FELICIA ARONEY

Felicia Aroney is a contemporary artist from Western Australia whose weapon of choice is a palette knife, which she expertly wields to create sculptural paintings on canvas. It’s no surprise that Harvey Galleries have chosen to showcase Felicia’s captivating and multi-sensory artwork at their Sydney Road gallery. Her work is an incredible celebration of the beauty and complexity of the Australian environment, sure to leave a lasting impression.

Felicia, we love your striking work in acrylic and oil. How would you describe your artwork? I’d say my artwork is textural, sculptural, organic, contemporary and fluid femininity with a masculine application and edge.

What inspired you to become an artist, and when did you realise that you wanted to pursue art as a career?

My environment played a huge role. My father loved sketching and encouraged my artistic practice, and my European grandparents taught me to love cooking, using large utensils to stir ingredients and spread fillings over sheets of pastry. Later in life, it was the irregular architectural surfaces of European streets and old walls that captured my imagination, and I love the imperfections and antiquity of them. I strive to capture their essence in my paintings.

Who are some of your biggest artistic influences, and how have they impacted your work? I admire Andrea Bocelli. Not only is he a remarkable singer, but he’s also incredibly humble and honest in his songs, presentation, and storytelling. As for artists, there are several whose work has influenced me, Sally Gabori, Clara Adolphs, Vincent Van Gogh, Dale Frank, and Guy Maestri for their unique approaches to their craft and their honesty in their artistic expression. I often use this term because one cannot fool your audience. Art must be relatable.

What’s your tone? Cool and calm or frantic crazy, something in between. My work is so physical. I’m often on my feet for hours at a time as I use my palette knife to move paint around the canvas. With my abstract landscapes, I strive to achieve a balance between drama and tranquillity, creating areas of visual interest alongside moments of calm.

One of my signature techniques is to use fluid, water-like strokes in many of my paintings. These strokes are particularly effective in my abstract landscapes, where they evoke the movement of the natural world. In contrast, my architectural “cubic” abstracts are designed to be easy on the eye, with graduated blue tones that represent the sea and sky.

My florals are more figurative and calming, with a focus on natural beauty and organic shapes. Regardless of the subject matter, my goal is always to create an immersive and visually engaging experience for the viewer, with a balance of texture, colour and movement.

Your work is very textural, almost jumping off the canvas in 3D. What feelings do you hope the paintings evoke? How it has evolved over time?

My work is becoming more and more textural. I look back at works I painted 12 months ago, and I think my latest body of work has 50 percent more paint on the canvas. I love dragging the knife across my palette, witnessing numerous tones merging and applying it straight onto the canvas creating marbled effects. I hope it evokes curiosity, interpretation, depth and intrigue.

Your approach to colour is balanced and considered. How do you choose your palette? I sometimes have periods where I find myself craving a certain colour. In my most recent solo exhibition, “Nature Walk,” with Harvey Galleries, I introduced yellow to my repertoire. Although I typically favour blues, naturals, and greens, I found it incredibly exciting to experiment with a new colour and see how it interacted with my existing palette. Colour is essential to any painting, as is the importance of light and shade. By playing with contrast and value, I aim to create paintings that are both visually striking and emotionally resonant.

Have you studied art or are you self-taught?

I have a degree in Graphic Design (Curtin University WA) and studied Fine Arts as a minor subject at University. I found Graphic Design too rigid for me,

“I felt the work Felicia has been producing over the last few years has been so outstanding that I wanted to showcase in particular her current impasto landscape series which is constantly evolving and very exciting.”