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The silly season is here and we have got you covered with our Christmas Edit!

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Kate Debbo has always loved to paint, but says that it took her a very long time to build up the courage to do it as a career. “After travelling for a few years, I went to art school but dropped out after a year and a half to continue travelling. In that time, my husband and I fell pregnant and after having a second baby, I never found the gap to return to my studies. So I am mainly self-taught. I have always managed to carve out a space to paint, no matter where in the world we have been or how small the space.”
After immigrating to Australia 8 years ago, Kate had a ‘now or never’ wake-up call and took the leap to paint professionally. Now living and working in the beautiful regional town of Margaret River, WA, she paints in “a very messy corner of the lounge. We are in the process of building a tall tin shed for me in our garden, which will be a dream come true! I couldn’t create my work without my super supportive family who put up with my mess (mentally and physically) while I build my art career.”
Kate is endlessly inspired by her interpretation of things she has seen, absorbed and remembered throughout each day. “For me, the magic is in the making.”
“I begin each new work terrified of the white canvas, so I’ve learnt to just make random and/or more decisive marks until the fear disappears and the picture takes over! Destroying most of what I make and then reviving parts of it seems to be a huge part of my creative process. Each piece is only what it is because of what lies beneath the layers of ‘mistakes’. I use long sticks and both my hands to manipulate the oil paint.”
“My works are made from memory and imagination because I want to paint an emotional response rather than a direct observation. My horse series is a lot more controlled by me – the animals appeared in some of my paintings as a symbol of the link between our domestic, tamed roles and something more magical and nostalgic. I am endlessly inspired by the everyday contrasts, absurdities and twists in the tale and through my work I hope to engage the viewers’ imagination and spark a sense of identification and resonance.”
When describing her career highlights, Kate says that every small step in the journey feels like a highlight. “From gaining commissions, exhibiting alongside inspiring artists, participating in art prizes, joining exciting galleries and just getting to be a practicing artist makes me feel incredibly lucky!
 
See Forman’s range of stunning Kate Debbo works here!

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Rachael Little has been creating from a young age. She studied Visual Arts and Fine Arts at Melbourne University. Over the years she has worked in ceramics studios and taught ceramic painting.

Along with art, flowers have always played a large part in Rachael’s life. She worked as a florist for 10 years and flowers, foliage and garden landscapes continue to provide her with constant inspiration.

Rachael has been creating from a young age and it’s something she describes as “calming and truly relaxing”. She works from her home studio in Melbourne, “with three kids and a bit of family chaos thrown in for good measure.” The studio looks onto a garden she created with her husband 15 years ago. Some parts of the garden are structured and layered and other parts are whimsical and flowing - something that is reflected in her own paintings.

When painting, Rachael rarely starts with a set plan. Instead, she works spontaneously, loosely painting from her memory and imagination. Her paintings are built up in layers with loose patterns.

Colour is extremely important to Rachael, as can be seen in her bright and joyful works. “Matching colours, clashing colours and blended colours – sometimes I do it all in the same painting! I want people to feel joy whenever they walk past these artworks, and to find something new each time they look at them.”
 
See Forman's range of beautiful Rachael Little works here!

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Marika Borlase likes to paint an individual response to her experience of landscape. Her paintings are a fusion of abstraction and detail that embodies a sense of dreamlike other worldliness to the land she references.

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As a child, Nunzio Miano loved drawing portraits of family members. He has fond memories of his grandmother and great uncle and aunt visiting from Sicily, when he would spend hours getting them to pose for him while he drew their portrait.
 
Nunzio now has a career as a retail creative director, which he absolutely adores, along with his “passion job” of creating art. “My two passions go hand in hand and feed each other. I get to use my brain and work with a bunch of talented people commercially, but I also need that alone time to express myself on canvas.”
 
When creating art, Nunzio usually works from his home. “I have the music pumping and have the time of my life. Depending on my mood, it’s either house music or old Sicilian love songs. It’s either a dance party or a meditative calm time in the studio.”
 
Nunzio draws on a range of sources for inspiration, from people, his thoughts, his childhood and his Sicilian heritage. “I love film, fashion, design, architecture, interiors and branding. I can’t get enough of it, and I guess that all goes into the big melting pot of inspiration.”
 
The creative process always changes for Nunzio, sometimes he plans paintings on paper, other times the plans are in his head. Sometimes he simply starts painting and it emerges. Nunzio mostly paints portraits, working predominantly with acrylic paint as it allows him the flexibility he needs in his painting techniques.
 
“I get a little deep and am always exploring emotional concepts. I’ve always been intrigued by humanity’s need to belong to tribes or cultures. The need to be loved and liked, to be popular and the need for approval. The faces depicted are quite emotional, portraying themes of despair, sorrow, desperation. While these themes can be quite dark, they are usually in bright, joyful colours. I love that contrast.”
 
See Forman’s range of Nunzio Miano works here.

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