You may have seen Mitch Vane's captivating portraits recently at our stand at the Melbourne Affordable Art Fair... and we're excited to say there's more on their way!
A multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne, Australia, Mitch Vane is a woman of many talents. Known for her children's book illustrations with a distinctively energetic pen-and-ink style – usually with a humorous and slightly wonky bent, she works from her studio space overlooking the backyard. It's here that Mitch Vane creates illustrations for books, paintings, and ceramics, though she also ventures out to run workshops at schools and libraries.
Mitch's portrait paintings typically explore themes of identity and sexual and gender ambiguity. She loves to paint with acrylics on various mediums, whether wood, paper or canvas, she'll work with whatever she can get her hands on! Not limited to painting and drawing, Mitch has also created a series of 'Shelfies' – small clay figurines exploring the fascinating and varied characters she's so often drawn to represent. Mitch sees her ceramics as an extension of her portrait painting, and finds it exciting to use a new medium to tell her stories.
"I love observing people - I study their clothing, hairstyles, body language and facial expressions - all those little giveaways that reveal so much about a person. We all need to feel comfortable in the space we inhabit , to belong somewhere, and the way we present ourselves says a lot about how we want to be seen by the world...or not seen. Sometimes the smallest little details speak volumes." – Mitch Vane
Often collaborating with her partner, Danny Katz, Mitch Vane's cartoons appeared weekly in The Age for many years alongside Danny's column, together they have also created many children's books, including the award winning Little Lunch series – recently adapted for television.
Mitch loves working at a small scale for her paintings and sculptures, and finds there is something quite intimate about working at that size. Each piece is unique and different, varied depending on her mood. All are personal and tell a story of their own.
Check out Mitch Vane's currently available works by clicking the button below.
