By Violet Li
Blind Bight-based artist Sam Michelle will bring her latest work to the highly anticipated exhibition Floribunda.
As curator David Sequeira brings over 150 works from the National Gallery of Victoria collection for his new exhibition at Bunjil Place from next Saturday 29 March, Sam, a full-time oil painter based in Blind Bight, is one of the local artists invited to make new artwork adjacent to the collections involved in the Floribunda.
Drawing from the tradition of still life, Sam’s practice explores composition and storytelling through her extensive collection of ceramics, textiles, and homegrown flowers.
Inspired by her ever-expanding coastal cottage garden, Sam’s richly textured paintings capture the beauty of botanical forms.
For the new exhibition, she picked up Australian painter Margaret Preston’s Flannel Flowers in 1938.
“For me, Margaret Preston is an art idol. She’s a bit of a rockstar,” she said.
“When I was looking through the catalogue of what is going to be on show, it was hard to go past Margaret Preston’s work.
“I also did try and look at everything equally to see if anything else inspired me. But I really admire Margaret. I like her colour use. I also like her subject focus.
“I like how she focused on how she tried to bring the light of Australia into her work and the flatness and the darks. I love how her use of black.”
Sam said for her new work in response to the Flannel Flowers, she reinterpreted Margaret’s approach through her own lens.
“I basically inverted what Margaret had done with her flannel flowers,” she said.
“Instead of using the flannel flower as the focal point, I have chosen Banksia hookeriana, with its golden-orange hues and sculptural form.
“The flannel flower still appears, subtly woven through, just as Preston incorporated Blandfordia.
“I have also inverted her colour relationships, exploring how shifts in tone create a new sense of rhythm and balance.”
The new painting, just like most of Sam’s works, also incorporates the inspirations from local elements.
“This work is also inspired by the Red Sand Garden at the Australian Garden in Cranbourne,” she said.
“Its bold red earth, designed to evoke the arid heart of the continent, highlights the resilience of native flora.
“By weaving elements of this landscape into my painting, I seek to honour both the strength and delicacy of Australia’s plant life, much like Preston did in her time.”
Sam pointed out that Flannel Flowers was the largest painting at the time that Margaret had ever produced.
And Sam decided to paint a big one as well.
Her two-metre by two-metre painting will be unveiled soon at Floribunda.
For more information on the Floribunda exhibition, visit: bunjilplace.com.au/events/floribunda
