The Creative Evolution of Carrie Retallack – Reimagining Nature Through Art
Q. Can you tell us about your journey into becoming
an artist?
A. I’ve always been creative. Art was my favourite subject
at school, but graphic design felt like the more practical career path, so I pursued that instead, eventually spending more than twenty years in the industry and working my way up to Design Director. After the birth of my first daughter, I stepped back from that role and realised how much I missed creating purely for the joy of it. Returning
to art felt less like starting something new and more like reconnecting with a part of myself that had always been there, just in a different medium and with an evolved set
of skills and perspective.
Q. How has your background in graphic design influenced the way you create your artwork today?
A. While my preferred tools naturally come from my background in graphic design, working digitally always felt like the more natural evolution. It allowed me to repurpose photography in unexpected ways, creating work that felt like a more authentic expression of my creative voice than returning to traditional painting. Years spent working with composition, colour and visual communication have also shaped the way I think about art. They refined not only my eye, but my understanding of how people experience visual work. Because my work is created for people’s homes, I’m always thinking about how it will be experienced, from
across a room and up close, both immediately and over time. One of the biggest differences I’ve come to appreciate between design and art is that design seeks to solve a problem, while art invites exploration. Design is decisive; art is expansive. I love that art doesn’t always need to provide answers. It simply leaves space for personal interpretation.
Q. Was there a particular moment that inspired you to return to art?
A. Yes. I came across a photo of a beautifully styled interior
featuring a piece of artwork that looked to have been created digitally, and something immediately clicked. Although it wasn’t so much the artwork itself as the idea
it sparked. For the first time, I could see a way of bringing together everything I’d been drawn to throughout my creative career: design, photography, interiors, colour and art into one cohesive practice. At the same time, I realised
I could create the kind of artwork I’d often struggled to
find for my own home, work that felt original and carried emotional depth, while still being accessible enough to become a meaningful part of people’s everyday lives. Once that idea took hold, the pull to explore it simply wouldn’t let go.
Q. How would you describe your artistic style in just a
few words?
A. Interpretive and expressive, my work reimagines natural forms through layers of unexpected photographic textures.
Q. What do you enjoy most about creating digital art?
A. What I enjoy most is the sense of possibility. Working digitally gives me the freedom to explore ideas,
experiment without hesitation and follow my curiosity wherever it leads. My process is rarely linear. It’s one of constant refinement, unexpected discoveries and moments where a piece gradually begins to reveal itself. I also love that the digital medium allows me to seamlessly combine
hand-drawn forms, photography and colour into a visual language that feels uniquely my own. More than anything though, I simply love the act of creating. It never feels like work to me. It’s where I feel most engaged, most
challenged and most myself.
Q. How do you transform a simple photograph into a layered artwork?
A. Every piece begins with the overall composition, which
I hand draw before introducing colour to establish the balance and mood. From there I begin layering photographic textures, experimenting with countless combinations until the different elements start
to feel as though they belong together. This is the most exploratory part of the process. Colours shift, textures are replaced, details are refined and the artwork often evolves in unexpected directions as each new layer influences the next. The final stage is about cohesion. I selectively adjust, blend and rework areas to ensure the textures feel unified while still allowing enough of their original character to remain. It’s a balance between transformation and .
restraint, where every element contributes to the overall feeling of the piece rather than drawing attention to itself.
Q. You use your own photography in your work.
What textures and details inspire you?
A. Alongside my own photography, I’ve spent years
building an extensive library of photographic textures captured by talented photographers around the world.What draws me to a texture is rarely one specific thing. It might be the way light falls across a surface, the movement within a form, the subtle character developed through age and weathering, or simply an unexpected combination of colour and texture. I’m fascinated by
details we often overlook, not because of what they
are, but because of what they might become.
Q. Your pieces often reveal hidden textures and details. How do you create these unexpected elements?
A. I intentionally remove textures from their original context so they can be experienced in an entirely new
way. Whether it’s a weathered rock, an aerial view of a branching dry riverbed or light reflected on a water
surface, I’m rarely drawn to what I’m looking at literally.
It’s the movement, the flow, the light, the shadow or the atmosphere that captures my attention. Those qualities often become the starting point for entirely new forms and compositions. For me, that’s where the conversation really begins. I’m fascinated by the different interpretations people discover within the work, often seeing things
I never consciously intended.
Q. Colour plays such an important role in your work.
How do you choose the palettes for each collection?
A. For me, colour is an emotional language. I rarely begin
with a predetermined palette. Instead, I begin with a feeling, thinking about the atmosphere I want to create and the emotional response I hope the work evokes. From there, the colours evolve naturally as the piece develops.
I want the colours to feel distinctive and expressive while still carrying a sense of timelessness.
Q. What has art taught you about yourself?
A. Art has taught me that creativity isn’t shaped only by what we observe, but by what we experience. Looking back, I don’t think I was ready to create the work I’m making now. Of course, I hadn’t yet developed the digital skills
that have become central to my practice, but beyond that,
I hadn’t yet developed the perspective that comes from living. I already had a strong foundation in fine art and painting, but the work I would have created then would have been entirely different.
When I was younger, I was naturally drawn to aesthetics. Over time though, I’ve come to realise that what makes something truly beautiful often lies beyond our first impression. It’s shaped by experience and the meaning
we bring to it, much the same as life.
Living and working in different places, both overseas
and across Australia, has quietly shaped that perspective.
It taught me how much we notice when the familiar falls away, and it’s a way of seeing I’ve tried to hold onto. Perhaps that’s why I’m continually drawn back to botanical forms. Flowers remind me that beauty is fleeting and that some of life’s most meaningful moments ask us simply to slow down and notice them. I think my work is really an extension of that idea.
Q. What values do you hope to pass on to your daughters?
A. More than anything, I hope they grow up with the confidence to follow their own curiosity and build lives that feel genuinely aligned with who they are. I want them to understand that success isn’t about meeting other people’s expectations, but about continuing to learn, grow and find meaning in whatever they choose to do.
I also hope they never lose the ability to notice beauty
in the world around them. Not just in art, but in people, places, relationships and the everyday moments that are so easily overlooked. I think where we place our attention has an enormous influence on the way we experience life.
Q. What is something about your journey that you are most proud of?
A. There came a point where I realised I could either spend the rest of my career bringing other people’s creative visions to life or finally commit to pursuing one of my own. Choosing the latter has been one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve ever made.
Looking back, I don’t see it as leaving design behind. Rather, it feels like bringing together everything I’d learnt along the way and allowing it to evolve into something entirely my own. Every stage of my career, every experience and every challenge has quietly shaped the work I create today, and I don’t think I could have arrived here any
other way.
Perhaps what I’m most proud of is having the courage to trust my own perspective and to realise I didn’t need anyone else’s permission to pursue it. Building a creative life around something that feels deeply authentic to who
I am has been the greatest reward of all.
