James O'Hanlon

James O'Hanlon

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Artist, illustrator, workshop facilitator and commissions

ARTIST STATEMENT

I laugh at my own jokes. Sometimes I tell them to other people, more often I make them into art. Having spent years working as a scientist, quantifying the world through an objective lens, I relish in exploring the fantastical through a subjective (mostly silly) lens. I create illustrations, written stories, large-scale murals, and the odd sculpture here and there.

BIO

James O'Hanlon is an artist and storyteller based in Armidale. He works at intersection of art and science and creates work that celebrates themes of nature, exploration, and discovery. James’ large scale public art pieces can be seen throughout Armidale and regional NSW and his original works have been featured in several solo and group exhibitions. His debut novel ‘Silk and Venom: The incredible lives of spiders’ was released in October 2023, and he is currently illustrating a number of non-fiction childrens’ books. James was the 2021 recipient of the Varuna-New England Writers Centre Fellowship and the 2022 recipient of the Helen Dangar Memorial Bursary.

James is available for mural commissions, illustrations, and workshops/presentations.

CONTACT

james.c.ohanlon@gmail.com

Instagram: @jamohanlon

Twitter: @jamohanlon

jamohanlon.com

0422 460 098

Stu Carpenter

Stu Carpenter

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Visual artist (traditional and digital), and amateur illustrator.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I like to chalk my reasons for doing what I do down to my disabilities, mostly because I think it’s funny. But in truth, it’s also precisely what has been one of my most consistent sources of inspiration and motivation.

When you’re autistic (if you ever decide to try it out), you often feel as though you’re looking in from the outside. As if there is always a thin gossamer film between yourself and everything else in life. It’s this point of view that I owe a lot of my inspiration to, and it’s given me a unique outlook to work from. Art has been one of my most reliable forms of expression, and I love trying to depict the indescribable sentiments and experiences in life through visual storytelling and abstraction of the mundane.

More recently, as I've been taking on commissioned work, I’ve been working at developing my illustrative style and character design as well.

BIO

Work experience at NIDA, and Armchair Productions (formerly The Magnificent Itch) animation studio in Sydney. (2017)

CONTACT

0459 511 222
stucarpstew@gmail.com

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David Allan

David Allan

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Drawing and painting.
I am an artist and illustrator, interested in myth, fantasy and landscape. From fine art oil paintings to delicate watercolours, I love to work in any medium.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am inspired first and foremost by the natural world and have a great love of all things flora and fauna. Exploring and recreating specimens visually, I believe, opens up a new level of understanding and appreciation for form and function in the natural environment and creates a strong foundation from which new ideas can develop. In this way, I enjoy producing work which blurs the boundaries between apparently disparate objects and concepts, examines familiar objects from unexpected angles, and allows for the creation of new worlds, objects and anatomically plausible, if fantastical, creatures.

I work in a range of areas including natural history illustration, children’s illustration and commissions, and in a variety of mediums including digital, however, my preferred medium is graphite. Increasingly, I am exploring the many possibilities of combining digital and traditional mediums.

BIO

David Allan is an illustrator and artist whose first picture book, Two Trickster Tales from Russia (retold by Sophie Masson) was published by Christmas Press in 2013. Since then, he has illustrated three other acclaimed picture books for Christmas Press: Two Tales of Twins from Ancient Greece and Rome (retold by Ursula Dubosarsky, 2014); Two Tengu Tales from Japan (retold by Duncan Ball, 2015) and Two Enchanted Tales from Old China (retold by Gabrielle Wang, 2017). He has also illustrated short story anthologies, including The Stuff of Tales, published by Arts North West in 2018, and several Christmas Press anthologies, as well as storybooks for reading programs. His work is in private and public collections, and he has participated in solo and group exhibitions.

CONTACT

0421 721 117
davidallancreative@gmail.com

Fiona McDonald

Fiona McDonald

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Mixed media in two and three dimensions.
Drawing predominately in graphite or pen, painting in acrylic and sculpture in mixed media

ARTIST STATEMENT

Fiona draws inspiration for her work from stories. The process of drawing forms the story, and the end product will form yet another story. Fiona is intrigued by multiple layers of meaning in a work which artist and audience will build between them from their individual knowledge and experience.

BIO

Trained at Julian Ashton Art School (Sydney), where she studied painting, drawing and etching. She also studied painting and composition with Sydney-based artist Nigel Thomson.

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CONTACT

grannyfi1@hotmail.com

Sandy Flett

Sandy Flett

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Drawing and painting/ Children’s illustrator

ARTIST STATEMENT

I have loved cartooning, painting and drawing books and comics since I was a very young child, very much enraptured by cartoonists and illustrators like Charles Shultz, Quentin Blake and Sandra Boynton. It was a natural progression for me become a children’s book illustrator and author, creating my own world of characters.

I have had thrill of illustrating two middle grade children’s book series, Juno Jones by Kate Gordon, published by Yellow Brick Books, and the Edie’s Experiments series by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Australia. I also have a short story published in the Spooktacular Anthology, edited by Michelle Worthington, and am working on other books as an ‘authorstrator’ (author and illustrator).

I love all kinds of media, including gouache and pastels but by far, my favourite media are Indian ink, water colour and digital art (using my iPad Pro and Procreate). I really love messing around with loose lines and vivid colours both with the paint and ink, and digitally, often combing all three media. As I love illustrating for children and have strong memories of always wanting to “be a better artist”, I decided to create my own a children’s drawing channel on Youtube - Sandy Flett Kids Art School, to encourage children (and their parents or carers!) have a go at drawing and learn to draw new things, as well as showcase their own artworks.

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CONTACT

0408 932 120
flettsandy28@gmail.com

Kristin Devine

Kristin Devine

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Drawing and painting.
Works predominately in soft pastels on paper, and on occasion, watercolours and oils.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I am inspired first and foremost by the natural world and have a great love of all things flora and fauna. Exploring and recreating specimens visually, I believe, opens up a new level of understanding and appreciation for form and function in the natural environment and creates a strong foundation from which new ideas can develop. In this way, I enjoy producing work which blurs the boundaries between apparently disparate objects and concepts, examines familiar objects from unexpected angles, and allows for the creation of new worlds, objects and anatomically plausible, if fantastical, creatures.

I work in a range of areas including natural history illustration, children’s illustration and commissions, and in a variety of mediums including digital, however, my preferred medium is graphite. Increasingly, I am exploring the many possibilities of combining digital and traditional mediums.

BIO

Kristin Devine is an emerging artist and illustrator who lives in Armidale NSW, where she enjoys the region’s many spectacular national parks and unique ecosystems as sources of inspiration and subject matter for her work. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History from the University of New England and has a particular interest in the use of images as historical sources. Kristin is the illustrator of Jenny Blackford’s junior novel Fil and Harry (Christmas Press 2021), and winner of the 2019 NEWC Illustration Prize.

Education and training:

Bachelor of Arts, UNE, 2018

Graduate Diploma in Local, Family and Applied History, UNE 2019

Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration, University of Newcastle 2020

CONTACT

0434 611 269
kadevineillustration@gmail.com

Kristie Farquhar

Kristie Farquhar

CREATIVE PRACTICE

Painter, printmaker, and illustrator

ARTIST STATEMENT

My aim is to make a connection. I want to tell a story, arouse an interest, a feeling, a memory, or simply a sense of pleasure and charm. I certainly create for my own enjoyment but hope to pass the feeling and energy of a piece on to the viewer. Watercolour, drawing, and printmaking are predominantly the areas I work in. Each for different reasons although loved equally. Watercolour for its unpredictability and “life”. It can be a challenging medium and there are many techniques involved, but this is precisely why I enjoy it so much. Drawing or just mark making is something I have loved since childhood. Ink, pen, pencil, charcoal, pastel, I enjoy it all. I was introduced to printmaking many years ago by one of Australia’s great printmakers, Bernhardine Mueller. Working mainly on collagraphs and intaglio plates, I find the process of printmaking captivating. The exactness, the time invested to get it “just right” and the excitement of revealing a piece after running it through the press after many proofs. You need patience to be a printmaker. My inspiration can come from a view, object, poetry, songs, even a split-second glance at something, as I am driving, that may ruminate in my mind for weeks before I can translate it in 2D in some way. Obviously, residing in Gunnedah, I love the country. Nature in its many forms is a constant source of delight, whether it be a large landscape or a tiny wildflower. Creating memories of a view, a property, the family homestead, or similar meaningful scene is a rewarding part of the creative process.

CONTACT

kristiefarquhar@gmail.com
0417 421 507