A Kiwi artist’s flower-covered canvases
Dotted with daisies, Rachael Mayne’s paintings transport us to sunny meadows flowering and buzzing with all kinds of nature’s wonders.
As seen in Issue One, page 44 | Read the digital magazine
Hello, who are you?
Hi, I'm Rachael and I am a painter and clinical psychologist. I live in Auckland, with my husband, two young children, and black and white cat.
When did you start painting?
My mum is an art teacher and I started painting pretty much as soon as I could pick up a paint brush – I’m addicted! I have memories of sitting at the kitchen table for hours on end trying to perfect my drawings and paintings.
I’ve worked as a clinical psychologist in the eating disorder field for the last 10 years and I’ve always painted as a hobby. In 2017 I had my son and I started painting a lot more while he napped. It was a lovely distraction to keep me busy while on maternity leave. When I went back to work, I found that I really missed painting and creativity. During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown I decided to take the leap and work one day a week in my painting studio. It’s been a year since I made that decision and now I can’t imagine life without my lovely painting day each week.
Are your paintings based on locations you’ve been to, or do they come into being on the canvas as you paint?
My paintings are based on a mixture – flowers in vases around my house, photographs of places I’ve been to, and inspiring pictures I’ve found on Pinterest. I normally combine a few pictures to create a new composition. At the moment I’m a little obsessed with daisy fields. Whenever I stumble upon a new one I quickly pull over the car to take photos (it is very likely that I have trespassed once or twice this year to get these photos – sorry farmers).
My large paintings take about three or four days. I normally spread these days over the course of a month in order to give time for paint to dry and to build up the layers. Sometimes a daisy field will need about 10 layers of paint. I normally paint with full body acrylics because they dry a lot faster and I’m quite impatient!
Tell me about your studio, it must be lovely to have a space of your own to create in?
We live in a 1920s bungalow in Mount Albert, Auckland, which has a very old detached garage/shed. I’m very lucky that the previous owners were architects and they converted the shed into a studio. It sort of functions as a garden shed/ garage/studio – but I am constantly claiming my space! I love having my own space to make mess, turn up the music, and leave art lying around.
With two young kids, it’s handy having the studio at home because it means I can pop in and out. When I’m feeling brave I let them pop down and have a play with the paint. I notice a lot of artist mums on Instagram post pictures of them and their kids working in harmony in the studio – this is definitely not the case with my kids... One time my three-year-old put a lovely swipe of red paint across a daisy field!
Your art has the feeling and quality of being able to ‘step right into it’. Did this take a while to master?
Over the last year or so I’ve been drawn to fields, trees and gardens, which often involve layers and depth. There is always a terrifying moment in the middle of a painting where I’ve got a few layers down but it all looks a bit weird. I often find myself worrying that the painting isn’t going to work out. If I patiently persist with the layering, there is this magic moment at the end where it all comes together (I love this part of the process). I’ve found that painting regularly has helped me to have confidence to persist with paintings and take more risks. It might sound obvious, but I’ve also discovered that it’s crucial to start layering from the furthest point in the background of the painting, gradually through to the foreground. I’ve learned the hard way that it doesn’t necessarily work out the other way around.
What is your advice to fellow makers?
I would just like to encourage any hobby painters out there who dream about painting professionally to take the risk and do it! I just love the balance, creativity and joy that painting brings to my life.
It might sound a bit cheesy, but I feel incredibly privileged to spend a day in the week painting what I love. I am just blown away when people purchase my art to hang in their homes, what an absolute honour.
Auckland, New Zealand
