8 Artists Who Perfectly Capture The Beauty Of Homes + Architecture

Eliza Gosse

Sydney-based artist Eliza Gosse has always ‘felt a pull to architecture’. In fact, she actually studied architecture before her Fine Arts degree at the National Art School!

Now her soft and light-filled paintings explore ‘life through the lens of architecture’, with a focus on mid-century Modernist homes with a muted colour palette – crediting icons like David Hockney and Howard Arkley as her biggest inspirations on her dreamy style. Magic!

Where to buy:
Through Olsen Gallery in Sydney, Edwina Corlette in Brisbane, and Mars Gallery in Melbourne.

Next exhibition:
Forthcoming show at Edwina Corlette Gallery in April 2023

Emily Gordon

Since moving back to downtown Sydney in 2018, Emily Gordon started to paint her urban surrounds, finding endless inspiration in the ‘fleeting moments of great beauty, surprising vantages and satisfying geometric patterns’.

Her works are like a personal diary of modern-day Sydney, capturing the quirks of the area’s older buildings as they appear today thanks to her detailed painting style and pastel colour palette, which sometimes deviates from reality. Emily says a large, intricate piece can take up to 50-plus hours in the studio, while others might take her years to turn concept to reality!

Where to buy:
Through her regular exhibitions at Michael Reid Northern Beaches

Next exhibition:
Border State, on now at Michael Reid Southern Highlands

Justin Maurice Scivetti

 Melbourne artist Justin Maurice Scivetti’s works are characterised by his bold use of colour, light and shadow. He focuses on a range of architectural styles, often re-imaging conventional buildings with playful pops of pink and purple.

‘In my upcoming show at Saint Cloche I explore the architecture of Paddington in Sydney’s inner east,’ Justin says. ‘Paddo features a varied typography that is playfully lined with terrace homes, this unique and varied assembly features a scale and rhythm that is intimately human.’

Where to buy:
Through Saint Cloche and Justin’s forthcoming website, where original works and prints will be available

Next exhibition:
Realm at Saint Cloche gallery, opening January 2023

Dani McKenzie

At first glance, Dani McKenzie’s detailed paintings look photographs. That’s because the Melbourne-based artist often works from personal pictures and observation, filling her art with an intriguing aura of intimacy.

Her work also reflects her curious interest in homes as a hidden ‘sanctuary’, observing everyday life ‘from the outside’ through recreations of picture-perfect period facades – which are also one of her favourite things to paint! ‘The little front gardens, sash windows and iron latticework – is there anything more romantic?’

Where to buy:
Through MARS Gallery in Melbourne, and Olsen Gallery in Sydney.

Next exhibition:
MARS Gallery’s annual Christmas showcase, opening December

Janis Clarke

Janis Clarke’s shadowy paintings of architectural landscapes are equal parts familiar and mysterious. He captures scenes from his own life, ranging from the warm glow of a window with the lights on, a little glimpse of a facade or the angles of a roof.

Drawn to the contrasts between built and natural forms and dark and light, he says he usually aims to start and finish a painting in one session – and he mostly paints at night!

Where to buy:
Through Olsen Gallery in Sydney

Next exhibition:
Forthcoming solo show at Olsen Gallery, in 2023

Christopher Zanko

The level of detail in Christopher Zanko’s unique and nostalgic artworks is astonishing. The Illawarra artist combines the laborious techniques of wood carving with painting to re-create suburban streets that are remarkably close to the red-brick homes of the 50s and 60s he saw in his hometown of Wollongong. Details like a shadow cast by the window shade, the single blades of grass on the front lawn or the outline of each brick are all carved out by hand!

‘If I’m working on a particularly large work around 150x130cm I’m looking at around 100-plus hours hands on,’ Christopher explains. ‘The carving process is particularly time consuming on that scale.’

Where to buy: Through Egg & Dart in New South Wales, and Edwina Corlette in Queensland

Next exhibition: Forthcoming show Egg & Dart, opening March 2023

Fiona Barrett-Clark

Fiona Barrett-Clark says she’s always loved all-things architecture, but since the pandemic, her local area has become a source of endless inspiration – incorporating everything from power lines to the ‘stereotypical’ shape of weatherboard homes in her nostalgic paintings.

‘I go for a walk between 6pm and 8pm a few nights a week. The colour of the sky against the sharp lines of the architecture, and the glow from windows, the particularly moody palette of dusk is just sublime,’ Fiona adds.

Where to buy:
Through Saint Cloche

Ainsley Walters

The soul, charm and elegance of Melbourne’s neighbourhoods are delicately woven into Ainsley Walters’ memory-filled paintings. She started painting these terrace houses, Victorian facades and the inner-city streets out of a love for her hometown – and as a way of preserving the ‘timeless beauty of our heritage buildings’ through her art!

Hoping to share her own ‘sense of home’ with people, she expertly captures little details that make them even more meaningful. It wouldn’t be an accurate depiction of Melbourne without a bike rider peddling home at dusk, the leafy trees towering over the footpath, and graffiti sprawled on old buildings!

Where to buy:
Through Ainsley’s website and Brunswick Street Gallery

Next exhibition:
Spring Tide at the Brunswick Street Gallery, opening November 17