FOR ASHLEE BUCHOLTZ, THE LANDSCAPE IS AN ENTIRELY PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE.
Describe your practice in one sentence…
I focus on individual landscapes that are depicted through a selected palette of pastel colours to create a simultaneous state of calm and discomfort.
What themes are evident in your work?
My painting practice is based on my individual experience and perception of spaces. It began with a focus on the sensory changes I experienced after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I didn’t wish to paint the world as I saw it. My environment had more of a responsiveness then a physicality and this gave me the opportunity to see my surroundings in a unique way. The idea of memory, space and body are not clearly defined, and the veneer of these structures no longer resembles a function but instead a sensibility.
Did you attend art school?
After two and half years attempting a nursing degree, I finally gave myself permission to practice art. I completed two Diplomas at the Hunter Street TAFE in Newcastle and a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the National Art School in Sydney. Both experiences gave me the skills to challenge myself and my practice. There was an understanding that it was okay to make a bad work and take risks because failure is a part of making progress.
