By Sarah Giles
Stephanie Gray is an emerging artist from Melbourne. Entirely self-taught, Stephanie was inspired by her Grandmother’s artistic talents. After trying to cajole her loving Gran into sharing the secrets of the craft, she was encouraged instead to develop her own style. That development style has led her to the beginning of an exciting career in the art world.
Stephanie began drawing portraits for Australian comedy magazine ‘Yawp’ and was encouraged to experiment with her work. Soon she was playing with colours, mostly vibrant fluro combinations, and also with pattern. Stephanie’s work is often drawn in a style that appears to be ‘broken up’ or ‘shattered’ in a way that slightly distorts the subject.
As she developed her skills, Stephanie set herself the challenge of drawing every day for an entire year. With the goal of getting pen to paper and refining her craft, she dedicated a minimum of five minutes per day to see what came of her efforts and recently, she passed a milestone of drawing for 500 days straight!
Her efforts were rewarded earlier this year when she was invited to take part in a pop-up art exhibition hosted by Baxter’s Lot in Fitzroy.
A first exhibition for emerging artist is always as exciting as it is nerve-wracking and Stephanie found herself anxious at the idea of seeing people react to her work in person. It’s one thing to read a comment online, she felt, but the idea of watching someone’s response to her work in real life seemed a little daunting. To Stephanie’s delight, the response to her work was positive and the evening was a success.
As an artist Stephanie has realised that there comes a time when working on a piece that she has to make the decision to finish it.
‘You can always take it further,’ she said, ‘but there’s a point when you need to just be happy with it.’
Inspired by artists like Alex Garant, Mark Ryden and Salvador Dali, Stephanie tries to create her art in a way that makes her happy. While a reaction is what many artists want from a viewer, her main goal is to enjoy herself and hopefully bring happiness to others through her art too.
Although she has been invited to draw political cartoons, Stephanie has chosen to focus on work that she finds pleasure in creating. Drawing someone or something she doesn’t like for satirical purposes doesn’t appeal to her. Instead, she finds fulfillment in commissions and work she creates for herself.
To keep updated with Stephanie and her work you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
And you can support Stephanie here by purchasing from her online store.
Contact Stephanie about her work and commissions here.
Image care of Stephanie Gray