Kellie North is an award-winning photographer and visual artist with a deep desire to connect to nature, to her audience, and to herself. North plays with texture, light, movement and nature, to create evocative, figurative images, which are connected to the subconscious and are deeply engaging.
Born in North Queensland, and firmly connected to nature, it wasn’t until North began travelling in 2000 that she picked up a camera, and her journey into art began. North used photography to document her travels and the many women she encountered, discovering her own and others’ stories in the process.
North then worked in both wedding and food photography, where she learned her craft and honed her skills in capturing emotion and constructing elegant compositions. In 2014, she completed a Diploma in Professional Photography and began to see what might be possible in the interplay of digital art and photography.
With a lifelong interest in dance and women’s stories, and wanting to create a piece of art from start to finish without the use of models, North turned to self-portraiture as a form of visual storytelling. She dived into the relationship between nature and femininity: sometimes playful, other times dark and mysterious, yet always conveyed with a strong thread of emotion.
North has had numerous solo exhibitions along with many group shows. Her art sells both nationally and internationally and has featured in publications such as The World of Interiors, Conde Nast UK, INSPADES Canada, Australian Photography Magazine, and Home Design Magazine, Australia, together with some of her work being showcased on the national TV show The Block 2019.
North is proud to have won or been a finalist in awards including the Fine Art Photography Awards, PX3 Photographie Paris, ND Photography Award, Art Lovers Australia Art Award, and the Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award.
Self-Taught or Art School?
I have a Diploma of Professional Photography but other than that mostly self-taught
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
An Overpainted Photograph by Gerhard Richter please, any one of them would be perfect.
How would you describe your style?
The images I create have often been described as visual poetry, highly emotive, feminine, and evocative. I like to capture feminine, somewhat faceless figures in poetic, story-like settings, quite often in billowing fabric, juxtaposed against the ruggedness of the natural environment.
Earning my stripes on film, my artistic style nowadays is a result of merging traditional photographic techniques with today’s digital art, producing painterly images that bring to life a story that the viewer can hopefully relate to.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
My family and I are often on the road travelling, camping, and exploring, which is why the style of photography I do has always suited my lifestyle. My camera bag is always packed with my equipment, tripod, remote, and costumes ready to pick up and head out walking in the bush.
Most times I already have an idea of the image/s I want to shoot with a clear narrative in mind which helps direct me what I need and how I want the image to look. Other times I will let the landscape direct me.
Is narrative important within your work?
Yes, I love words and the way they move me. I love poetry so I always have a narrative to go with my pieces. Sometimes the narrative comes first and I build my imagery around that or other times the image comes first then the narrative.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
Over the years I have gathered love and respect for so many artists for different reasons. Some of my favourites are
Gerhard Richter – For being tenacious and formidable in his practise, leaving no stone unturned, working in different genres with different mediums.
Roberta Coni – Her bold depiction of her female subjects (in her words) ‘Always proposing an interpretation of the contemplative soul in continuous introspection’. Her use of light and shadow with oil paint and other medium is transcending.
Alexia Sinclair – I adore Alexia’s strong, vivid and highly styled images. The fact that she designs and hand makes all of her costumes together with growing the flowers for the floral arrangements in her pieces is a dedication I respect and admire.
Diane Arbus – I came across Diane Arbus a while ago through a film I watched. A photographer in the 50’s/60’s her work focused on normalising marginalized groups. Mostly black and white portraits she found beauty in the shadows.
Erik Johansson – I love Erik’s work for his artistic digital mastery. His skill with photoshop, using light and shadow sometimes turning day into night and building composites is genius.
What or who inspires your art?
All of the above-mentioned artists have influenced myself and my work over the years.
I am continuously inspired by Australia’s landscape and the diversity it gives me.
Even though I have never really painted, I have always been inspired by painters and have loved the thought of being one, mostly because of the way they work, in solitude, just them, the paint, and the canvas.
Self-Portraiture gives me this freedom, the freedom to work on my own from start to finish.
Instead of paint and a canvas, I do this myself with my camera, the landscape my tripod and in post-production, my computer.
I love my process of being able to lie in the dirt or swim in a rock pool to create the pieces I create. This process allows me to be in the moment and takes me away from the everyday.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
I work out of a built-in garage at my home. A humble space with a few plants, a table, backdrops, and some shelves. Often, it also houses my husband’s motorcycle which I am constantly grumbling about but it works, because it’s easily accessible and roomy.
Do you have any studio rituals?
I am a ‘Clear Desk, Clear Mind’ type of gal, so before I enter the ‘creative bubble’ I find myself cleaning and clearing. Trust me there’s always something to clean and clear away, including my husband’s motorbike, so before I feel ready to work on a piece, I have to make sure I have a clean and clear space.
What are you working on currently?
Last year my family and I took to the road just after COVID, heading out west and up to the tip of Australia. On this trip we were treated to some incredible landscapes.
Currently I’m working on a small collection of works I shot on the banks of the Einasleigh River, based around the Australian bush verse, Lady of the Lakes by TE Piggott.
Sitting around a campfire most nights, often with no one else around, I always had a strong sense that we weren’t alone, like we were a part of a story that had been told a thousand times by bushmen who perhaps sat in the same spot before us, telling of those who once lived there and may linger there still.
Where can we buy your art?
My website – www.kellienorthcreative.com.au
