Meet Candice Perese, a full-time artist originally from New Zealand and currently residing on the Surf Coast of Victoria. Her artistic practice predominantly encompasses heavy-weight fine art paper, wax pencil, and pigment to produce large-scale compositions which investigate colour relationships, and the artist’s inherent desire for balance in composition - specifically in symmetry, or visual depth and weight.
Recently, Candice’s practice has evolved into an exploration of photorealism and hyperrealism, led by her skilled command of wax pencil - her preferred medium.
Can you tell us how you became practising as an artist?
I studied Visual art at University and knew early on that I wanted to develop a career in the creative industry. After painting for many years, I started making smaller abstract artworks with pencil and found a little pocket of collectors who allowed me to steadily continue to make art. It was really from this moment on that my work evolved into what it is today.
Navigating the art world and finding a comfortable balance between art practice and life isn't linear. To keep up, you need to be open to evolving and adapting how you operate. I am still working it out…
Can you talk us through your creative process? How do you usually go about making your work?
My creative process starts with sourcing the parts that make up the “still life”. I usually start with a vintage or antique object from my collection and complete the compositions by sourcing whatever I need to round out or balance the scene or story I am setting. This can be fun but also a little stressful, sometimes I need to reach further than our shores for the perfect piece of the puzzle.
Once I am happy with the colour balance, reflections, scale, etc., I’ll print it and create a grid and sketch the outline and primary details. The process from here is pretty systematic and automated. There is very little room for interpretation and a loose hand; you are pretty much bound to what you see and how you translate that with coloured pencils, like a very slow printer.
What do you like about drawing as a medium?
The part that stands out the most to me is the practical side of working with a medium that allows you to travel light. I don't need that much space; I just need a flat surface wide enough to lay out paper and my computer. On top of this is the amount of control and detail that comes with knowing your medium and how far you can push the pencil on such a delicate surface to obtain as much detail as possible. Once you’ve burnished a certain area there's not much you can add on top so hopefully when you step back to look at the whole piece, you’re happy with what you’ve laid down - there's really no room to edit an artwork.
How did you develop your personal style and how has it changed over time?
In a general sense, the kind of work I am creating now doesn’t have much “personal style” per se. Perhaps there are technical nuances that distinguish the way I draw hyperrealism from the way another artist draws hyperrealism. However, my lens on the world and the scenes I commit to paper with pencil could carry my personal style, the objects that I am aesthetically attracted to, and even the scale I use to translate the tangible object.
What do you hope people feel or takeaway when experiencing your work?
I hope the viewer finds something in these pieces that transports them somewhere or provokes a memory. There is a warmth to this collection that feels nostalgic.
From the pieces you have created for F&F, is there one piece in particular that stands out to you and why?
One of my more complex artworks involved learning how to capture new textures, transparencies, and reflections, so technically it is a piece that stands out. It's also a very warm piece, a kind of sit around the dining table with candle light kind of piece. A dinner party artwork.
Are there any specific themes, experiences, travels that have inspired your recent work?
An ongoing theme I like to work with is nostalgia and memory related to food. This theme is not just about the food itself but the memories and emotions it evokes. It's about the shared experiences and cultural significance of food in our lives, this is a cornerstone of learning about our World and all its cultures and experiences.
View Candice Perese’s artwork here
