Ali McNabney-Stevens is a Melbourne based artist originally from the UK, who gained her Honours Degree in Design and History of Art from Edinburgh College of Art in 1991. After finishing university she left art behind for a little while, working in other unrelated jobs to ‘pay the bills', as so many creatives seem to do! However, as is often the case, Ali always yearned to return to her art, and it wasn't until years later, after having children, that this opportunity arose again.
'After the birth of my children, it was important to do something for me, and the obvious choice was life drawing' says Ali. 'Things really began to take off from there and since making the jump into full-time painting, my versatility and courage as a painter has grown, along with my confidence.'
Over time, Ali has developed a distinctive style of painting, characterised by intense colour and bold abstract mark making. 'Abstract fields of colour leap onto the canvas without me even having to think too hard about what it is I am doing' says Ali of her intuitive creative process. In addition to her works on canvas and paper, she says she would also love to utilise more of her design training and create a range of textiles at some point. Watch this space!
Ali works from her home studio in South Caulfield. Her work is priced from $650 (for the smallest pieces) and is stocked in a range of design-focussed Melbourne retail stores, including
Husk,
Crate Expectations,
The Assembly Hall,
Mynd Interiors,
Gaudion and
Jardan. She is represented by
Greenhouse Interiors – all sales enquiries please email Julia Green
here.