The artwork of Phoebe Stone is a product of her tools (predominately oil pastels and brown-toned paper), and her background as an interior designer.
The Sydney-based artist ‘drew constantly’ as a child, then later as an adult as a form of mediation. Then 2020 hit, and Phoebe’s life choices were brought to the forefront. ‘[It] ultimately led me to a crossroads where I had to decide what my life was going to look like, and what I wanted,’ Phoebe says.
‘While I was trying to figure this out, I picked up some pastels with the intent to draw some pictures for my daughter’s room. I haven’t put them down since and I find myself, almost by accident, on the path I needed to take.’
Phoebe works with oil pastels for their immediacy and fluidity, but also their limitations in colour and application, that discourage overthinking.
‘Some may view this as a real challenge, but I love it,’ she says. ‘I know some artists find them quite messy and easy to smudge, but I love that. I love the way there are incidental marks … It’s very freeing.
‘For me, drawing, my art practice, is a place to not overthink. I do that very well in many aspects of my life, so I enjoy a disconnect from that way of being. I think this is what people have responded so positively to — it’s not a forced style, it is very authentically me.’
Mostly working in the realm of still life, Phoebe’s art often showcases ‘food, wine and a lot of seafood.’ She works from her Lane Cove home studio on either paper or board — canvases that both play an integral role in her completed works.
Phoebe explains, ‘I’m not sure why, but I am very drawn to seeing bits of the surface through the drawing, perhaps to affirm that this is a drawing — an artist’s impression of an object, a scene, an interior — and nothing more.
‘I have a preference for brown-toned paper as I use a lot of white in my works and it creates a lovely contrast. When I work on board, I always prep it with a clear gesso so once again you can see bits of the board through my marks.’
Drawing interiors is Phoebe’s latest pursuit, inspired by her decade working as an interior designer. ‘I’m drawing from a mix of space I’ve inhabited (momentarily as somewhere visited, or from around my home or the homes of family) or even from magazines and images on Instagram,’ she says.
‘I’m rarely completely faithful to the source image. I change things to suit the drawing, omit elements, change colours, and add things.’
Phoebe will exhibit her first solo show at Hake House of Art on September 8th 2023, and a special release with Michael Reid Southern Highlands from September 28th.
