While there’s nothing like a bright floral to lift the mood, it’s a tricky aesthetic that can very easily tiptoe into naff territory. But the young Melbourne artist Morgan Jamieson, of Colour & Skulls, creates pieces that are anything but. We’ve featured her before but she’s certainly come a long way from her early illustration and graphic design days!
“I studied art history and learnt the textbook side of art and design at university but everything else, I have learned along the way while practicing as an artist. In some ways I guess I am self-taught,” says Morgan who received formal training in visual arts at Federation University (formerly the University of Ballarat), majoring in graphic design. The busy artist balances her artistic career alongside full-time work as a graphic designer for a boutique Melbourne design agency.
“I would describe my work as bold, imperfect and unbalanced,” says Morgan. Her experimental style combines acrylic, watercolour, pastel and gloss mediums with floral motifs a recurrent theme. “I draw inspiration from botanicals, different colour palettes, landscapes, patterns, fabrics and flowers. I’m particularly interested in the beautiful, intricate detail of dahlias,” says Morgan, who works out of her home studio in Victoria’s Ocean Grove.
“I used to work predominantly with watercolour on paper and have spent the last couple of years studying florals, drawing them, water-colouring them and trying to perfect my watercolour practice. But I longed to get back to painting on canvas and the idea of trying to mimic the beautiful fluidity of watercolour using acrylic on canvas was something I really wanted to explore for my latest series.”
See more of Morgan’s work. Wholesale orders and commissions can be arranged via Greenhouse Interiors.
Photography: Cricket Studios | Styling: Noél Coughlan
Morgan’s prints will sit alongside Cotton On Body’s varied selection of Christmas gifting solutions and will be available in stores nationally from 17 November 2014.
