COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHT - Artist Elle Beaumont

This month we had a chat with Artist painter Elle Beaumont and as you may guess by the name she is Lucy’s talented sister. Elle is the talented painter behind the 6m painting displayed in Marrickville’s light-filled Studio 1!

Hi Elle, can you share a little bit of your background and what brought you to your passion for painting?

I grew up in the Southern Highlands and spent a lot of my childhood making things and playing in the big rambling garden my parents created. This is probably a big influence in why I paint now. While I went to study other things (law and psychology), I’d always have a sketch or little painting on the go, and when I started working as a lawyer I set up a mini studio in my share house room, and went to life drawing and night painting classes. I’ve just spent more and more time doing it, and it’s addictive.

Can you tell us more about your job/routine as an artist painter, what your style is, and what your typical week (or a specific weekday) look like?

I’ve got young kids so I’m mostly a night painter. I try to paint most nights, with a couple of daytime sessions. I’m not sure I have a typical routine, but generally if I’ve got a good block of time (usually from 7pm-11pm), I’ll go into the studio at the back of our house and get straight into it. I get most of my thinking done beforehand - I spend a lot of the day thinking about what I’m working on, and will often take pictures as I leave the studio so I can mull over them. I work on about 10 works at the same time, doing a little bit on one, then moving to the next to give it time to dry.

I mostly work on board or canvas, with acrylic underpainting and then lots of layers of oil paint. I’m pretty ruthless and will destroy a painting by painting over it (even the good bits!) if it isn’t working, but that just creates a kind of history that informs the finished work. .

What do you most love about painting?

I’m not really sure how to describe it but there is a really addictive aspect to painting. It is so rewarding and exciting, and also really heartbreaking. I’ve got big dreams for the work I want to create, and while I can’t quite translate that to what I’m making yet, sometimes I get a little glimpse of it and I’m constantly chasing those moments.

Where do you mainly get your inspiration from?

A lot of my work is informed by the landscape, particularly my immediate environment or places I’ve spent time bushwalking around. However, this often comes later as I’m making work which seems to trigger a memory. What is often more potent is the inspiration that comes from any experience where I’m left in awe - like seeing a good comedy show, band, reading a good novel - I just instantly want to go and make a painting.

What past painting are you most proud of and why?

One of the paintings I am most proud of is actually in the home of the author Clare Fletcher (@clarefletcherwriter) who I think must be an original Scout client! I’m proud of it because it is the namesake for the exhibition ‘Painted Desert’ I put on at the back of Scout St Peters (where studio 3 is), when it was just a grungy warehouse space. I was about to turn 30 and wanted to put my work out there in the flesh - it was a pretty bootleg operation as I handmade all the frames for 20 works. I was really nervous beforehand but really proud of that work and how the show went.

What qualities are required for being a painter?

I think you need to be intrinsically motivated with a healthy inner critic. For me, being an artist is a long-game and I think you need to have quiet confidence in yourself, some kind of vision, and a true love for the materality of paint to get there.

What advice would you give to someone who has a hidden painting talent but might get a lot of self-doubt when it comes to sharing it with the world?

I don’t think there is any hurry to share things with the world. I would focus on making good work you’re happy with, and not take on too much of what other people think (good or bad).

Although, if you want to share things, one practical tip is a secret instagram account! I once had a secret instagram account which I didn’t tell my friends about, and I just posted some drawings and works there to see what reaction they got. It was fun for a while but then I felt more ready to show things under my own name.

What goal do you hope to achieve in 2023? Or do you have any exciting projects coming up?

My goal for 2023 has been to get into the studio as much as possible and just make work. A big project this year was the 6m painting at Scout St Peters, and. I’m working towards a group show at Michael Reid Northern Beaches over summer and a few solo shows next year including a solo show in Sydney!

When you’re not working, what are you up to / how do you like to spend your free time?

I live on 13 hectares of bushland outside of Canberra. With my husband we’ve been slowly restoring the garden from an overgrown weedy mess to a grassy woodland garden full of fire resistant, local and bird-attracting species. It’s a huge project but it is incredible to watch threatened species that weren’t here before like the gang gangs and sacred robin come and check out the new plantings.

Finally, where can we find your work?

This year I’ll have some works in the Michael Reid Northern Beaches Summer Salon (@michaelreid.northernbeaches) - and I’ll be showing with the Michael Reid Group in Newport and Berrima next year - (https://michaelreidnorthernbeaches.com.au/ and https://michaelreidsouthernhighlands.com.au/

I’m pretty quiet on social media unless I have a show coming up, but instagram (@elle_beaumont_) is probably the best for information, and I do have a pretty basic mailing list where I will send out an email when there is a show/new work - you can sign up for it at my website (https://elizabethbeaumont.net/) which also has images of my work.