Art Cup Project
Artist: Jill Ansell
Title: Light through Trees
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Working across a wide range of subjects from the local beach to surreal desert landscapes. She creates in oils, acrylics and assemblage but her favourite subject is the portrait.
Introducing: Jill
We sat down with Jill to find out about the woman behind the painting and the painting in front of the woman.
What’s her coffee order?
I like a flat white with an extra shot. But it’s gotta be strong.
Where can you view her work?
Follow me on Instagram for updates and visit my website to view more. At the moment, I don’t have any exhibitions. There’s an exhibition coming up at the end of the year for the WA Portrait Artists and I’m planning an exhibition for next year but haven’t pinned down a day for that just yet.
Why did you choose this piece of artwork for the cup?
I sent through several images, a couple of these long desert compositions which I quite like and some others that are more typical for my work, but the composition had to be quite specific to fit on the cup. I had just finished this painting for my brother and his fiancé as a really late engagement present, like years late. It’s Borranup Forrest and I love that place but I thought it was funny when it was chosen because I’ve been trying not to do trees for a long time but I’m quite happy with the painting.
What appealed to you about this project?
I like the idea of it; they were recyclable cups and we could put art on them. It’s nice having an image on a cup and people get to look at a painting whilst they enjoy their coffee and might be interested in looking at other work. And it was all local artists and Karvan is local, so I was thrilled with that.
Oh gosh, I drink a lot of coffee too. I need a coffee to get out the door to have a coffee. I have 2 very strong coffees in the morning. Very strong. I’m really easygoing with most things, but I don’t enjoy getting a bad coffee. I commend Karvan for doing this. I think it’s a lovely idea. I hope it’s successful for them, expand their range, celebrates more artists and I hope they come back for more paintings!
What is the story behind this piece of art?
I was painting an engagement present for my brother and his fiancé, and this painting is their present. I offered it a few years ago. They wanted trees, and I’m more experienced with portraits, so it took me a while to get to it. I rarely paint trees, but I like trees. I did this one, rubbed it out, went and did something else, started painting again but didn’t like it again and rubbed it out. But I stuck at it until I was finally happy with it and gave it to them. It’s a place I’ve loved for years–Borranup Forest–it has lovely caves in there. It’s just a lovely place.
Why is it important to support the arts?
Where do we start? I think it’s really important to support original ideas, the ideas that are coming from our own places and stories. We have to be very careful to support our own artists because that’s sharing stories of our own places, our own people. Those voices, images and ideas can be really drowned out from places overseas, where the art is so readily available and pervasive.
I think we should also support the arts in general. Art filters through everything, from what we wear to what we watch. Most artists start off on their own. They’re not supported necessarily by any big industry, so supporting your local artist is vital. Neglecting the arts will result in losing an industry full of value. There’s something essentially human about art. Without the arts, we would all be wearing and doing the same thing, singing the same thing. It would be a very dull world.
