In the studio with Georgie Daphne

Makers

Jul 24

Written By Cassie

Georgie has had quite the creative journey exhibiting her work solo, designing prints for fashion and homeware brands. But she still finds it difficult to call herself an ‘artist’.

Styling: Michelle McIlrath Photography: Ruby Henshall

Hello, who are you?

Hi! I’m Georgie and I am an artist, textile designer and illustrator. I grew up in the south west of Western Australia and moved to Melbourne when I was 21. Twenty years later I’m still here, now with my own little family.

When did you start painting?

Gosh, I really don’t know! Definitely when I was
a child. After having my first son I randomly committed myself to doing a solo exhibition at a local gallery. So 2016 and 2017 were the years when I really, really started to embrace being an artist. But I still find it super strange to call myself an artist! I actually studied textile design and became a bedlinen designer for nearly seven years before my first son was born.

What is your favourite medium to work with?

Gouache! I love the super smooth matt qualities of it. But I’m also starting to love working with acrylics which is a relatively new medium for me.

Your work is very plant focussed. Have plants always been your favourite source of inspiration?

I grew up on a nine-acre property with a mum who loved to garden. We didn’t have television so I was always outside somewhere painting or drawing the flowers, so the answer would be yes!

What is the process of your artwork. Do you plan them before starting? Are they based on what is sitting in front of you?

I wish I could say that I only paint from my own plants. But there is no way I could grow the kinds of plants I’m interested in painting. In the past it has been very difficult to find good imagery of plants to paint. But if you go search for the hashtags #plantgang #helloplantlover or #urbanjungleblogger on Instagram, the options are endless. But I always ask permission before painting someone else’s plant baby.

Do you have a favourite creation or project that you’ve worked on?

The designs I did for Dusk four years ago was pretty exciting. And I love how the Tahitian Flower painting turned out. Also some of my earlier paintings I sold were super exciting, mainly because the whole concept of selling paintings to complete strangers was just crazy to me!

Tell me about your studio, it must be lovely to have a space of your own to create?

I love my little studio! Although it does get a bit crazy sharing the space with my two little boys.
It can be rather stressful constantly stopping my youngest (nearly two) from pulling things out of my bookshelf or paint off my desk. This forces me to keep it very organised most of the time.
But I love that they get to see what I am up to.
I would love to work on some bigger canvasses so I’ve been figuring out the logistics of that.