This week in our profiles on local artists we ask painter and jewellery maker Irina Corlette a few questions.
What is your association with Walcha?
I’ve lived here for six years and before that I was a regular visitor when I lived at Uralla.
Is your art a profession or a hobby?
Both.
How long have you been doing it?
I started having lessons when I was about 12 and it’s been part of my life ever since.
Preferred media and why?
Definitely oil paints because they can be gutsy or subtle. Even so I really like working in acrylics from time to time and occasionally I do watercolours and gauche because it’s a nice change and stretches you a bit.
What (if anything) about Walcha inspires/informs your art?
The changing seasons and the light.
If you had to move into another artistic field/media what would you choose?
Well, I already design and make jewellery.
If art is your work what do you do to relax?
Dream.
Do you make your own greeting cards for friends and family?
What a good idea.
Do you play music when you are working and if yes what type?
Sometimes. I did a lot of painting listening to Rod Stewart some years ago. It seemed to make me reach for tubes of red. Nowadays, I go for Gregorian chants.
What do you watch on television?
Almost anything on ABC and SBS.
Do you enjoy reading? if so - what genre/author etc?
Sure do, very much. I’m in a book club and we read a mixture of classics and recent prize winners or other acclaimed authors. I couldn’t nominate a favourite genre. There are so many wonderful books out there.
Has your work matured or just changed over time?
I think evolved is a better way to describe how my paintings have changed. Depending on what has inspired me, I experiment with techniques and that can take my work in a different direction. I tend not to go back to a style I’ve done in the past though people tell me my paintings over time remain recognisable as mine.
Have you had a mentor or role model for your art?
Well definitely my teacher from when I was young, Peter Panov. He died ages ago but his words still ring in my ears and urge me on. Whilst I wouldn’t really call them role models, I’m inspired by Turner and Arthur Boyd.
Do you use computers for any aspect of your work?
What!
Do you use shopping lists?
I make them then lose them.
If you could invite any 7 artists (alive or dead) to a dinner party who would you choose?
Van Gogh, Turner, Arthur Boyd, Peter Panov, Michelangelo, Goya, Lloyd Rees and Chagall.
Can you remember your earliest work/exhibition/sale and tell us about it?
I still have a few paintings I did with Perer Panov. One is a self-portrait and some little landscapes - they’re sentimental but I can see I had the makings of the way I still paint now. When I was 19 I won first prize in an Australia-wide competition sponsored by the Reserve Bank.
Do you come from an artistic family?
Yes. My father and his sister were both excellent watercolour artists.
What is art in your opinion?
Creativity in all its forms can be art.
What advice would you give someone wanting to make a career out of art?
Good luck but don’t quit your day job.
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