Images by Tasha Tylee
Hannah is a painter, amongst other artistic mediums, and lives here with her husband David and their three boys Hugo 9, Isaac 7 and Jude 5.
"Our home is a Californian bungalow in the Melbourne inner city suburb of Northcote. When we bought it 9 years ago and it was a sad old house surrounded by a concrete garden and definitely ripe for demolition! But we loved the suburb and wanted to renovate. With a 3 month old baby we took on the front of the house and garden and over time have repaired and renewed the house...and had two more children! More recently we completed an extension to accommodate the family into the future. We did most of the work ourselves as David is a pro on the tools and I have always loved a bit of DIY! Having said that.... its been a long 9 years!"
"Now the house is well and truly our home and it serves our family perfectly. It is relaxed, yet refined and I think that helps to subdue the chaos of family life! Our boys are loud and busy little people but we all love being home together. I'm most content when we are all home and hosting family and friends. It's the people that give the spaces life and meaning."
"Our main environmental practice at home is the RRR. 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.' And we also look forward to having fresh eggs again and chook poo for the garden...sadly our three chickens were taken by a fox after three years of being part of our family! I'm still grieving! When I recover we'll get some more chooks! We plant all our own herbs and tomatoes too. I am often found down by our local creek with my son Hugo picking up litter on a Saturday morning...every little bit helps i hope."
Table dressed using an IN BED linen tablecloth in stone.__
Hannah's bed dressed in linen pillow slips in tobacco, flat & fitted sheets in dove grey, and a duvet cover in dove grey by IN BED.__
"I read a lot about the environment, education, urbanism, parenting and a little bit of 'light philosophy' ... I'm interested in ideas and peoples different approaches to life. I particularly love a good magazine like Dumbo Feather and also listening to a good podcast or radio interview. Being an artist can be isolating at times as it is such a solo pursuit...so I try to feed my brain and continue to learn and be engaged."
I studied Fine Art at university and majored in painting. After that I went on to study further and pursue a career in visual merchandising, styling events and graphic design...and then ended up back together with my true calling...painting.
"My practice has evolved over time and still continues to change. My main practice is painting, yet I like to explore other areas such as collage and ceramics... photography and drawing have also always helped to inform my paintings. I work from my home studio which is simply a dream! I can get lost in there and indulge in my work forgetting about the mess in the kitchen and the 5 loads of washing that need doing. There is always washing...ALWAYS!
"I exhibit in solo and group exhibitions and also host open studio days. I love working with other artists and creatives too and have collaborated with fashion designers, photographers and furniture designers. I think keeping my practice diverse keeps things interesting and keeps me motivated. "I've just completed a new body of work for an open studio event. I am also preparing for an art residency in Italy where I hope to create new work for another exhibition."
Most of my inspiration come from landscape and memory. I am most responsive to simple aesthetics...light, shape, texture and form.
"My art library has been growing steadily since I first inherited some Australian Landscape art books and old auction house catalogues from my Nana when I was a young teenager. I even had art books on our wedding gift registry! Forget the dinner set! I treasure my books and refer to them always...its a quick way into another world when I need to switch off or think outside the square a bit. My other treasured belongings are the pieces of art from other artists who I love and admire. Either by saving up to purchase them, being gifted a piece or by trading with other artists...I love having others creativity around me."
"I am definitely in the right neighbourhood! I love the people and the sense of community that my area has. From hipsters on skateboards to pram pushing parents, everyone looks happy here. There is a great mix of music venues, restaurants, community gardens, pop up shops etc... I can retreat to my suburban house and yet walk up to the main street where there is always a humming of activity and I love that."
@hannahfoxart
