Ani Ipradjian
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself?
A. Art is everything to me as it is a big part of my life. It keeps me sane and helps me relax. I have never really taken a break from creating and the times that I have it has always felt like something is missing.
I do believe that I come from an artistic family of fashion
designers, tattoo artists, jewellery designers and have always felt blessed that I had passion for art and it runs in my blood. I was happiest when I was studying art and design. It helped me be free in expressing myself through different mediums and design concepts that helped me create the style I have today.
Q. How did you start your artistic journey?
A. I can remember one of my first memories was drawing with chalk on the sidewalk and this lead to using pens and pencils on any material I could find to draw on from paper, wood, cardboard boxes and lunch bags anything I could get my hands on. Finding art very therapeutic from a young age has helped me escape the grind of daily life. Art has always been a part of my life.
Q. What do you do to get into your creative zone?
A. I cleanse and clear my space, this helps me think clearly
and be inspired. I research, inspiration from Australian
landscapes, nature or city themes and customise the perfect four colour scheme.
Q. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
A. I love nature and all the unique patterns that it has to
offer. I also love old buildings, architectural angles, and
textures of stone, especially bluestone. I also find inspiration in design magazines, shapes of furniture, interior colours.
My Armenian heritage plays a great part of all the tribal
patterns and shapes I use in my artworks. Combining
nature with design as well as my cultural heritage, is
where my style is born. By gathering and processing information from my surroundings, I create a story which turns into a piece of art.
Q. How would you describe your artistic style?
A. My style is asymmetrical as well as abstract with
geometric shapes. I create textures, shapes and colour
combinations that encapsulate Australia’s native flora,
fauna, outback and suburban as well as urban landscapes and city themes. The most important concept of my
work is texture and I do believe in my body of work
texture is everything.
Q. The essence of your work is inspired by landscapes
of nature. Where do you believe this originated from?
A. Nature is one of the most important things to me.
I constantly try to surround myself with nature.
In my early 20’s I travelled around Australia and this
is where my inspiration started for painting abstract
landscapes and became obsessed with Australian themes.
Growing up around the city I fell in love with all the old
buildings and studied the texture on the bricks and bluestone basalt that features in so many historical buildings. This led to me discovering my asymmetrical style and combining texture to honour the patterns and shapes we find in nature and colours.
Q. What is the ultimate message in your artwork?
A. The ultimate message in my art is connection. I want
everyone to feel connected to the subject. I achieve this by
texture and composition. All my art has a story behind it,
as each piece is connected to our motherland Australia.
Q. Does spirituality and culture play a role in your
creativity? Explain.
A. I would consider myself very spiritual, and from a
young age I realised I had a gift of reading coffee cups,
which has passed through generations. Coffee cup readings are all about interpreting patterns and how they appear in your cup, tells a story. My artistic background has helped
me interpret these patterns and shapes.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about your Future Life Love
Answer Cards?
A. Oh I am happy you asked me this. I have helped so
many people with guidance, decisions, and directions in their lives. This inspired me to design a deck of oracle
cards, ‘Future Life Love Answer Cards’, featuring my
artwork on the front of each card. The cards offer you
daily readings, quick answers and advice to any questions you may have on your mind.
Q. What is the most valuable lesson you have learnt on your journey as an artist?
A. The most important thing I learnt is to define what type of artist you want to be and once you decide this everything else will just fall into place. Never stop, never give up on anything in life especially your passion. Always work with like minded people who will carry you, support you, and guide you to be the best version of yourself.
Q. Are you creative in more than one area?
If so, explain.
A. I have a passion for collages and mosaics and will
definitely continue to explore these techniques in the
future. I have so many ideas for future creations.
Q. What other interests do you have?
A. I am very interested in crystals and the moon, and how
the planets align with the earth. I am also in the process of
writing a manifestation journal, as well as a journal to set
personal goals.
Q. How did you feel when you were asked to create
original artworks for this year’s season of The Block?
A. I was honoured and grateful to be involved in The Block
2022, being asked to create work that may be picked by
the contestants made me feel very special. I was honoured and grateful that Artist Lane, who have been very supportive throughout my artistic career, asked me to create original artworks for the Macedon Ranges inspired
curated collection. When you get the call that your art has been selected, it is the best feeling and achievement in the world for me, because your art is being shared. Being an avid viewer of The Block over the years, it was always a dream of mine to have a piece of my work featured on
the show.
