澳洲艺术家 Louise Olsen 的艺术生活

Vogue Australia may receive advertising or affiliate commission if you buy through our links. Read morehere.Louise Olsen is an artist who needs little introduction. As well as being a gifted painter, she is also the co-founder ofDinosaur Designs, one of Australia’s most iconic design brands, known for its unique handmade resin wares, sculpted in organic forms and rich colours.Born in Watsons Bay, Sydney, Louise’s path to becoming an artist seemed inevitable, with her dad being well-known Australian painter John Olsen and her mum Valerie also a talented artist in her own right. As a family of four, including her brother Tim Olsen, their whole world revolved around art, paintings, books, music and artefacts of inspiration. Surrounded by a highly creative family environment as a child, Louise still recalls a time when her dad’s studio was set up in the living room and her mum’s studio in the spare room; the smell of turpentine and oil paint was always in the air.“My childhood was magical—there was a feeling that anything was possible in a creative world,” she says. Her parents were natural teachers and opened her eyes to seeing beyond the surface of things, so she could look deep into the structure to get the essence of the subject. They both believed that to be a good artist, you needed to know how to draw if you were to expand your artistic vocabulary. In adulthood, Louise is stillsurrounded by a family of artists; her husband Stephen Ormandy is also an artist, as is her daughter Camille. “Art has always been my life, it’s in my blood and is a perpetual conversation. Art is my passion, love and drive. I feel I never chose to be an artist; I feel it chose me,” she says.Louise’s painting studio and her father John Olsen’s studio are located at opposite ends of the house at Hidden Lakein the Southern Highlands. The kitchen is in the middle and they usually catch up for lunch. Leaning against the wall is awork in progress:Peachy Cloud.When Louise finished high school in the early 1980s, she went straight to art school, majoring in painting, drawing and art history; and afterwards she completed her studies with a postgraduate degree in painting. She recalls meeting Stephen, her husband and co-founder ofDinosaur Designs, on the very first day of art school. The classes were grouped alphabetically and with him being Ormandy and me being Olsen, we were put together. We became best friends and from that place built a solid partnership and a recognised design brand.Dinosaur Designs grew from its humble beginnings at Paddington Markets in 1985, where they sold resin jewellery as a way to support their art practices. Stephen and Louise have been the creative directors at Dinosaur Designs for over thirty years now. They started Dinosaur Designs to support their painting and it grew bigger than they ever imagined. Today it is a global brand with stores across Australia, London and New York. For Louise, creativity is a way of life and although her creative focus was on Dinosaur Designs for many years, she never stopped painting and drawing. She now splits her time as an artist more evenly and freely, weaving her magic between her art practice and design wares. It’s pretty organic working between Dinosaur Designs and my own practice. But they cross over too. I love working in isolation painting in my studio, but I also love working in the buzz of Dinosaur Designs, she says.Louise’s front living room, including paintings from left to right, top row centre and right: Stephen Ormandy, JaneOlsen; middle row, second from left and far right: Peter Atkins, Patrick Hartigan; bottom row: John Spiteri, LouiseTuckwell, bark painting by Aboriginal artist Yirawala, Robert Klippel. Large painting at right by Stephen Ormandy,gold bowl by Dinosaur Designs and acrylic boulder by Gemma Smith.Nature is Louise’s most significant source of inspiration. I have a fascination with balance and the relationship between being bold and the sensitivity of the delicate. Art and nature are always at the heart of my work. There is something beautiful about the time things take to evolve and perfect in the natural world, she says. ForPollination, a collection of paintings created in 2020, Louise worked on Belgian linen primed in rabbit-skin glue, exploring an earth-based palette, with touches of raw umber and burnt sienna, and she also experimented with seedpod-shaped pourings.Her paintings can be found in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Western Australia, and she often participates in exhibitions or installations, such as Series 8, a collaboration between her and Stephen for Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA). Her practice is process driven and she experiments with a range of mediums from resin and collage to acrylic and pigments; she believes each material has its own unique voice. Sometimes she sets up the pigment and painting, pouring many layers to get interesting and unexpected reactions, like playing with the idea of the law of chance. I love the elasticity and the beautiful oiliness and intensity of the pigment of paints: the touch, and the rub, and the mark-making, it gives me goosebumps, it moves my soul.Karina Dias Pires: Is there a particularly memorable project or commission you have worked on?Louise Olsen:There are so many memories working on projects for Dinosaur Designs and my solo practice but having my first solo exhibition at Olsen Gallery in 2020 was a memorable moment. Seeing all the works sitting together on the walls of the gallery is a moment I will never forget.KDP: Do you have a studio routine or any rituals that help you get through your projects?LO:My routine is always changing but it usually starts with music and a coffee.Pollen 1, 2019 by Louise Olsen. Oil on linen, 180 x 145cmKDP: How long have you been an artist for and what have been your victories and your struggles as an artist?LO:I’ve always been an artist; I’ve always sketched, painted and designed. They’re all aspects of the same impulse, each with a different form of expression. Having enough time to dream and float to paint and getting in the zone can be a struggle at times, but once you’re there, it’s so rewarding; I find it’s addictive, you can’t stop.KDP: Do you have a favourite tool to use?LO:Brushes and hands.Louise’s dining room table set with Dinosaur Designs homewares. Artworks on the wall by Victor Pasmore.KDP: What do you aspire for the future as an artist?LO:To be in the studio and to keep working and being inspired by the beauty, hope, growth and the lessons of nature.KDP: Did you ever have a plan B apart from being an artist?LO:Starting Dinosaur Designs was my plan B.Upstairs at Louise’s home the walls feature an eclectic range of pieces, including the black and white piece by Will Cooke and a portrait of Louise by David Bromley, a finalist in the 2008 Archibald Prize.KDP: Based on your own experience, what is your advice for someone who wants to pursue an artistic career?LO:Immerse yourself in the art world, get to know its people and keep creating whatever it may be. You will find that life will take care of itself. But you have to have courage to put yourself out there. Deal with rejections and success, but most importantly believe in yourself.KDP: What does it mean to be a woman in art?LO:I believe times have got a lot better for women, but we still have a long way to go. Women have a huge role to play in opening hearts and minds on issues such as human rights, climate change and being kinder and more sensitive to nature.Coral Sea 3, 2019 by Louise Olsen. Oil on linen, 80 x 60cmKDP: Which other female artists inspire you?LO:My mum—Valerie Strong Olsen.KDP: As an artist, what is the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way?LO:To always keep drawing and have a sketchbook by your side.Leaning against the wall in Louise’s studio is work in progressPollination 1.KDP: How do you unwind from a busy day?LO:Swimming and meditation.KDP: What are your favourite travel destinations?LO:I’ve always loved the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest and Central Australia.One Plum-Tree Warms the Mist Air, 2020 by Louise Olsen. Oil and acrylic on linen, 180 x 150cmSHOP NOW:Artists at Homeby Karina Dias Pires, $59.99 fromBooktopia.Want moreVogue Living?Sign up to theVogue Livingnewsletterfor your weekly dose of design news and interiors inspiration.