Interview
Olivia Peach
Olivia Peach (b. 1980 Atlanta, GA) is a versatile artist with a variety of styles that emphasize her training in Illustration and Fine Art. Olivia’s work is inspired by music and lyrical compositions, nature, the cosmos, light and dark dynamics as well as her individual spiritual journey. Her chosen mediums are acrylic on canvas, acrylic ink on watercolor paper, and the simplicity of pencil on paper.
Olivia’s work involves thoughtful, illustrious depictions of songs, stories and ideas with pointed visual imagery through drawn and painted line work.
She began her career as an artist over twenty years ago, when she completed her BFA at The School of Visual Arts in New York City (2005). During her time living and working in New York, Olivia mastered a variety of mediums, including pastels, oils, acrylics, and mixed media. Olivia has an expansive portfolio of art pieces that are fluid and technically driven. She uses bold colors in broad brush strokes through loose color transitions and carefully painted light orbs that dance and trickle around her canvas of color. Olivia enjoys intermingling a love of intricate color studies inspired by nature, trees, the sky and beyond. Within her different bodies of art, one will see the common connection in her range of methodologies.
Olivia has purposely chosen not to limit herself creatively, continuing to practice in a range of styles that allow her to express her many ideas. Each body of art has a different feeling, and therefore needs a different style. Each body of work is consistent and yet uniquely connected to the other. Olivia Peach currently lives and works in Roswell Georgia.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“My birth name is Olivia Carol Williams, but since achieving my degree in Fine Art and Illustration I have used Olivia Peach as my artist’s name. I was born in Atlanta GA, the daughter and Jack and Carol Williams, two incredibly hard-working people who fought hard to give me and my sister a good life, full of laughter, love and encouraged both of us in our creative pursuits. I have always felt a solidarity with my home-state of Georgia where my creative spark began, so that is where Peach comes from. I had a very simple upbringing, free of video games, elaborate vacations, and computers. My world was full of art and imagination. I spent my afternoons and weekends reading and playing in my creek and being completely filthy. I loved gardening and had a totally organic lifestyle.
When I was old enough to work and buy my own things, music opened up a whole new world of artistic feelings and ideas. As I got older both my parents realized making pictures with pencils and whatever else I could get my hands on was not a passing phase, and carved out a nice space for me in our basement where I had full reign to paint, sculpt and draw, whatever I needed supply wise they provided.
Since childhood, I knew Visual Art was something I would do. I once wrote in my fourth grade journal that I would one day live in New York and be an artist. In high school, my first art teacher Rebecca Owens recognized my natural abilities and immediately started entering me into regional artist competitions. I won many honorable mentions and awards, having my work exhibited in the heart of Atlanta right next to the High Museum of Art, where I would visit with my family as little girl. I gradually moved on to apply to art colleges all over the U.S. and was accepted to every one I applied to.
I spent my preliminary year of college at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and eventually transferred to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art and Illustration. I had a true love of drawing and depicting a story, but also found another passion, painting. I had not had as much experience in painting and was gifted with some incredible professors who challenged me to become a more skilled artist than I could have ever become on my own, teaching me valuable techniques. I dabbled in several mediums, but found my niche in Acrylic.
For most of my college days and beyond I painted in a realistic style, with surrealistic undertones. I showed in many group gallery shows in New York City. I curated some of my own group shows with my creative colleagues and teamed up with several startup companies working to market emerging artists online.
After nine years, I decided to leave New York to start a family. During that time, I maintained my website, taking only commissioned works of art. My son was born neurodivergent, so that became my main focus. I placed all my love and time into giving my son the best possible chance at maneuvering this world we live in. And I did just that. However, I never gave up on my goal, I simply spent more time conceptualizing ideas, and playing around in my spare time with different ways to manipulate color, rather than a visual narrative. In 2020, my life took a positive turn during a time of uncertainty.
During COVID, I took full advantage of being home all time with my family, and purchased mass amounts of paint, canvas makings and beyond and started experimenting with new styles I had never tried before. I started to incorporate my love of drawing into bold color schematics, which then evolved over the course of three years. Once I had a clear consistent style that came to fruition, I rebooted my website with my new work. I truly believe that to be an artist is an ongoing journey that has stops and starts, and when you take a pause, the work you start to create is like a whole other beginning. I am in my resurgence, and I couldn’t be more excited about it!”
What inspires you?
“The inspiration for my current series of work is fully inspired by human energy, and basically life. I am a very spiritual woman, and find a divine connection to the earth and sky and all that is in the realm of creation. I find spiritual connections in the constellations, cosmos and all that is above us, and find the illumination of each star above me is a feeling of hope and a curiosity, this has been quite a focal point of the body of work I have focused on the last two years. I am always seeking out new ways to elevate my mind, body and spirit, and use my art as an extension of my highest vibrational energies. So my time outside of the daily grind is my largest inspiration.
Going outside of my bubble is very important, traveling and seeing other artists’ work or simply seeing a part of the world or landscape I had not discovered or known about can really lift me to a higher mindset that wants to express visually. Energy can stagnate, so this is why movement, and being able to remove ourselves from our immediate world is a critical part of staying inspired for me, to help me create from my most authentic self, and find a center of beauty and light in the daily cycle of the day to day.
Another huge driving force for me has always been music. It is an energetic extension of someone else’s life, and body of work. I find that emotional connections to songs, rhythms and lyrics help me derive pure uninhibited joy, and inspires color concepts and ideas that can shift my energy into a higher vibration in an instant. I will not focus on anything aside from what I am listing to, and in those moments, many ideas flood my train of thought.”
“I am fascinated with the concept of energy vibrations in our environment, and how those are translated through my work. The universe and nature are the best ways for me to stay grounded and find inspiration.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
"Spirituality, transformation, space and illumination are all themes that are presented in my most current body of work. The underlining theme in my work is free flowing energy, and is meant to be transformative. In some pieces, a recognizable shape will emerge, such as an infinity symbol, or a tree, while others will simply have illuminated orbs that bounce around the canvas of colors abstractly or fall freely. There is a harmony and balance within the space I create with colors and lights.”
How would you describe your work?
“My current series of paintings is balance of vibrant colors that fade into one another but also bounce off of one other based on either a monochromatic color scheme, or a complimentary color scheme with intermittent metallic colors like gold or silver.
I typically gravitate toward bright colors, but some pieces are beautifully muted and intermingle nicely with the more electric color palette. The colors radiate off each other to bring forth circular patterns with spheres that are painted in multiple layers of shades to make them look illuminated to the eye. The orbs may have an obvious path or motion that create a shape or formation, and other times they float around in a random organic way, or flow downward. The orbs range from large, to a very fine pinpoint spot. Each one is very important to the energy I am seeking to create within the space of colors.”
Which artists influence you most?
“I woudn’t say that that any artist in particular influences the style of my work, but I love to see different artists, whatever style or genre, just going to galleries and seeing others peoples work is a big inspiration to keep going. The energy I feel when I just branch out and look at art, even if it’s not my style at all, I am able to really appreciate the work, and what it means to the artist.
However, if I were to formally name an artist who has influenced me, maybe not in the traditional sense, but her breath of work inspires me, her life inspires me and her tenacity to be a strong female artist in a time when women didn’t share the art world as much, it would Nikki De Saint Phalle, a French artist, who is best known for her large mosaic sculptural work, her “Nanas” series, and collaborated works. I had the luxury of seeing a large body of her mosaic sculptures that had been transported to the Atlanta botanical Gardens where my parents took me while I was studying in New York. I have never seen anything like it, and have never seen anything like it since. I hope one day to travel abroad, and see her work in other countries including sculptures that span over landscapes. Her strength was quite influencing for a young artist, like myself, as when I saw her work I was in my mid 20’s, and seeing what a grand scale she was able to create was otherworldly and magnificent.”
What is your creative process like?
“I try to always start by doing color studies, I gather my inspiration from color changes in the sky, sunsets, ocean waves, and other area of nature, I may even gather photos of different color palettes and work on aesthetic, like a sunset, or deeper blue like dusk or the way waves foam up on the shore. After figuring out the feeling I want to embody, I go to mixing small batches of colors, and play with them on heavy duty watercolor paper. Once I feel I have mastered the energy I want to project onto a larger area, I figure out the size I want to make and put my stretcher bars together and build my canvas.
Often, I will work on several paintings at a time, so I can keep the energy of the work fresh and not stagnate, which I feel can happen when I pander around on one painting for too long. I like to keep my momentum in rotation. I then gather my colors that I need make large batches and work on the background colors. I work quickly and loosely with a large brush. This stage usually only takes one session, but depending on the feeling and size of the work can take a few rounds with the colors and mixing.
Once that stage is complete I then go to work placing the circles all over the space with only white paint, because each orb is it’s own canvas, and fresh color needs to go onto a white space so it becomes clear of its separation and yet its incorporation into the backdrop of color. I then do two to three hues of color that will ultimately gradate from a lighter hue of the color it’s being placed onto, then a white circle which helps to create a softness to the eye when seen from a small distance. And lastly a halo shade which is translucent in nature, then goes around each circular shape to help it blend ever so into the original colorful background. This takes a lot of patience, and each circle is in fact hand painted, there is no stencil or tool other than my hands and my eyes putting them together.
It’s a painstaking and detailed process, but the end result is lovely and gives me a feeling of accomplishment. Afterwards the work itself is coated with an acrylic varnish which sets the work.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Because I have been in this rat race for two and half decades now, I have seen how the artists role in society has changed significantly over the many years. When I was in my mid-twenties to now being in my early 40’s, I have seen how social media has completely changed the landscape of how an artist can communicate, exhibit, and market themselves. In one way, it makes it easier for artists to get out there, but also harder to be recognized, due to so much over saturation on social media, it almost makes an artists latest reel just one of millions, nothing unique. But on the flip-side I love that we can share the process of our work, and the entire process of its creation, and that in and of itself is art.
We can share stories, and the humor of the artists life, and plight to make it through the machine. We are always trying to stay in our truest form, yet for fine artists this is a challenge as the world expects visual artists to adapt to the changing times. Artists are expected to create digitally, and mass produce their art in the form of artist prints. While I respect the digital art world, there is a slow loss for the place the organic artist that still wants to work in a skilled medium. People want cheaper options to place on their walls, and I hope that in this day and age of instant gratification, that we can still find the value of purchasing a unique one-of-a-kind painting, that no print can truly reproduce.
Art never devalues, it never becomes obsolete, and it is one of a kind. In my opinion, prints can be amazing if in a larger scale that shows off the artists talents, but it can never fully replace an original. The key is finding true art collectors who can genuinely appreciate the time and involvement so that artists can still find a way to thrive in our ever-fluctuating economy.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“For most of my college years and post graduate years I showed my work in many galleries and group exhibitions primarily in the New York area. After a ten-year hiatus from the gallery and exhibition world, I have started to show my work again in public. One of my recent paintings was exhibited in group show at Heart and Soul Gallery in Marietta, it was a lovely array of spiritually derived work by local artists.
Other Mentionable Shows include: Spirit Animal Exhibition: Blood Dumpster Group New York, NY 11/2011 Solo Show: The Blind Spot, Lititz, PA 10/2011 Solo Show: Phoenix and Dragon, Atlanta, GA 10/2009 APW Gallery Group Exhibit New York, NY 03/2009 Election Group Exhibit: Art Gotham Gallery New York, NY 10/2008 440 Gallery: Small works Group Exhibit Brooklyn, NY 06/2008 Art Now Fair: Showcase with UGallery New York, NY, 03/2008 Rhonda Schaller Studio: Small Rays of Hope New York, NY 12/2007 Square Foot Show: Art Gotham Gallery New York, NY 11/2007 Pen and Brush: 2007 Fall Brush Exhibition New York, NY 10/2007 Rhonda Schaller Studio: Crossroads Exhibit New York, NY 05/2007 Pen and Brush: Spring Brush Exhibition New York, NY 05/2007 Square Foot Show: Art Gotham Gallery New York, NY 04/2007 Pen and Brush Gallery: Roles, Rights and Rituals New York, NY 03/2007 The Perfect Man: All Rise Gallery Chicago, IL 09/2006 Medium Debut Four Artist Show: Emergency Art New York, NY 09/2006 Big Brooklyn Art Show Brooklyn, NY 06/2006 Java Street Studios Summer Salon Group Exhibit Brooklyn, NY 06/2006 Caelum Gallery Group Exhibit New York, NY 02/2006
I plan to continue to show in group gallery settings, and other venues, but I am also seeking out gallery representation at this time. I am still building my most current series and have many new paintings in the works. I often post reels, photos of finished projects or works in progress, conceptual ideas and sketches, and time-lapse videos of my work on my instagram account and Facebook media page. This is the best way for people and art lovers to stay abreast of upcoming shows, work and other activities I will be participating in as an artist. I also have a home gallery and studio in Roswell GA where people can schedule a visit to see my art in person. Most importantly my website is where I will continue to upload new works that I have completed and have different bodies of work in series. Each new series begins to be uploaded once the series has enough cohesive pieces, and consistent theme.”
