ELLIOTT MY DEAR - HOBART

Ever wondered what it’s like to be an artist in Hobart? Elliott My Dear creates prints and accessories from Sarah Elliott’s oil paintings. Sarah has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Melbourne University and works full time as an artist. Elliott My Dear has a shop at Brooke Street Pier and a stall at Hobart’s Salamanca Market and supplies to shops all over the country. Sarah exhibits work locally and interstate and is in private collections throughout Australia.

What do you love most about being an artist here in Hobart?
I love the lifestyle you can have in Hobart and the huge support there is for local artists. I also love what an attractive and friendly city Hobart is. There is always something beautiful to paint here!
 
How does Tasmania shape your creative work?
A distant horizon and a sense of being on an island is always part of my work. I love colonial architecture with its often raw and exposed state. Being from England I think a lot about what it means to be here, our impact, and the positive contribution we can make.
 
The evocative and sweet characters in your prints – what inspires these?
The people in my paintings are characters that are part of a narrative. They express the feelings of events and speak of the things that are hard to put into words – themes of love, family, loss and hope. My characters are part of a story and a space that evolves as I paint. I find it is only revealed to me at the end and I go, ‘ahh, that’s what it’s about’. I tend to work very intuitively.
 
Where can we find you and your work?
You can find me at my shop #2 at Brooke Street Pier. I'm often there working on new paintings.
 
Will you share a local secret with us?
If you walk along the South Hobart rivulet, towards the women’s prison, there’s a tall sharp cliff with large convict bricks cut into it – but they weren’t taken out, they must have stopped half way. I run my fingers along all the nicks and close my eyes – it’s like going back in time.
 
If someone had just one day in Tasmania?
Going to Bruny Island is my favourite day trip. It's so untouched and the landscapes are wild and dynamic. It's beautiful to paint anywhere there.

ELLIOTT MY DEAR
www.elliottmydear.com

​Words & Images from the book: Tailored Tasmania 2