Raelene Fuller

Does your garden influence your work?

I live on a rural property north of Port Lincoln where there are still pockets of native vegetation. Over the 30 plus years we have lived here we have planted several thousand trees; mostly eucalypts, melaleucas, acacias and banksias. As I’ve watched these grow from seedlings to towering trees and dense bushes I’ve observed the cyclic stages of fresh leaf growth to emerging flower buds to full blossom and finally spent gumnuts or seed cones. I’m always in awe of the graceful flowing forms of the cascading eucalyptus leaves and the delicate complexity of the flowers, the hardy banksia foliage that supports and protects the intricate perfection of the flowers, and the multitude of colours and forms produced by nature.

How has your creativity been expressed at different stages of your life?

As a young person I didn’t spend much time creating, I was actively busy living. When I began travelling in my 20’s I found the joy in the lens of a camera, trying different angles and perspectives to otherwise everyday travel ‘snaps’, trying to capture an expression or story behind people in my viewfinder, recording the energy and sense of wonder in my adventures. As life moved into the next phase of raising a family I only found the time and inspiration to occasionally pick up a pencil and draw. Mostly this would be a very detailed eye or full face, or one of my children at play, but rarely a complete picture. It has been in retirement that I’ve afforded myself the ‘luxury’ of becoming immersed in painting.

How did your style emerge?

When I started painting about 5 years ago I was asked, “What is your style going to be?” Of course I had no preconceived idea nor did I know what medium or subjects I would paint, just that I wanted to learn to paint. I was also introduced to lino carving and dry point etching which I love for the fine, close up detail. My journey so far has confirmed some traits about myself: that I’m concerned with detail, that the natural world intrigues me more than the built world, that I’m not excited by confrontation and that I like things to feel ‘right’. I think these traits are evident in most of my paintings. One of my art mentors, the late Jane Hutchinson once said to me, “Don’t try to fight against where your art is taking you, be true to yourself”.    

How has your practice evolved this year?

I don’t paint in abundance so you might say that my evolution is gradual. I’ve been trying some different colour palette combinations and working to loosen the background effects of my paintings, and trying out some new printing techniques. The challenge is always to see more of what is actually in front of me; whether that be shapes, spaces, tonal variations, shadows or lines and to interpret that in an interesting and pleasing way on a canvas.