Meet Maria Oakley as she explores her call to create
I feel a calling to create and a need to yield to the yearning to create.
Creating that special piece for someone and watching how it resonates with them is an amazing feeling.
Painting for me produces a meditative effect that often sees me lose track of time.
Inspiration is in abundance around our Island of Lutruwita Tasmania.
Inspiration comes to me frequently from nature but also my emotions.
A Strong Affinity With My Surroundings
I feel a strong affinity with my surroundings, so much so that my local beach and it’s views can be somewhat described as my muse.
Bush walking in Tasmania is another inspiring hobby that feeds my art practice both with literal Inspiration but also the much needed head clearing mindfulness that comes with the physical act of hiking.
I’ve enjoyed a lifelong love of trees and landscapes as a whole.
My huge collection of photography from hikes is a great wealth of reference to use.
An Exhibition as a Reminder of Joy
I spent my first fifteen years of working life as a florist. It was a wonderfully fulfilling creative career.
Then I paused to bring up children with my partner and later we ran a small business together.
Entering an exhibition online was a wonderful reminder of the joy it bought me to create and fortunately I have continued ever since.
At first creating for my self and then slowly entering group exhibitions locally and intersate fuelled the passion. I’ve since taken a few online courses and look forward to participating in some in person ones in the future.
My paintings are ways of exploring things I’m interested in at depth and a way of challenging myself to learn further.
The Freedom of a Studio
I started out on the kitchen island bench then the coffee table. Luckily I out grew the house and now I’m enjoying a home studio space that is still a work in progress but it gives me a great sense of freedom.
It means I can work on multiple works at once and greatly increases my productivity. Not to mention I can play a wide range of music with no complaints!!
In the studio you’ll often hear music ranging from Jazz, classical and into the more alternative.
Occasionally the news will be on the little studio TV but more often than not a podcast will be reverberating around the walls.
Indulging in the Medium
I am drawn to many mediums and indulge in exploring them as they fit what I’m trying to convey.
Sometimes it starts with a charcoal sketch, other times it’s many layers of acrylic built up slowly over time.
The Experimental Sketch Book
Experimental sketch book practices allow me to keep playing and getting a feel for new mediums.
Recently I found myself collaging gum leaves made from old maps and this process was born from sketch book use.
Watercolour is my most challenging medium to use but also one of my favourites as it pushes me out of my comfort zone. Making me relinquish control at times. It can also produce some amazing unplanned results.
Finding Support as an Artist
Joining in with artist led initiatives can improve your support networks. Artist can lead a very solitary way of working and living at times.
I’ve found like minded souls can be the most uplifting, supportive group.
Being Rewarded for Being Brave
By pushing my own boundaries and making the effort to put myself out there by exhibiting and joining an online gallery I have now sold both nationally and internationally.
I would love to break out of my introverted ways and sketch on location. I think this will feature in my painting goals in the not to distant future.
Feeding the Creative Muse
I immerse myself in art in as many forms as possible by attending exhibitions, performances and revisiting art history through reading.
Research for paintings often leads me on many tangents that inform different creative outcomes in the future.
My early morning beach walks often feed my muse. The different ways light plays on the landscape and it’s reflections is a constant inspiration.
The Growth That Comes from Group Exhibitions
Exhibitions are a fantastic way to receive feedback from a varied audience.
Local Group exhibitions can be a wonderful opportunity to meet and network with other artists in your area.
Be Bold, Take the Leap
You can never be fully prepared just take that leap.
Supportive Advice
1. Keep learning to grow your confidence
2. Trust the process (It takes time).
3. Don’t forget to relax and have fun.
About the Artist
Maria grew up as a country kid climbing trees and feeding chickens, dodging redback spiders and listening to Kookaburras .
She believes this background still resonates with her today and influences her deep love of landscape.
Living on the Island of Tasmania provides plenty of inspiration and has a thriving creative community.
Maria enjoys producing commissions for clients that have specific requests but also loves watching people find that special something for a gift or just to add to their collection.
Maria works in mixed media, watercolour and acrylics.
Seascapes, Landscapes, flora and fauna and abstracts are preferred categories.
Follow Maria on Facebook and Instagram and visit her website for news about latest paintings, exhibitions and events.
Artist Profile Stories
I want there to be more arts and crafts in our world, in our communities and in our own lives. Hopefully you’ve found this blog post inspiring and interesting.
So I’m creating, with your help, Art Trails Tasmania, allowing all of us who feel this love to create more of it.
And the Art Trails Tasmania blog is a key part of making this happen, telling the stories of members. It’s about what they have happening with workshops and classes, exhibitions, open studio trails, where to find their outlets, markets, fairs and festivals so you can shop their creations as well as their art and craft retreats.
Also being shared are the supporters of our artists, the galleries, shops, cafes, art societies and groups, places to stay and artist in residencies.
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