Ella Robins

Art for me is a way of expressing myself, a zone where I can make sense of things and show my perspective on canvas. It’s a voice for me that can’t be spoken, only created, and shown. I grew up in Orange NSW and I am now based in Sydney, studying at The National Art School completing my Bachelor of Fine Arts. I have always enjoyed blending colour with pattern. I love displaying bold colours in a room and seeing the effect it has. It can bring liveliness and joy to any space. My signature colours and pattern technique are inspired by my disparate feminine ancestry. The resulting texture and vibe pay respect to the ancient craft of crochet, shared through baby blankets created for each newborn in my family, and my grandmother’s Wiradjuri ancestry that is linked to bold, energetic and independent female energy.

I was fortunate enough to escape the hard lockdown last year and travel to the Glengarry opal fields near Lightning Ridge and stay at my Grandfather's shack. Here I was able to immerse myself in the wide open space of a unique part of the Australian landscape. I decided when I was in this strangely beautiful and isolated place to use my lockdown time to be creative. I wanted to bring all of the brightness and joyful colours around me into art that blended the light and bright with the dark and strange feelings of what was such a challenging time for many of us.