Art of Happiness
Art is a personal and colourful journey of the expression of one’s inner sanctuary and I truly believe in feeling art rather than doing art.
Art has to come from the heart and because of this puts a story-line in the subjects. My vision has always been to spread joy to people’s lives as well as support a charitable cause.
My art helps me unleash and break out my unfiltered passionate expression of self, by thinking and moving outside of expectations and the norm.
It is the freeing up of my intuitive expression of life, how I see and experience life, and stepping into a new expression of myself.
It is nourishment that feeds my soul in self-expression because I need to do it. It expresses more of the me and not just the story-telling.
Esther's Bio
ESTHER HILL is a self-educated artist, based in Brisbane, Queensland, and is originally from Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Her love for art primarily began in high school where she was encouraged by her art teacher to pursue her art when she completed schooling, however at the sweet tender age of 16, she had difficulty adjusting to late attendance at boarding school in Sydney, so never completed her matriculation to Form 6.
By the year 1965, and prior to returning to Rabaul for the Christmas holidays, and being at a loss as to what she wanted to do, she hopped on a train to visit her sister in Adelaide. By then she decided she wanted to be an art teacher.
An attempt was made to enrol her at the College of Art, however her application required that she lodge 16 oil paintings by October (an impossible task), so she gave up and missed out on the deadline. She then returned home to PNG and several months after, her family decided to send her to attend the Williams Business College of Dee Why in Sydney, where she graduated with a Diploma in Secretarial Studies. She then returned to Papua New Guinea to begin her corporate life thereof.
From November 1973 onwards she moved to Melbourne and then Brisbane and continued her career in corporate roles in various industries of travel, mining, legal and telecommunications.
Her real art journey began in 2012 after a sudden unexplained severe hearing loss, and job loss, followed by acute depression and diagnosis of Menieres Disease in 2015. She sought to overcome her depression by involving herself in a small art group. This was the start of her love for art.
She has also done volunteer work in art with the elderly at the Wesley Mission Aged Care Respite Centre in Brisbane, as well as taught art to small children from ages 4 to 9.
Her determination and growth in art also stemmed from a total failure of a portrait using ordinary paper which lacked ‘tooth’. From there she was commissioned to do her first real portrait by her housemate at the time, of his two-month-old niece. His question to her was “Will this be another epic fail?” to which she replied “I won’t fail”. The portrait was then posted to Sydney to the child’s mother who also dabbled in art and it took her by surprise when she saw the result.
Esther loves to experiment with different media in oil paints, acrylics, pastels and inks and this had led to her own self interpretations in portraits, landscapes and abstracts. Doodling in art is her favourite pastime as well as commission work.
Esther also teaches art in East Brisbane to small groups in order to help raise funds for The Animal Wellness Clinic for the fundraising project, Bali Dogs of Nusa Penida, in building a much needed clinic in Bali.
She has also paid her way to a few art workshops and have taken away some knowledge and tips on how to bring the wow factor out in art. When she attends these workshops, she is copiously taking notes from the lectures because of her hearing impairment and then takes this information and applies it when she transfers her brushes to canvas.
She has taken on board some valuable tips from acclaimed tutors in Australia, and muses over them in her head while she paints; the most prominent one being, “Why would you want to draw like me? (Australia’s David Welch). Indeed!
Credits
My art journey would not have been possible without the help of these precious people and I would like to dedicate my heartfelt thanks to the following:
Gethin Hill of Gethin Hill Photography for his help in photography and other promotional matters.
Lorraine and Garth Scaysbrook of Rainbrook Studio Pty Ltd for helping me create this ART Hub, plus your valuable advice and inspiration in all things related to running an art business.
Stephen M. Coates, writer/screenwriter, WetRoads Entertainment for your valuable proofreading and advice.
Friends and family both here and overseas on social media for your mentorship, encouragement and quirky responses to my little anecdotes – you know who you are!🙂