When I first set up my Substack writing account, I was prompted to define what this space would be about. But before I could answer that, I found myself asking a bigger question—who am I, really? As an artist, a storyteller, and someone drawn to beauty and meaning, this space is an extension of that search.
I would say Im a dreamer. A people pleaser and an extroverted introvert.
I need beauty. I need flowers, colour, Italy, the wild openness of this sunburnt land we call Australia. I need to live near water and I know from prior experience, that if I am landlocked, I feel disoriented, claustrophobic, dehydrated - like a plant grown in the wrong soil.
I love dogs. I often dislike people. But both are necessary for living a good life.
Dogs bring me comfort. They don’t judge, they don’t pretend, they don’t exhaust me with small talk, and they don’t need anything much beyond love, food and a good walk. People on the other hand, come with complications - expectations, emotions, and noise. So much noise.
Ive been a professional artist for over 15 years. My two daughters have grown up seeing me with a paintbrush in hand, day after day. Now they have found their own creative paths - both are in design. My husband works in finance - almost the exact polar opposite of my world - but somehow we make it work.
Sometimes we do not. Such is life.
Ive come to accept, just like with art, life needs contrast - companionship and solitude, frustration and joy, stillness and growth. Its like the need for shadow and light in great artworks, you don’t get one without the other; and complementary colours, they create vibrancy when used together, and, yes, they are found opposite each other on the colour wheel.
In my art I paint stories. My still life artworks are filled with whimsy, narrative, colour and detail. Storytelling art, a throwback to my love of children’s illustration and the hundreds of books I devoured when my children were young, wondering with each new book who was enjoying them more?
I also paint dogs. Of course I do!
As an artist, I spend long hours in the studio, dog snoozing at my feet, lost in colour and brushstrokes. But art isn’t made in a bubble. People - family, friends, collectors, fellow artists, supporters - are all part of my journey. They challenge me, push me forward and remind me why I create. Even when I retreat, when the world becomes too much, when the commitments to daily life as a mother, wife, daughter, living human being, try to smother me, I recognise the balance and joy that art brings to my life. I am an artist, this is who I am, but not all I am.
This writing space is a place to create community, support other artists on their own journey and to bring my work to new collectors or followers. Its a place for me to practise writing, just as I ‘practise’ my art…fine tuning words, phrases and thoughts, capturing memories, ready for a time when I may not paint as prolifically as I do now.
Thank you for following along.
You can see more of my of my art on my website mialaing.au
Mia x
