Author // Shannon Edwards, Place New Farm
Inside a solid brick house of concrete floors, pop artist, Merry Sparks, has built her artistic haven.
Merry’s excitement for what she does radiates as she shares her story and passion for the art industry.
They say your home really depicts your personality – Merry welcomed us into hers, giving us a tour of the sanctuary she calls her studio.
A stunning white interior with touches of black, charcoal and gunmetal grey - we must admit, we’ve always been a little curious about what lays beyond the doors that home the cities creative minds.
Here we have an insight into an artist’s home!
Photo Credit : www.merrysparks.com
Tell us about yourself?
I’ve always painted, even when I was a young child.
When I was four I had my first hit with a cheeky piece I painted of my father in kindergarten.
My kindy teacher showed the work to my mother and said, “I think someone here has a talent!”
I did art throughout school and succeeded quite well, but it wasn’t until I was married that I really threw myself into it.
Photo Credit : www.merrysparks.com
And the beautiful home you live in?
We came from Adelaide to Brisbane about 19 years ago.
We’ve always been drawn to contemporary homes with interesting architecture.
I have an eye for design and love a home with strong, interesting angles.
When we first saw our house, we opened the doors and thought, “well, look at this space.”
It was cleverly designed by Garry Cox who built our beautiful home down the slope of our land, utilising every piece of space that we have.
The construction is very ahead of its time.
Our family builder has always said how advanced the base architecture of the house is.
What do you love most about your home?
I love that even though we’re close to the city, the house is peaceful and quiet.
Often I step outside onto our big deck, or into the subtropical garden we’ve grown and immediately I’m amongst the nature.
As an artist, good lighting is very important and I love the magnificent natural light that our house gives with its open plan design and large windows.
When we bought the house we turned what used to be the formal dining room into my studio.
I still need more studio space because currently I’m expanding into all rooms of the house -I’ve even taken over the bar fridge with paint!
Sadly, it’s time to put our stunning home on the market to find a new place with a bigger working space.
While working in your beautiful home, what inspired your art career?
Years ago I visited the Andy Warhol exhibition at GoMA – it really energised me.
I analysed his techniques and how he created his work.
It inspired me and from that day and I got into painting ‘pop art’.
Pop art is popular things that are instantly recognised by a large audience.
At that point in time I realised there weren’t many artists promoting Australia, so I decided to cross-pollinate my style of pop art with popular Australian figures.
I’m a fairly witty person with a keen sense of humour so I thought, “why paint a koala that’s grey and brown when you could make him hot pink, maybe with an earring in his ear?”
I wanted my art to appeal to a youthful audience and have always been mindful of the spontaneity that appeals to a wide spectrum of people.
My art is about vibrancy, colour and instant appeal, often with a hidden message that makes people think.
Photo Credit : www.merrysparks.com
What’s ahead for Merry Sparks in the future?
I have broadened my subject matter quite a bit.
I’m still painting Australian art but I’ve now gone global when looking for inspiration.
Let’s face it – Australia has 24 million people but I’m looking at the bigger picture.
There’s no reason why a little lady from Australia can’t reach the bigger world!
I may be down under, but I want to be on top.
I feel that my purpose in life is the legacy I’ll leave behind via my children, but also my art.
I’m here to educate, have fun but also be serious and to mark historical events via my paintings.
That is the purpose of art- to remind and educate us who we are, where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
A quick wit and quirky sense of humour is also helpful otherwise life can be pretty serious and bland.
To read more about Merry and see her magnificent pieces, go to www.merrysparks.com