Interview
Melani du Jardin
Bundjalung based romantic impressionist painter, Melani du Jardin paints stories about life and nature in series, using a combination o fen plain air and studio development processes. Her work spans all modalities of fine art painting, including landscapes, portraits, still life and figurative painting of the nude. Melani’s 48 year oil painting career began at the age of 5 years when her maternal grandmother first introduced her to the notion of art. The artist is not afraid to tackle challenging subject matter, which makes for diverse and convincing body of work. Melani is also an experienced galleries and operates her own family gallery that supplies her own art as well as the art of her father and her son to collectors around the world.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I have always had art in my background. I was first taught to paint as a young girl by my maternal grandmother. She also taught me how to hand build in ceramics. Also during my childhood, my father taught me how to use a 35mm camera and I began photographing things as well as painting them. After completing my formal schooling, I undertook total of five years combined fine art studies in photography, film making, technical and artistic drawing and oil painting.”
What inspires you?
“Like my photographer father before me, who first opened my eyes to such things, I am deeply inspired by the light and colour in nature and the breathtaking beauty that those factors bring to the human eye. I am also inspired by the traditional modalities within fine art painting - still life, life drawing and painting the nude.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“As well as themes of light, colour and beauty in nature, I am also interested in relationality. That is, the relationships that exist among and between all objects, environments and life forms, both consciously and subconsciously. I paint in series and I am keen to tap into that dirty little hum that persists under the ‘niceness’ of things. This can be seen in my series, ‘Wounded Archetypes’, a series of 18 works that explore themes scubas belonging, betrayal, rejection, self love, self sabotage and more. I also explore these gritty themes in nature, as evidenced with two series of impressionist landscapes that depict the Australian bushfires of 2019. Another series titled ‘Love and Lockdowns’ explores the pandemic and lockdowns.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is emotive and distinctive. I receive much feedback that my painting carries a particularly distinctive style that is unlike anyone else. My paintings are predominately impressionist in style and are heavily glazed and multi-layered. Each work takes a minimum of several months to complete but I more typically take years to complete larger pieces.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I have a small selection of artists who heavily influence me. They include Monet, and Turner when it comes to the canon of painting. Australian artists that influence me are Brett Whitley, William Robinson and Margaret Olley.”
What is your creative process like?
“My creative process is a mix of en plain air painting, studio process, organic imaginings and formal technical execution of technique. I begin a work with underpainting often en plein air, and continue to deepen and develop each work in my studio, applying layers upon layer of semi transparent glazes, working toward defining light and shadow more acutely with each application.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“In my mind, an artist’s role in society is to both create beautiful things and to push against accepted social norms, using art as a form of commentary. As a fully qualified healing arts psychotherapist, I also feel artists have a lot to offer in terms of using art as a modality for healing and wellbeing.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“A retrospective exhibition called ‘Coming Home’ by iconic Australian painter Brett Whitely is opening in Sydney this July to celebrate the recent remodelling and reopening of his studio as a museum to his career and his considerable influence on Australian art.”
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