Holly Roach

Holly Roach is a versatile artist known for her gorgeously emotive landscapes. Sweeping brush strokes and a striking array of colours inspired by natural surroundings set the tone within her luscious compositions. We had the pleasure of asking the talented artist about what makes her tick and what her creative process looks like.

You focus on striking abstract landscapes and botanicals, what tends to be the main source of inspiration?

My recent landscape paintings are inspired by places I have visited, but some imagined. Some from recent road trips or places I have visited long ago. As with most memories, these places have been edited, changed, re-remembered, but still hold a strong sense of place for me.
Although most are painted from photo reference, many are conjured up with memory and a large amount of artistic license. I am certainly painting the sense of a place, not the actual place.

You are originally from Canada. Do you find that there are similarities between both Canadian and Kiwi culture?

Yes, very much so. I guess some of it is that British connection, but I also think that living in the shadow of a larger country; that being the USA and Australia, has created a similar temperament to the people.
I also feel pretty blessed to be exposed to the beautiful Māori culture and tikanga. I still have so much to learn, but it very much inspires me to live life differently.

Do you have a favourite season in terms of the colours you enjoy using for your works?

No, I don’t think I have a favourite season anymore. When I lived in Canada it was definitely autumn and all its glorious colours, but Auckland doesn’t have a great seasonal change comparatively, so I think less about the visual differences. I do miss the season of snow though. I might yet attempt a series of landscapes in whites.

You studied fabric design and print, and you also worked as an editorial illustrator. How has this informed your art practice?

I think both these practices have forced me to simplify how and what I create. Editorial illustration is often about getting to the concept of an idea or words visually, in the simplest and most impactful way. An illustration can be relatively small, so there is this restriction to how much you can put into an image.

My paper stencil technique with screen printing requires that I design within the parameters of very simple, relatively large shapes.
I like the challenge of deciding what not to put in a piece of art just as much as what is going into the composition or design. It’s certainly a harder thing to do, and I can often find myself overthinking an idea.

You utilise a range of different art materials such as acrylics and screen printing to name a few. What draws you into the different mediums and do you have a preferred medium?

I think my need to play, to take art and being an artist less seriously gets me to reach for my screen printing gear or any other tool that isn’t a paint brush. I can overthink and therefore overwork a painting, but screen printing is very immediate and permanent so there’s no moving a mark once it’s down. Printing mistakes often lead me to something I haven’t intended or considered, so it’s a great way to experiment, to get creative. I call them happy accidents. I definitely learn more, and create more interesting art by making mistakes, because it’s often more about the process than the finished result.
The medium I choose is sometimes purely about time and energy. It’s much easier and quicker to squeeze some paint out, than set up for a morning of printing. It all comes down to how lazy I am.

What does an ordinary day look like in your studio?

I start my working day with coffee while catching up on some news, social media, making my ‘to do’ list for the day. If there is something on my easel, I will take this time to consider the next step for it, and then I will work on that for most of the morning.

My second coffee break is a chance for me to go through a sketchbook, or photographs to find my next possible painting. I will spend this time roughing up a composition to put onto a canvas, along with some quick loose colour blocking of shapes, which helps to give the idea some structure and direction.

Most of the day is spent painting, with usually an hour doing admin, like returning emails, ordering art prints, restocking my online shop, and prepping canvases for future paintings.
Some days are spent on the computer touching up scans of my paintings, so I can add them to my list of available art prints. There is always a creative project or task that can easily fill an eight hour day.

Do you prefer silence, music or podcasts within your studio and do you have any favourite listening material?

I prefer silence, although I have noticed while filming my process videos that I do talk to myself a lot. A lot. I should possibly put some music on, or adopt another cat.
If I remember, I do listen to Podcasts. These are the 5 that are in the queue at the moment…

Daily Stoic
Creative Pep Talk
Soul Boom
Creative Matters
10% Happier

Is there a place close to your heart either within Aotearoa or abroad that inspires you and fills your cup creatively?

If I could, I would travel extensively, as there is so much out there to see and learn. If I was to choose the place that’s been inspiring my work lately, it would be the stunning South Island here in Aotearoa. It has such varied and vast beautiful landscapes in such a small area, so it’s a fabulous place to travel and go through. There are places down south that remind me of my Canadian home, so those places fill my creative cup and my heart at the same time. Lucky me.