Lane Cove Council commissioned this site-specific mural, which was printed and installed across a 180-metre long wall. The design reflects the natural beauty of Lane Cove—lovely green bushland rolls down to a glittering blue river and coves. My aim was for the artwork to impart a sense of joy and playfulness as viewers stroll by.
The title for this piece, Song of a Little Bird That Fell in Love with a Whale, is a lyric from the hauntingly beautiful Tom Waits song Fish & Bird. In essence, the song is about loving one another, even if we each live in different worlds that we may not quite understand.
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TESTIMONIAL • 22 September, 2017
I had the absolute delight of working with Rachel on the recent Rosenthal Project on behalf of Lane Cove Council. From the get go, Rachel showed incredible diligence and passion for the project and both of those attributes have not waned one iota since. When it came to submission time, Rachel wowed us with her creativity and incredible idea – as you will see, it really is a stunning creation. True to her nature, Rachel supported her submission with depth of detail as to how she would execute on all the deliverables, not just the finished art piece, which made it a really easy decision for Lane Cove Council to say yes!
Throughout the process, we have been challenged with navigating the needs of a number of stakeholders and Rachel proved to be extremely accommodating, whilst staying true to artist integrity. She won the respect of Council and delivered them a piece that they were absolutely thrilled with. Not only that, Rachel was tasked with facilitating three children’s workshops to enable the local community to have an opportunity to create individual artworks to sit with her master design and once again, she over delivered. Each workshop was not only professionally facilitated by Rachel, she made them fun! The kids loved participating and through this collaboration, enjoyed a fantastic experience and a chance to put their stamp into the local community.
I, personally, spent a lot of time with Rachel over the project and can 100% say that it was like being a part of a team… and a fun one at that! I would love to work with Rachel again and highly recommend her to anyone wanting a true artist, and a true professional who can be left unguided to deliver on your vision!
– Andie Tickner
Project Director, Fostered
Photographs courtesy of FOSTERED
In 2016, the then brand new Byron Central Hospital commissioned me to paint two murals in the children’s play areas in main reception and emergency reception. The hospital directors were so pleased with the first two murals that they commissioned a third: this one in the Paediatric Gym. I painted large, gentle creatures on ground level so that young children can go up and interact with them as they re-learn to walk and move their bodies during the healing process.
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My hope is that the artwork might inspire and distract children a little from any fear or pain they may be experiencing in a potentially frightening hospital environment.
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Painting murals for children in hospitals had long been a dream of mine and I feel very grateful for the opportunity. The hospital staff (the CEO, nurses, tradies, researchers, security staff, etc.) were wonderful. And the freshly painted blank walls in neutral tones were gloriously giant blank canvases to me.
The second of three murals I was commissioned to paint at the wonderful new Byron Community Hospital. This one is on a large wall in the children's play area in the main reception (hence the safety glass fence). These painted characters grew out of looking back at my found object sculptures.
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There's rusty Mister Lockwood who — looking like he's just stepped out of some one-horse town saloon — is a hopeless romantic, offering a rose to his beloved.
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Chamomilla dons a crown full of chamomile flowers — a plant treasured for healing properties such as reducing headaches, easing bellyache and calming the nerves... pretty handy to combat the nerves of hospital visits.
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Galaxy Eyes, with eyes full of stars, has just flown down from outer space to offer flowers to patients and dance a little cheery jig.
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And Miss Aloe Vera is ready to heal and soothe skin from the ravages of sunburn from falling asleep for too long on Byron's beautiful beaches nearby.
This is the first of three murals I was commissioned to paint for the brand new Byron Community Hospital. This mural is in the children's play area of the Emergency Department waiting room.
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I was asked to paint birds with medicinal plants. I selected Aloe Vera, Calendula and Holy Basil. Plus gum trees, because they're magical.
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I used warm, bright colours to entertain children but with soft, gentle imagery in order to soothe both patients and anxiously waiting loved ones in Emergency.
I'm so pleased to have been given the opportunity to create artwork designed especially to cheer up sick munchkins in the new Lismore Base Hospital.
The commission to paint a jungle theme in this room was perfect as Lismore is surrounded by stunning rainforest remnants of 'The Big Scrub'.
Red-eyed frogs, Rose-Crowned Fruit Doves, butterflies, a possum and a Spotted Quoll play amongst the soothing green foliage and freshwater pond.
The brief for the mural in this bedroom on the children's ward was to paint a small, vignette-style image, using somewhat muted colours.
Considering that children are drawn to bright colours, I included some small splashes of reds and yellows and a rainbow to inspire hope and upliftment, whilst featuring large areas of blue and turquoise for soothing and relaxation. I feel that the careful choice of colour can be an effective aid to healing.
This mural project landed smack-bang in the middle of a month of delightfully sunny North Coast winter days, during which I saw many migrating whales strutting their stuff in spectacular breaches and fountain-like water spouts along the beaches of nearby Byron Bay.
After breeding in the warm waters of the Far North, you can often see mother and baby whales heading back down south together. I chose to include this symbology to reassure frightened young patients that they are not alone.
Greenhouse Grocer are doing wonderful things for vegetables! They source all of their produce as locally as possible, and spray-free or organic too. This means that local farmers are getting paid well for the fruits of their labour and customers are getting super fresh vegies that don't cost the Earth in terms of fossil fuels consumed for transportation.
To celebrate, I painted some rather botanical-style images of vegetables on their walls, a pumpkin and shovel, and a portrait of their beloved pet carp on the floor 'pond' below the stairwell.
Santos Organics commissioned me to snazzy up their back garden in order to create a more inviting eating and play area.