If you happen to be wandering the streets of Queenstown this summer, Carrie Broomhall’s exhibition at Gallery 6, QT Queenstown is a must-visit.
The exhibition – aptly named COLOUR & LIGHT – is a showcase of bright and joyful mixed-media pieces. Inspired by the colours and forms of Queenstown and its surroundings, her abstract landscapes transport you to spaces imagined and recollected.
We spoke to Carrie about her love of colour and painting, and what we can expect from her exhibition at Gallery 6.
Tell us about your background in art. How did you get started as an artist?
I have painted and created as long as I can remember. As a child, our family home was filled with art. My parents were so passionate about supporting and collecting artworks by New Zealand contemporary artists and that rubbed off on me as I grew up feeling super inspired.
After receiving scholarship grades in high school art, I deferred my entry into Fine Arts school in Christchurch and instead pursued computer design and colour science at Otago University, which I didn’t enjoy. After an awful health scare, it became clear to me that I needed to follow my passion for creating in this short, little life I have. There’s truly nothing like a good kick in the pants to help me focus my energy!
How do you think your time in France has impacted your style of work?
Moving to France with my husband completely opened my eyes to the wider world of creativity. The fashion, architecture and drive of the places we visited and the people we met encouraged me to explore how I wanted to present myself creatively to the world.
Your canvases are really an expressive burst of colour. Tell us about your process.
First is music! I always paint with the speakers turned up. I am governed by a mix of both external and internal factors when I paint. Some of my paintings feel hectic and wild to paint with colours that jump off the canvas and others involve a much calmer and more meditative approach with subdued tones.
Sometimes the colours I choose are purely reflective of the music I have playing in my studio!
My health is unpredictable and I can spend many days in hospital so I often paint with a ferocious necessity to ‘get a feeling’ down on canvas.
Do you have an idea of the final work before you get started? Or does it usually come together on the canvas?
That depends. I love to sketch out ideas throughout my day and often cart a little notebook around with me to doodle in.
If I am painting a view based on memory or a photo, the paintings tend to reveal themselves until I’m happy to call it a day.
However, if I am painting a commission or collaboration, there is always a planning stage where I choose basic structural elements and colours for the final work. My floral works are often just from my imagination or recollection of the gardens I have visited. They are a labour of love and I just work on them until they scream ‘done!’
Your exhibition at Gallery6 at QT Queenstown pulls inspiration from Central Otago. Were there particular scenes or aspects of this landscape that are mimicked in this collection of work?
I adore Central Otago. I tend to see places in colours and forms and Queenstown is such a mix of different energies: rugged countryside meets international destination! With the breathtaking mountain ranges as a backdrop and the intense colour splashes of all the ski bunnies and people out on the street, the contrast of calmness and intensity can definitely be seen in my exhibition works.
A lot of your work is created with acrylic paint – what draws you to this medium? Do you experiment with other mediums?
Professional acrylic paints have come such a long way and are now 100% equal in quality to oils. I still paint across many mediums including oils but their prolonged drying time can be testing for an impatient person like me.
And finally, what’s next for you and your work?
No self-limiting beliefs for this girl! Incorporating textiles and some much larger works is on the cards… I dream big and have some exciting projects coming up next year. Watch this space!
Carrie Broomhall’s COLOUR & LIGHT exhibition at Gallery 6, QT Queenstown is open until early April 2025.
carriebroomhall.com @carriebroomhallart
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