ROSA PERRY

Peculiar House 5

Fishy Nook

Perculiar Bird House

Mystical Sea

Frog Abode

1. Tell us a little about yourself and where you live?

I live in Springfield Lakes, Queensland.

I’ve always been creative since childhood but it took me many years to listen to my creative soul and do something about it. It was when I became disillusioned by my career path that I finally listened to my intuition . . . and art rushed back into my life, so I made the transition from a career professional to building a life I love as an artist and I never looked back.

2. How did you become interested/get started in Photo Artistry?

My passion was photography but my poor DSLR camera mostly sat in my cupboard at home. Work was so time consuming; I hardly used my camera at all. So, I eventually decided to simply use the camera that was always on me: my iPhone. I started capturing images on the go with my iPhone, and those were fun, but I wanted to combine my other artistic skills with my photographs and the only way I could do that was with a scanner and a software editing program.

It was then I discovered Photoshop. And what a learning curve that was! I did it though. I worked at it, and eventually I could weave some magic in Photoshop, combining my photos with various scanned images — usually bits and pieces of old books, magazines, my calligraphy and sketches.

I loved the outcome of textured photos but wanted to take what I learned to the next level. And that’s when I came across Sebastian Michaels’ Creative Black & White Photo Artistry course, which was my first serious editing and artistry training course. That then led to Photoshop Artistry and the wonderful AWAKE Group.

3. What inspires you or gives you inspiration to create your art?

I am predominantly inspired by nature. Nature has a way of creating unique colour combinations which are just beautiful and amazing. I love the colours of the sky, the light of the sun, the glow of the moon and stars, the colours of the earth, all living nature – it’s a never-ending harmonious spectrum.

Animals also mean a great deal to my creativity and hold a special place in my heart, so they’re often depicted in my work.

4. Do you have a certain approach to creating your art?

My approach differs from one piece to the next. Sometimes I see an image in my mind, which I quickly capture as a note or sketch and I’ll end up planning out a composition from there and begin collecting my materials.

Other times I simply start with a blank layer in Photoshop and experiment with creating a background to get things started and then, so often it seems . . . the magic just happens. I begin combining images, and almost always the magic turns up all on its own.

I think overall, the most important thing in my creative process comes near the beginning, where I’m working out the idea for each composition, hoping to convey a story.

5. What does your art mean to you?

Art is part of who I am, how I express myself. When I create my art, I know who I am.

6. Do you think since starting in photo artistry it has changed you and if so, how?

Photo artistry has definitely changed me. I’ve learnt to follow the soft voice of my inner guide which allows me to connect all my senses and freely follow my creative impulses with the freedom to express myself in my work and create art that speaks to others.

7. Is there anyone that you draw inspiration from?

I mainly draw inspiration from my own life and being in nature.

I also draw inspiration from my beautiful art families online, ADU, AWAKE and KAIZEN, and it goes without saying that Sebastian Michaels always inspires me. If I have any doubts about my art, I know by listening to Sebastian those doubts are groundless.

8. Where do you see (or hope to see) your art taking you in the future ? What are your next steps?

I’ve been fortunate in getting some commission work and that’s been quite exciting. I hope to do more of that. I also do some graphic design work as a donation for causes and charities important to me, and that’s not only been fulfilling but has brought me some wonderful exposure.