north east regional extra | April 8 - 14, 2020
nemedia.com.au
1.
April 8 - 14, 2020
Playing with fire By BELINDA HARRISON FOR Bobinawarrah-based wildlife artist, Maegan Oberhardt, the natural world and the native animals that inhabit it have always been part of her life, and now they influence her art. Maegan spent her earliest years on an Angora goat stud farm in rural Queensland where chickens and horses lived alongside native wildlife species. “Growing up surrounded by animals taught me to appreciate the natural environment and the creatures that live there and it gave me the opportunity to study their features, individual characteristics, movement and expressions,” Maegan said. “It was easy for me to recognise the differences between individuals of the same species and when I had time, I would spend it drawing pictures of wildlife. “They became a part of who I was, so working with them now is nostalgic for me.” Maegan’s family moved a lot, finally settling in Diamond Creek, northeast of Melbourne in 2010. The constant moving and changing of schools meant that Maegan was quite young when she found herself completing her VCE at only 16 years of age. Following VCE, Maegan went to university and completed a Bachelor of Design Arts through the Academy of Design Australia. After university, Maegan tried
◆ FIRE BUG: Wildlife artist Maegan Oberhardt is perfecting her technique of ‘painting with fire’ to create unique works.
GONE FISHING with ROB
to work out where she fit in the job market - as Maegan said: “a career as an artist can certainly be a mixed bag once you start putting yourself out there, but the trick is to just keep going, keep improving and keep an eye out for that shiny thing in the corner of your vision.” So Maegan continued to learn and improve her technique, creating exquisite wildlife art for people to enjoy. Unfortunately, ‘city slickers’ didn’t take to it as well as Maegan had hoped. “Melbourne is known for its art scene but it is minimalistic and people want something far more emotive and shocking than another sweet koala,” Maegan explained. In 2018, friends suggested that Maegan’s art might be better suited to a rural area and introduced her to the town of Bright, which led to Maegan holding demonstration events and spending the next year commuting back and forth from Melbourne and exploring the area. “I found Benalla to be a rather spunky art spot and decided that somewhere between Benalla and Bright would be perfect to settle. “Last September I moved into an old farmhouse on acreage in Bobinawarrah and my mum moved in with me to manage my art business since her background is in brand development.”
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