Lily Curtis

Do you remember the first artwork that made you feel proud? What was it?

The first artwork I remember being proud of, was actually a drawing from our first art lesson in year 1 of primary school, so I would have been six years old. We were learning about warm and cool colours, and it was of a fish. I do not remember much else, except that it was very fun, and I was very proud that my colouring was neat.

What role did your secondary school art teacher play in shaping your artistic journey?

I studied with my secondary school art teacher from year seven to my first half of year twelve. I always felt safe in her classroom to try new things and express myself. It was always the highlight of my day when she admired my work. It was even better when in my last two years of secondary school, we got a lot more freedom in what type of art we made. On Friday mornings, we had art first up, and she would bring in a trolley of tea and coffee to help ourselves.

Lily Curtis | Seaside | 2024

You describe your style as expressive and vibrant—what inspires your use of color and emotion?

I’m not sure how my style has come to be as it is, as when I started drawing, I stuck to graphite pencils. But when I would go to galleries, I would always look around and go bee-line to the most colourful one I can see. Now, I love experimenting with colour, simply because it is fun. I love to be expressive and use emotion in my work simply because, if I’m asked, ‘what is art?’, I always say, its a way of expressing yourself.

How has your time at TAFE influenced your technical growth and artistic confidence?

My time at TAFE has certainly, in a way, forced my hand into focusing on technique. In some of the first weeks, my digital art lecturer showed us how he makes some of his digital works, and how to really focus on colour, and it really changed how I make digital art, which is now a lot more detailed. As one of my classmates has said, instead of a teacher teaching art, we have practising artists teaching. It has very much helped my confidence, as I’ve always felt my technique to be my weakest point.

What does a typical day in your art practice look like?

Most of my art practice is going with the flow, as of course, it started as just my hobby. I’ve grown to do some research if I want to make a large work that requires a lot of planning, some sketches, notes and references, but a lot of the time I’ll put on music and go where the art takes me, as that is how I’ve created some of my best work.

Lily Curtis | Country Trees | 2025

Do you find that certain emotions or experiences influence your subject choices?

While I consider myself to be a very bubbly person, I do have some works that are very personal, that include ideas about bullying, body shaming and harassment, which I have experienced. I find I tend to lean towards strong emotions when making art, which I like to portray by using symbolism, especially colour symbolism.

Which artists, past or present, do you feel most connected to?

I feel most connected to Artemisia Gentileschi, a Baroque painter, because she is an Italian artist, as I have some Italian ancestry, and because I admire her resilience during the trail following her rape, in which she was tortured to verify her testimony. I admire her confidence to make feminist artworks during that time period, and I’m sure is an inspiration to many other artists. I also feel connected with is Vincent van Gogh, as he was largely unrecognised for his work while he was alive, which reminds me of society’s general view that artists aren’t important.