A walk down Hollie Kellie’s memory lane is a beautiful thing;  her hand drawn illustrations show moments suspended in time, not yet tainted by that loss of innocence we know as ‘growing up’. Her spirited childhood is the basis for many of her works, often spurred on from old photographs found lying around, which are often, later, expertly rendered in ink and watercolor. Interestingly, Hollie is also quite handy with mixed media, creating her works, often with a hint of the surreal, out of whatever spectrum of materials may be at hand.

Recently Invurt chatted with Hollie Kelley about her collaborative pieces that are featuring in BSG’s Drawn Again show. We also got a wee insight into why her work is so eerily lovely …

You obviously love a bit of nostalgia – are a lot of your works based on your own childhood and formative years?

Definitely. I grew up in a rambling house in the country, near the border of NSW and Victoria, surrounded by 10 acres of rural magic. My dad built us a beautiful mud brick house complete with bats, cobwebs, antiques, a dam, Wendy house (cubby), a spiral staircase that he soldered and carved himself, and a rotating tower – just in case he ever decided to get a telescope (he still hasn’t thirty years later!). I don’t think I’ve ever gotten over having such an inspiring childhood, & I try to get back to those ideals and memories of those times as much as I can within my art practice.

Childhood is such an amazing time for all us of, but I think we often forget that it can be very painful when we start to lose that innocence. Time and it’s passing is a very big factor in my work, so, of course, my own experience of it is going to influence the pieces I work on.

 
What propelled you into drawing in the first place, and how did you end up pursuing it?

My family are pretty creative and have always inspired me to draw.

Dad was an old style graphic designer who did everything by hand rather than on the computer. He also used to do those ink drawn houses that were in the real estate section of the newspaper, before the days of just showing a photograph of the house. I used to steal his felt tip pens & draw my own made up houses but they were never as good as his … I was always trying to hone my drawing skills to impress my pa.

Who and what is Little Joshua Gocco?

Little Joshua was an ink drawing I made in around 2008, inspired by a photo of my brother when he was a small child traipsing around in my Pa’s muddy old boots. I thought it was quite symbolic in an obvious way of trying to live up to big expectations. I like obviousness sometimes. I found Little Joshua to be a pretty powerful image so I sporadically turn him into limited edition prints using my little Gocco printer.

 
Aside from childhood, there’s a sort of theatrical theme in many of your illustrations; stage masks, stage make, etc. Can you explain what this signifies, if anything?

I’ve always had a fascination with costume, disguise & role playing. One of the million dreams I had when I was younger was to be a costume designer and create the most beautifully elaborate & otherworldly garments for characters. I am very interested in the way costume can portray a personality or especially in relation to children- affect their persona and confidence. I sometimes use masks to show that very human tendency to play roles and adapt our personality to fit in with society.

Don’t you think it’s a little creepy that we do this from such a young age?

 
Your illustrative works switch from straight portraiture to the surreal, an adjustment not many artists nail.  Are the same processes involved? Or is one easier than the other?

I think I find portraiture most comfortable, as it’s something I’ve always been drawn to, but by the same token I’ve always been drawn to the surreal and imagined/dreamt realities. When I draw portraits I often look at them, and feel that there is something missing, until I add that eerie, surreal element and the image starts to come together.

 
You dabble in sculpturesque works, often made up of mixed media; frames, glass, feathers, twigs. Do you feel safer sticking to water colours, inks and pencils or are you the jack of all artistic trades?

I just can’t seem to stick to the one medium for too long, and have never  been able to! I just like to keep it interesting for myself, and use whatever medium works for whichever idea. Primarily I draw, but sometimes I need a break from that so I’ll make some jewellery, or works under glass. I am a bowerbird, so I accumulate crap all the time- and to justify this I try to make use of it all at some point. A little kitsch ornament or some feathers I found on a walk will never be wasted, they will find their way into a work when the time is just right.

 
Who, out of illustrators in Melbourne, and further afield, are you most enjoying work from recently? What other artists inspire your own work, or give you ideas for pieces – and where do these ideas mostly come from?

Melbourne illustrators/artists sparking my interest at the moment are Ryan McGennisken, Acorn, Hannah Bertram, Dylan Martorell, Michael Peck, Yuria Okamura, Be Free … Further afield-I am hugely inspired by Swoon’s entire body of work – I think she is pure magic … Monica Canilao, the late Margaret Kilgallen, Christopher C Curtis, Tasmanian artist Nick Hills, Kiki Smith, & Rosalie Gascoigne are all pretty inspiring.

Most of my ideas for pieces come from a found remnant, object or old photo, uncovered after a good rummage. Anything that triggers an emotional reaction from me can be the basis for a new work. If I see another artist doing amazing things I get inspired to create. A good meal and a coffee always helps too!

 
Tell us a little about the work for the show you are doing at the BSG at the moment, and what you’ve been working on lately?

I have seven works for the BSG Drawn Again show, all framed works on paper, two of which are a collaboration between myself and Ryan McGennisken, who is sharing a space with me for the show. The works feature small portraits of children in varying guises.

 
You exhibit fairly regularly these days, it seems. Do you still get nervous before a show?

I am a nervous person so yes haha. The group shows, especially at BSG aren’t too bad because you know there will be a huge crowd for all the other artists, but when they are smaller shows I tend to get nervous about people turning up to the openings. It’s a good thing though – as I need to challenge myself to get out of my bubble more.

Where would you like to see your art in the next few years? Do you have a specific goal in mind for your work, or are you just taking it as it comes?

I have a million goals! A big solo show is definitely on the cards over the next year. So is at least one overseas residency – maybe in Portland, or Detroit. I would like to start participating in shows overseas soon too.

I try to make plans but I change my mind a lot, so I never tie myself down to one idea, or set things in stone too much – I prefer to just let things pan out a little bit naturally …

Check out The Dusty Caravan, Hollies blog, as well as her work in the Drawn Again group show at BSG for the next two or three weeks (of which several of the above images are from).