Welcome to the second official 'My friend can paint - Feature Artist' post for my latest blog series. I've finally taken advantage of my unique business name in a way that allows me to share inspiring artwork by fellow local artists - who can also paint, like they mean it! 

This month I've connected with another talented soul by the name of Bronte Naylor. Now while I have not yet had the actual pleasure of meeting Bronte in the flesh, a meeting just seems inevitable. In fact our artwork is currently spending some time together at Firefly Cafe in Toowoomba as we speak. 

 I've come into contact with so many artworks before I've ever met the creators behind them. Like a face, artwork has a tendency to stay in my mind clearer than names ever do. So this was the case for a lovely crossing of paths with Bronte's incredible work on a few separate occasions - both online and during visits to a few creative spaces in Toowoomba. 

I've been aware of and have recognised Bronte's edgy style long before I ever knew her name and thanks to a recommendation from our mutual artist pal Alice Weinthal this little conversation has been made possible. Alice was the first artist to be featured for this series...in case you missed her feature click here. 

Now I'm not entirely sure when I saw Bronte's work for the first time - I'm pretty sure it may have been shared on Facebook - BUT one thing I am certain of is that I was suitably impressed when I did see it. Bronte's work has an undeniably playful energy that exudes confidence and authenticity. What I particularly admire about Bronte's style is that she somehow manages to balance feminine and masculine elements in a single image, thus allowing her work to speak to a wider audience. I LOVE that she is capable of this as it's something I myself have been trying to master for years... and so far I have not been able to!

So I'm already impressed with Ms Naylor aka NOKE...let's now find out even more about this clever woman.

Over to you Bronte! Xx 

Who are you?
My name is Brontë Naylor - NOKE and I am 21 years of age. I'm currently living in luscious tropical Cairns  while I complete a Bachelors Degree in Creative industries majoring in Visual Art. I'm originally from T-bar town. 

I like enclosed shoes, eating with chopsticks, painting outside in the heat, glitter and swimming holes that you have to walk to get to. 

I dislike shopping centres. I find them overwhelming and under stimulating all at the same time and I dislike when pens that don’t keep up with your workflow. 

When did you first consider yourself to be an Artist?


I have typically invested more time in considering artwork rather than written text. As a result I think I developed ways of clearly understanding the visual language. Within these boundaries I would say I have evolved in the language of ‘art’ since primary school. These experiences I believe formulate the individuals ability for unique expression and creativity.

Though I think that in more recent times (the last 2 years) I have made a strong decision to choose my career as an artist and this has to take priority. Which often comes before other lifestyle choices. I rarely engage with people or activities that don’t evolve art as a form of language. This helps to remind and encourage me to stick with this commitment and clearly separates my direction from what it was before. 

What do you paint?
The concepts I find that serve me the best are variations of interactions I have had with systems or people. The biggest inspiration for me is when a think of a concept that is truly authentic. Even when I believe I have a concept a certain amount of acceptance later down the track needs to be consider when my views change on the subject due to experience and knowledge.

I have recently explored the sensitivities of humans in the relationship. Whether it be a friend, a enemy or lover (who is sometimes both). At the time this topic was very important and interesting to me. I usually spend 6 months of one body of work or investigating a topic. It is hard to remain focused on the final body of work when your opinion starts to change in the meantime. My attitude toward the end of the body of work was transparent and reflected my wavering belief in the self-devised concept. It was an interesting learning curve.

A topic I do truly believe in is questioning the difference in value between literal and lateral ways of processing particularly within the context of education. Why do the systems see more value in being able to fill out forms and adhere to criteria rather than individual expression?  Explored more broadly are themes of orthodox, education and value of the individual.

The comparison is achieved by the juxtaposition of abstract and realist forms of visual expression. Drawing from many styles that have come before to celebrate the postmodern nature of eclectic styles combining. Also sharing the philosophy of there not being a single all-encompassing solution to humanity’s problems. It would come from bits and pieces of previous movement and ideas. I generally paint about genuine acceptance and encouragement of there being many ways of learning and processing information that hold special in each person.

List 3 of your highlights so far?            

-        Being invited as a permanent Artist in Residence at Crate59

-        Painting a mural in full aerosol - publicly at Bunker Records

-        I have long admired Jugglers Art Space from afar and the work that comes out of there so it was a 'fan girl' moment for me to paint a large mural format work in their tunnel.

 

I wish to extend a MASSIVE THANKS to you Bronte for sharing this great insight into your work, your mind and ultimately your world. I also want to thank you for your time, you are clearly one passionate and dedicated artist that has devoted herself to staying focussed and very much in 'the zone'. Inspirational stuff indeed! I look forward to continuing to follow your work...and I really look forward to finally meeting you in person.

Show Bronte some love by sharing her work with your friends and maybe drop a comment here to pass on your encouragement for all that she has done, is doing and will continue to do.

As always thank you for reading,

Tamara x

The lead up to the event was smooth and the RAW team who were responsible for putting the Gold Coast event together - were nothing short of helpful. They replied to any queries or questions via email or over the phone and the responses were always prompt. There were regular reminders of important deadlines and encouraging emails to see how preparations were coming along. A few weeks before the event took place they even held a meeting in the showcase space to talk us through the layout and answer anymore questions we may have had. This was also another great opportunity to mingle and meet the other local creatives taking part, before the big night.

So with my photo-shoot and video interview out of the way by lunch time, I had time to calm my nerves (because I'm not a naturally confident public speaker and I can't say I like having my photo taken) and get on with the task of setting up my showcase and artwork.

I had planned my display methods in advance and decided to use a white peg board as the back drop for my pop up gallery. It allowed me to hang and move my works with ease and I felt it looked more professional then the construction fence that it was to hold onto.

I had decided that I wanted to be painting live at the event to hopefully draw the crowd over to my display and because I was working with paint I got to set up on the balcony of the Sound Lounge (the venue for the night in Currumbin). I ended up with more space as well, which was an absolute bonus! 

While the set up took longer than I anticipated I was fortunate enough to be there while other creatives were also setting up. I met the very lovely Kim of 'Jewellery by Kim' and her beautiful Daughter Kelsie and I had some great chats about giant budgies with the MC for this night the 'Ambassador of Smiles' Tommy Franklin. It was a really fun day and we were all getting excited for the night ahead. I'd also like to mention the lovely Amber Kingi, another talented Artist I was fortunate enough to meet and have great chats with on the night. Find her work on Instagram as well @Amber_Kingi

The crowds that came through the event exceeded the expected number of 300 - with up to 500 tickets being sold for the night. I enjoyed chatting with lots of kind folks who were interested in my style and wanted to know a bit about my story. A fair few sales were made of gift cards, prints and three of my original works. All in all in was a successful night.

Earlier this year I received an email informing me that I was eligible for nominations for the 3rd Annual RAW Awards for having taken part last year. A finalist for each category in every Australian host city would be selected and then one National winner for each category would be selected following that.

Voting for nominations were open for one week only, so I used my social media accounts to drum up some support and votes.

Along with the accolades I also won a $250 voucher for professional  printing and framing services at Gold Coast business 'Left Bank Gallery'. I'm going to use the winnings to get some more promotional materials made up for two very exciting projects coming up in the near future…stay tuned for those!

I would like to mention a special thanks to those supportive people who purchased tickets for the event and came along to show their support on the night. I'm equally if not more grateful to those who purchased multiple tickets despite being too far away to actually attend. Your kind gesture will always be treasured and I appreciate you all so much for it. Thanks Gayle, Owie, Helen, Jaana, Laura and Therese xoxoxoxox