Pushy Little Daisies

“These works are inspired by a recent trip to the North Island of New Zealand/ Aotearoa. We visited the Tongariro National Park, which encompases the majestic Mt Ruapehu, Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe and the Whakapapa ski fields. (It was January though, so no snow!) The landscape is ragged, mysterious and sparse. But when you look more closely, you find the most amazing multicoloured gravel, mosses, lichens, ferns, grasses and flowers. An almost alien surface. I snapped a couple of photos and when I started painting again, I found them in my phone and tried to capture those little things.

I don’t often paint things so realistically and I very rarely work from a photo, but somehow the composition of the pictures that I'd taken really lent themselves to a painting. So I just went for it and challenged myself to ‘look and put’. I am really happy with the paintings I created. They feel like the ‘zooming in’ of a camera lens. These two paintings are really focused on the smaller things in nature, and I love them.”

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I’m Alexandra, an expressive abstract artist based in Sydney/Eora. I paint intuitively with acrylics and a variety of mixed media. My process is energetic and playful, using colour, texture and bold marks to create drama and movement in my work. When I’m not painting or looking after my kids, you’ll find me dancing like a groupie side of stage at Hot Dub Time Machine (our family business) or watching my favourite TV murder mysteries.

In addition to working as a visual artist (and mum to two young kids), my first love is performance. I am a professionally trained actor, having completed an Advanced Diploma in Acting for Screen and Stage. I have performed on stage in Australia and Edinburgh, appearing in theatre, at fringe festivals and the odd TV commercial. I am truly addicted to the irreverent process of creativity. Much like rehearsing a play or improvising on stage, painting requires me to be in the moment. And it's a wonderful feeling!

Beginning her self-taught painting practise in 2017, Alexandra works full-time as an artist. Her artworks are currently exhibited around Australia via The Moree Gallery (NSW), Purple Noon Gallery in Sydney and Fenton and Fenton in Melbourne. Since 2018 she has been a finalist in several Australian art awards including the John Villiers Outback Art Prize 2022, Fisher's Ghost Art Prize in 2020 and 2021, Federation Art Prize 2021, the Greenway Art Prize 2019 and 2020, Kangaroo Valley Art Prize 2020, Kennedy Art Prize 2019.

Recently, Alexandra was awarded the Fifty Squared Painting Prize at Brunswick St Gallery (VIC) in 2022, the Two Dimensional Art Award at the Federation Art Prize 2021 (NSW), selected as a finalist in the inaugural National Emerging Artist Awards 2021 and won the Greenway Art Prize Local Artist Award in 2019. Her work is held in private collections both nationally and internationally.
Alexandra has held 4 solo exhibitions.