Deb lives in Melbourne and sees out her days as one of the most pro-active artists you'll meet. She always has a basket of projects on the boil and a smile on her face. She is not one of those artists who squirrels away in their studio forever shying away from the world, Deb is a woman of the world. She has done street art commissions in Melbourne, Sydney and LA as well as engaging in public art programs, workshops and group exhibitions.
She talks with The Vine about her new exhibition in Sydney with Mini Graff.
The two main things about your art are LADIES and GRAFFITI. What drove you to bring the two together? Why is it important to you to represent women out in the urban environment the way that you do?
I aim to represent women as strong minded, strong bodied powerful beings and this is the way I wish to represent the characters I put out on the streets.
How would you characterize the ladies that you paint? Who are they?
They are a reflection of myself in a way, some of the charecters in my art work are a reflection of how I am feeling at one stage or what type of mood I am in, some are infused the the fantasy world that I create in my head. I like to come up with different stories before painting them, some times they are a continuation of some wacky dream I might have had the night before.
What can people expect in this new show?
A different avenue for what they might have sean in the past, all the screen prints are in black and white so there is a lot of detail in each design to make it pop.
Hopefully it will be obvious that there was a lot of hard work put into each design as well. I have also painted some panels out the front of the gallery in the last couple of weeks leading up to the show... they on the other hand are super colourful. After seven months of working in black and white I was excited to use colours again.
Who is Mini Graff? What is your relationship?
She is a very talented artist based in Sydney who will be displaying some great stencil work along side the panels on the out side the gallery. Her stencils are very intricate. She is also a good friend of mine.
What are your favourite aspects of your creative process?
I think as long as I can be creative, I'm good. I love drawing and painting in all types of medium, the thing I love the most sometimes is painting my street art because it's fun and almost like an enjoyable sport, it's social because you're most often out doors and it's a giant canvas for anyone in the area to see..
What are some things you always have in your bag?
ummm.... iPod of late... Pens, sketch book, DEB stickers, markers, camera, gloss... lots more stuff I'm sure as I'm female, carrying unnecessary junk is what we do best right?
What's your advice to younger girls wanting to break into street art?
Do it! If you want to, why not?
Art Exhibition Opening
Friday, 26 March 2010 18:00
Mays Lane
St Peters
Sydney