Artist houses creative urges
Artist houses creative urges
June 28, 2007
Section: News
THREE years ago Bulli's Virginia Settre made the brave decision to leave her successful career in costume and millinery and become a professional artist.
Recently one of Ms Settre's paintings was selected by a panel of well respected Australian artists as one of the top 10 entries in a competition called Sydney, City of Villages.
The win gave Ms Settre her first big shot of confidence concerning her fledgling creative career.
Originally from Adelaide and now studying Fine Arts at West Wollongong TAFE, Ms Settre has art in her blood, with a father and grandfather who are both artists.
She said she had always felt a calling to choose art as a vocation, but had only recently built up enough courage.
"I totally love it and I feel really involved in the whole school thing and the whole art scene in Wollongong " I'm sort of feeling that it's right for me," she said.
"When I'm painting I sort of go into a zone I become a part of it."
Ms Settre's work is focussed on houses and residential buildings, so she had no trouble coming up with ideas for Sydney, City of Villages.
Mrs Settre said she spends a lot of time looking at and photographing houses in her area and thinks Bulli is a great place for finding unique houses to paint.
"A lot of the stuff that I'm starting to do is local houses in my area and so it involves just driving around," she said.
"I love houses that are made by people who don't really have a lot of money so they have to experiment.
"It's a little bit kitsch and as little bit funny and there's all these crazy things that go on; funny gates and odd fences.
"I don't have to go very far to find my inspiration, they're everywhere."
The top 10 works from the Sydney, City of Villages art competition will be blown up into huge posters and displayed around Sydney in July.
The top entrant will be announced on July 17.
