Sunday, October 25, 2009

Beauty, Illustrated



It's Lisi from The Beauty File and I'd like to introduce
you to Melbourne's own, Nevin Hirik.


The paintbrush: her instrument.
The canvas: her linen storyboard where dreams come alive....


Remember, 2009



Dreams to Remember, 2009

Three, 2003



Dreams to Remember VI, 2009

Theme of the Uprooting II, 2006



I Will Wait to See You Again, 2008

In Nevin's studio...


I had the opportunity to interview the lovely artist.
She shared her inspirations, experiences and favorite music.
Enjoy!



1. What inspires you? Art? Music? Literature? Other artists?


Life!! Everything really. Literature, film, dance, history, traveling, stories, my life, your life, pain, happiness, one word in the movie, a line in the book, Art itself, and Music, of course.
2. What colors do you feel most comfortable using? Are there certain shades that you are drawn to?
Not really. Every painting has its own story and the colours come with the painting naturally, I don’t plan this before the painting. Funny thing is if I want a painting with lots of red it ends up blue, if I want it blue it ends up red. So the best thing is not planning it, it tells me what it wants!
3. Your work truly invokes a dreamlike state and your use of layering is incredible. How long does it take you to create your work?
Thank you. It really depends on the painting, also my mood. I am a full time artist. Sometimes I am locked in my studio and paint days and nights, and I get burned out, physically and mentally, I get so tired. And then I have a break. Then back to the studio again. One solo show a year. And some mixed small shows. I can’t have more than one solo show a year; really I don’t know how people paint like that.
4. Do you paint with music playing in the background? What is on your play list right now?
I do. I can’t think of my studio without music. I love listening to music when I am painting. I listen to lots of different music.
I listen to lots of world music, classic, opera, hip-hop, Blues, Gypsy, Jazz. Lots of good music. I listen to lots of silly music in private life, but in the studio I listen to good music:
Eleni Karaindrou, Zulya, Portishead, Djivan Gasparyan, Elliot Goldenthal, Arto Tuncboyaciyan, David Hirschfelder, Elvira Uzunian, Kim Kashkashian, Robert Levin, Fazil Say, Nick Cave, Rashid Behbudov and Erkan Ogur.
5. What experiences/people from your own life are reflected in your collection?
I sometimes call my paintings a mirror. Every single private story behind these pictures also belongs to you. I am not unique, none of us are. We are all human. We share all the stories.
You can see my stories in my paintings. I am a migrant. I came to Australia from Turkey when I was 23 years old. There is a girl in my painting carry her house in her hand; another one has got the tree inside the house. So this is my experience, but it is also others stories too. For me it represent more than private stories. Thousands of people are homeless now, countries simply can’t share the earth with other nations.
Painting is the language I choose. And I love sharing this with others, that is the best part.


Visit Nevin's blog to view all of her work here
To contact Nevin, email her at: nevin@nevinhirik.com

top photo: silence is everywhere, 2008


(Guest Post by Lisi at the Beauty File.)

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Her work is very beautful, classic and whimsical at once.

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

Such dreamy and etheral pieces...I seriously could stare at them all day long and find something lovely in every detail!

Melissa said...

Wow! Very Wow. And I love what she says about painting being the language she has chosen.

The Little Fox said...

Such beautiful, dreamy work...I am drawn into her work, it has a magnetic quality that could be the layering you mentioned...I want to look closer and closer...simply stunning. Thank you so much for sharing this.

P.S. I have been (quietly) following you for a while now, I hope you are handling the current situation with optimism above all.

Molly said...

this work is stunning!

Lianne said...

love the works!!!! beautiful, dreamy and refreshingly different.

leethroughthelens.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Oh they make me want to paint

Anna @ IHOD said...

Oh My gosh, what exquisite work. I am so glad you are featuring artists. They work so hard and deserve recognition like this. beautiful work!!

NodtoMod Vintage said...

i am sooo drawn to these paintings- gorgeous...love. awesome interview as well- very smart!

I Think My Tummy Hurts said...

such beautiful works!!! my favorite it the one titled "three."

Pin said...

Amazing! I love the whimsical, dream-like quality to these paintings, and I love what Nevin said about her work being a reflection of our shared experiences. "Three" is my absolute favorite.

Jaime @ laviejaime said...

How lucky you are to interview the artist :) Love the first and last ones the best, but all are gorgeous of course!

aaaa said...

OMG!! they're one of the best things i've ever seen!! fantastic. amazing. fabulous. yay!!

Passementerie said...

They're beautiful! Thank you for sharing this...

Aline said...

these are so beautiful:)

Unknown said...

uau. all illustrations are simple beautiful. love all them...

you've a lovely blog.

Cassandra Dias said...

Beautiful and simple.

renee anne said...

oh these artworks are just stunning. really beautiful.

great interview, thank you for sharing!

Renee xxx

IKS said...

Wonderful. i love the pink and/or black ones... beautiful... the first one is my favorite :)

Holly said...

lovely art work... nice interview!

Marisa said...

thanks for posting this! so glad to know of her work!
"Three" was immediately dear to my heart as i have two sisters... is any chance that Nevin sells prints of her work?? stunning!

The Pocket Stylist said...

These paintings are amazing!! I am officially following

Tammie Lee said...

Thank you for sharing Nevin and her art, it is quite lovely and dreamy too. The interview was wonderful to read as well. I love that Nevin feels her private stories are mingled with our own. I also found it interesting that she represents herself as a migrant and that she feels:countries simply can’t share the earth with other nations. This is interesting to hear from an import (as I have heard folks called playfully).

Tina Tarnoff said...

What an extraordinary person and a wonderful artist she is! I love the serene and whimsical feel in her paintings.

*elv said...

wowow...really very nice!!

raynette said...

thank you for introducing this amazing artist to me. im in love with her pieces.

Ange said...

Fabulous artist. Fabulous shoes!!

Anonymous said...

I love this ilustrations.