Rising Stars to Watch in 2023
Year after year, the Australian art scene continues to uncover talented artists. Here at Bluethumb, we make it easy for collectors to discover the new kids on the block! Click on the Rising Stars page to see the Bluethumb artists enjoying a surge in popularity and sales at the moment. Or, view this week’s curation to discover artwork created by the Rising Stars to watch in 2023. Without further ado, here are 10 artists the Bluethumb team is loving this year!
1. Amanda Cameron
Amanda Cameron is based on the Gold Coast, where vast turquoise seascapes surround her. Living in Australia’s sunny state, it’s no wonder why water is often the focal point of Amanda’s work. Enraptured by the interaction of light and form when immersed, Amanda has taken a deep dive into painting swimming figures. Collectors love the summertime nostalgia within Amanda’s artworks and her ability to skillfully capture something as angelic and fleeting as a bubble.
Dream of Summer by Amanda Cameron.
2. Alina Hayes
Western Australian-based artist, Alina Hayes, is inspired by Australia’s diverse natural environment. She enjoys toying with realistic and abstract concepts, weaving them together on the canvas. Alina often paints imagined, artificial still life representations of local flora and fauna. Through her vibrant acrylic and oil-based paintings, Alina explores the relationship between composition and pattern as seen in the below still life.
Fruit Salad by Aline Hayes.
3. Joseph Villanueva
With a bright, expansive colour palette Joseph Villanueva seems to insert the Northern lights into every skyscape he paints. With a background in landscape architecture, he is inspired by the wonderous sky, garden vistas, and explosive flowers in bloom. Joseph’s paintings feature thick impasto brush strokes that overlap to create a layered background of optimistic colour. Then he scratches through the layers of still-wet paint to reveal complementary colours underneath, creating an eye-catching final landscape.
Iridescent Sky by Joseph Villanueva.
4. Aylee Kim
Aylee Kim is a Brisbane-based artist with a bright, colour-filled palette. Aylee’s oil paintings often feature structured linework and shapes, which begs the question does she use painter’s tape to achieve those crisp lines or is her brushwork just that steady? The colour-blocking technique Aylee applies in many of her artworks has a quality similar to the suburbia scenes created by the late internationally acclaimed Australian artist, Howard Arkley.
Walking along on Potting Street by Aylee Kim .
5. Macklin Spicer
Inspired by Anh Do, Macklin Spicer first experimented with oils in May 2020. Instantly, they swapped the paintbrush for a palette knife. They have since almost exclusively created thick, impasto-heavy artworks influenced by current social and political issues. Macklin’s intuitive process often involves mixing paint on any surface in their vicinity. Having only recently graduated from high school, this budding abstract artist’s journey is one to watch!
The Journalist by Macklin Spicer.
6. Deirdre Boeyen-Carmichael
Deirdre Boeyden-Carmichael is an environmentally conscious visual artist based in Bells Beach, Victoria. Her highly detailed still life artworks are alluring and purpose-driven, often featuring elements of discarded rubbish. Through her subject matter, Deirdre hopes to inspire positive social change by creating art focused on humankind’s devastating environmental impacts. We desperately want to hang this beautiful “trash” on our walls.
Objects of the Anthropocene by Deirdre Boeyden.
7. Dean Spinks
Obsessed with the symmetry and expression of the human face, Dean Spinks creates almost exclusively portraits and still life drawings. Using black ink markers in his unique crosshatching style, Dean creates high contrast and fine detail resulting in a colour-saturated dramatic work of art. The original piece below took Dean over 50 hours to draw in his unique photorealistic style.
VB Beer Can by Dean Spinks.
8. Max Horst
Max Horst is the definition of a rising star, having welcomed the new year with a surge in sales. Working as a full-time contemporary painter, he explores human nature and societal relationships. Max paints with natural earth-coloured pigments, portraying stories of small, everyday moments. “In my quest for simplicity and honesty I draw much of my inspiration from cave paintings and naive art,” Max said.
Everything will be fine by Matt Horst.
9. Sam Patterson-Smith
Sydney-based school teacher, Sam Patterson-Smith, sways between realism and abstract art styles. “Each brings a different kind of satisfaction to me as an artist,” Sam said. On one hand, he relishes in the freedom of abstraction. On the other hand, he finds empowerment in replicating likeness. Sam’s creations exude a rebellious quality, whether creating a portrait or landscape. He has recently started making pastiche sculptural pieces made from repurposed plastic supermarket miniatures. You can see Sam’s broad repertoire by visiting his artist profile.
We The People by Sam Patterson-Smith.
10. Glenn Homann
This photographer is one for the dystopian fanatics and daydreamers. Glenn Homann captures rural and industrial scenes in such a way they feel isolated and otherworldly. Can you believe he takes and edits these photos on an iPhone? Carrying around a compact phone camera has inspired Glenn’s attention to detail and heightened his focus on spontaneity. His bright, minimalist photographs are a refreshing take on the physical world that most humans, often too busy navigating life, fail to appreciate.
X-ing by Glenn Homann.
Don’t forget to view this week’s curation, Rising Stars to watch in 2023, and discover more artworks created by these up-and-coming artists.
