FEATURE ARTIST - LOUISE SMITH

BUTTERFLY GARDEN

I ADORE THEE

RUN TO ME RAVEN’S LAIR

FAIRY TALES

LIGHTING THE LAMPS

Meet your artist Louise Smith

Gympie, QLD Australia

Website :

I was born in Gympie, Qld but left home for the big smoke of Brisbane when I was 18 to work for the Westpac Bank. After a career in banking I left to have my first of two children. Once the kids were a little older my husband and I started our own cleaning business on the Sunshine Coast but have now moved back to Gympie where we still do a little cleaning, but am enjoying a sort of semi retired life.

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

My interest in Photo Artistry was sparked about 2-3 years ago after seeing an advert for Sebastian Michaels’ Photoshop Artistry course that was being promoted by another photographer that I was following at the time. I had joined a local camera club some years before and really enjoyed learning about my camera and taking photos but wanted to take things a step further. I had used mainly Lightroom to edit my images before so learning all about Photoshop was a big learning curve for me but I’m finding the process really interesting.

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

My inspiration comes from studying others and their wonderful work in our many online facebook groups for Sebastian’s courses. Pinterest is another great resource to get ideas. Songs, books, TV shows - there’s lots of areas. I like a lot of different genres of art so I’m just experimenting with different things to see what grabs me the most. So far they’re all equal.

Do you have a certain approach to creating your art?

If I come up with an idea I like to search my own photos first to see if there is anything I could use. Even if it’s just one small element it’s good to know there is something of yours in the image. I then look through the endless course resources we have and if that’s not providing, then I’m on Pixabay or similar sites to try and find the right image or I’ll grab my camera or iPhone and photograph something around the house.

What does your art mean to you?

I used to be a creative child, always drawing. I loved it. But never thought i was good enough. We unfortunately didn’t have art classes as such at school, it was either the science route or secretarial studies. So I went the secretarial way, art went down the gurgler! Having this creative outlet now to express myself makes me very happy and fulfilled. I can’t imagine not doing it into the future. I love taking photos, I love editing them on the computer as it helps keep my brain active. It’s just very satisfying especially when a piece all comes together

Do you think since starting in Photo Artistry it has changed you and if so, how?

Yes definitely. I feel I’m a lot more confident in myself. I think that comes from the support that we get displaying our art on the various Facebook groups. Certainly happy and thankful that we can do that.

There are some extremely talented artists in this world which you soon realise when you go searching on the web. I really like the work of an Australian artist, Alexia Sinclar. She is a fine art photographer and her type of style is something I would like to explore someday. But I also like college artist, Frank Moth. You can find their work on Instagram. Another genre i’d like to explore!

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

I would love to have a gallery showing one day. Maybe a collaboraton with some other artists would be something I’d definitely look at and just to continue to produce art that I’m proud of and hopefully others find delight in.

ART IS WONDERFUL