Stef Rae
Stef Rae is a Western Australian artist passionate about exploring and pushing the textural boundaries of paint, creating a diverse range of artworks engaging in narratives between reality and imagination. Beginning paintings in abstraction and allowing the work to develop its own form, Stef brings subconscious and conscious elements together into realised themes of dream-like obscurity, strength, and identity.
Can you tell us about your artistic journey and what inspired you to become an artist?
Nothing inspired me to become an artist per se, it’s really one of those things you just can’t leave alone. I find the nature of creativity so fascinating that I’ve just always wanted to explore it. I discovered paint to be my means of communication because it’s incredibly exciting and not as simple as you might expect. When you explore paint as a medium it really is limitless. I’m obsessed with paint. I’ve been creative from the beginning, always drawing or building something. I liked creating other worlds. I started painting when I was about nine years old and went to art classes after school once a week. From then on, I always wanted to be an artist, but was told this was just a hobby and you can’t make a career out of it. It’s a hard road to follow for sure. I went to Curtin University after high school to study Fine Art but left after three weeks because I felt like I wasn’t ready. I went around trying other things, but I couldn’t not be an artist, so I decided to go for it. I’m glad I did this because for me, I got so much more out of completing my Fine Art degree when I was in my early to mid-twenties. Now, being an artist is my career, and I’m so grateful for the experiences that lead me here.
What themes or concepts do you explore in your artwork, and why are they important to you?
I would probably describe my work as magical realism. The familiar presented in a strange way. My inspiration for this comes from wanting to delve into the subconscious and find what’s roaming around in there. I begin my work in abstraction so I can draw out form from my non-critical mind using existing places and personal experiences as inspiration. I think this concept is so important to me because of my obsession with the nature of creativity. It’s something I’m always exploring in and out of the studio, so I attempt to prise it apart and peer in by focusing my practice on the subconscious/surreal.
Could you describe your creative process, from ideation to execution? Are there any particular techniques or mediums you prefer?
I begin all my work in abstraction, applying a very free and automatic layer of paint that’s usually quite thin. I find that liquid has its own mind, and this can allow you to remain in the moment and go with the flow of the paint rather than trying to control it. Once this is dry, I consider what’s there, turning the canvas around and looking for the form of the work. This is where my subconscious comes in and provides the subject of the painting. When the potential narrative is established (it could be a figure or a place, something to begin with), I use my critical mind to make informed decisions about what sections of the background to leave in the work and/or how the subject will work as a cohesive composition. At this point I’m adding thick, luscious sections of oil paint or slowly building up layers to define the forms. Even throughout this process however, the painting is still communicating with me and the decisions I make remain in a dialogue with what the painting wants to say.
How do you find inspiration when faced with creative blocks or challenges in your work?
The ‘pause’ is a natural and necessary part of creativity. It’s important to leave an idea alone when it stops speaking to you so that it can evolve, and sometimes even transform, into something else. Your art practice is everything you experience. Whether it be a conversation with a stranger, noticing something on a bus ride, reading a book, hearing a piece of music for the first time, whatever. When you hit a creative block (or for me I feel like the work stops speaking to me), I put it to the side and go out and experience as many things as possible. I view the subconscious mind as an oven baking the most delicious cake. If you fill it with lots of ingredients, eventually Ding! and out pops a delightfully unexpected morsel of a creative solution. In short, the key is to stop thinking about being blocked and just go live life for a while.
Can you highlight a specific piece of your artwork that holds special significance to you and share the story behind it?
The painting ‘She Moves, She’ was the piece where I first developed the technique that defines my practice. I spent a lot of time priming and sanding the surface to craft a soft ground to work from and used watery washes to create a base texture to carve a female form out of. This painting became a self-portrait that I think really expressed my feeling of developing as a woman, where a lot of emphasis had been placed on how I looked. The painting is of an exposed naked body with an obscured face, which to me was being bold and vulnerable in exposing my body while remaining anonymous. The anonymity being who I really am, which I discovered during this time in my life.
How do you see your work evolving in the future? Are there any new techniques or mediums you're eager to explore?
The theme of my work will absolutely evolve as I move through new experiences, giving my subconscious more material to work with. I can’t wait to see what these will be! Creativity is essentially problem solving, and as I continue to explore my practice new techniques will develop as I resolve these. Currently I’m experimenting with creating my own blacks without using any black paint. So far, the results have been very exciting, taking my down new pathways of using paint.
What role does your personal experiences or background play in influencing your art? Are there cultural or social aspects that often find their way into your work?
As I’ve mentioned, my practice is about my subconscious. Everything that I’ve experienced shows up in my paintings somewhere. I didn’t realise until I put all my work up together however, that there was a reoccurring and strong conversation about the human body, vulnerability, and masking your true self. While in other works that spoke together there was a conversation about the Western Australian landscape and the duality between its beauty and harshness. I’m learning more about the cultural and social aspects that influence me by reflecting on the paintings that I produce.
Are there any artists, past or present, who have had a significant influence on your artistic style or philosophy?
There are so many artists whose work I admire. One artist that stuck with me in the way they talked about paint and the dedication required to have an artistic practice was Ben Quilty. I heard an interview with him where he discussed how he’d just “flogged paint” to hone his skills and define his style, while not worrying about all the bad paintings you make along the way. He also said that if he ever had a bread-and-butter job that in any way affected his art practice he was out of there. This was such great passionate advice which I still think about in my own approach to my practice. I really resonated with his obsession for paint as a medium. You can feel Ben’s love for paint in his large, luscious, and expressive paintings.
How do you balance the commercial aspects of being an artist with staying true to your creative vision?
This is a topic I’ve spent plenty of time discussing with fellow artists. Of course we need to earn money to facilitate our art practice, so long as this never takes you away from why you do art in the first place. For some artists, the commercial side of things goes hand in hand with the work they produce while for others it doesn’t. I think at the end of the day I just want to make what I want to make, and the authenticity that comes through your work when you do this naturally allows more people to resonate with it, and by extension opens the door to the commercial side of things.
Can you share upcoming projects, exhibitions, or events where our audience can experience your work?
I just had my first solo show in October this year which was a terrific experience, and I’m currently working towards a second which will take place next year. My studio is located at PS Art Space in Fremantle, Western Australia, and my intention is to create an exhibition that responds to the incredible heritage gallery in this building.
