening and it is certainly a future dream to be there one day in person.
What concept or narrative is behind your work?
I find inspiration and beauty in people and nature. I also love vibrant and opulent colour. Color affects people’s mood and I hope that my work is uplifting and hopeful. I often use symbolism and myth as inspiration . My work aims to stir the imagination and create an emotional connection with my audience.
What is your ultimate goal for your artwork?
I have many goals for my work, for instance like so many artists I would love to win a large well known Art prize and have my work in more public Museum collections. Mostly though I just want to keep honing my craft and becoming a better painter. I would also like to see realism take more of a prominent role here in Australia as it has in the USA and Europe. I would like to help kickstart that along if I can, which was part of the reason I instigated the Women Painting Women {Australia} exhibition which has just had its third installment. This is something I wish to pursue when the pandemic is more under control.
Do you ever venture out of your creative process to try out new things?
I do try new things and I take workshops from other Artists whose work I admire to hone my skills and explore new painting methods. Lately I have been experimenting with texture and pushing the boundaries of the thin to thick variety of paint in my work and I am finding it really exciting to play with. I have also had a love affair with Gold and silver leaf in my work. I enjoy the reflective qualities it brings to the piece and I am intrigued by the way the work changes when different things reflect from the gold or silver surface of the painting..
How has working with our community at PoetsArtists helped your career?
Working with PoetsArtists has changed my life. Thanks to PoetsArtists, there have been many new opportunities to explore and I have learned multitudes from both Didi and the whole community. It is wonderful being a part of this very supportive group and it is constantly opening up new knowledge and opportunities. Who would have thought that my work would be heading to the Moon later this year? There have also been many Gallery exhibitions with new collectors around the world having bought my work. I am so grateful to Didi for all her hard work promoting our careers. Like the pied piper of the Art world leading us along the road to a rosy future.
Who is your art crush and why?
I adore all paintings by the English painter John William Waterhouse RA (6 April 1849 – 10 February 1917). Excellent drawing is vital for me in all painting, and Waterhouse was a great master at drawing , composition and painterly application. I have seen many of his works in Galleries around the world and they always knock me out with their beauty. We are lucky enough to have one of his pieces in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, so I always go directly to that room in the Gallery when I visit. Waterhouse paints many myths and legends which are incredibly well painted and designed. Actually there are many 19th Century painters whose work I adore. The skill of these many painters during that period was so outstanding and my art crush includes many painters from the era of the 19th Century
BIO HIGHLIGHTS
2021 Artelibre 20x20 exhibition at Rome Art Gallery in Zaragoza, Spain 2021
Naked and Nude Art prize, Manning Regional Art Gallery, Taree, NSW 2021
Women Painting All over the World, MEAM, European Museum of Modern Art, Barcelona, Spain 2021
Winner of the People’s Choice prize in the Hidden Faces Exhibition, Melbourne, 2021
Women Painting Women x3, Burrinja Cultural Center Upwey, Victoria 2021
Invited for the Australasian Local’s exhibition, Outr’e Gallery Fitzroy, Victoria 2021
Finalist in The Art Renewal Center Salon, 2021
2021 Finalist in the AME Bale Competition, Caulfield, Victoria
COLLECTIONS
2021 Collection of East End Court, Riverhead, Long Island ,NY, USA 2021
Collection of Swinburne University, Hawthorne, Victoria 2020
Collection of Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria 2020
Collection of Arthur D Magazu, USA 2019
Collection of the Art Renewal Center USA 2019
Collection of Pymble Ladies Collegem Pymble, NSW 2019
Collection of Swinburne University, Hawthorne, Victoria 2018
Deborah Cheetham Collection 2017
Kevin Cosgrave Collection, Former Australian Trade Commission Consul General, Auckland, New Zealand, and retired Businessman 2017
Kerry Armstrong Collection 2016
Jane Alexander Collection, former Director of Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery 2016
Liane Keegan Collection 2015
Andrew and Cynzia Burnes Collection CEO of AOT Group 2015
Luisa Mancini and Giovanni Morra Collection, Venice Italy 2014
John Waters collection 2013
Steve Bastoni collection 2011
Robbie Brozin founder of “Nando’s” Global
Vicki Sullivan is an Australian figurative painter who lives on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Vicki studied at the Angel Academy in Florence with Maestro Michael John Angel, and has attended workshops with many Internationally acclaimed Realist painters. Vicki was awarded the title of Associate Living Master by the Art Renewal Center in 2014 and her work has won many awards both Internationally and in Australia including a Purchase award 2020 and a Publication Award 2018 with the Art Renewal Center.
