More About Melanie Beresford

1. WHO ARE YOUR ART ICONS? The Succession artists Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt.

2. IF YOU HAD A TATOO, WHAT WOULD IT BE? WHERE WOULD IT BE? I’d have a cross on my wrist.
3. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR (S)? WHY? I instantly fell in love with the Artist Spectrum oil paint ‘Australian Red Gold’. It’s a rich orange with a depth that reflects our beautiful Aussie soil.
4. WHAT ART INSPIRES YOU AT THE MOMENT? I’m currently really inspired by paper craft and the amazing things one can create simply by folding and cutting out paper.
5. WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU PLAYING ON YOUR IPOD? The Middle East, Clare Maxwell, Bon Iver, Edward Sharpe, Page CXVI, The Vespers, City & Colour and Matt Corby to name a few.
6. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ART PIECE FROM YOUR OWN BODY OF WORK. TELL US MORE. One of my favourite pieces is ‘Lady’ (2007) - the first work I created in my Stitched in Space series. It was a pivotal work that changed me and challenged me to be continually exploring materiality.
7. TELL US ABOUT A REVELATION BREAKTHROUGH IN YOUR PRACTICE. The day I decided not to worry about making mistakes, even if that meant destroying expensive materials all in the name of art.
8. WHEN AND HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE AN ARTIST? Back in high school when I planned out my week so that I could spend as much time in the art room as possible.
9. WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE? Kids being cheeky.
10. WHAT QUESTION WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE ASKED? What was it like sorting through bags of human hair? For 1½ years I collected human hair from hairdressers, friends and strangers and fell in love with just how versatile and loaded the material was.
11. WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS? Cornelia Parker, Do Ho Suh, Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro, Fiona Hall, Sean Tan, Damien Kamholz, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Kathryn Del Barton and Cherry Hood.
12. WHAT MAKES YOU FREE? Driving with the windows down and a great song pumping loudly through the speakers, and enjoying a little dance.
13. 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU. My parents met at art school. I met my husband at art school. I’m a Christian. I enjoy getting a bargain. My nails grow very quickly.
14. WHAT GOES WITH THE COLOUR APRICOT? Baby blue.
15. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY COOKING? Donna Hay chocolate brownies with double the chocolate.
16. YOUR FAVOURITE ACTRESS (ESSES) AND ACTOR (S)? IN ANY SPECIFIC MOVIES? Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech, Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland, Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the Line, and Judy Davis in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.
17. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIES? Death at a Funeral and My Girl.
18. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE DISHES AND FOOD? Lebanese and Thai cuisine would have to be my favourite, besides a good old chicken and chips.
19. WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED ART MOVEMENT? The Vienna Secession Movement of the late 19^th Century.
20. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE COLLECTORS GET FROM YOUR ARTWORKS? An appreciation for the role materiality plays within my practice and perhaps how my journey as an artist has led me to the works I make now.
21. WHERE DO YOU GET INSPIRATION FOR YOUR ART? I find inspiration everywhere, from gallery openings, the old masters, searching the web, walks in the street, to my friends’ artworks.
22. WHICH COFFEE? When I started art school, I vowed to never drink coffee as I was too broke to afford the habit, so instead I prefer the occasional Chai tea.
23. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? Having children one day and travelling the world.
24. WHICH PLACES INSPIRE YOU? Vienna, Venice, London and Melbourne.
25. DO YOU COLLECT ANYTHING? TELL US MORE. I collect art (most of the work in my little home is from other artists), dresses from op-shops, and anything that could one day be used in an artwork.
26. WHAT ARE YOU READING NOW? The Bible.
27. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FLOWERS? Can’t go wrong with some red roses.
28. AN IDEAL DAY WHERE YOU LIVE. A nice walk along the esplanade at Cronulla with a stop for fish and chips and some sketching.
29. WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ON TV? Grey’s Anatomy- I’m slightly obsessed with the show.
30. WHAT INTRIGUES YOU RIGHT NOW? I teach drawing to young kids and I am often surprised by how free flowing and carefree their drawing is. I sometimes wish I could be a kid again!
31. WHAT ARE YOUR BEST DOWNTIME PURSUITS? I love writing cards to people for all occasions so I recycle old illustrated animal books by making greeting cards out of them.
32. WHERE DO YOU START WHEN YOU CREATE A PORTRAIT? I tend to begin with the nose and then work my way up to the eyes and then back down to the lips. I find if I do it that way, things tend to stay in proportion.
33. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE GROWING UP? I wanted to be an artist, but there was a stage there, when I was keen to become an accountant as I love numbers. I still love numbers, but can’t see myself doing taxes for a living anytime soon!

264 Enmore Rd 6