SOLO EXHIBITIONS HAVE BEEN STACKING UP FOR ALISON PERCY, WHOSE CALM PAINTINGS CAPTURE THE LYRICISM OF THE NATURAL WORLD. ANNIE TONKIN WRITES.
THE PAINTINGS OF prolific artist Alison Percy are almost lyrical in their composition, with the reoccurring theme of the landscape permeating her output. Her stunning brushwork and use of colour flow together to capture the natural world with an aesthetic that is reminiscent of a Japanese style.
Alison allows herself to become immersed in the Australian landscape, often painting en plein air. In the words of the artist, “I find inspiration in the land that surrounds me… I’m captivated by our expansive, Australian high country and its subtle shifts in colour.” Although she would once listen to slow, quiet music to calm her while she worked, Alison now prefers the sounds of the natural world, “I find myself content to mostly work in the quiet to hear the birds and the world going on around me, becoming totally immersed in my work!”
Alison has been working in the creative industries all her life: as a graphic designer, an interior design consultant, an illustrator and a calligrapher. However, after a twenty-four-year hiatus from painting, Alison found herself wanting to pick up a paintbrush again. It wasn’t until 2013 that she really found her stride. “In 2013 I started life drawing again,” she says. “This began a huge shift in my creative journey from design to following my artistic practice.” It was only two years later – in May 2015 – that she had her first solo exhibition. The solo exhibitions have since kept stacking up. “The pace hasn’t slowed down. I’m loving the journey, with another solo exhibition coming up in November and a joint exhibition in May 2019,” she says.
In order to avoid being distracted by her never-ending projects, Alison captures moments and places to come back to – a catalogue of inspiration for future use. “I have numerous folders of images earmarked for future exhibitions for when the time is right… I’m not in a hurry, I’m enjoying the journey!”