Tina West is a mixed media artist based at Ballendella, just a few minutes north of Rochester. She started working as a professional artist at the age of 21, but her career took off in 2018 with a changed focus to what she calls ‘nature art’.
In her nature art, Tina uses a range of natural materials – from flowers, leaves and gumnuts, to crystals – adhered to different types of surfaces. She collects and dries some of the plant material, while also buying from local florists and flower farms.
When the pandemic hit, the demand for Tina’s work grew.
“I found myself really busy. Because everyone was spending more time at home, they wanted artwork. I got so busy, and because I was busy I got to experiment a lot with nature in my work. While I also sketch and paint, I’m known now for my focus on nature. I call these more recent works the ‘everlasting nature art works’ which is a bit of play on words since I use a lot of everlasting daisies.
Animals sometimes feature in Tina’s work too, especially spirit animals for which she’s received numerous commissions. She says “There’s a mystical element to my artwork that goes back to when I was a child playing outdoors, envisioning fairies in the garden.” Tina has also sketched and painted Devon Rex cats (she owns one and says “they’re awesom cats”), and in a collaboration with Bali-based artist Sadik, one of Tina’s sketches was used to create a range of beautiful jackets.
Tina’s work can be seen at Customs House in Echuca and The Hive in Rochester. In time, she hopes to become better known and have her work seen by a wider audience. She’s already had commissions from New Zealand and the United States.
In recent months, Tina has offered a series of workshops for Campaspe Shire Council and the City of Greater Shepparton as part of their flood recovery programs. She sees herself more as a facilitator than teacher: “I like creating a safe space where people can experiment and create something new”.
“People come to the workshop, and they’ve never done anything like this. And before you know it, they’re right into it creating something new. And the thing about working with nature, is that it’s very meditative. It’s very healing for them. Nature has a frequency, so they’re kind of feeling that energy.”
“Being an artist, to me, is to be an inspiration to others. To help them create, and allowing them to look into a different world.
Tina plans on offering regular workshops from her new (almost finished) home studio. And she’s hoping to host regular open days – the first is scheduled for the end of August.
She will be opening her Ballendalla studio as part of our studio trail in February.
Campaspe Artists Studio Trail 