Where Wildflowers Bloom – Painting with Heidi Maunder

Q. Can you share the moment you knew you wanted
to pursue art full-time?
A. I remember the exact moment. I was 9 months postpartum with my first child and painting at the
dining table during his nap. I was feeling lost, I had just been made redundant from a demanding leadership
role and literally felt my purpose and identity shift.
It felt like my dreams had intrinsically changed and
I was making my way home to myself. 

Q. How would you describe your painting style?
A. I paint intuitively and build my paintings with bright undertones and broad brushstrokes before diving into
the detail. I lean into atmosphere and lighting and have
a mix of realism and impressionism across my work.

Q. Why do you like using warm earthy colours and thick
textures in your paintings?
A. I naturally gravitate towards warm earthy colours
having grown up in Western Australia and often finding myself in the outback. Thick texture creates visual interest and adds a deliciousness to my process. 

Q. How do you capture the magical colours of dusk in
your paintings?
A. Golden hour is the most special time of the day and the
colours and fuzzy edged pops of light make for my dream palette. I capture the colours of dusk by using shadows, pastels and the warm glow of last light. 

Q. Can you tell us about your Wildflower series?
What inspired it?
A. The Wildflower series stems from a few different loves
of mine, wildflowers, dusk and wild landscapes. Life is
often hard and painting soothes me, I am aiming to create emotional landscapes that you can get lost in. My children
are also a major inspiration. Since birth they have been
with me painting in my studio and I have watched them
grow and flourish like wildflowers. 

Q. Do you paint more from memory, imagination, or
real places?
A. I paint from memories of my travels, childhood and real places that I have been to or discovered. There are some incredible gardens I have been lucky enough to paint and photographers that have been kind enough to let me use
their work as inspiration. 

Q. Are there any artists or creatives who’ve influenced
your work?
A. My work has been influenced by numerous artists in lots
of different ways. I love the artistic community in Australia, it has been so generous and welcoming. Work that I particularly resonate with at the moment is by painters Amy Wright and Eva Ray. I also find inspiration from the incredible Fishermans Bay Garden near Akaroa NZ and Mick Schweiger’s aerial pics of Western Australia. 

Q. How do your travels and memories show up in
your art?
A. My memories and travels show up in the composition,
lighting and the way I want a painting to make you feel. It should be peaceful, nostalgic and make you feel held and comforted, perhaps helping you release your breath that you didn’t know you were holding. 

Q. What kinds of things spark your creativity?
A. Nature and motherhood spark my creativity. Being present in nature with my kids or listening to the bird
song and just being silly and laughing. The soft lighting
of sunrise and sunset and the way tiny plants and flowers flourish in unlikely places. Seeing other people’s art has always inspired me, the vulnerability and resilience of artists expressing how they feel in an honest way for the world to see. 

Q. How do you lose yourself in your art even when life
is hectic?
A. Painting is meditative for me, if I want to stop thinking
I paint, it pulls me into a flow state. I love it so much I squish painting into every single day, often meaning my kids are painting with me or wrestling/playing at my feet. 

Q. What has painting taught you about yourself over
the years?
A. Painting has taught me to notice the small beauties
and to back myself. When you paint there is a long phase called ‘the ugly middle’. It’s when the painting hasn’t resolved itself, looks rubbish and it all feels too hard.
An easy time to give up but with my stubbornness and frankly obsession I push through and love the satisfaction of finishing the work. 

Q. What do you hope your art offers to others who
view it?
A. I hope my art offers a glimmer of hope, a stillness and peace often missing from our normal hectic lives. Quite simply something beautiful to get lost in.