Q and A with Andria Beighton
“I adore the sixties and seventies. The geometric and floral textiles and homewares fill me with joy! I love weaving these familiar elements into my contemporary artworks. ”
-Andria Beighton
View Andria Beighton catalogue
1. Tell us about your background. How long have you been making art?
I’ve been making art since being left unattended briefly as a toddler. I took the opportunity to paint my parents’ brand new couch with some house paint. My first masterpiece! I spent my teenage years in the school art room and have worked in several creative roles including as a florist and running my own accessory design business for over 10 years. I’ve dabbled in painting several times and after many years of experimenting and development I finally felt able to get what was in my mind onto the canvas. I started painting full time 5 years ago and haven’t looked back!
2. What inspires your paintings?
Having worked as a florist in the past, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at flowers. The colours, shapes and patterns created in nature never cease to amaze me. Textiles and homeware design from the sixties and seventies are also a huge influence for me. I’ve been collecting vintage textiles for years and often see elements from them unintentionally appear in my work. I’m always taking photos for reference. A colour palette spotted on the street or a shape in architecture. There’s inspiration everywhere!
3. Your work uses a lot of retro design elements, do you have a favourite era and why?
I do! I adore the sixties and seventies. The geometric and floral textiles and homewares fill me with joy! I love weaving these familiar elements into my contemporary artworks. Also, the music!
4. Could you describe the process of creating your paintings?
I usually start by scrolling photos I’ve taken for inspiration or flipping back through past sketches. From there I’ll spend hours hand drawing ideas before transferring them to my Ipad to add colour. I love this part but it can also drive me a little crazy as the colour combinations are seemingly endless. It’s difficult to choose the best one!
I then draw up the design on the canvas which uses significantly more maths than I ever anticipated using in my lifetime. I spend a lot of time mixing my paints and then begin. I use a lot of tape to get my crispy lines as well as a very steady hand!
5. Share a recent highlight of your artistic practice with us.
Earlier this year I worked on a very special commission for a fiftieth birthday. I recently received a photograph of the recipient standing beside the freshly hung work. It really made my day! It makes me so happy to receive photos of my work in their new homes, bringing joy to their owners everyday.
6. Do you have a goal that you’re pursuing in your art practice?
Not specifically but I would like to continue broadening my audience as I love to share my work. I’m really confident in my technique and would like to use it to work on some more complex, large scale pieces in the future.
7. What's next for you?
I’ll be exhibiting with Sarah Birtles at The Affordable Art Fair in Singapore this November. Having lived in Singapore as a child and visited several times since, I am really excited about this! I’m even more excited to actually be traveling to Singapore to visit the fair in person!
